Day 5: Christmas for Guatemalan Children

 

Franco: Today we celebrated the much anticipated Christmas for Guatemalan Children. It was a day where our hearts were filled with joy to see over 600 children smile as they received their Christmas gifts and enjoyed a presentation put on by the volunteer group Generación Magnificat. Children were educated on the importance of hygiene, nutrition, and sanitation by puppet shows, songs, and dances. 

Everything you will see and read below is because of your donations. I would like to express the gratitude I feel toward the people in the US who were willing to trust us with your hard earned money and made today possible. The pictures and blog posts will hopefully convey the happiness that was felt today by more than 600 children. 

 

The children and their families were also provided with a traditional Christmas meal of Guatemalan tamales and rice water. Over 700 tamales were made and both our teams were fortunate to have some. Below, you will see how our day began by loading a big truck, driving to Los Olivos high in the mountains, tamale making, presentsriok for the children including a clown, children receiving their Christmas gifts and finally the Christmas meal. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olivia: Today was a full day. I passed out gifts as one of Santa's helpers, I learned how to read Dr. Seuss in español, and I was given a detailed description of a young man's home and how he cares for his sick chickens.

Christmas for Guatemalan Children was a huge success! It was incredible to see the amount of gifts our team was able to give to hundreds of children thanks to your donations. I hope that the pictures of the event convey all of the excitement and happiness expressed by the children and their families as they received their Christmas presents, enjoyed the entertainment, and chowed down on delicious tamales and rice water. (Seriously those tamales were fantastic!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Christmas party and lunch, we had the opportunity to visit the homes of Don Jose and Doña Edelina both of which have been recipients of last year's donations. Don Jose is a single father of seven young children. As I walked around Don Jose's home taking in all the clean laundry drying on the lines,  the gardens and livestock neatly tended, and the pots and pans of food being prepared for future meals, I wondered in complete awe how anyone manages seven young children,  a household,  a small farm all at once. Before heading out to Guatemala a friend (shout out to Maureen) gave me two children's books in Spanish to take with me. I thought Don Jose's children might be the perfect owners of these two cool books. After I had given Don Jose the books, Emily said that she had read to some of his children and that they had taken an interest in the stories. I thought I'd give it a go too. I was doing well at first. I can handle words like "un pez, dos peces, rojo pez, azul pez" (one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish), but then the words became more complicated and I had to enlist the help of one of Don Jose's older sons, Roberto. Let me tell you, there is no better learning environment than sitting on a bed, surrounded by kids and learning how to pronounce "big" Spanish words! 

After reading Dr. Seuss and visiting with Don Jose, the team visited Doña Edelina, a single mother of two children, one with special needs. Delman, Doña Edelina's son, is a rather incredible little soul. His home may have been pitch black due to a lack of electricity, but he certainly knew how to light up a room with his infectious personality and genuine kindness. As soon as we entered his home,  he invited us to sit down on the bed welcoming us all in. When he saw that some members of the team were still standing he immediately began clearing off folded laundry from chairs and stools until everyone had a seat. He then proceeded to tell us about his chickens and how when they're ill they place them in a special spot under a bench in their home until they're well. Delman was just yet another reminder that everyone, of all levels of ability, has a light within them that can make this world a brighter place. I'm very grateful that I could be a witness to Delman's light and to his sick chicken hideaway too. Thanks for reading. Hasta mañana!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shirley: Today has been such an emotional day for me so I apologize in advance for the long blog today. First we started off with a lovely breakfast by Doña Julia where she made pancakes and they were delicious! Then we did Christmas for the Children!! It was such an awesome experience. I mean we got to the place where we were gonna hand out all the gifts but first we had a whole schedule and activities planned for the kids, which was awesome to see how engaged they were. It was incredible because there's no words to describe the look on those kids' faces. I mean their look is so penetrating that it's like if they were looking into my soul. And as I was watching the activity unfold, I started thinking about my family back home. This is the first Christmas I don't spend with them and it made me a little sad when I saw everyone being so happy with their gifts and with their families that I couldn't hold in the tears. I mean I can't really explain how emotions took over me today. The view from Los Olivos (where we were) was absolutely mesmerizing. We were doing something amazing and bringing those kids and their families the spirit of Christmas. The people from here also make me feel so at home, which helps so much just knowing that I have a family here. It was so nice when they came to me and were comforting, just like any of my family members would. 

We also visited Don José and his 7 kids. This is one of the families that we have helped in the past and that we continue to help. I was fine hearing his story and playing with the kids, until he mentioned that he couldn't get his bread business going because he can't go to the market and leave his youngest daughter, which is 2 years old, alone. His oldest kids are boys and they can't take care of her. There's the other daughter but she isn't old enough to take care of her sister and her other siblings by herself. This immediately broke my heart. Then I heard the story of how his wife died and I totally lost it. But then I heard the oldest son read a book that Olivia brought from the US, and it made me think of how there's future in that family. It makes me so happy to see that families fight through tough times and are prospering no matter the circumstances. 

The second family we went to see, was a single mother with her kids. Her story was featured in our website but it was a whole different story actually being there and seeing this woman and her family. She's an emotional person so y'all can imagine how that went! I could see how grateful she was because of her new concrete floor and her new stove. Hearing her story and the story about her mentally disabled son shattered my heart. But that's what I love about this trip. I am able to see who they were before and who they are becoming now. This brings tears to my eyes because I can imagine that it isn't easy but they're pushing through. They are able to prosper and keep the family together in unity, which is something absolutely beautiful. Regardless of the very emotional day I had today, I'll never forget it. Hasta la próxima!