Day 16: Back Down the Mountain

Franco: Our shuttle promptly left Sibinal at 6 am this morning. The driver fails at making small talk with me as I'm torn between being extremely exhausted and a deep sadness over leaving the people of Sibinal. I want to be left alone in my own bubble for the moment.

On every trip since 2014, as we drive away from Sibinal I play a video in my head of all the work we have done and all the families still waiting to receive help. I go down a list of things I could have done better and experiences I have learned from. My last thought before drifting into sleep is always the same: Will Sibinal still be here when I get back?

One of the most important responsibilities I have when I travel to Sibinal on humanitarian campaigns is toward the families of Sibinal and the donors in the US. Raising over $11,000 in donations takes an enormous amount of team work. With it comes an even larger amount of responsibility; therefore, it becomes a priority to try and convey via pictures and words how donated money is being used in Sibinal. By using this blog my goal is to inform and assure the donor/reader on how their money is being used on a daily basis.

This blog also serves as a live day-to-day testimony of the different challenges we encounter as well as the work being done with the families. This year was different because we had a team of volunteers from the US come to Sibinal. They too were able to share their point of view on what they witnessed and how it made them feel. My hope being that the donor/reader gets glimpses from different perspectives as opposed to just mine which may be biased because of the emotional attachment I have toward the people in Sibinal.

We are about an hour down the mountain heading toward Antigua, Guatemala. I wake up for a brief moment and turn around to check on the rest of the team. What a sight! Though the pictures may strike some of you as funny, to me they speak of the hard work and dedication every member put in during the last two weeks. They speak of the tremendous amount of emotional and physical work they've endured. I laugh to myself for a brief second. Then an overwhelming amount of pride for our small team takes over. Emotions swell and I'm thankful for each and every one of them for believing in helping the people of Guatemala and coming on this humanitarian journey. Many people and institutions, talk and talk about what they plan on doing and never do anything; however, this team dead asleep in front of me has actually walked the talk and taken action. Words are meaningless without action.

KARMA!! 

Thank you for reading our blog posts. In the next few days as we unwind, relax, and do some sightseeing expect to find some of our team members reflections and unseen pictures and stories.

THANK YOU!!