Our Trips

2010 Guatemala

Travel with our team of bloggers to Guatemala September 8-11, 2010. Come here to experience the ministry of Compassion International among the poor of Guatemala for yourself through tweets, posts, pics and videos.

Follow the Guatemala team on Twitter here.

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Why It's Only Experiencing God That Changes Everything

Posted on Sep 14, 2010 by Ann Voskamp

Water runs down the middle of the alley, a silver tear in the shadows, and I can hear a baby crying.

I’m walking a narrow Guatemalan City street, a street without house numbers, mailboxes, doorbells — more like a path through tin dominoes rusted right through.

Brown eyes lurk in doorways, peer out between barred gates. A girl in a grimy pink t-shirt keeps clanking at an iron gate. It echos, a cry off cardboard walls. When I am closer, I smile and nod. She does neither. Clank. Clank.

The Only Virus Worth Catching

Posted on Sep 14, 2010 by Lisa-Jo Baker

Lost.

Even though I am sitting on my own bed under the duvet we’ve had since Pete and I got married, I don’t quite know how to find my way back home.

Stranded – in between countries – it’s where I’ve spent most of my life. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.

Soweto, Khayelitsha, District Six, and the nameless shanty towns that stretch for miles and miles alongside the hot tarmac between Pretoria and Johannesburg – these are a painful part of my South African heritage.

A Whole New World

Posted on Sep 13, 2010 by Amanda Jones

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. Spending the day with my new Compassion child, Stefanie, was amazing. I did see some hard things during the day, but I gave myself permission to feel the joy fully because I knew what was coming next on the agenda.

This morning I woke up with a bit of a weak stomach. I knew we were visiting the city dump and the people who lived and worked there. I wanted to see it - well, sort of - but I was very nervous. I had a mental image of myself wandering through the homes in sackcloth and ashes and wailing at the top of my lungs. I wasn’t sure what that was going to do for anyone. I was also a little concerned about losing my breakfast in front of the team. That was a real possibility. My mom and sister have both been down that road before and I didn’t want to complete the humiliation triangle.

Sunday Reflections From Guatemala

Posted on Sep 12, 2010 by Lisa-Jo Baker

From the book of Isaiah, chapter 51:

1“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
Who seek the LORD:
3Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her waste places

Making Happy Feet In Guatemala!

Posted on Sep 12, 2010 by Patricia Jones

I know this beautiful girl who has a big heart. At 5 years old, this little girl traveled to Indonesia and visited her sponsored child. At that time, her father and I wondered if she would be too little to understand, but we watched this 5-year-old reach out and profoundly minister to her sponsored child, Kristy. Kristy was frightened of “the white people” and cried when we came to her home. Isabel instinctively walked up to her, put her hand on Kristy and sang, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Kristy settled, and Isabel and Kristy shared a moment that would carry on into a global friendship. Now both girls are 11 years old and they call each other “cousin”.

Reconciling The Disparity

Posted on Sep 12, 2010 by Lindsey Nobles

Today we visited the Guatemala City dump.

A place that is 1 square kilometer. A place where 20,000 families reside.

A place where the water is unfit for consumption, even by a rat.

Lame Sponsors Of The World Unite

Posted on Sep 11, 2010 by Lisa-Jo Baker

Hello, my name is Lisa-Jo and I am a lame Compassion International sponsor.

Yea, I’m thinking of starting a support group – “Lame Sponsors Anonymous.” ‘Cause after today I just know that there are others out there like me who could be founding members.

If You Like Your Dreams And Miracles Explained

Posted on Sep 11, 2010 by Ann Voskamp

When he stood up to speak, his hands stuffed nervous in his pockets, his right shoe tapping anxious, I had no idea that the whole ugly mask was going to fall straight off this thing.

I guess I should have seen it coming in his eyes, in that flicker, the way he held his head.

“I am in business management in college,” Daniel says, his black wavy hair greased right back, shiny and slick, looking like any guy hanging on the back shanty streets of Guatemala City. Looking like any guy muscling down a sidewalk flanked by a gang member or two.

Joy

Posted on Sep 10, 2010 by Amanda Jones

Joy is stuffing toys, clothes and school supplies in a backpack for a four-year-old girl. Joy is filling a gift bag with household items, toiletries, a Spanish Bible, an Esther book, and a Texas A&M ball cap for her parents. Joy is going to visit my new Compassion sponsor child today.

Joy is being so nervous to meet little Stefanie, but being greeted with big hugs and smiles at the door.