Issue 191 - Guatemala Unbound
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February 2019
Just returning from a mission trip to Guatemala, we brought with us some beautiful gifts from our new Mayan friends and treasured memories we share with you here.
Since 1994 Jan has been associated with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, renamed
Unbound
in 2014. Over the years, the organization has served more than 800,000 children, students and aging adults and currently works with more than 300,000 people supported by 260,000 sponsors.
Recently, Bill joined the program and together, we sponsor precious little Evelyn, whom we got to visit and get to know her family.
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When was the last time you walked a path strewn with fresh, green pine needles, a gesture of honor and welcome? Oh, but also with bouquets of lush tropical flowers, balloons, marimba music, and cheering, smiling faces? And the dance? We were escorted into the Unbound community gatherings and invited to join the festive dancing with sponsored children and elders. These are happy people, while honoring us sponsors with deep humility and gratitude, and showing pride in their achievements in education, economics, crafts, farming, and overall well-being. They reverence their Mayan culture and wouldn’t trade it for life in a foreign land.
During our 8-day Awareness trip with Unbound, every day we visited at least two communities, or CODI’s (Communities of Integral Development) which engages mothers of the children for mutual support, accountability, and community building. They, in typical Mayan dress, brought their typical Mayan dishes of yucca, beans, potatoes, vegetables, chicken, and tamales steamed in banana leaves. Following the mid-morning snack of tortillas and vegetables or the full lunch buffet, they entertained us with poetry, dancing, and music. Sometimes we were invited into their tin-roofed homes of adobe or cement blocks where they so graciously shared stories of their lives and the advancements they have made due to Unbound sponsors’ generosity.
I never dreamed “answering the Gospel call to serve the poor” would be such a loving, heartwarming experience. The day we met our sponsored child, Evelyn and her family, dissolved all barriers of culture, language, and politics. Evelyn is 9 years old, in the second grade and her family is new to Unbound. They live in the mountains near Lake Atitlan in a village of 31 families. There is no electricity in the village, so they do all their work, and Evelyn her school work, between dawn and dark. The greatest gift of hospitality we received was when Evelyn and her family opened their hearts to us. Now we have new friends whom we treasure, and have been embraced by the warm hospitality of an ancient land - coffee bean bushes, stunning flora, serene lakes, towering mountains, gurgling volcanoes - in all its pristine beauty.
--Jan
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It is the faces I remember: The weathered faces of the elders. The distinctive Mayan features of many Unbound staff. The shining eyes of the sponsored children. The smile of the young woman who led the children in the dance of welcome (see
video at the beginning of Jan's article).
Oh, yes, I remember the beauty of Lake Atitlan and the city of Antigua. I remember the bus bouncing along roads with horrible potholes. I savor memories of traditional Mayan foods and weavers demonstrating their craft.
I certainly remember the dedication and enthusiasm of the Unbound staff. But it is the faces I remember: eager faces, shy faces, a multitude of friendly faces. Some faces weary, some etched by time, but all dignified, all noble.
Much of our time in Guatemala was spent with very poor people, subsistence farmers or single mothers trying to support their families through selling handicrafts. To receive sponsorship by Unbound, children must be in school. But a number of the parents we met were illiterate. Some do not even speak Spanish, but only one of the more than 20 Mayan dialects spoken in Guatemala.
On the day after we arrived, we attended Mass at the cathedral in Guatemala City. I understand only a little Spanish, but I understood enough to recognize the gospel reading for the day: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” Jesus said, “because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, … to let the oppressed go free” (Lk 4:18-19).
I remember the faces. Faces of strangers become friends. Faces of those for whom Jesus gave his life.
Bill
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We invite you to join us in supporting the children and elders in the Unbound program. Visit our Unbound webpage to see more about the program and make a donation.
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Can you make room for more?
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Recent Issues
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Copyright (c) 2019 Soul Windows Ministries
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Sincerely,
Bill Howden and Jan Davis
Soul Windows Ministries
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