SSC Newsletter January 2019

Things that stood out to me

Things that bring me happiness recalling I will never forget the children of the community who excitedly sat me down and began playing with my hair, braiding it and putting all kinds of flowers in it as they screamed “bonita”with so much excitement. Their shaking laughter as they saw their faces change with the snapchat filters on my phone. Little Ashley’s face as she practically carried me down to the river barefoot while I had mountain gear on. How the young boys saw me and took that as a chance to show off their skills by directly running into the river, climbing up the rocks, and doing back flips while Ashley signaled me to take a photo. I will never forget how eagerly they shared the bubbles we gave them. The quantity was limited for sure, yet they still shared so happily taking turns till the bottles ran out telling each other “ compartir”. I will never forget little Raphael as he tried to tickle me and run away only till I caught him and practically tickled him till his knees buckled and the only thing holding his little body was me. The look of the man’s eyes as he looked at the bottle of Gatorade with clean water.

As I prepared for my trip to Guatemala, checking the long list of things to bring, I repeated in my head: two bags of trash …check, work boots… check, Bug repellent…check, work gloves… check. I thought of the expectations I had for this trip and the one thing I was certain of is that we would have a profound impact on the people we meet. Never did I imagine that the people I will meet would impact and mark my life in more ways than I theirs. First Impression The day came and Sarah Boreen and I set out the airport. Of course, as typical Texans we stopped at Bucees because we both knew truly that no trip is complete without a stop at Bucees. We met up with the rest of the team and head out to Guatemala. Arriving in Guatemala, we immediately noticed the shocking difference of the place we arrived to in comparison to the place we called home. A lady whose face was marked with the hardships of time immediately approached us and begged us for money. We apologized and settled into the van and began our very rough drive to Antigua, mind you people who drive in Guatemala are by all means professionals. The level of precision needed to drive there is surreal. Here I was with a group of strangers named Sarah, Desiree, Sausha, Ida, Lisa, Maureen, Saif, and Marilyn. Little did I know that I’d make good trustworthy friendships and even family out of the people in that van. We began our drive to the beautiful city of Antigua and a few things immediately caught my attention: buses that are ornately decorated in popping colors of yellow, green, and red, four people riding a motorcycle all at once, a McDonalds delivery motorcycle, the lush jungle green of our surroundings, and armed men guarding what looked like regular grocery stores. Eventually we reached Antigua which can be easily described as a gem on this earth with its cobblestone roads, exotic wild flowers, archaic yet robust architecture, and of course the two volcanoes it is surrounded by.

The entire trip was beyond memorable to me. There are specific events that have found a way into my heart and have etched themselves into my memory permanently. Thinking back to my time in Guatemala, the first thing that comes to my mind is warmth and a deep sense of affection and satisfaction especially towards the people of El Amatillo ( the community we worked in). During our time in the community, we would work for hours and by the end of the day, the work left us exhausted and starving. When our meal came, you can tell they were prepared with utmost love by the people of the community and as we said our prayers in their homes and on their dinner table, a genuine feeling of gratuity would overwhelm me. Looking around at the state the community was in, feeling a chicken graze against my leg under the dinner table, I could not help but feel so grateful for what I have. Grateful for the meal in front of me, the home that waits for my return, the fresh food and water we have access to, and for the opportunity of helping others I was granted with.

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SSC | SERVICE SOLUTIONS | NEWSLETTER | JULY 2018