Sixteen Days in Guatemala

For a little more than two weeks, I have had the privilege of being in Guatemala, helping with a variety of projects sponsored by JBU initiatives and friends. This is a brief photo essay of two weeks in Guatemala.

Friday 12/21 - Food distribution at the Guatemala City garbage dump. JBU Guatemala mission team provided a special Christmas meal of tamales and ponche. 

Saturday 12/22 - Event for children of the "La Terminal" trash heap, sponsored by Gateway Seminar class.  Hundreds showed up for games, food, and Christmas gifts.

Saturday 12/22 - Gifts and Christmas gifts for OANSA children at the Guatemala City garbage dump, sponsored by JBU Guatemala mission team.

Saturday 12/22 - Delivering tamales and ponche on the streets at midnight with Mama Carmen.

Monday 12/24 - "Bathing and hygiene day" for street dwellers at the Guatemala City garbage dump.  Thanks, Kelly Hadley, for giving some great haircuts.

Monday 12/24 - Visits to homes in the settlements at the edge of the Guatemala City garbage dump...and prayer time with families.

Monday 12/24 - Worship with garbage dump street dwellers. Tamales and ponche sponsored by JBU Guatemala mission team.

Tuesday 12/25 - Hadley family visit to family of weavers in San Antonio Aguas Calientes.

Tuesday 12/25 - Hadley family visit to the Apen family in San Antonio Aguas Calientes.

Wednesday 12/26 - Meal with Mama Carmen and family, sponsored by JBU Guatemala mission team, with help from the Hadley family.

Thursday 12/27 - Burger King day with families from the "La Terminal" trash heap. Thanks to the Hadley family for providing lunch for the group!

Friday 12/28 - Visited home of "Mi Especial Tesoro," a ministry to young ladies in Chimaltenango who have come out of very difficult situations.  Thanks to the Hadley family for lunch!

Friday 12/28 - Visit to Chimaltenango garbage dump to assess needs and potential ministry opportunities.

Friday 12/28 - Food distribution at the Guatemala City garbage dump.

Wednesday and Thursday 1/2 and 1/3 - Two days in San Juan Cotzal with the JBU SIFE/Enactus "Guatemala Water Project."

Thursday 1/3 - Visit to Chajul to see progress on JBU's first Water Project in the Ixil Triangle.

Friday 1/4 - Enrolled all five children in the Apen family in school. Luky will graduate this year. The twins (José and Josefina) will start preschool.

Friday 1/4 - Visited family of weavers in San Antonio Aguas Calientes. Purchased Emily's fabric (see above) that will allow her to buy her school shoes and school supplies.

Spent quality time with Enrique and Cecy Quiñonez.

A Tale of Two Twins

It was six years ago.

We were in the village of San Antonio Aguas Calientes, just outside of Antigua, Guatemala. We had tried to start a stove project through a local group, but there was a lot of social pressure coming from friends, so a group from JBU SIFE went down to assess homes and decide who should have higher priority to get stoves.  We were almost done for the day, but there was one more name on the list. Gloria. She didn't live very close. In fact, we had to walk halfway up a mountain to meet her, and when we arrived, we met the most pregnant woman I have ever seen. We forgot about stoves completely. The whole group immediately came to the same thought...we need to get this woman to a doctor.

The first time we met Gloria - January 2007

As we chatted with Gloria, she told us that she was going to have her baby at home with a midwife, as is the custom of indigenous women of Guatemala. She told us much more about her situation...a story too long and complicated to share here. As we listened, we became more convinced that we needed to get her to a doctor. We offered, and she agreed. An ultrasound indicated that she was having twins and that they were positions incorrectly. Without a Cesarean section, she and the babies would not survive. But the doctor said she needed two more weeks, and we were leaving the next day. We made the best arrangements for her that we could...for the doctor, hospital, transport, and everything else. We returned to the States the next day knowing that God would work a miracle of logistics or that all three would die on the mountain. JBU students went to work and raised the money to cover the costs. God worked the miracle of logistics, and in February of 2007, we welcomed José and Josefina into the world.

José and Josefina - March 2007

It is amazing how God works. There was so much dysfunction in this family, but it was a beautiful family. Luky was a 13-year-old girl who finished 6th grade but could not afford to go any farther, even though she wanted to very badly. Luky is Gloria's daughter but had a different father. Then there was Cecy and Arturo. They and the twins were all children of Carlos, Gloria's husband. It was a very poor family with many problems. We believed that God had put these twins in our path, so we always stopped by to see them, but we never realized how we would learn to know the family and get involved with them and develop a friendship that would impact me in ways I never expected.

The family - December 2007 

We started talking to Luky. She was kind of standoffish and bitter, but she began to open up about how she would love to continue school. So we helped her. This year, Lord willing, she will graduate from high school and have a full 12 years of education. Then we started Cecy in preschool...and then Arturito. They have had their struggles, but Cecy will move on to 3rd grade this year, and Arturito will enjoy a second year of 1st grade. 

Today, I had the privilege of enrolling José and Josefina into preschool.  They will turn 6 years old in February. The time has flown! It seems like only yesterday that this bunch of gringos was glaring at this very pregnant woman in the doorway of her house, wondering if something had gone badly wrong. Now, all five children are going to be in school, and the oldest is going to finish her degree as a bilingual secretary.

José and Josefine - January 2013

For the past six years, we have gone through the tedious process of enrolling, getting school supplies, and buying school clothes. That may not sound like much, but in rural areas of Guatemala, it is not easy. Luky has become a beautiful young lady who looks you in the eye and smiles and jokes a lot. God has taken a lot of bitterness out of her heart. She has the potential to do many thing. The "system" in Guatemala is kind of stacked against her (she is a poor girl from an indigenous community), but God has already overcome so many things in her life. I am excited to see what comes next.

Luky - January 2013

God is good. I have learned this week that "faith is action." When we saw that pregnant lady standing in the door, we had to act. As we grew to know this family, we had to act. Gloria and Carlos have acted in faith to support their children's education, something they really don't understand because they never had that opportunity. Faith is action, and action leads to beautiful things. Faithful action helps us see God's plan unfold, even though we can't see it ahead of time.

Gloria, José, Josefina, Arturito, and Cecy - January 2013

Keep this family in your prayers. It is very hard to break out of they system they live in, but God has already worked miracles here. I don't think He's finished yet.

Children of the Chimaltenango Garbage Dump

I have been sharing pictures and stories of the people of the Guatemala City garbage dump. Life at the dump is a struggle for survival. Even though the Municipality has restricted children from entering and working in the dump, enforcement is difficult because there are so many ways to get into the dump. Also, the people who work in the dump literally drag the dump into their homes. The distinction between garbage dump and living space is hard to see at times, and once trash is outside of the official boundaries of the dump, there is nothing to restrict children from being part of the industry of sorting and selling to recyclers.

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the garbage dump outside of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. It is a smaller dump and a smaller community of people, but what was immediately apparent to me was the number of children working there. No attempt has been made to restrict child labor in this place.

Praise the Lord for people like Cesar and Carol Lopez.  Cesar and Carol operate a home for young ladies who have come out of situations of abuse in the Chimaltenango area. It is called Mi Especial Tesoro (or My Special Treasure). They believe that the best therapy for oneself is to reach out to others and help them in their time of need. So every Saturday morning, Cesar and Carol load up some of the older girls and go to the garbage dump to provide reading and writing classes for the children who live and work in this dreadful place. My respects to you, Cesar and Carol!

A picture is worth a thousand words ... and sometimes a few tears. We are part of a world that lets children live, work, and die in trash. What can YOU do? I'll let some pictures do the talking.

I Had a "Blast" on New Year's Eve

Literally, we had a "blast" at the Quiñónez home last night.

Cecy ... believe it or not ... was in the kitchen. She had received a turkey as a gift, and she wanted to share it with family and friends. Cecy has a gas stove in her kitchen. It has electronic ignition, but it is not automatic. You have to turn the gas knob for the burner or oven, and hit the igniter button. 

Well, apparently Cecy thought she had lit the oven. She called me into the kitchen to see the turkey and a big rice casserole that she had just put in the oven, and then she noticed that the oven was not lit. There was some momentary confusion as she was trying to light the stove, allowing some gas to build up, although the oven door was open. When the gas ignited, I can only describe the sound as a shotgun blast right in front of us.

People ran from all corners of the house to see what had happened. A window was broken one room away from the concussion. A curtain was knocked out of a window two rooms away. Cecy and I were standing directly in front of the oven ... about a foot away ... and other than a little bit of ear ringing, we were fine. In fact, we both started laughing and couldn't stop. I don't know why.

If you are physicist and can explain this away ... please don't. I choose to believe it was a God moment. How can the concussion from the blast break windows and knock down curtains rooms away and do nothing to two people standing a foot away directly in the path of the blast? God is good. 

So this was the extent of my new year's eve blast. And in case you were wondering ... and perhaps most importantly ... the food was fine. In fact, it was delicious.

Happy new year! God bless you!

--Joe (in Guatemala)

A Senseless Loss

December 18, 2012

I met David when I was living in Guatemala in 2003. He was one of a group of boys who lived in a park called Plaza Berlin at the southern end of the Avenue of the Americas in Guatemala City. Watched over by another street dweller, David and his friends made their home under a sidewalk and had their daily strategies for survival. I knew David through the efforts of a ministry to street kids that worked hard to reach out to these boys. David never left the streets, and I have continued to bump into him over the years as he has moved around Guatemala City.

Most recently, David became part of a group called "Los Peregrinos"...a group of drug addict street dwellers who make their living scavenging at the Guatemala City garbage dump.  Every Monday evening, the members of Iglesia Bautista Cristo es el Camino have a meal and worship time for this group, trying to show a little bit of love to these men who long ago slipped through the last crack in their society and ended up at the dump. In the last couple of years, it was increasingly obvious that years of inhaling solvent were taking their toll. David grew weaker and thinner, constantly trembling due to the neurological damage from the drugs.

Yesterday, I got the news that David was dead. The story I heard was that he ate some food laced with poison. Was it murder, suicide, or an accident? I only know that it is tragic...and senseless.

I would like to say, "Please pray for David's family," but outside of a handful of street family and some caring people who have loved him over the years, he had nobody. From the world's perspective, David slipped from obscurity to oblivion. Most of the world won't care...or even notice that Guatemala has one less drug addict sleeping on the sidewalks outside of the garbage dump.

We have lost too many of our world's young people for senseless reasons. We are ALL precious in God's sight. I know that David had professed Christ as his savior, and even though he never escaped the material problems of his life, he did win the spiritual victory. In that final lonely moment, I know that David truly slipped from earthly obscurity to an eternal freedom in the presence of God. I rejoice in that, but I am once again convicted that those of us who are still on this side of eternity need to redouble our efforts to share the truth of the Gospel and to engage the spiritual and physical battle before us.

No matter how often we bathe or how well we dress, we are all God's street kids. We all hold onto things that are offensive in God's sight. Let's not fool ourselves. To see a young man like David is to look into a mirror. I am thankful that God didn't "step around me on the sidewalk." Instead, he saw me and reached down to help.

People ask, "Where is God in all of this?" I am convinced that God was with David every moment. The better question is this. Where are God's people?

Adios, David. I'll see you again.



January 6, 2013

POSTSCRIPT:  I printed copies of photos of David from the 10 years that I knew him, and I shared those with some of his friends in Guatemala while I was there over Christmas and the new year. They remember him...and mourn.  (Photo by Pastor Saul Pérez.)

Dedication of New School - ADVANCE Nicaragua (Chinandega)

[Today, we had the privilege of attending the dedication of a new preschool in Chinandega, Nicaragua. This was the vision of JBU Walton Scholar Ana Paulina Villanueva, a resident of Chinandega. Ana asked me to make a few comments. Here is the English version of that text.]

Good morning! My name is Joe Walenciak, and I am Dean of the College of Business at John Brown University. On behalf of many friends at JBU and in Arkansas, I bring greetings. Many have prayed and worked for this school, so even though there are only several of us here today, we represent a team of hundreds of people who join us in this moment to celebrate and to dedicate this school to the glory of God and to the children and families of Chinandega.

In August 2008, I met Ana Paulina when she arrived at John Brown University. All I knew about her at the very beginning was that her school work was excellent and that she had a very big smile. As the weeks and months passed, we grew to know Ana Paulina as a person of good character with a sensitive and loving heart. She spoke very fondly of her family and of the people of this place called Chinandega. Ana Paulina always saw and shared the best about people, but it was also clear that she clearly saw the needs in her community. She began to talk about children who needed a school.

In January of 2010, Ana Paulina sat in my office and shared a vision for the future of her community. She talked, and I wrote. She talked about finding school supplies and helping to make sure that the children had something healthy to eat, but she also smiled and shared her dream of building a school building so that the children would safe and dignified place to learn and build their futures. She envisioned a community that would unite for the sake of its children’s education and future.

Ana Paulina began to draw key people into her team. In Arkansas, she began to work with people like fellow students Suyen Espinoza and Daielis Rodrigues, both of whom are here today. She also began to work with Clayton Anderson, Director of JBU’s Students in Free Enterprise (or “SIFE”) organization. Back here in Nicaragua, the team grew to include Ana Paulina’s family and many of you, people who are willing to say that your children’s education and future are more important than anything else. Back at the University, we watched an amazing community of people unite and go to work for a great cause.

Why are we here today? What are we celebrating? The answer to that is in the name of the school, “Miracle of God.” We are here today to celebrate God’s goodness and to dedicate this building and many generations of young people whose lives will be changed through education, through the love and support of their families, and through the transforming power of a loving God. The true miracle here is not the building. The miracle is each life that will be touched because of what you and God have done here in this place.

God honors the faithfulness of His children, and we can learn from that here. Ana Paulina had vision—she saw something in her mind that did not exist. She was innovative—she had to look for new and creative ways to make it happen. She had faith—she chose to believe that something was possible, even they she could not see it. She went to work, and she did not give up. Vision, innovation, faith, and hard work. Ana Paulina serves as a testimony that we have a loving God and that each one of us can make a difference.

We are very proud of Ana Paulina and her team.

Congratulations! What a privilege to be with you on this very special day! May the “Miracle of God” continue in each of your lives and in the lives of your children for many generations to come. God bless  you and keep you! Thank you!

Everyone Needs an Enrique

May 27, 2012, Guatemala City

Yesterday was a frustrating day. My phone rang in Guatemala City at 4:45 a.m. with the news that the Graduate Guatemala Studies class was facing flight cancellations and would not arrive on time, requiring that we rework the itinerary for the first two days and miss the kickoff excursion to Lake Atitlan completely. On top of that, my buddy at the place where we rent cars gave me the wrong van. It is one of those 15-passenger high-top vans with lots of head room. It is nice to have that extra space above your head, I suppose, but you can't get these things into any of the parking garages of Guatemala City. The good news was that Manuel (my buddy) agreed to meet me and swap out the high-top van for a regular van. The bad news was that he did not show up at the appointed hour. There was a good story and a lot of excuses, but no van.

We are in the early days of the rainy season here in Guatemala, and yesterday afternoon produced a good, healthy rain. I started to get worried about logistics for picking up the class last night. The convenient parking garage is not convenient for a high-top van, meaning that I would have to park at more of a distance, walk over and greet the team, leave them standing, walk back in the rain to get the van, and drive around to pick up the team. None of this is insurmountable...just frustrating and highly inconvenient.

Enter Enrique Quiñónez. About 4:00 in the afternoon, Enrique said, "Let's go to the airport and get permission to park at the curb." Being the good North American that I am, this was an uncomfortable suggestion. Parking at the airport curb...right outside the arrival area...is frowned upon by the authorities. I did not relish the idea of showing up alone at night and arguing with the police that I actually DID have permission to park under the "no parking" sign.

Things like that just don't slow down Enrique. I could share countless stories. This one was typical. We went to the airport. Enrique said, "Stay here, I'm going to talk to that policeman," pointing to the first uniformed official we saw. I watched in awe as Enrique talked to one, two, then three officials. The next thing I knew, he was bringing a gentleman over to meet me...the head of security at the airport. This gentleman introduced himself and told me that I had complete authority...in his name...to park in the "no parking" area right outside the arrivals area, and if anyone gave me any problems, I should mention his name and call him directly.

I cannot tell you how many times Enrique has talked us into parking lots, out of situations, through all kinds of things. I see this as a gift from God, and I am thankful to have Enrique around when I am in Guatemala.

Honestly, there are a lot more important reasons to have Enrique around. He and his wife, Cecy, love to serve and evangelize, and they never waste an opportunity. Enrique has a great personality and builds friendships with students and friends that I bring to Guatemala. Many JBU undergraduates go home talking about "Papa Enrique" and "Mama Cecy." Having Enrique and Cecy around is a blessing...AND I get to park under the "no parking" signs.

Thank you, Enrique! Lord bless you!