A busy week after a busy weekend! This week was sponsor week, so the trip was open to anyone who sponsors a child. This week wasn’t like any other team that comes in- the children that have sponsors visiting Casa Shalom are with us from breakfast until curfew. (Usually the teams eat or work on a project throughout the week without kids around). These 17 kids were a handful.
Going to your grandparents’ house, you’re given much more freedom, privileges, and are often allowed to break the rules. That’s what this week felt like. The kids are allowed to drink soda/coffee, go out to eat a few times, are given gifts, and experience a sugar/caffeine rush if their sponsors allow. The 11 sponsors that came aren’t going to say “no” to their kids for the week that they are here, so the Casa Shalom staff/volunteers are left with crazy kids at the end of the day.
It has been fun and eventful getting to know these sponsors a little bit more and watching them interact with the kids they’ve built relationships with. We got to eat in two different restaurants just outside of Antigua, got to go to a theme park, and share our time together, whether it be playing a card game, watching the kids play soccer, or just laughing together.
The theme park almost reminded me of a state fair. There were about 5 roller coasters, 3 water rides, 2 up-and-down rides (like the tower of terror), a ferris wheel, carousel, a few carnival games, bumper cars, and a zoo! The one “big kid” ride I got to take part in was the tallest one at the park. We were brought all the way to the top (at least 15 stories high) and got to look out over Guatemala for about a minute and a half. Just past the property line of the park, there were shack homes, rolling hills, cotton candy clouds, and smoke rising from communities taking part in a meal. I felt like I was inside of a panorama image. I was soaking in the scenery, until my stomach dropped, as we suddenly fell to the ground.
The afternoon, I was helping to keep seven 3-5 year olds from getting lost in the park. We went on the carousel twice and got to visit the zoo. It was unlike any other zoo I’ve been to. One section with the birds we got to walk through was terrifying, at least for me. I was surprised to see all the little kids doing so well. Peacocks were walking free across the walking path, and there was an iguana about 3 feet long, lying down in the middle of the walkway. The kids were all walking as usual past it, while I was almost on my tippy-toes ready to run if it moved.
On the way back to the orphanage, some of the kids fell asleep, others were laughing, and some were quietly seated on the bus. With the wind from the open windows rushing through my hair, watching the sun fall, and observing all those around me, I didn’t care about being in the bus for almost 2 hours in the Guatemalan traffic. I wasn’t concerned about when I’ll get to eat next or how long until I can use the bathroom again. I knew this is where I am meant to be and felt at peace with life in Guatemala. Yes, there have been some lows and highs, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything!
(har)Perseverance on a mission 