Am I making an impact?

The second weekend of September, just before my visit to the US, I helped out at a youth group outing. We visited two theme parks, Xocomil (water park) and Xetulul (theme park). Don’t ask me how to pronounce them, I wouldn’t be able to help you out!

There were 22 of us piled into 2 16-passenger vans, 13 teens, 6 chaperones (myself included), and another van driver with his wife and daughter. 5 am Saturday morning we were on our way to the parks. We drove for about 3 hours with a break for breakfast (McDonalds) and a bathroom break/gas fill-up. We found the restrooms to get our suits on for the water park and dove right in. From about 10 until 1, we were free to roam the park, taking on any water slides we were brave enough to board.

I was given two girls, 16 and 18, to “watch over” for the day. We had a blast, enjoying every slide we could find that we hadn’t tried before. It was the water park with a variety of slides, both for groups and individuals, a wave pool, smaller water jungle gyms for the little kids, and a lazy river. We were running from slide to slide that we barely had time to even see the river or the wave pool. I know we were all worn out and tired at 1:00 that we were excited to head on over to the amusement park and ride some coasters!

The parks were side by side, only taking a 3 minute van drive to move the car in front of the park’s entrance. My two girls and I went with a larger group to grab lunch together at one of the park’s restaurant. It was a pirate theme, with the employees wearing costumes, nets hanging from the ceiling and everything wooden, like a pirate ship.

Somehow, about halfway through our time at the amusement park, I ended up looking over 4 girls and 2 guys. I didn’t mind… We were running across an almost empty amusement park catching as many rides as we could in the 3 and a half hours we were given to ride! (This park, you pay to enter, and then pay for either a pass for a dozen rides or a wristband for unlimited rides, so most people would rather pay once and enjoy unlimited water slides.)

It was starting to look rainy out, so we purchased a few of the passes with a dozen rides. Surprise, we had to go back and purchase another two before the day was over! There were a few large rollercoasters, one my girls and I rode I think four times. There was a ride like Splash mountain, those chairs swinging in a circle (found at most state fairs) and several of those up-and-down, pendulum, and smaller kids rides.

Our final ride of the night was a pendulum sort, where we were all seated in a circle at the bottom, while the pendulum went back and forth and the ring of seats slowly spun around. It slowed down, and we were all expecting to get off. Nope. It was sprinkling, there was no line, and we rode it for 4 rounds worth, screaming “Again!” every time the ride would come to an “end.” Glad that was the final ride of the night. As fun as it was, I was kinda starting to feel sick, after swinging for almost 20 minutes.

We spent the night at this campground, with rooms/bathrooms separate for girls and boys. Our room had I think 17 bunk beds with mattresses about as thin as the length of my pointer finger. Since there weren’t enough girls to fill each bed, I slept on two mattresses, giving me a little extra comfort on the wooden bunk beds. All the kids went to the campsite’s pool for an hour or so after we got back, but I showered and was in my pajamas at 8:30, after a long, tiring, fun day.

The campsite provided us breakfast just before heading off to church. Lunch was pizza hut before the 3 hour ride back to the orphanage. We made a quick pit stop for any of those who wanted to grab an ice cream cone or a coffee for the drive.

Church was a great blessing, after not getting to attend many services since I’ve been in Guatemala. One of my two girls took the mic and shared some of her testimony and of Casa Shalom’s impact on her life. And one of the volunteers who came to help out for the weekend.

The service was about thinking upon the impact you are making in others’ lives. How will people remember you? Will you be part of a list of people, as seen in the Bible so many times (Father of…, son of…, son of… etc) or would you make an impact and be the last on that list, “…did what was right (or wrong) in the eyes of the Lord.” Will you have an impact that makes you remembered for more than a placement in the family line? Will you be remembered for good or for bad?

Remembering up this weekend, it was a blast. Sure there were some downsides of large blisters, tired legs, and a lack of sleep, but most of what I remember makes this weekend a good one. It was full of getting the giggles on the rollercoasters, a party in the van on the way home, and many memories that will stick with everyone who came along. From my point of view, and I think the other 21 who went, it was a great weekend that stands out from a list.

Like this weekend, I want to stand out from a list. Yes, I still sin and make mistakes, but I want to be remembered for the good things I do rather than the bad. I don’t want to stand out from the list as someone who moved out of the country. I want to be remembered by the impact I’ve made in each of the lives of the kids here at Casa Shalom and for those lives I meet elsewhere. I don’t want to be associated with my sins and mistakes, but rather how I’ve overcome them and helped others overcome them as well. I want to be remembered just as I remember this weekend.