Most of us right now are wishing things were normal. A lunch out at a local restaurant. An afternoon at the movie theaters. Meeting up with a friend. A weekend spent with the (grand)kids/parents. A morning/evening commute to the office, school, or place of work/study. Stores stocked with everything we need, without other consumers buying a month’s worth of supply. Leaving the house without wearing a medical mask or fear of getting sick for a few weeks.
It’s unlike anything we have ever lived before, and maybe something we’ll never live again.
In the US, lives continue moving forward with little troubled, compared to some. Husbands/wives/kids/families are home together. Work still gets done from home. Kids are going ahead with classes online. Families are getting that time together that they’ve been wishing for a while now. Time to enjoy watching a new tv show, working around the house, planting things in the garden, trying new art projects, redecorating, and the list goes on.
In Guatemala, things are a lot different. If you’re off your property anytime between 4:00 pm and 4:00 am, you’re thrown into jail or given a large fine. Masks are mandatory when you leave your home. Gyms, shops, restaurants, malls, movie theaters, pretty much everything is closed, aside from the essentials: pharmacies, grocery store, gas stations, banks, and some restaurants that offer drive-thru or takeout. Public transportation, retired US school buses, aren’t in use. Many Guatemalans are laid off of work, and are not able to make money today that they will use for food tomorrow. A law placed a few weeks back prohibits people going into other counties (“departments”), unless it’s for work. Unlike the US, most Guatemalan homes do not have a computer, so schools are not in session until the virus passes.
With the parents we have in the houses, usually there’s a group that works Monday morning-Saturday morning, and another group that takes the weekend shift. Majority of them rely on the public buses to come and go. This has us now personally dropping off the employees at their houses and picking up the ones to fill in, about every 2-3 weeks. I, along with the teenagers, teacher, and others who are on the orphanage property, assist in caring for the kids in a specific home, while the drop-off/pick-up is happening. It is a lot on them, the drivers, and the teenagers, but they are grateful to still have a job and provide for their families who aren’t so lucky.
I haven’t seen family, friends, nor a 24-hour period free of kids since Thanksgiving, and I’m not sure when that will happen again. Borders are closed anywhere around Guatemala. The airport is shut down, without any flights coming or going. Tourist destinations, that bring a lot of money to the country, are also closed to the public. Holy week full of visiting tourists isn’t a week that the Guatemalan economy can lose. But, we are all doing the best we can to stay positive, stay strong, and keep moving forward, unsure of what the next couple weeks (or months) may hold.
We are making the most of our little inflatable pools. There are soccer games played most afternoons. Houses are enjoying picnics and extra playtime outdoors. House parents are getting more involved in the kids’ education, each holding a class based on their skills, education, and interests, so that education can continue while schools are closed. We are hosting weekly devotionals in the chapel, where kids and house parents can get involved in scripture readings, prayer, drama skits, dances, or sharing the message. Even though we all are getting antsy to get back into the schedule of school, attend a local church, or even take a quick walk down to the corner shop at the end of the street, we are making the most of our time together and are deepening our friendships.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendorwas dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:28-34
(har)Perseverance on a mission 