College Guatemala Day 1

Heyyy! It’s Misha and Naomi from Guatemala!!! We are so excited to share with you all what went on today during our time here in Guatemala. 

Misha - We were very generously woke up by the chickens starting at about 5 in the morning. But after all woke up we had a very yummy breakfast at 7 which was WAFFLES!! After breakfast we drove from a suburb of Guatemala City to a town called Chivoc. Once we arrived to Chivoc after about 1.5 hours, we all reloaded to bus to start home visits. We broke out into two teams: Blondie (Karen) and Baldie (Brian). Naomi was on Baldies team and Misha was on Blondies. These teams were for home visits in the morning. Then we took a break for a quick lunch and then moved on to afternoon programming. This is where we had 4 groups: worship, games, story, and questions. We rotated every 25 ish minutes. 

Naomi- We ate breakfast in the morning. Misha and I both woke up at about 5 to take the bathroom before anyone else would. It worked. 

Breakfast was also super bueno. We had waffles, and the whipped cream was like a cloud that you could eat. The coffee was good, and Misha and I shared a cup of milk to use in our coffee. The bus ride to Chivoc was honestly not that bad, I have this really fun game on my phone that helps me pass the time (shout out sand loop). Of course, I mostly talked to my bus mates the entire time. I also thought this funky looking bush was a corn bush and I was correct! 

Home visits: 

Baldies group (Brian’s) - Naomi - we jumped from home to home, giving families water filters! They all had their own struggles and personal stories, but the gratitude they shared was heartwarming. They told us about themselves and what their lives were like. Teaching them how to use a water filter was also interesting to watch my missions trip group attempt—mostly because we were all shy and afraid to mess up assembling a water filter. All of the homes were so beautiful in their own way, and the families really brought them to life. 

Blondies group (Karen’s) - Misha - our team was supposed to have 4 home visits, but we yapped so much with our first two visits we had to give the other team our fourth home visit. We are going to the homes to deliver water filters because the water in Guatemala is not safe to drink so many people in Guatemala are sick. We set up the water filters, shared the woman at the well story, talked with them, and prayed for them. Our first home visit was so interesting, the women there was hand weaving a blouse. She showed up how she does that and she said it can take up to a month to make just one. Her son is battle poor vision with several hospital visits and could use your prayer for answers and healing. Our second home visit was where a woman and her family lived in a small house and they wanted that to change. So after several years, her and her husband made a ‘factory’ outside of their home and made their house part of the factory to make skirts and blouses. They finally were able to build a nicer house on their land. They also bread parakeets “family got like a long time ago and they all like breed with each other and then they have like 30 those” oops typo 😂. The woman that we met, Sandra, would like prayer for her injured back, her family’s business, and for her son, Henry, he is starting to distance himself from the Lord and she is praying that he doesn’t distance himself from the Lord too much. Our third home visit, we got to talk to a woman, maria jose, who has seven children, that’s right, seven children!! She is so patient and so very kind. She was very emotional with us because she shared that her son, Henry, is 20 years old and is having heart problems. His hearts keeps stopping and he keeps passing out. They are terrified for his health, they could really use your prayer. It was a very fun day to learn about the community in Chivoc and I ask that you please join me in prayer for these families. 

Afternoon Programing:

Naomi - After we finished giving out water filters, we all set out to the school to accomplish different tasks. My group was part of God’s story. It took a while to get the kids engaged, mostly because we needed them to volunteer as actors in our play, and they seemed embarrassed to do so. After much encouragement, we were able to get the kids to come up and help us illustrate the story of Moses. 

Afterwards we played a game, which the kids seemed to love. It consisted of yes or no questions related to the Bible story, and the kids guessing which answer was correct. 

Finally, we shared our testimonies and the kids were willing to listen, which was amazing and they would clap at the end!!!

I also ended up playing soccer with some kids…but it didn’t end very well for me, because I ate it on the ground. But that was only after I displayed my amazing soccer skills. 

Anyways, our get together at night was so great and we completed the evening with worship, testimonies and a devotional! The devotional reminded me that even while we are here to serve others, it is still important to make time for God, even when it seems difficult and tiring. 

Misha - I was on games team and I had so much fun today. It was a little hot, but it was very entertaining. Josh and I were on games together and were able to chat a lot together as well as get to know our translator, Toni, a lot more.

Today’s game was sharks and minnows. These kids were middle schoolers and I was surprised at how much they enjoyed the game. We are located at their school which has a HUGE courtyard of dirt and we played using the whole courtyard. Josh and I were so tired. I took more breaks, but Josh played almost the whole time, even though his body was in pain. 

We felt so old today. The kids thought I was 17 years old and they thought Josh was 30 years old, kids thought Naomi was so young and amazing, they thought she was 15 (Naomi’s added noteIt’s very funny because I’m 21 and Josh is 17. Playing sharks and minnows was very fun, but it was challenging to connect with them because of the language barrier. I was able to talk to some of the Guatemalan helpers from a nearby town called Cruz Blanca. I talked with them for a while and had a good connection. 

Yesterday I met 2 young girls, Kailey (8 yrs.) and Michelle (3 yrs.). They were sisters and they wanted me all day yesterday and we connected a lot yesterday and I got to love on them so well. Today the older one (Kailey), was at the school in her class and I was able to see her and meet her friend (Noelia). They were so sweet coming up to me and hugging me and not letting go. Their teacher kept calling them inside, but when they could they would slip away and came to see me. They ended up periodically giving me a homemade envelope with a sweet message on it. On the inside was a letter that they wrote me and a heart cutout that said that they love me. They spell my name “Mixe”. To them that is how it sounds. They later came and gave me an Anna ring and an Elsa ring, then a gold sparkly ornament. During their class they all got to paint something and they set it outside for it to dry. I looked over and they painted me and them hanging out and they wrote “ Te Amos Mixe” which translates to “I love you Misha”. I had such a special time with them. The community in Chivoc is so special and I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend with them today. 

Thank you so much for reading our blog! Come back tomorrow for more! We would appreciate your prayer for the community in Chivoc and for our team. Thank you!!

Many blessings,

Misha and Naomi

- Naomi S. & Misha J.