TJ's Testimonial

If there is anything I can truly admit, it is that summer is my favorite time of year. However, while most take a week to go to Bahamas or to a retreat area, I spend that week in Chiquimulilla, Guatemala. To be in Guatemala again feels more like a homecoming than anything I've ever experienced. I spend the week as if it were a detox clinic, slowly releasing the thoughts of stresses and luxuries as I cleanse myself of the superficial ideals of the world.

But why? Why not spend it on a vacation or indulging myself? That's simple. Because the people and the culture are not just incredibly modest, but ultimately innocent. Innocent of the situation they've been living for most of their lives, innocent of the ways of the modern world.

As I tell my friends that I am going, they always send their love with a sarcastic comment about the Guatemalans. "They are lazy, they are not educated."These are the usual claims most Americans feel about their South American brethren. But I know these people, I wave to the old woman whose brittle bones have been battling malnutrition, while making sure that the
rain doesn't blow off her roof. I wave to Willie, the bus driver, who works two jobs to compensate for his two children And most importantly, I wave to the children who have the potential to change the world, only if they had enough money on the table. The children who work in the fields,also those who are deformed, those who are orphans and those who simply want to live another day.

With many testimonials, I hear the other young people on our team say that they see God in the children's eyes. However, I honestly believe God facilitates that meeting rather than take an actual part. For if God were present within them, I cannot fathom why they are stuck with such poverty. With these kids, you must make the first move. These kids are incredibly shy, which
adds to their charm. But these kids listen and respond. They arent just a face in a commercial promoting sponsorships. They breathe, laugh, cry, worship and eat. All they need is a voice, someone to say "Hey World! We are here! We are living ang dying everyday."

It is hard to accept these claims that such people exist, especially in our sheltered world. But once you do, there is such a rush of humanity that runs through you. It both tickles and hurts. It makes you feel less like a product of American consumerism and more like human. It is the most invigorating feeling to be back and to see everyone I've met in the past year. If only it can last.