Tuesday Service

“But what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love.” Galatians  5:6 GWT

Every Tuesday as we head out to our service projects the hope is that our love will be expressed to the people that we work with. While we are in San Juan we split into 6 groups and head out to different service projects every Tuesday afternoon. We’ve already had 3 Tuesday Service days and we have 2 left. These service days present us with both challenges and good times. They are definitely providing us with a great learning experience. We thought you’d enjoy hearing what all of us are up to at our service projects so someone from each group has written up a short description/story about their project. Enjoy!

-Kelsey

Casa Jackson Hospital

(Kevin, Whitney, Christina, Justin, Cayenne)

When I found out I was put in the group that was working with malnourished infants, the thought of it scared me. I’ve attempted to help in a hospital that cared for malnourished children before; it was a very difficult and heartbreaking experience. I feared for the worst, with very hard conditions, screaming kids, and a general feeling of helplessness. It takes a lot of responsibility to care for healthy kids, let alone malnourished ones. As I started to put my worries behind me, God gave me new lenses to look through rather than just pain and misery. The first time we went to Casa Jackson we sanitized toys and played with some of the kids. Our second time we folded laundry and were given the challenge of changing some of the kids, they sure didn’t make it easy! The third time we went I ended up playing with a baby the whole time. As I fed him and played with him, flying him around, juggling, reading and playing peek-a-boo smiles reached both of our faces. By the end of the day we were very attached, and as I put him back in his crib and started to walk away he started to cry and reach out his little arms hoping for me to come back. I found it very difficult to leave, and now I can’t wait for my next time at Casa Jackson. I’ve opened myself up to some new experiences that I was not sure about, only to find a lot of God’s love in precious faces.

-Kevin Atsma

Santa Lucia Service Group

(Soyeon, Evan, Danielle, Maria, & Adam)

Every Tuesday we got to a church near Santa Lucia. We work with a dude called Hilmar who started the church in the village. Two years ago with the help of a church in Ottawa they built a beautiful new church building. Hilmar works hard to care for the people in the community, especially the children. The kids are served two meals a week at the church. When we have gone to the village the last few weeks we have played a lot with the kids of the community, and there are plenty of them! Puzzles, balls, skipping, and flowers. It’s been great! We also have visited a bunch of families in the village and toured the church. We are excited to perhaps teach and English class and help install floors in the future weeks. You never know what type of excitement we’ll get up to with Hilmar. It’s been quite the adventure.

-Maria Dirks

Nuestros Ahijados

(Ray, Kaycie, Dominic, Julia & Carlie)

Julia, Dominic, Kaycie, Raymond, and I (Carlie) go to San Philipe every Tuesday to volunteer at a school called “Nuestros Ahijados” or “Our Godchildren”. This school is just one part of the organization’s mission to reach out and build up the community around them. The school commits itself to educating 200 children a year in efforts to break the cycle of poverty among the families in the area. Each week when we volunteer at the school we are there to help in whatever ways they need us to, which usually means just hanging out with the kids and creating relationships. It has been a lot of fun and we are excited to continue getting to know these kids in our next two afternoons there!

-Carlie Heagy 

Hermano Pedro Service Group

(Clara, Beth, Luke, Laura, Natasha)

Every Tuesday I am with a group that volunteers at the Hospital in Antigua. We work with the children who have cerebral palsy. From 2:00-4:00 we feed the children and play with them. We give them all of our attention. I believe that it is so important to just be with these children. Sometimes we are allowed to take the children in a wheelchair out into the courtyard. Every week I have spent most of my time at the hospital with either Omar or Jessica. I feed Omar twice each time and I just hold him and talk and sing to him. He is non-verbal and doesn’t really move but I love to spend time with him. Also every time I hang out with Jessica I take her for a walk in her chair into the courtyard. She is a little verbal, but we mostly just play with a ball or with our hands. I also love to talk and sing to her. She loves it when I sing, her smile always gets wider. Overall this experience for me is very enriching. I feel that I take a lot out of each time. Learning how to be and act around these children, and how to feed or help or just treat these children, which is with all the love you can give. I have really loved volunteering at the hospital and being with the children! This has been an experience I will keep with me forever.

-Clara Hoover                                                    

Valle Verde Service Group

(Ally, Maleah, Joel, Elysha, Kelsey)

Our group works with Luis Carlos, who has been involved with Outtatown for many years. We work in a high school called Valle Verde and teach 4 classes on Values and Principles every Tuesday afternoon. Luis Carlos is part of an organization called Nuevo Generacion that teaches classes on Values and Principles in many different schools in Guatemala. They also offer Bible Studies to students who are interested in learning more. Our first Tuesday we introduced ourselves to all the classes and played a game with them. The second Tuesday we started teaching classes, and this last Tuesday we got a break as it was Valentine’s Day and we got to watch a talent show at one of the schools Luis Carlos works at.

-Kelsey Friesen

Orphanage Group

(Sandy, Carly, David, Jessica, Lex)

[Raymond's Note: Sadly due to camera card incompatibilities we don't have a picture of this group.]

Every Tuesday our group of 5 travels to Santa Tomas to help at an orphanage. There are 5 children there at the moment. We either play with the children, or help around the place doing whatever needs doing. We have done things like sweep, rake, paint, wash windows, wash cars, and mow the lawn with an old fashioned lawn mower.

-Sandy