What Guatemala is like…

Reindom

The ministry we are working for is called Reindom. The name comes from the word kingdom (referring to God’s kingdom) and random. You might be thinking, what I was thinking when I heard this, “Why random?” Random is the way Reindom does ministry. They seek to do the Lord’s will whatever that might be. Therefore random means wherever the Lord leads. I wouldn’t say that’s actually random. However, that is the idea behind Reindom, Random ministry in the Lord’s kingdom.

At Reindom we do a variety of different ministries (a.k.a. random). Reindom’s main ministry is a children’s program in a nearby village. They have a building there where they provide food and educational classes for kids ages pre-kindergarten to Junior High (ages 4 – 14). On the days when we go to this village, we leave around 9 a.m. and return home around 5:30 p.m. In the mornings we clean and make lunch. After the children are fed, we move into the class segment, where we teach them, English, Bible, guitar, art, and sports. The kids are taught and fed in groups. There are three groups separated by age, the younger, middle, and the oldest kids. My team rotates through the age group we assist with.

On Wednesdays, Reindom has a ministry called Kingdom’s Table. Kingdom’s Table is where Reindom invites the outcasts of society (alcoholics, single mothers, homeless, elderly) to have breakfast with them. Before breakfast, there is the opportunity to speak about Christ. We worship through song and a small message is preached.

Thursdays is activation. Every other week Adventures in Mission (A.I.M.) comes to Reindom’s base in Sumpango to talk about living out God’s kingdom. Last Thursday we talked about casting out demons and how God has given us authority. God wants us to be violent while fighting spiritual warfare. After we finish our session we have A.T.L. This is the activation part, Ask The Lord. We pray and ask God where to go, and then we go out.  On the weeks A.I.M. doesn’t come, we fast in the morning and have prayer room till noon. Then we have the rest of the day free.

One wonderful part about Reindom is that they have a room specifically set out for worship. During the days we do ministry there is always Prayer Room beforehand. We all come together to pray and worship the Lord before we step into ministry. I love these times, it is such a beautiful place to be before engaging in what God has in store for that day.

Reindom also has a children’s outreach program. On Saturdays, we go to various villages around Sumpango and do, what they call, Bible Club. This is where we place ourselves somewhere in the village, play loud music, and watch the children come to us. We sing songs, play games, and teach Bible stories. It is an amazing program and so different than North America. In North America, if someone was playing loud music in a park we would be hesitant to send our children to unknown people and we don’t allow our children to wander the streets. It’s a very different lifestyle here. In North America we would be worried about someone taking our children, especially in cities, we go with our children to the park we don’t send them out there. Where here they – do – exactly – that. The kids wander the streets.

Cultural differences

The Weather

Guatemala is known for its weather. It is called the land of the eternal spring. You can always go out without a jacket. Except when it is raining, which is the season we are in now, it rains every day, or more accurately every night.

The Streets

The first cultural difference I noticed was the streets.  They are very narrow, however, not everywhere is the same. Sumpango’s streets are very narrow and other villages around Sumpango are the same. Also the colors! There are so many more colors here! To see a yellow house in North America is a statement but here, that’s normal. Guatemalan’s traditional wear is also filled with so many colors. Their shirts are embroidered and sometimes beads are woven in.  They wear shirts that are held up by a belt they tuck in.

(This is Loyda, she is one of our hosts.)

Public Transport

Fun fact, the buses they run are actually old school buses from the United States. They are usually dressed up with bright colours across the sides and decorations on the inside. Poles have been installed for when the bus is full and individuals have to stand. They call these chicken buses, I have no idea why. This is the cheapest way of transport but not the fastest. The chicken bus takes much longer to get to the city.  In an Uber, it takes us a quarter of the time.

The Motorcycles

There are so many motorcycles everywhere! I have never seen so many in my life. It makes sense for the kind of streets they have. They are smaller and you can squeeze through small spaces. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to ride on motorcycles because of their high accident rates.

The Dogs

There are stray dogs everywhere! They aren’t viewed as pets like in North America. Guatemalans don’t find them desirable like we do.  My team has struggled a lot in this area, wanting to touch and love the dogs they see. However, we aren’t supposed to pet the dogs. They aren’t clean animals.

The Noise

You do not come to Guatemala for peace and quiet. It seems as if no one has ever heard of a noise complaint. It is loud here! When you play music you turn your speaker all the way up and don’t consider the neighbours around you. The noise is something we prayed about so much the first night we stayed here. The dogs are barking, the vehicles are honking and there are bombs going off! Okay, they are not bombs but they sound like bombs. They are fireworks, I think. I have seen fireworks once. They light them at all times of the day. I don’t know why they would shoot fireworks during the day because you can’t see them. You can see the smoke and maybe the flash but the bang really gets you. Sleeping outside is a no-go as you will be startled by the bangs! The vehicles are also very noisy as they drive. The motorcycles rev up the hills (which we live on). The vehicles honk quite a bit! Honks mean a variety of things from hurry up to thank you. Nevertheless, when it comes to people talking on the bus or in restaurants it is so quiet! No one talks on the bus. We are especially told to watch our volume on the bus, we don’t want to be those “Loud Americans”.

The Toilets

In Guatemala, you don’t put toilet paper in the toilet. They have a garbage in each bathroom for you to place your toilet paper in. I have to confess I have accidentally thrown it into the toilet and had to just flush it down. Guatemalans also only use tolero paper for number two. They are very surprised with how much toilet paper we use. Seven extra girls use a lot of toilet paper in our host’s house.

The Sinks

Or as they call it the pila. A pila usually has three sinks. One with the faucet and one on either side making three sinks. The one in the middle is the one filled with water, this is the “clean” water. You use a plastic bowl to scoop the water into the two other sinks. You don’t do anything with that water other than scooping it into the other sinks. That water is used for everything. Rinsing fruits, laundry, washing your dishes. 

You might ask, “How long does that water sit in the middle?” The answer is forever. I’m not sure how other households run but at our base our pila is giant. We wash our pila once a week. The water does get a little dirty. I’ve scooped a couple of bugs out of the “clean” water. However, it’s just the way they do it here. I heard it is to conserve water. Not sure if we are actually saving water but maybe.

These and the toilets were pretty easy to get used it. At the building in the other village, the draining system was damaged. The pipe that was used to transport the water to the drain is broken and so the water drains onto the floor and pools all over. Sometimes we sweep the water into the drain since it’s not that far off.

The Greetings

I would love to implement the way they greet each other in my daily life. When a Guatemalan enters a household they greet every single person in that room. They greet each other with a kiss on the cheek or a side hug. I receive a lot of side hugs and it is amazing. I love the recognition when someone enters the room. That person hugged me! They saw me! I love it. Guatemalans also do this when they leave the household. It was amazing when someone took the time to come over to me and say goodbye!

The P.D.A (Public Displays of Affection)

Guatemalans as a people are affectionate, much more affectionate than North American culture. P.D.A. is very prominent here. You know when two people are together romantically. There are times when I question whether two individuals are romantically involved or just related. The men in our ministry are also very physically affectionate towards one another. I delight in seeing these interactions because our culture is missing this. The idea that men do not need affection is not true and leaves men without a healthy outlet to express love and appreciation. I also desire to have more PDA in my platonic relationships.

There are of course more differences, however, these are the ones that I have noticed the most.

Sumpango

I am thankful that God placed me in Sumpango. It is not a rich town but has the basic necessities. Sumpango is, however, surrounded by poor villages. I’ve gotten to know some of the children from the village where Reindom has its second building. I’ve learned that some of these kids don’t have good homes to go back to at the end of the day and that some of their parents are alcoholics. Some of the families are so poor that their babies are malnourished. Some of these children come to school so dirty. My heart breaks for these children.

The education system around Sumpango is not good. There is corruption everywhere in this area. It feels like these children don’t even have a chance to have a different life. They are destined to poverty, the lives their parents live. However, Reindom and other ministries are trying to change this. PILAS is another Christian organization working to educate the children of these villages. The hope is that these ministries are able to educate the children enough that they are able to step out of the cycle of their parents. If you feel called to donate to these ministries here are their links.

https://linktr.ee/reindom
https://pilas.ca/get-involved/