With Compassion

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Just last year, I made a decision to sponsor a young child from a Third World country. I went online through Compassion International (www.compassion.com) to make my selection. At first, I was not even sure in which country to begin my search. I thought back to my father's recent travels in Guatemala, in which he accompanied Vine International. He had told me so many good things about the country that I decided to narrow my search there. After several minutes of scrolling through the children's pictures, I came across the cutest little girl that I instantly knew was the one. Gresly Yessia Ordonez is her name and she lives with her mother, father, and 3 siblings in Zunilito Suchitepequez, Guatemala. This small village is located just North of Mazatenango in the Western Highland region of the country. Through Compassion, Gresly receives support with schooling, Bible classes, various church activities, and gifts on holidays and her birthday. In order for me to come up with the money each month, I had to make a huge sacrifice. I was forced to cancel my monthly, unlimited supply of movie rentals from Blockbuster. A lot of you are probably in shock right now because you know how I love my movies, but don't worry I've made it through the initial withdrawals and I'm doing fine. Gresly and I write each other back and forth, of course with the assistance of a Compassion translator. Her and her family ask me all sorts of questions and I occasionally receive a picture that she has colored for me in class. I always let the family know that they are in my prayers and continually encourage Gresly in her studies.

In order to answer some people's questions on what made me decide to come to Guatemala and to get others up to speed on how this visitation with Gresly was made possible, I am going to quickly rewind a bit to the following year. While in Vail Colorado, I had a conversation with a firefighter from a neighboring department about travel. He told me that his brother had recently studied Spanish in Guatemala and that he was thinking of doing the same family immersion program himself. This really sounded interesting, so I researched more into it. Following this, we had a new group of fire recruits come through the department and one of them had recently traveled through all of Central America and parts of Africa. I got to talk with him about his travels and learn more about each country. A few months later in Louisiana, while helping with Hurricane Katrina relief, I ran into a lady working with FEMA who had lived in Central America and still had friends living in Guatemala. Just a few days later we both heard news of the devastating mudslides at Lago de Atitlan, which was the very place that I had contemplated taking Spanish classes. Then it struck me! Everything in my life was pointing toward Guatemala and it was then that I felt confident in my decision. Through my work at the firehouse and my time spent in Louisiana, I realized that I really enjoyed helping people. A trip to Guatemala would allow me to do volunteer work, study Spanish, visit Gresly, and just experience other cultures. As I prepared myself for my travels, I found more and more interesting places to visit all over Latin America. So, having no time constraint, I decided to just keep travelling South until I felt ready to return home. There you have it.

Alright, let us get back to the present. I met Gresly, her family, her teacher, and a Compassion representative (Claudia) at the Guatemala City zoo. I recognized her right off the bat by her little pig tails and colored hair bands. She wore the exact same color bands that were in her picture from a year ago; one red and the other green. The family members that were able to make it were her mother, father, and older sister Joslin who was eight years old. We made introductions and got to know each other a little more. The parents are twenty-seven and twenty-eight, the youngest in the family is five (Gresly), and the oldest is fifteen; you do the math. They were only thirteen when they had their first child and married at age twelve...Wowsers! The first question they had for me was where was my wife. I told them that I was asking myself the same question. They seemed surprised that I was older than them and had never been married or had children. Well at the same time, I was finding it hard to believe that they were popping out babies while I was still collecting comic books. Another thing I found hard to believe was that this was only their second time to ever leave their village. They had traveled (1.5 hours) to the beach this year and that was it. That made this trip very special, because they were able to visit their capital and experience a zoo for the first time, oh yeah, and see me! The father had worked on a banana plantation his entire life picking fruit. The mother took care of the children and the home, which made the father's job the only source of income. But even though they had so little, the Ordonez family looked at life with a smile and thanked God for all that they had.

After breakfast and learning more about each other, it was time to see the animals. The girls stood in amazement with their little eyes as wide as could be. It was such a treat for me to watch was they went from animal to animal with new excitement. We walked around for hours enjoying the day and each others company. We had to literally pry the girls from the monkey cages, but Gresly's most favorite animal of all was the giraffe. She loved its long neck and colorful coat. I spent some time talking with Claudia, who was assisting with translating. She was very sweet and helpful. After we had walked the entire zoo, Claudia and I went across the street to look for a gift for Gresly. The zoo only had candy and cheap trinkets, so I left the family with ice cream and plenty of sweets while they waited. Finally after much searching, we returned with some dolls for the two girls and a cute monkey shirt for Gresly. Her little face glowed as she wore her new shirt and tightly hugged her doll. But the moment that was really special was when the family took turns thanking me for all I had done. Claudia translated while the mother and father poured their hearts out. Even little Gresly said her piece and sealed it with a hug and kiss on the cheek. This alone made all worth while. It sure was wonderful to actually get to meet my sponsor child and I hope to visit again soon.

Now, let me rewind to the previous day when I took on yet another volcano. This would be round two and the opponent's name was Volcán Pacaya. This was known to be one of the most popular volcanoes to climb in Latin America, because of its volcanic activity. Just fifteen days before, this baby had erupted which meant there would be plenty of lava (oh yeah!). Although, due to the volatility, we were unable to ascend Pacaya. Of course, the travel agency did not inform us this until we had reached the volcano. In the past, people have been seriously injured and some even died when there was an unexpected eruption. Pacaya was much smaller than Volcán San Pedro and was a much easier hike. I had to make the hour trek with a large group of tourists who took a break every 100 yards. Smoke and ash could be seen coming from the beast from a distance. Finally when reaching the volcano, we had our first encounter with lava. It was flowing from Pacaya and making its way down and around the base. You could see the red glow as it made its way through the ash of the lava field. Some of us climbed down near the field to get a closer look. On my way down I slipped and.... Oh my God! My arms! The pain!!! That really didn't happen, but the intense heat it put off was amazing. Chad, you may not want to read this so please skip ahead. Some people threw some Gatorade bottles into the lava (typical Guatemala), which instantly burned up upon contact. It was pretty neat, except for the pollution of course.

As I was finishing up my packed lunch, I saw our guide and two others in the distance making their way to the other side and out of sight. It looked as if they were going to summit the volcano, so I quickly ran to meet them. When reaching the other side I didn't see anyone, but I did find a foot path which lead to the top. So after thinking of the possible consequences, I started up the volcano guessing that they must be ahead of me. As I reached the halfway point, I looked back to see the guide and others making their way around the base below me. I shouted out to get their attention, and as soon as the guide saw me he quickly waved for me for me to come down. Shucks, I was almost there. At the bottom, I attempted to bribe the guide, asked to sign a waiver, and even explained to him that lava doesn't harm me, only kryptonite. Oh well! I guess it just depends on which guide you get, because I have spoken with several people who had just summited the volcano earlier in the week.

Well, that is it for my time in Guatemala. I sure will miss this hospitable country and its many beauties. Next I set off for El Salvador, where I will visit the coast known for its good surf. After crossing the border I will no longer be able to use my cell phone, so it is strictly e-mails from here forward. Sorry my journals are so far off real-time, but internet access has been a little hard to come by so bare with me. I will try to catch up sooner or later. Hasta Luego!

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Photos

My Favorite Animal
Mine would totally wax hers!!!

Claudia's Favorite Animal
What in the ........!

At the Base of the Beast
Notice the lava and ash all around it.

The Lava Field
The lava slowly made it's way down and around the base of the volcano.

Comments

[De Leon]

two thumbs up
Thanks for being so loving and caring to this family. Don't worry not all guatemalans get married so young, i'm 43 and still looking.