Saturday, May 16-Breanna Thompson

Another One Bites the Dust.

Overall my Guatemala experience has been very eye opening. I have seen how little people have in the villages; and although poverty is an everyday factor, the culture and love for life is very vibrant.  The people I have met have such beautiful hearts. Even with the language barrier I have been able to connect with the community through soccer, making tortillas, and broken conversations. The generosity that has been given to our little MSU group has been so humbling. I have realized there are many things I can do without in America and still be well off. I have no need to stress over plans with my friends, or whether I am having a bad hair day; because I have made relationship with people who don't know when there next meal will be or where the next day will take them. For this I should be grateful I can make plans with my friends and have the money to get my hair done because I have a roof over my head that does not consist of a dirt floor and am on the path to earning a degree which many of my friends in Guatemala will never have as an opportunity. I am inspired to live life more simply, be a servant to my brothers and sisters of Christ, and be grateful for everything God has blessed me with.

Today was a quite an interesting day. During breakfast we discovered that half of our group had become sick. James was sick two days ago and Mary yesterday, but today Ellie, Jenny, Whitney, and Kyle got sick. Quincy, Sherrie and Lindsey were a bit nauseous as well. Nina, Shannon, Father Val, and I are the only ones who have not caught this bug. People are dropping like flies in sickness! I am convinced I will not get sick (knock on wood) I'll give you an update if I do catch this bug. We decided to paint the salon in the mission which was quite nice to contribute something for these people (Although it does not come close to all they have done for us). We painted the salon walls yellow and the door/window seals red. It was nice to have conversation with everyone in the group that were feeling well. Also this bug only seems to last for 12-24 hours so James and Mary were feeling good.

Today we also played soccer with the kids around the community. I absolutely love playing soccer with my Guatemalan friends! Its one of the best ways for me to connect since I am horrible at speaking spanish. The players looked around 14 but they were in there 20s! The people are pretty short compared to us Americans, so they look younger than they are. I told one of the 20 year-old girls I was 19 and she was shocked because she thought I was much older. Funny what height can do. We took pictures with the group and talked to a few of the players after the game. They said we played well but I think they were just being nice.

We also went to mass today which was cool to hear in spanish. I love how no matter where you are, going to church at a catholic mass, you know what is happening because of the traditions. It was a beautiful mass. We got to speak with a lady named Lucy who was so excited to be around us because she could speak english! This was the first english-speaking person I had met yet in the community. Her english was very minimal but it was nice to speak in my own language for a while. We took pictures with her as well.

Afterwards we had a great dinner and conversation with the group which was a wonderful way to end the night. Not only am I connecting with the Guatemalans but I am also making great relationships with the students who also came in the group. I am hoping everyone recovers from today in their health and that the four remaining do not catch this bug. I also cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Much love and gratefulness for this trip!

Breanna