On Thursday, we built the house! Half the team got the walls up during the morning work session and the other half put the roof on and cleaned up the site in the afternoon. The family, consisting of a single mother and six children, are currently living in a single room, with a kitchen and wood stove behind. Chickens and a rabbit share the living quarters. The new house, for which the family has worked, will allow them more space and give the growing boys more room. The family´s oldest son helped throughout the construction process.
While some team members were putting up walls, others of us were in a partnership school in Antigua. This time the teacher had a series of activites with which our team assisted--making balloon lions in a kindergarten class and engaging in some physical education activities with older children. Ed and Charlotte made the last sponsored child visit--Gustavo is the oldest of six or seven children living with parents in a small single room ¨¨apartment¨¨ in a village not far from Antigua. We visited, took pictures, and played a card game with the children. We cannot imagine living in such a small, dark space with so many people. On weekends, the children visit grandparents in a nearby village where there is more room to play.
After the mid-day break Sophie, Dane, Travis and Taylor spent time with a youth group that meets here at Common Hope. They took along the balloons we brought along with some of the other craft supplies--it didn´t take long to discover how creative the Guatemalan kids are.
Nan and Gregg worked in the day care provided by Common Hope for the youngest children of its employees. For a while they entertained children with soap bubbles and then when the kids were down for naps, they helped the staff with cleaning toys.
Our dinner out was at Don Roderigez--a beautiful, old colonial building now restored to a fine hotel and restaurant in Antigua.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Guatemala Service Learning--Village Visits
On Wednesday our team visited two villages where Common Hope has satellite programs. Nan, Sophie, Ed, Jose, Travis, Gregg and Taylor visited San Raphael and Janine, Dane, Charlotte, Alex, Jay and Jay R. visited San Miguel Milpas Altas.
San Raphael is an indigenous agricultural community northwest of Antigua. There is a clinic there with which Common Hope has partnered and the school is now a partnership school, meaning that a Common Hope educator is in the school, mentoring teachers, teaching class room management and offering teaching resources. In Guatemala, teachers are only required to be high school graduates, and many have little training specifically for their classroom experience.
The day in San Raphael began with a tour of the village and later a visit to a 2nd grade classroom. Our team helped the children make pipe cleaner bracelets decorated with bells and beads. There are three children in San Raphael sponsored by members of Pilgrim, and each of those children received a home visit from one or more members of our team. The children and their families look forward to these visits and they are generally quite fun for both sponsors (or their representatives) and Guatemalan families. Because most of these children have no role models for completing their education, and families often need children to work as soon as they are able, sponsors play an important role in mentoring and modeling the benefits of remaining in school.
San Miguel Milpas Altas is about half way between Antigua and Guatemala City, high on a hill. It is the site of Common Hope´s newest satellite. The team spent time in the 4th grade classroom of the partnership school, helping the children in making a large mural. Afterwards, the team and boys from the school challenged one another to a game of soccer. From there the team went to one of three Common Hope homes in the village to paint. Quarters were tight, but we managed to paint the house in cheerful yellow, red and peach colors! The home belongs to an older couple who are caring for their grand-daughter, a Common Hope affiliate.
After lunch, Janine and Dane visited their sponsored child and the rest of the team helped a family fertilize and hoe a cornfield. There is nothing like even 30 minutes of field work to help one appreciate the physical strength and endurance of Guatemalan campesinos.
Both teams arrived back at Common Hope in the late afternoon. After supper, Tamalyn Guitierrez, the incounty director of Common Hope visited with us and we saw a film about the years of war here in Guatemala. We celebrated Nan's 50th birthday and gathered around the computer to look at pictures of the floods in Duluth. Pouring rain, washed out roads, and mudslides are part of the rainy season here in Guatemala--this week, the same phenomena is hitting Duluth! Worlds apart? Maybe. Maybe not.
San Raphael is an indigenous agricultural community northwest of Antigua. There is a clinic there with which Common Hope has partnered and the school is now a partnership school, meaning that a Common Hope educator is in the school, mentoring teachers, teaching class room management and offering teaching resources. In Guatemala, teachers are only required to be high school graduates, and many have little training specifically for their classroom experience.
The day in San Raphael began with a tour of the village and later a visit to a 2nd grade classroom. Our team helped the children make pipe cleaner bracelets decorated with bells and beads. There are three children in San Raphael sponsored by members of Pilgrim, and each of those children received a home visit from one or more members of our team. The children and their families look forward to these visits and they are generally quite fun for both sponsors (or their representatives) and Guatemalan families. Because most of these children have no role models for completing their education, and families often need children to work as soon as they are able, sponsors play an important role in mentoring and modeling the benefits of remaining in school.
San Miguel Milpas Altas is about half way between Antigua and Guatemala City, high on a hill. It is the site of Common Hope´s newest satellite. The team spent time in the 4th grade classroom of the partnership school, helping the children in making a large mural. Afterwards, the team and boys from the school challenged one another to a game of soccer. From there the team went to one of three Common Hope homes in the village to paint. Quarters were tight, but we managed to paint the house in cheerful yellow, red and peach colors! The home belongs to an older couple who are caring for their grand-daughter, a Common Hope affiliate.
After lunch, Janine and Dane visited their sponsored child and the rest of the team helped a family fertilize and hoe a cornfield. There is nothing like even 30 minutes of field work to help one appreciate the physical strength and endurance of Guatemalan campesinos.
Both teams arrived back at Common Hope in the late afternoon. After supper, Tamalyn Guitierrez, the incounty director of Common Hope visited with us and we saw a film about the years of war here in Guatemala. We celebrated Nan's 50th birthday and gathered around the computer to look at pictures of the floods in Duluth. Pouring rain, washed out roads, and mudslides are part of the rainy season here in Guatemala--this week, the same phenomena is hitting Duluth! Worlds apart? Maybe. Maybe not.
Guatemala Service Learning-A Typical Day
Typically, the work day for Common Hope volunteers is divided into two work sessions--8:00-noon and 2:00 to 5:00. Each member of the team receives two assignments, with almost everyone getting one assignment to construction. Volunteers who work construction in the morning will visit in homes or work with children in afterschool programs in the afternoon. Volunteers who go on social work visits in the morning will work construction in the afternoon.
Our team is building a home for a family in San Miguel Escobar, a village not far from Antigua. Homes are simple structures made of fiberlite panels with concrete floor and lamina roof. They provide shelter from the rains and an improvement over cornstalk homes in which many people still live. If a family needs to move, the house can be deconstructed and moved with them. Teams build the panels here at Common Hope and make concrete blocks which serve as the floor--then transport the materials to the work site and erect the house. On Monday and Tuesday, members of our team laid the floor of the home we are building with blocks already made by prior teams. Then we made blocks to be used by the next team. Tuesday afternoon, members of our team carried the panels that will be used to the building site. Thursday will be the house build.
Accompanying social workers into homes is an awesome and sobering experience for our team members. Even without knowing Spanish, for many of us this is an up close encounter with Guatemalan poverty and circumstances. Two of our volunteers walked into a home in the midst of a wake for a family member who died last weekend. Others heard stories about family crises related to medical needs and violence. Common Hope provides each team with translators who help team members debrief after visits. All the social workers are Guatemalans. The disparity between our lives and the lives of those we visit is enormous, and social work visits raise sometimes uncomfortable questions for us. We are also humbled by this opportunity to overhear deeply personal and intimate conversations. Sometimes our hearts are heavy following these calls.
Common Hope has a library which serves as site for after school activities for children approximately 6-12 years old. Monday afternoon Janine and Nan helped the kids make snowflakes out of coffee filters and Tuesday afternoon Ed and Dane had them making God´s eyes out of craft sticks and yarn. The children were delighted and the afternoon passed more quickly than our volunteers expected!
We eat meals in a dining room here at Common Hope and both Monday and Tuesday spent some time together at the end of the day debriefing and sharing our experiences.
Our team is building a home for a family in San Miguel Escobar, a village not far from Antigua. Homes are simple structures made of fiberlite panels with concrete floor and lamina roof. They provide shelter from the rains and an improvement over cornstalk homes in which many people still live. If a family needs to move, the house can be deconstructed and moved with them. Teams build the panels here at Common Hope and make concrete blocks which serve as the floor--then transport the materials to the work site and erect the house. On Monday and Tuesday, members of our team laid the floor of the home we are building with blocks already made by prior teams. Then we made blocks to be used by the next team. Tuesday afternoon, members of our team carried the panels that will be used to the building site. Thursday will be the house build.
Accompanying social workers into homes is an awesome and sobering experience for our team members. Even without knowing Spanish, for many of us this is an up close encounter with Guatemalan poverty and circumstances. Two of our volunteers walked into a home in the midst of a wake for a family member who died last weekend. Others heard stories about family crises related to medical needs and violence. Common Hope provides each team with translators who help team members debrief after visits. All the social workers are Guatemalans. The disparity between our lives and the lives of those we visit is enormous, and social work visits raise sometimes uncomfortable questions for us. We are also humbled by this opportunity to overhear deeply personal and intimate conversations. Sometimes our hearts are heavy following these calls.
Common Hope has a library which serves as site for after school activities for children approximately 6-12 years old. Monday afternoon Janine and Nan helped the kids make snowflakes out of coffee filters and Tuesday afternoon Ed and Dane had them making God´s eyes out of craft sticks and yarn. The children were delighted and the afternoon passed more quickly than our volunteers expected!
We eat meals in a dining room here at Common Hope and both Monday and Tuesday spent some time together at the end of the day debriefing and sharing our experiences.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Guatemala Service Learning with Common Hope
Sunday morning our team visited a woman's weaving cooperative at Santiago Zamora. The town is indigenous, and their story includes a history of disaster and landlessness. The women in the town banded together and formed a weaving cooperative and out of that effort are now able to provide 500 children with an education. Our visit included lunch of chicken pepian, a traditional dish in Guatemala, a demonstration of backstrap weaving, and dancing.
During the rest of the afternoon we explored the markets in Antigua--both the traditional market where we practiced bartering skills and stores with fixed prices. Our evening meal was at Pollo Compero--Guatemala´s version of fast food.
The foundation of Common Hope´s mission is children´s education, and the variety of services offered to families is to support the goal of keeping children in school. Our week with Common Hope will include visits to classrooms, accompanying social workers on home visits, building a home for a family, observing a new in-home literacy program, and interacting with children in day care and after school programs. Common Hope has four community development centers and 3000 affiliated children. Once a child is affiliated, the whole family becomes eligible for services. In total, about 10,000 persons are receiving services from Common Hope. Despite the numbers, services are intensely personal. To see our team in action, check out Common Hope's website, http://www.commonhope.org/. Go to the tab Get Involved and then Vision Team Diary for photos.
During the rest of the afternoon we explored the markets in Antigua--both the traditional market where we practiced bartering skills and stores with fixed prices. Our evening meal was at Pollo Compero--Guatemala´s version of fast food.
The foundation of Common Hope´s mission is children´s education, and the variety of services offered to families is to support the goal of keeping children in school. Our week with Common Hope will include visits to classrooms, accompanying social workers on home visits, building a home for a family, observing a new in-home literacy program, and interacting with children in day care and after school programs. Common Hope has four community development centers and 3000 affiliated children. Once a child is affiliated, the whole family becomes eligible for services. In total, about 10,000 persons are receiving services from Common Hope. Despite the numbers, services are intensely personal. To see our team in action, check out Common Hope's website, http://www.commonhope.org/. Go to the tab Get Involved and then Vision Team Diary for photos.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Guatemala Service Learning Trip--Saturday, June 16
On Saturday, June 16, Pilgrim's service learning team took advantage of the Nature Reserve close to Lake Atitlan. The lake is surrounded by volcanoes--in fact, the lake itself is situated in the crater of a volcano. The volcanic soil is rich in nutrients and the sides of the volcanoes are covered with green growth. Team members, Dane and Janine, Nan and Sophie, Charlotte and Alex, Gregg and Taylor, and Ed decided to see the forest from the air--ziplining. We climbed steep hills, crossed swinging bridges, stopped to observe the monkeys, admired a very high waterfall, and then ziplined across the canyon we'd hiked. Ed earned the nickname he'll carry for the rest of the trip--Adventuresome Ed.
We packed up, ate lunch and boarded a van for Antigua. We arrived late afternoon Saturday and spent time relaxing here at Common Hope. Before the evening was over, we´d grown to a team of 13, including Jay and Jay Jr. from the Twin Cities and Jose and Travis from California.
We packed up, ate lunch and boarded a van for Antigua. We arrived late afternoon Saturday and spent time relaxing here at Common Hope. Before the evening was over, we´d grown to a team of 13, including Jay and Jay Jr. from the Twin Cities and Jose and Travis from California.
Maryjane Westra from Global Ministries to Preach June 24
Guest Preacher Maryjane Westra and her husband Don have served with Global Ministries for three years. Maryjane serves as a Hospital Administrator which includes administration responsibilities at the Daisy Dube Children’s Home in Mt. Selinda, Zimbabwe. Her Husband serves as staff to the Micro-Enterprise and Strategic Planning/Management Program there. This has been a joint appointment by the Common Global Ministries.
Pilgrim Team in Guatemala
Pilgrim's Service Learning Team arrived in Guatemala very late on Wednesday evening June 13. We are nine in number--Gregg and Taylor, Nan and Sophie, Janine and Dane, Charlotte and Alex, and Ed. This is an intergenerational team, mostly of parent/teen family groups. We spent the first few days learning about the country and its culture and history. On Thursday, June 14, we traveled from the city of Antigua to Panajachel, a destination city and gateway to the Lake Atitlan area and Guatemalan highlands. The first stop was La Azteo Cultural Center, just out of Antigua. La Azteo is a coffee plantation with tours and a museum to explain coffee production, one of Guatemala's largest crops. In quality, Guatemalan coffee is rated the world's third best. There is also a section of the museum devoted to the history of music in Guatemala.
Midway between Antigua and Panajachel is Iximche, the site of an Ancient Mayan village. Iximche was pivitol in the history of the conquest, because here the Spanish conquistadors wooed the allegiance of one Mayan people against another. Together, the Spanish and Ketchiqel defeated other Mayan groups and determined that the area would belong to the Ketchiquel. Iximche was the first capital of the area under Spanish rule. Although not as iimpressive as some sites like Tikal, some of the building sites have been partially excavated. The site is still used by local Mayans for religious ceremonies.
We arrived in Panajachel late afternoon, checked into our rooms, and walked on Calle Santander looking for a place to eat. Jose Pasquini's is a family run restaurant with marimba music played by the the family's three daughters. Jose was most gracious and accommodating, and a lesson in the history of the marimba came with dinner.
On Friday, we toured two areas on the Lake. We went first to Santiago Atitlan, directly across the lake from Panajachel. Santiago is mostly Mayan and one of our quests was a visit to Maximon, a diety important to the indigenous people. Many Mayans are Catholic and observe both indigenous and Christian rituals. The guide put it this way, [You bring to Maximon things you don't want to bother the priest for--or things you'd rather the priest not know.} Maximon is dressed in lots of neckties and bright cloths and especially appreciates gifts of liquor and cigarettes! Maximon lives with a different family each year and our guide explained some of the rituals in caring for him and moving him to a new home during Holy week.
We visited the cathedral at Santiago where Father Stanley Rother was assissinated during the civil war. Santiago was one of the areas of conflict during Guatemala's 36 year war which ended in 1996. There was a lot of violence in this area in the 1970{s. Rother, the parish priest, worked on behalf of the indigenous people, even learning the Tuitsil lanuage and translating the New Testament. During the most violent days, he opened the church and gave sanctuary to hundreds of his parishoners. Eventually he was assissinated and his heart is buried in the church at Santiago.
From Santiago we went to San Lucas Toliman where the Catholic dioscese of New Ulm, Minnesota has established a well known and extensive mission. We toured their coffee production area, a new women's center, saw a new neighborhood built by their construction volunteers, and saw their very moderan medical clinic. Father Gregory Schaeffer died in May after a lifetime of service to this mission. Gold and white banners and bows were everywhere. Once again, we heard stories of dedication to and respect for the traditional Mayan ways blended with holistic services to the poor.
The lake road back to Panajachel in the pouring rain was an experience none of us want to repeat! We rested a while, and then had a pizza dinner at Circus Bar, a well known restaurnt with live music and a light hearted atmosphere.
Midway between Antigua and Panajachel is Iximche, the site of an Ancient Mayan village. Iximche was pivitol in the history of the conquest, because here the Spanish conquistadors wooed the allegiance of one Mayan people against another. Together, the Spanish and Ketchiqel defeated other Mayan groups and determined that the area would belong to the Ketchiquel. Iximche was the first capital of the area under Spanish rule. Although not as iimpressive as some sites like Tikal, some of the building sites have been partially excavated. The site is still used by local Mayans for religious ceremonies.
We arrived in Panajachel late afternoon, checked into our rooms, and walked on Calle Santander looking for a place to eat. Jose Pasquini's is a family run restaurant with marimba music played by the the family's three daughters. Jose was most gracious and accommodating, and a lesson in the history of the marimba came with dinner.
On Friday, we toured two areas on the Lake. We went first to Santiago Atitlan, directly across the lake from Panajachel. Santiago is mostly Mayan and one of our quests was a visit to Maximon, a diety important to the indigenous people. Many Mayans are Catholic and observe both indigenous and Christian rituals. The guide put it this way, [You bring to Maximon things you don't want to bother the priest for--or things you'd rather the priest not know.} Maximon is dressed in lots of neckties and bright cloths and especially appreciates gifts of liquor and cigarettes! Maximon lives with a different family each year and our guide explained some of the rituals in caring for him and moving him to a new home during Holy week.
We visited the cathedral at Santiago where Father Stanley Rother was assissinated during the civil war. Santiago was one of the areas of conflict during Guatemala's 36 year war which ended in 1996. There was a lot of violence in this area in the 1970{s. Rother, the parish priest, worked on behalf of the indigenous people, even learning the Tuitsil lanuage and translating the New Testament. During the most violent days, he opened the church and gave sanctuary to hundreds of his parishoners. Eventually he was assissinated and his heart is buried in the church at Santiago.
From Santiago we went to San Lucas Toliman where the Catholic dioscese of New Ulm, Minnesota has established a well known and extensive mission. We toured their coffee production area, a new women's center, saw a new neighborhood built by their construction volunteers, and saw their very moderan medical clinic. Father Gregory Schaeffer died in May after a lifetime of service to this mission. Gold and white banners and bows were everywhere. Once again, we heard stories of dedication to and respect for the traditional Mayan ways blended with holistic services to the poor.
The lake road back to Panajachel in the pouring rain was an experience none of us want to repeat! We rested a while, and then had a pizza dinner at Circus Bar, a well known restaurnt with live music and a light hearted atmosphere.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The Rev. John Pegg to Preach June 17
Our Guest preacher will be the Rev. John Pegg. John has served Pilgrim in the past and is a member of Peace United Church of Christ. He is active in Witness for Peace and other issues of social justice. John is a graduate of Hartford Seminary and served churches in New England and Minnesota for 20 years (including as Pastor of Peace Church from 1986 - 1990, and interim Assoc. Minister at Pilgrim from 1990 - 1991). Come to Worship at 10:00 am.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Team Headed for Guatemala
Pilgrim is sending a team of youth and adults to Guatemala in June. They will be working with Common Hope, a community development agency based in St. Paul, Minnesota and Antigua, Guatemala. Common Hope's primary mission is the education of Guatemalan children. Once a child is enrolled with Common Hope, his or her family becomes eligible for a variety of services that encourage the family to support the child's education. Pilgrim's volunteers will help build a house for a family, provide classroom activities for chldren, and accompany social workers on home visits. In addition, they will be learning about Guatemala's history and culture. Pilgrim is currently accepting donations of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and first aid supplies to be distributed by Common Hope. All donations need to be at the church by Monday, June 11th. For more information on Common Hope, visit their website, www.commonhope.org.
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