This past January marked my first visit to Guatemala in support of the Missionary organization, Paso a Paso. The home base for the missionary work that is conducted in Barrio La Cruz is Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua). This beautiful city in the central mountains of Guatemala is famous for its well-preserved Spanish New World Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruined churches. It has also been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I found that Antigua and the surrounding communities retain a flare for the historic. At times it seemed as if I had stepped back into history. However, this sleepy colonial town of some 45,000 current inhabitants offers many modern amenities that suited my many tastes.

Speaking of tastes, those who find their way to Antigua (I hope you will do so in support of Paso a Paso), will notice a nice variety of restaurants serving tasty and traditional Guatemalan food as well as international flavors. There was even a day where I found myself shifting my glances between the steam from my rich Guatemalan coffee to the ever present steam rising from nearbyvolcanoes; making my first experience in a Guatemalan coffee shop a very memorable one.

Walking along the city’s cobblestone streets I found enjoyment among the locals and tourists who were looking for unique gifts and keepsakes as well as the essentials of daily life. On most days we visited the Antigua Market, primarily because it is the location for the main bus station to catch the bus to Barrio La Cruz, but to also check out the hundreds of stalls selling everything imaginable. This market is a colorful, if not chaotic, gathering place, where especially on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, a wonderful array of goods can be bought and sold, including the unique crafts of the local Mayan men and women.

I have never seen a more vibrant and colorful place than Antigua and Barrio La Cruz. Everything from what the people wore, sold, ate, lived and worked in, consisted of every bright color you could imagine. I would say that my trip was most stimulating to my sense of sight above all the others.

I previously mentioned the bus station and its location next to the Market. It is really not a station in the sense that it has a building or terminal but rather it is a large dirt parking lot or field that is constantly in motion with arriving and departing buses. These buses which are retired USA school buses, have been converted, painted and adorned with every conceivable color pattern and then loaded with an array of products from lumber and food stuffs to animals and luggage and of course passengers. The buses have picked up the unofficial moniker, “Chicken Bus” (yes, one day, I even rode with the chickens). The transportation network is very efficient and it is not uncommon to see a bus every 4-5 min passing the same corner. Upon boarding, do not expect the bus driver to stop and wait for you to find a seat or even come to a complete stop for you to exit, before they speed off to the next stop.

In addition to the “Chicken Buses, there is a truly unique mode of public transportation called a Tuk-Tuk. These are really a motorized rickshaw and are useful for longer distances, rainstorms, and nighttime travel. While these are a form of a taxi (you hail one like you would for a real taxi) please note, they are not really very comfortable nor are they roomy. Tuk-Tuks are designed for taking you to destinations within the city. Make sure to have the driver quote a price before departure.

Guatemala is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited; filled with amazing people who were extremely kind and very compassionate. While I tended to be in tourist mode, the people were the real reason I was there. My daily visits to Barrio La Cruz enabled me to see God at work and I found myself being used in meaningful ways.

January, in Barrio La Cruz, is the month that Paso a Paso works hard to manage all of the needs for the 120 plus children who are dependant on your support for school supplies and tuition fees. Unknown to me at first; school is in session from late January through September, with October through January off for harvesting crops and performing other income producing tasks for the family. There are no child labor laws in Guatemala and no compulsory education past the 3^rd grade.

Obtaining an education in Barrio La Cruz is a luxury for the children and their families. None of them can afford to pay for the school supplies they need or for the fees to attend. It is a huge undertaking to acquire all the supplies and ensure that each child supported has the right amount of paper, number of pencils, rulers, etc.

There are several hundred children in Barrio La Cruz. Not all of them can be supported because there just is not enough money to do so. As such, Paso a Paso relies on a form of needs determination that I call, “Support for Performance.” Essentially this boils down to a case by case assessment of a child’s expected and realized school performance coupled with attendance requirements. Presiding over this effort is, Rolondo, a popular and influential Christian Pastor, who with the assistance of a volunteer (a former recipient of school support from Paso a Paso), ensures that each student and family adheres to the requirement’s of the program.

Program requirements require that parents and children attend compulsory meetings prior to and during the school year. These meetings, held in a local church, are attended by the families, dressed in their, Sunday best.” 

While I was in Barrio La Cruz, I witnessed many instances where Pastor Rolondo held a form of court, in that he would find himself listening to pleas for support and re-instatement of support (for those who were dropped from the program due to non-compliance with program requirements) from mothers, fathers and even the students. Pastor Rolondo is an incredibly compassionate man and loves every one of the residents of Barrio La Cruz. Pastor Rolondo’s relationships with his community is truly amazing in that he accomplishes so much and does it with so little; doing so without the aid of sight.

Completely unexpected was the day that I found myself in Barrio La Cruz attending what I can only describe as a, “Ladies Sewing Circle!” Actually, one of the Paso a Paso missions is to aid local women in becoming more self sufficient by teaching them the skills to produce dolls, from which they sell and receive a modest profit. Please check out the Paso a Paso website and look for yourself at these wonderful, hand-made, dolls. The women who make these dolls are all hard working mothers and daughters who enjoy each others company during these business meetings and who proudly display their dolls for inspection by Paso a Paso mission Director, Stephanie Cady.

Latin America is home to its own style of food and I personally consider myself a connoisseur of Latin American foods. Therefore, I could not wait to taste the authentic cuisine of Guatemala. I have already described the Guatemalan people as compassionate and kind. I also discovered that they are also very hospitable. Each visit to Barrio La Cruz somehow seemed to include time for a meal. Pastor Rolondo’s mother produces the finest and tastiest tortilla’s I have ever eaten. She does so, on a stove funded by and built by, Paso a Paso, replacing a stove that can hardly be described as such. In another example of a Paso a Paso mission to make women more self sufficient, Rolando’s mother produces about 500 tortillas’s each day. She sells these to community residents; at 5 tortillas’ for about $.08 cents. Check out the Paso a Paso website for more information on these stoves and how you can help a family become more self sufficient by providing for the materials and if you are able to, building one.

The community of Barrio La Cruz is located a short 20 min. “Chicken Bus” ride up a winding canyon, populated by separate communities that seemed to blend into each other but were yet, distinct in their own business and social culture.

While the mountain climate is somewhat cooler than expected for a Latin American country, any walk around Barrio La Cruz’s streets will cause you (and certainly me) to work up a sweat. This community is situated on a pine forested mountainside concealing corn crops and coffee plants. The views from anywhere in town is amazing and the vistas are constantly changing as the sun moves across the sky, influenced by smoke from the cooking fires, steam coming from the forests and of course, the volcanoes.  

Of particular note in Barrio La Cruz, were the beautifully blooming Poinsettia plants. While the poinsettias that I am familiar with are typically plants with heights of less than 3 feet, poinsettia’s in Barrio La Cruz are trees, reaching heights of 20 feet!

I found that the service industry is alive and well in Barrio La Cruz. I witnessed women with loads of firewood strapped to their backs, a man leading a pack horse loaded with corn for sale, homes opened for the sale of homemade frozen fruit bars and other homes opened for the sale of fruits and vegetables. And then, there are several small stores that appeared to be located in the living rooms of several homes.

On my last day in Barrio La Cruz, I witnessed something that really touched my heart. We visited the home of a young woman and her boot maker husband. They have a three year old son who is bright, handsome and intelligent but is, sadly, physically disabled with symptoms similar to muscular dystrophy but apparently are not. On the day of my visit, the young boy was receiving physical therapy from a professional therapist. The therapist was paid for her services (she visits several times each week) by an un-named local Guatemalan donor from another community. Proof positive, that when the works of missionaries are become an example, other acts are the result.      

I was in country only 8 days, Subtracting 2 of them as travel days, left little precious time to do the Lords work. Somehow, all that I did was openly appreciated. I am thankful to Paso a Paso and especially all of the residents of Barrio La Cruz who enabled me to participate in and experience opportunities that enriched me but more importantly, can only help to further Gods work.

I am counting the days until I can return!!!

Breysi is in and out of the hospital weekly, but they refuse to admit her until she is in critical condition, then they send her home. She returns home, with lots of prescriptions that sometimes work and sometimes do not. But can cost up to $40 a day! This is impossible when their families income is about $250 a month.  So Breysi doesn’t take all her medication, has side effects, bleeding from the mouth, nose, her stomach and face swell and more. All while she has these problems Breysi still does her best to attend school or do her school work at home, she says she doesn’t want to miss the chance to study! What a heart she has, even in her illness I can see her joy. But her joy and hope seem to be fading a little.

Just this week Breysi said maybe it is better if she just died, then there would be food for her family and her siblings. She said, everyone is suffering just so she can get better and it is just not happening. How sad that a 10 year old is having to worry about their own fate and their families as well. This is just not the way a child or anyone should have to live.

Please pray for Breysi and for her family and for the right doctors, the correct medicine and relief.