Bombs of Soap

The children of Guatemala can be pretty overwhelming....

...they have tons of energy and tons of curiosity and tons of questions...

...and yet, this project is absolutely fantastico.

We had a very, very long day yesterday...our first feeding site was about 60 minutes away from Headquarters, and so we loaded our tiny school bus, filled with people, tortillas, beans, milk, games and crafts, and headed to La Iglesia Filadelfia, which means the Church of Philadelphia.

Once there, we were greeted by 50 small children, teachers, and parents....The children sang songs for us, and then we split the children up into groups of 5 or 6, with each of us taking a group. In my group, I pathetically attempted to read Bible stories in Spanish...the children were very gracious and patient as I, am sure, butchered the Spanish language.



I eventually gave up on the reading, and whipped out my family photo album, which the children LOVED. Pics of family, friends, pets, and previous trips to Guatemala were pored over, examined, and appreciated. The kids absolutely love seeing pics of our life back home...they are very curious about it, and asked tons of questions, which I did my best to answer in my elementary Spanish.

We then blew Bubbles with the kids...although I like the Spanish name for Bubbles, which is Bombas de Jabon...which literally translates to Bombs of Soap. I love that!


When it came time to serve the tortillas and milk and beans, we had the children sit down as we passed out the food, making sure we blessed each child and hugged them as we gave them the nourishment.

It was hard to say goodbye, but it was now lunch time for us...we drove for another 60 minutes and had a delicious chicken lunch at Pollo Campero, which is the KFC of Guatemala. The restaurant had the World Cup Soccer Finals broadcast over the intercom, and it was very loud...but fun!

After lunch, another 60 minute drive, way, way up into the mountains, where we visted La Iglesia Puerta del Cielo...which means, Door to Heaven...and we were up so high, I felt like we really WERE knocking on the door of heaven!

We had approximately 155 children here, so it was very overwhelming...we were in the middle of a stadium, and then the afternoon rains began...we attempted to find shelter as we worked in small groups with the kids, but I think we all got wet. But, heck...this rain was pretty fresh, as it did not have to travel too far from the clouds to reach us!

Despite the language barrier...and the crowds...it was a lot of fun. The Bombs of Soap was another HUGE hit with the children...I have photos, but I do not have a way of uploading them here in Guatemala, and will have to add photos to this entry when I get back to the States.

We did not leave here until after 5 pm, and it was a long drive back on the bus...and it was raining...and we stopped at a grocery store for supplies for later. The water in the roads was now up to the doors of cars...it was very deep...and when we attempted to leave the store, our bus would not work. Uh oh. Problem.

We were broke down...in a grocery store parking lot...in the dark and rain...in Guatemala City. Not a good situation. The bus driver, Geraldo, worked on the bus feverishly, trying to fix the problem, for about 30 minutes.

He eventually had success and backed the bus up to pull out of the parking lot, when the unthinkable happened...it broke down again. And we were now blocking all traffic in and out of the parking lot. Cars began honking at us, people were shaking their fists at us, and we were stuck. Uh oh. Geraldo once again jumped out in the rain, raised the hood, and after 5 minutes or so, fixed the problem. Good thing, as we almost had a riot in the parking lot. And a riot in Guatemala City is NOT something you ever want to experience...especially if you are the cause of it.

We got back to headquarters to a steak and rice dinner, with Tres Leches for dessert... and then it was time for bed. Exhaustion. Complete and utter exhaustion.

But so much fun...I mean, playing with Bombs of Soap is so worth any price, right?

Paz.