Hey everyone
Project Trip – Tizate, Guatemala – February 6 – 14
Tim Clem (eMi staff and project lead), Michael Baden (eMi arch. intern), and I left the San Jose airport for Guatemala Saturday afternoon, Feb. 6. I prepared myself for the trip by going over the project trip packet, which details the conditions and needs of the ministry, the members that would be on the eMi team, and a daily schedule for the week that we would be in Tizate. This helped me know a little bit about what I was getting myself into, but honestly, my best preparation was prayer for an open mind and a servant's heart. We arrived in Guatemala City later that night and met the rest of the eMi team, which was made up six professionals who graciously gave up a week of their life - family, career, etc. - to volunteer their services for the eMi project in Tizate. That's mainly how eMi functions. Professional volunteers offer their services for a week to gather any needed information about a project and spend the next few months in coordination with eMi full-time staff and interns to produce a project that - hopefully - the ministry is pleased with and God is glorified in.
eMi Colegio Cristiano project team
On Sunday, Feb. 7, we were able to visit the project site with the ministry, Global Shore, and come to a better understanding of what conditions we were dealing with and what the ministry wanted. Afterward, we were able to listen to the ministry's history and vision. Global Shore is an organization that was founded by Robert and Caroline Konrad from Canada, who after their daughter, Juliana, had a life transforming experience in Tizate, Guatemala established Colegio Cristiano - a Christian elementary school in Tizate. The establishment of the school was a miracle from God in that the funds necessary to build the school were well out of the hands of the Konrads. Robert is an asparagus farmer and God provided the funding for the school by doubling the number of asparagus crops that year (which just does not happen). The abundance of asparagus provided the Konrads with the exact amount of money needed to build the school. I think that's a pretty awesome example of God's provision. Check out http://www.globalshore.org/ for more information about this great organization.
Now for a little background on Tizate. Tizate is a small town just outside of Antigua, which is a very beautiful city rich with history and culture. At one time, Tizate was a community that really could not be called a community. The people of the Tizate were takers - they had no problem robbing each other of their possessions and dignity. What the town struggled with is ultimately what most of us struggle with in our human nature - pride. As C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, "Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." Pride reared its ugly head in Tizate in the form of competition, since pride is competitive by its very nature. As Lewis states further in Mere Christianity, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only having more of it than the next man." The people of Tizate have a much lower standard of living then say middle-to-upper class America. Yet, Tizate struggled with (and probably still continues to struggle with, because the battle over pride is not easily won) the same competitive pride that is found in the suburbs of the American dream, namely "keeping up with the Joneses." By the grace of God and the transforming, self-sacrificing love that only comes from Him, Tizate is being changed by God's working through Global Shore and Colegio Cristiano. We heard stories of how kids at the school are given the opportunity to worship and learn about Jesus and share Him with their parents at home. After hearing how God has used Global Shore and Colegio Cristiano in the past, we were able to get a better understanding of where and how God is calling them in the here and now. We had confidence in offering our services to Global Shore, a ministry which God is using and blessing. Also, eMi designed the school that Colegio Cristiano is currently occupying and will soon outgrow. Thus, it was neat to not only work for a return client, but also to see an eMi-designed structure currently in use.
View of Tizate from the current school
During our time at Tizate, a typical day (M-Th) was as followed:
breakfast at 6 am
15 min. bus ride with cute kids (who loved pictures taken of them) to the school- morning worship with kids at the school (7:30 am)
eMi team Bible devotions- work until lunch
- lunch with Guatemalan host families in Tizate
- work until dinner
- dinner with same host family
- work until 10-10:30 pm
It made for a pretty long day! And after four days of the same routine, it was pretty exhausting. I also got food poisoning on Wednesday. (After being in Guatemala, I have come to appreciate the easy accessibility to clean water here in Costa Rica.) I was down for the count for about a day and a half. Note to self: Don't drink Guatemalan fruit puree. Although it looks delicious, goes down smooth, and is quite the delectable drink. Unfortunately, it also packs quite the punch! All joking aside, praise God that nobody on the project trip was seriously ill or injured. God gave us all the stamina to come up with a design and produce a presentation Friday afternoon to the ministry and teachers/staff at the school. It really was amazing the amount we work we were able to accomplish as a team, by the grace of God. This is what is unique about eMi. The amount of design work that eMi is able to produce would usually take much longer than a week in a typical construction setting. But because we have all disciplines - surveyor, civil engineer, structural engineer, architect, etc. - working long hours together, we are able to do it in a week. Plus, we have a big God who loves to do big things through small people. The final product is “Colegio Cristiano – Avivando el Fuego” (“Stoking the Fire”), a two-story school for 350 kids. 350 kids meeting Jesus and sharing Him with their parents and the Tizate community...now that's impact.
Although design work consumed a major portion of our project trip, the most memorable part of the trip was definitely the daily morning worship with the kids. There is something about little kids pouring their hearts out in song to Jesus that is so powerful and so moving. It breaks whatever stoic behavior that we tend to develop as we mature. As it says in Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Watching the children sing, it was obvious that they didn’t doubt God. They weren’t skeptical. They weren’t preoccupied or busy. They were just singing to Jesus in the childlike faith that God has given them. It was a glimpse of Heaven that I will always remember.Check out this youtube clip of morning worship at Colegio Cristiano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmE-5nIanXE
Our "clients" - students of Colegio Cristiano in Tizate, Guatemala
I have more to share about being back in Costa Rica, but I will save it for another time. Thanks for praying for me during my project trip and my continued time here in Costa Rica.
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Praises
All eMi-America Latina project trips have been complete for the spring term – Guatemala, Costa Rica (San Jose), and Peru – without major difficulties!- All eMi-AL staff and interns are now back in the office with the completion of the project trips
My host family is amazing
My real family is also amazing and God is doing amazing things in my family.
My sister is getting married on Aug. 7! His name is Cameron and he loves Jesus. He’s a pretty awesome guy.
Prayer
With all project trips complete, there will be a lot of work to do in the office to complete the design for the projects – pray for stamina and efficiency in the work the Lord has for us
A continuation to develop deeper relationships with my host family. Honestly, some days are harder than others to learn and speak Spanish. Pray that God would give me a willing attitude on those hard days for my family’s sake.
Lastly, if you get a chance, check out this youtube clip on eMi's efforts in Haiti:
http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=4CEV8oZVDaM&v=WBjBDbzUztg
http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=4CEV8oZVDaM&v=WBjBDbzUztg
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