Day 5 - Chiquimulilla

Today we spent the morning teaching kids about basic sanitation - brushing their teeth, washing their hands, looking at bacteria under a microscope, etc. The community, San Antonio, was full of families displaced by the civil war. We were overwhelmed with how we were instantly loved and embraced by the children of this community. As soon as we climbed out of the van the children swarmed us and gave all of us hugs and kisses. Even though we gave these kids small gifts such as toothbrushes, it wouldn't have mattered. They loved being held and taking pictures with us, playing as children for once. I was moved by the spirit of the community despite their lack of basic necessities such as clean water and food. These families have nothing - no doctor or nurses within an hour or two of driving, one bathroom for the entire community and sleep on dirt floors. Yet in spite of their needs, these children have a passion for life, a deep passion and find joy in the simple things in life. We all felt a deep connection with these children and probably learned more from them than we probably taught them.

That evening our host family made a special dinner for us. They decorated the dining room with candles, flowers and streamers. All of us were in awe by the sight of the room... it was clear they were trying to demonstrate their appreciation and love for us. Not only were we moved by their sincere kindness, but two of our hosts thanked us for our passion to serve the Guatemalan people. We videotaped this portion of the evening and hope to better summarize this later on with a short video clip when we return home. Simply, there are no words to describe how deeply their words and actions touched our hearts. There was not a dry eye in the room that evening. Dinner that night was simply amazing and will be something none of us will forget.