Jose has been coming to this same market since the beginning of the ministry, and has therefore built strong relationships with all the farmers at the market. Before collecting food, we engaged in conversation and sometimes prayer with each vendor. Through this, we were able to learn about each individual farmer and their lives and needs. It was only after engaging in conversation with each person that we received the food donations. Through these conversations, we were able to learn a lot about the Mayan culture, as most of the farmers are indigenous Mayan indians. Clark learned how to say "you're welcome" in one of the (many) Mayan languages, and he repeated it over and over no matter what the context of the conversation!
At the market, we met up with Rolando, who helped translate on our first trip to Hope for Guatemala and also on our first trip to Costa Rica. It was great to see him!!
After the market, we returned to Hope for Guatemala to sort and organize the food. We also saw the teenagers recycling projects where they took recyclable objects and turned them into a new creation. These children are so creative! The child who came in first place in the contest turned an ordinary lamp into a rabbit figure in order to add decoration to her house.
Once all the food was sorted, the families of the children arrived at the mission to receive their weekly gift of vegetables and fruits. The mission has also adopted 3 elderly ladies. As we were serving these "abuelitas" we were reminded of the verse in James 1:27
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."Please continue to pray for us as we continue to minister to the children!
~Alisha
