When in Guatemala, watch out for crazy gringos!

This will be a relatively, brief post this evening as I am trying out a new thing by posting a video on YouTube and then embedding the video below.

Wow - look Ma, no hands!!! It's one of those moments. ;)

So here's the goofy setup, since you will probably be scratching your head wondering why I found this relevant enough to be my first video posted online.

Since we are such happy, go-lucky missionaries in the morning and afternoons in Guatemala and being that the weather is often so beautiful, we often like to pull back the windows on our van to let in the fresh breeze. Well, the go-lucky part of us always like to wave at the people that we see from the road with an "Hola" in the morning and an "Adios" in the afternoon.

Remarkably, the people wave back and reply likewise. I'm sure that they all think we're big goobers, but it's part of the fun.

In any case, since we have been doing this for so long and the indigenous people know that we are in the aldeas (communities), they always get ready with a wave and an "Adios" as we depart for the day on the road. The three girls walking along in this video were expecting the same thing as I passed by. They just didn't realize that I was the last of the gringos that day. Instead that instinctively gave a wave and an "Adios" to their friend who happened to be bicycling along behind us.

I suppose that he was for a moment, an honorary crazy gringo!

To see more videos as they get loaded, check out my YouTube page.

Also, feel free to add a comment here on the blog or on the YouTube page to express your concern with my sanity!

There's no crying in basketball!

One common concern that I hear from people who are unsure about going on mission is that they do not speak Spanish. Usually, my retort is that the people that we visit on mission do not speak Spanish too!

I think that my mom would describe this as being a "smart something or another". Yet, I call it as I see.

In the rural communities, the people there grow up speaking their native tongue of Quiche (pronounce Ki'che; not quiche like the French food). As they have to learn Spanish in school - primarily kindergarten, I think they have an acute awareness of what it is like to not be able to communicate with others due to a language barrier. From this, I have experienced a great deal of tolerance and understanding from our friends in Chicabracan to the fact that I do not speak Spanish.

Actually, the kids go out of there way to try to find the few words that I do know in Spanish to parse together what they are thinking or asking. Sometimes they even pepper in a few English words that we teach them during class.

One such practical experience of non-verbal communication and helplessness (on my part) came a few years ago in an unusual setting.

Since I am limited linguistically, I really enjoy playing sports with the kids. This is something that transcends words, of course. In particular, I play basketball with the girls as this is apparently a girl's sport there and I love basketball. Clearly the boys have never seen LeBron James or Yao Ming because if you toss them a basketball, they turn away like it has cooties.

Well, as we were playing basketball during recess, someone's shot at the basket missed quite considerably and headed down the 10-foot ramp to the dirt road and field below. (I do not claim this air ball as my own, but I definitely kept the kids "cool" by throwing up plenty of air myself that day.) I gave chase to the ball so we could keep playing, except that I forgot one thing... how much it had rained the night before. Aye caramba!!! Eventually I did realize it had rained because I was 20 feet into a very muddy field. Since I didn't want to slide in the mud, I slowed down pursuit of the ball as best as I could and tried to find a dry spot or two.

A few little girls had given chase after me knowing the field conditions and one went to retrieve the ball for me while I headed to the one wash basin at the school to somehow clean all of the mud off of my pant legs, shoes and feet (because, of course, I was wearing sandals).

As I scrambled around trying to wash off without making a scene, I was out-of-luck! Kids started to congregate around me in this tiny room with the low-hung roof. I am often called El Gigante in the rural villages for this very reason. After about a half-minute of trying to wash my foot in the washtub with the one bar of soap, the little girl who picked up the basketball appeared. She had a medium-sized bucket and towel in her hands and she was going to help me clean off.

Actually, she was there to help me wash and dry my feet. PAUSE. Yes, she was doing just like Jesus did when he kneeled down to wash the feet of his disciples as told in John's Gospel.

Needless to say, I was immensely humbled and have always felt touched by this simple gesture for which no words were needed.

How long is your shadow?

A challenging part of our work in Guatemala is deciding what may be the larger and the longer term impact of our activities and decisions. This does not mean that we freeze in our decision-making process aka "paralysis by over-analysis". Yet - to keep the metaphors coming - we have to determine how long of a shadow that we may cast.

There are a few things that we have learned along the way that are touch-points to help us along the way. First off, the people that we work with are very resilient to change and are obviously aware that we come from another culture. Now, this does mean though that we have to be careful adjust our Western ways to them.

This issue comes up all of the time in our communication styles. A classic example that was taught to me was regarding a well-intentioned team member several years back. When this bilingual team member was visiting with some local leaders in Chicabracan, he asked them about their sources for fuel in both cooking and illumination. The leaders notably expressed concern about their growing usage of wood. This is observable in the countryside as many of the pine trees have their lower branches removed up to a certain canopy height. The local people do this to preserve the trees and hopefully strike a right balance with their fuel needs.

As the team member and the local leaders spoke, our representative inquired about their use of the sun for power generation. The local people are keenly aware of this potential, but lack the resources for how they can maximize the potential. Yet, in discussing the team member's familiarity with solar power, the Maya thought that he would provide them a solution in a future visit.

See, the cultural divide was in the local Maya leaders interpreting the team member's query into his action.

A second touch-point is that the mission team leaders know that there are numerous issues to address and we will not have all of the answers. Specifically, some of our great challenges will be solved by those unexpected individuals placed by God in our path. We really feel blessed by being involved in this parish-based mission as this allows the creativity and energy of the entire community to spring forth in helping the mission grow. Even if you never travel to Guatemala, you are not limited in helping people that you won't meet in person. How exciting!

Thus, I look forward to sharing other learned guidances with you, but here is where I ask for your own sharings and thoughts. In relation to the paragraph above, we really do need feedback and thoughts from the readers of this blog.

Please feel free to contribute any of your thoughts by clicking the "Comments" link below. (I have highlighted a picture of where I speak in the bottom image.)

If you just want to say "Howdy" or offer up a prayer or suggestion / critique or encouragement, we will really appreciate it. :) We know that we don't have all of the answers, but you may!

By Papal decree

Did you know that by Papal decree that all bishops who visit Guatemala are required to teach basketball lay-up drills?

Well, I suppose since this isn't true, that's probably why you didn't know this. Perhaps at the next Vatican Council, this topic will be covered though. ;)

As you can see above, Bishop Rizzotto is helping the girls at the school with their basketball practice. During recess, the girls were practicing with their teachers because they had a basketball game against another community later in the week. And, yes, in case you are asking already, the girls do play their games in the attire above (blouse, skirt and flats). This is really their only outfit or set of clothes.

Also, these girls are pretty good at basketball too! Especially, considering the Maya are not very tall, the kids are fast and can run, run, run. Unlike gringos like me who come from sea-level, the kids have no problem shooting hoops at 6,500 feet. Whew!

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In case Archibishop DiNardo happens to sneak a peak at this blog, Bishop Rizzotto did do his fair share of work too. In the picture below, he answers a young man's question during the 5th/6th grade faith formation class. Muy bueno!

Missioning to me

In July 2003, my wife and I made our first trip to Guatemala as part of the Sending Out Servants (SOS) mission program. This mission group is the origination and guide to the mission work that we are doing now as part of a parish-based mission program at Prince of Peace Catholic Community in Houston. Many of the reasons we love this experience so greatly (perhaps I am even addicted?!?) is because of how much groundwork SOS has trail blazed for us.

As part of the evolution of the mission program, the missionary teams preceding us were wise to heed the interests and desires of the local community and its needs. For example, as missionaries, we do not run down to Guatemala to tell the people there how to live. In fact, we go to be one with the people and to learn as much or more than what we may teach. This principal led the mission effort directly to one of our core programs today - youth faith formation in the Chicabracan Primero school.

By the time that my wife and I came along in 2003, the mission teams had been teaching on a regular basis for a few years in the school after being invited by the leaders of the rural community (Chicabracan Primero) to teach and share there. This school covers K through 6th grade and is funded by the government. Yet, the parents actually run the school. In the picture above, we had just concluded our farewell gathering with the teachers, parents and the mission team from the 2006 trip.

This meeting is always very emotional because of how much honest love between the community and our team exists already. If you ask any team member, it's very hard to leave after being there for only a handful of days.

In particular, one such farewell is something that I will always cherish and, as I understand, it happened to be the first one that the teachers coordinated. This impromptu celebration was coordinated unbeknownst to our team. Toward the end of recess on our last day, the team members were invited into one of the classrooms where there was a beautiful (and tasty!) cake and hot spiced tea-like drink. The room was decorated with all of the work that the team members and the teacher using this classroom had done during the week. (To have the cake, all of the teachers donated some money and the principal had to drive an hour and half round trip to go to the bakery in town.)

As the celebration began, one of our team members was designated as the translator for the non-Spanish-speaking tea members. Tony is such a great guy - some would describe him as big teddy bear because he sure looks ferocious, but when you get to know him, he's just a warm-hearted gentleman. As the festivities began and the cake and tea were being distributed, one-by-one the teachers at the school began to speak to us and Tony worked diligently through his translation responsibilities.

After awhile, one of the teachers stepped forward to tell her story of how much joy she had with the team members coming year after year to assist her in teaching the children the beauty of God's story. She expressed deep gratitude to us for leaving our families and homes and jobs to spend one week with her community... to be one together in Christ. Now, I can't say what was exactly was being expressed at the very moment, but I do know that the words flowing forth must have had an immense grace to them because Tony had to suddenly stop with the translations. He was so moved by the emotion of the moment and her words that for those of us who could not understand, we could feel the magnitude of the moment. We could see through him and through the teacher how important it was and still is to travel on mission to be one with people of other cultures.

Or perhaps, we travelled all the way to Chicabracan, leaving our families and homes and jobs for another reason.

Perhaps it was for them to mission to us.

My first brush...

So who are these four kids and why are these men playing futbol so effortlessly at 3,000 meters in the Andes?

Well, my journey to Guatemala first started in Peru. You may think that I happened to get lost along the way since I'm an Aggie. Yet, my first brush with another culture in a real and personal sense was when my wife and I took a trip to Peru in August 2002.

Although we climbed the multiple peaks of the Inca trail to get closer to the mountains, we found ourselves closer to God through his many people. We did not get to know the individuals in the picture to the left so much as we came away asking questions about other cultures and the way that they lived their lives.

Now my wife has experienced other cultures in a more substantive sense than myself as she was born in Kenya and move to an "other" culture in the United States when she was in elementary school. Additionally, typical of many immigrant families, my wife's family had to be careful with their finances. Yet, they still were resourceful in experiencing all that there was in their newly adopted hometown of Houston. Furthermore, when the opportunity arose, they would travel to other cultures to visit extended family in England and Goa.

So back to the picture... the four children are boys and girls that we met along the trail. For those who have hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, you know how beautiful the sights are. I believe that we went through seven different ecosystems along the way. For example, the first night was below freezing in the Andes while on the third day we were in the far western edge of the Amazon. It's funny to me and I'm sure that it's funny to the children above when the history books say that Hiram Bingham "discovered" the Lost City of the Incas as the people of this region always lived amongst the trail and the ruins.

We met the two boys on our first day on the trail at a minor resting point. The trail was easy and relaxing for the first half day. These two boys lived with their mother selling small snacks and drinks off of the trail, near their simple home. I was amazed at how kind they looked so I snapped their picture.

This was my first lesson of mission work... I had noticed that someone else had given the boys a Sol (Peruvian currency) after taking their picture. As I thought that would be a simple gesture to do, our guide quickly admonished me after asking him if this was customary. He insisted that I not turn these boys to charity cases. Instead, I was encouraged to thank them for letting me take their picture, which is what I did. Also, I learned that we can't go about throwing money at challenging situations or those situations will gladly follow you home.

The two little girls lived in the town of Olantyatambo. This town is the launching point where all the hiking teams stay the night before entering the trail. The younger girl was crying incessantly as her mom tried to calm her. I found it interesting the impact of American culture all the way down in the remote corner of the world as this little girl wore a Winnie the Pooh shorts. Obviously, these were hand-me downs from some fortunate children in the remembered world. Yet, what I noted was the need to be mindful of how wide our footprint on other beautiful and ancient cultures of the world can be.

The last child is a little girl who was working with her parents to sell walking sticks. It's amazing that we negotiated over these sticks (although mine was quite impressive AND I still have it! Ha!). Out of guilt no less, we shared with this girl some bread that we were eating at a small cafe that night. This little girls is obviously very precious, but I wonder what hers and the rest of the children's life may be now. Hopefully, it's for the better what that may be.

Which all of this leads me to the bottom picture. These are some of the men who carried our gear on the trail. I have no idea how they do it because the altitude is brutal and their loads are very heavy. Above all else though, these men found room to carry a soccer ball to play futbol on the side of a mountain where a bad kick is definitely penalized. I thank these guys for making my trip easier than it could have been, but also for providing joy in watching their playtime early on the third on the trail.

Amongst my friends

In the time ahead, I plan to share various pictures, videos and sounds from my travels abroad while specifically highlighting the communities and friends that we visit in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala.

The above picture is my beautiful wife with her goofy husband before Mass. ;)

And no, she did not make me write this!

In the photo are children that we work with in the local, parent-run school, which is based in the rural area known as Chicabracan Primero. We took this photo on a typically beautiful Wednesday afternoon outside of the San Pedro oratorio. It always amazes me to see how much joy the children and adults exhibit to us considering all of the violence these communities have experienced over the recent decades.

Even the little boy in red to the left of the picture knows well enough to goof around with the ol' rabbit ears almost being held behind someone's head in the photo. This must be a universal thing for kids. Ha!

Hello, small world!

Howdy to all!

Mucho gusto!

This is my first crack at a blog. As many of my teachers and professors over the years would attest, I have never been one to write essays or diaries for the sake of it. While I may be verbose, the only way that I can really write is to let it flow and not plan something so much. This probably comes from knowing that once I really start writing something, it will take quite awhile to finish my thoughts. Concise, I am not... which you will quickly learn I suppose. Sorry (not really).

Yet, here I am.

So, why am I here anyway? For that matter, why are any of us here? I suppose we are here on this blog to learn a bit about each other. In the philosophic sense, we are here together on this blue marble floating along because it would be lonely otherwise. We constantly run across each other creating small ripples in each other's respective lives. Truly, this blog could be called the 'Skipping Pebble' because once it hits the lake on the first, second or last bounce, the lake is never the same.

And neither are we the same when we are splashed by that first bounce of the pebble.

Most likely my first splash of the pebble came when my wife and I travelled on vacation to Peru. This will be something that I will blog about later, but I was affected by the need to connect to local peoples of the world on an individual level. I have found it challenging not to want to personally know everyone I come across and I particularly want to know their culture, their heritage, their story, how their food smells and tastes, why they follow certain traditions, and what they worry about and hope for. This has to be just the start to me.

Well, as things have a way of happening, I was eventually called for my life's true vocation to be a lay missionary. God sure has a sense of humor because I remember explicitly telling my wife 7 or 8 years ago that I wanted to be involved locally within my community, but not necessarily with my church. Guess who was wrong there?!?

So my wife and I have been involved in short-term lay missionary work in Guatemala since 2003. Additionally, we have been involved in various ecumenical and secular outreach programs since 1998. I would consider these an alternatively or locally located missionary experiences. Without a doubt, each step along the way in being involved in various outreach projects was in preparation for more interesting things down the line. I just wish that I knew what was next.

Likewise, everyone that I have met along the way has been someone to aid me in my journey. These individuals have become many of my closest friends for which I care deeply. Ergo, I also wish that I knew who I would next meet in this journey so I can prepare my 'thank you note' for them in advance.

Thus, in the time ahead, I will be blogging on my experiences as a missionary. Hopefully, this will be mildly entertaining so that you will join me on this journey of adrenaline, joy, sadness and hope.

Come along on the ride as my co-missionary and I hope that you can contribute your thoughts along the way. Because if I know one thing, I don't want to be alone on this journey as with whom would I be able share my experience.