Guat Trip (Updated)
April 10, 2010
Updates from Norton’s trip to Guatemala:
Friday, 11:23 pm:
Ed and I arrived in Guatemala around 8:00 pm tonight. For most of the day—in the airport, on the plane, waiting at customs—I asked Ed question after question about Healing Waters International (HWI). And the more I heard about them, the more respect I gained. There are lots of “water” organizations right now. Some are in the business of raising money to fund other organizations. Others are more focused on education—helping people see how unclean (or unaffordable) water creates so many other problems in third world countries. Still other organizations are focused on relief (such as the recent disaster in Haiti). All of these emphases are necessary and crucial. But there are very few organizations that are actually on the ground implementing long-term, sustainable solutions that contribute to holistic community development. HWI is one of them. And they’re partnering with local churches to make it happen. Excited to keep learning more.
When we arrived in Guatemala City, two other HWI staff—Jake and Dani—picked us up and took us to Antigua where we are staying this weekend. Before going to our hotel, we ducked into a local spot for a few minutes to listen to the Buena Vista Social Club. You read that right. BVSC is a group of traditional Cuban musicians that became extremely popular a few years ago. Several of the older members have since died and two of them, while on tour in Antigua a few years ago, defected. They still live there and play regularly. So, technically, it wasn’t the whole band, but the two original members played with a third guy from Nicaragua and they were amazing.
It’s good to be back. And a good first day.
Saturday, 6:28 pm:
Today was Antigua day. Antigua was the first capital of Central America. Many of the buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in the late 1700s, so the capital was moved to modern-day Guatemala City. Antigua is still a beautiful city. Stone streets, multi-colored buildings, ruins and remnants of old churches and convents, colonial architecture, and a pretty hip culture. In some ways, it’s the heart of Guatemala and most people that visit the country make it their first (and sometimes only) tourist stop. Great restaurants, stunning boutique hotels (each with a lush green courtyard in the middle), and lots of things to see. In other ways though, it’s a bit removed from the “real Guatemala”: the slums of Guatemala City and the rampant poverty of the Mayan highlands. (However, you only have to walk a few blocks off the beaten path in Antigua to see it.)
This morning, I walked the streets of Antigua as Janis and I have done so many times in years past. I stopped at Fernando’s for the best cappuccino in the Western hemisphere. I strolled through the local artisan’s market and bought a few things for the family. All the while, Ed and Jake had an interview to do. Let me provide a bit of background.
HWI’s headquarters are in Golden, Colorado where they have six staff people. Ed is the CEO and Jake is the Director of Operations. So, Jake oversees the day-to-day operations and staffs in the countries where they have long-term water filtration systems: Guatemala, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Each country has a National Director and staff of about five more people. (So HWI has over twenty staff total.) They are currently without a National Director in Guatemala and so Ed and Jake had the final interview this morning with a woman whom they ultimately offered the job to. I was able to meet and talk with her afterward and would work with her if we chose to partner with HWI. She has a great story and seems like a great fit for what they need.
After the interview, I joined Ed and Jake for a wonderful Guatemalan lunch, and then this afternoon, we visited a nearby coffee plantation that is a major supplier for Starbucks. So next time you buy “Guatemala Antigua” blend at Starbucks, think of the Guatemalan locals who still pick every single bean that goes in your cup by hand.
So far, I’ve spent all my time getting to know Ed and Jake better and doing tourist-y things. Tomorrow, we get to business: visiting churches, seeing the water systems, and meeting all the local partner staff. Looking forward to it…
Sunday, 9:27 pm:
Today we visited Dani’s church in Antigua (Dani, short for Daniela, is on the Guatemalan staff team and she’s great). The church was planted just a few years ago and had about 250 people packed in the service. They are definitely reaching their city with the gospel. I was struck by numerous things at church:
- It was very diverse. It included both English and Spanish speakers (the whole service is done in both languages; this is not typical at all of Guatemalan churches but Dani’s church reaches many Americans and Europeans who have settled in Antigua). And it included people from the upper class, middle class, and even many poor Mayan locals. This kind of ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in one church is rare.
- It was about 2 hours long (which is actually short for a Latin American church) and nobody minded at all. In the US, anything past an hour and fifteen minutes and people start getting antsy. We have other things to do and other places to be. We want our church like our fast food: get in, get what we need, and get out (I’m exaggerating, but not much.) But in Guatemala (and Latin America in general), going to church is a communal experience. They relish the time together and look forward to being there. Nobody is thinking about what they are going to do next. Which leads to the next point…
- People were excited to worship, genuinely excited and joyful. There was a buzz in the building when the band played the first notes. Clapping spontaneously broke out and people let themselves loose to worship God. (And we worshiped in both English and Spanish—very cool!) It’s almost like the people were worshiping God like they had just been rescued by him and couldn’t be more grateful. Like their whole week they had been waiting for Sunday morning, looking forward to going to church and worshiping. Most weeks I’m looking forward to Saturday morning laziness on the weekend, not Sunday church. What a different perspective they have.
I could go on, but here’s the biggest thing. There’s something unexplainable that happens every time I go to church and worship God in another culture. It’s like my own eyes are opened to all the deficiencies in the way I see, understand, and worship God as I am exposed to the beautiful and different and unique ways that peoples of very different backgrounds and worldviews see, understand, and worship God. It’s good for my soul.
After church, I spent more time with Ed, Jake, Dani, and Walter (another Guatemalan HWI staff member) learning about their vision and organization. Let me briefly explain how HWI’s church partnership and water systems currently work.
Some people assume that HWI digs well to provide clean water. Some organizations do that, but not HWI. They find areas where some water is available, but it’s very unclean. As a result people either drink unclean/unhealthy water, or they have to buy expensive bottled water (which they can’t afford). So, HWI has engineered a water filtration system that takes dirty water and makes it clean at a rate of about 7 gallons per minute (gpm). The cost to install one system is about $30-40 thousand dollars.
Here’s the catch. HWI identifies an area that has a need, has a significant population density (to support the system), and has a local church with an outreach mindset. They install the system inside the church and set it up as a business, then the church sells the water to local neighbors at a very minimal cost to pay for the administration and maintenance of the system. The result is that the church adds two employees to run the system (paid for by the revenues), provides clean water to a community at a very, very low cost, and in the process, not only meets physical needs, but gains influence and credibility in the community and demonstrates God’s love.
Tomorrow morning, we get up early to help host a conference with the HWI Colorado staff, the HWI Guatemalan staff, the local pastors and staff people at each of the 23 sites/churches where they have water systems, and some other local organizational partners like Compassion International. About 150 people total will be there—all committed to providing clean, affordable water to those who don’t have it, in the name of Jesus. Then we’ll visit two systems tomorrow afternoon. Should be a big day. Going to bed now… (Sorry for the long post, but it helps me process the trip.)
Monday, 9:18 pm:
What a day. This morning, I joined Ed, Jake and Dani at their very first Guatemalan HWI Conference. It was mainly a time to encourage all the local staff, churches, and partnerships and cast a vision for the future.
At the conference, I met the national director for Compassion International in Guatemala. What a privilege. Compassion has 144 projects in Guatemala that assist over 34,000 children. And our family sponsors one of them. Compassion has begun partnering with HWI to install water systems at a few of their projects, which are always connected to a local church. Compassion is considering doing it with many more and it excites me to think we could maybe partner with both HWI and Compassion in the future.
Another neat thing to see at the conference was theological diversity. Non-denominational, Baptist, Pentecostal, and even Roman Catholic churches were represented. Most of HWI’s partner churches in Guatemala are Protestant/Evangelical, but four are Roman Catholic. This is unheard of here. In Latin America, Protestant/Evangelicals and Catholics almost never work together. Neither believes the other group is truly Christian and there exists an almost uncrossable divide. But HWI is doing it: creating a collaborative, we’re-all-on-the-same-team mindset.
Overall, the conference was great and I got to meet lots of people and see the passion that these churches have for reaching their communities. But it really hit home this afternoon when I visited two of the churches and saw the water systems up close. Both visits were impactful.
At the first, I got to see not only the church and the water system/store where they sell purified water, but also a Compassion project at the same location. It was very emotional to see the children playing and being taught. I got to meet the amazing Compassion staff and Christ’s love couldn’t have been more evident in what they do. I couldn’t be more thankful for how our investment in this organization and our Compassion child is being used.
At the second church, people were lined up outside to buy their water at the church’s store. Each of HWI’s church/stores sells five-gallon containers of clean water for about 60 cents per container (about three times less than they can get it anywhere else). For people living at or below the poverty line, this is life changing. Without these stores, they either pay a whole lot more for clean water, or as is usually the case, they just drink bad water instead (which contributes to so many of their health problems). What a difference HWI is making.
Well, I should begin wrapping up. I get up very early for the flight back to Denver. And I think each update has gotten progressively longer. It’s been an amazing trip. Much to think and pray about it. And much to be encouraged about.
I can’t wait to come back.
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Great news! I'm sure your engineering background has made your conversations more meaningful. Looking forward to hearing more updates and about the churches you will be visiting.