Camas High School volunteers celebrating life together in Chocantariiy
The children have a place to play now, they no longer have to play in the puddles and mud during the rainy season. God bless the volunteers for their good heart and for supporting the Chocantariiy community. Reyna Tun – community member
Day 1: At 3 am, we headed to the airport not knowing what to expect. Not knowing how truly incredible and impactful this trip was about to be. After 6 hours of total flying, we landed in Guatemala City. In Guatemala City, we all exchanged our money from American dollars to Quetzales (the national currency) and found our way onto the bus being pleasantly surprised by some Dominos pizza. After a mass confiscation of phones and a 5-hour bus ride, we found ourselves at a beautiful hotel for a night of sleep.
Day 2: Waking up around 8 am, we had breakfast soon after with a pretty standard Guatemalan breakfast: eggs, beans, plantains, and coffee. Before leaving we all took part in a game of Monkey in the Middle with a soccer ball which helped introduce one of our leaders, Carlos. After a long 2-hour bus ride, we had to stop and get out, instantly getting swarmed by curious little kids. We spent nearly 20 minutes there before we were taxied up the rest of the way using pickup trucks. When we arrived, we set up camp inside a school where we would stay for the next week. A pretty relaxing day with lights out at 9:30pm.
Day 3: We started off the day bright and early, getting dressed and ready for a long day of work, still not knowing quite what to expect. We were introduced to the cooks and had breakfast and made our way down to the location of the unbuilt court. We attempted organization by splitting into groups and taking breaks accordingly. On our breaks, we got to socialize with the massive army of kids and some of the local workers. Our strategy throughout the job was to make a massive assembly line, passing buckets of rock and sand from one person to the next. Even little kids in elementary school helped out. It started pouring down rain, so we took a break for lunch but still had work to finish. The rain didn’t stop, so we had to force ourselves back out into the downpour to complete the job. After work, we all got changed and went into town to explore a local annual fiesta in celebration of a saint. This was the perfect way to immerse ourselves in the culture. Walking through the fiesta, we learned all about the culture and history and walked through a large crowd enjoying music and dancing. We also walked through a large Catholic church learning about their religion. With the rain continuing to pour, we hiked to the top of the town seeing amazing views and learning about Mayan culture. Soon after, we headed back to have dinner and get ready for bed.
Day 4: Getting up early once again, we started the 2nd third of the court and completed it without a rainy interruption. The kids were thrilled after seeing the concrete on the first third dried and able to walk on. The kids enjoyed playing basketball, soccer, and absolutely loved seeing the world from our shoulders. After work, we made our way to the “Hot Springs” an establishment of swimming pools where we enjoyed warm water to swim in and a nice platform to flip off of. After about an hour or so of fun, we piled back on to the bus to head back to the school to finish off the day with some relaxation or more sports.
Day 5: We got up early again for our 3rd and final day of work. After breakfast, we quickly jumped back into our assembly line and finished the court a few hours later. The workers had a minor celebration afterwards, saving the excitement for the coming days. Afterwards, we went on a hike going through trails and on roads exploring new scenery for miles that pictures will never fully capture. We ended up almost exactly where we started without ever seeing the same tree or building. We started to wind down after playing basketball before dinner. With dinner filling our bellies, we had a good night’s rest after a long day of work and exploring.
Day 6: Waking up 30 minutes later than on work days, we were able to have a little bit more rest. After yet another amazing breakfast, we made our way to the court that now completely dried concrete. Yet none of us knew that the work wasn’t quite done. We helped the workers clear dirt and dust off of the court using brooms so they could later paint both soccer and basketball lines onto the court for the kids. We offered to help them paint, but quickly learned they didn’t have enough paint brushes for extra help, so we let them do their thing. We certainly wouldn’t have any idea what to do without them. They did all the planning and strategy and we just helped them wherever we could. So while they painted, we wandered back down to the school to help make a meal alongside our generous teachers and cooks, which turned out to be amazing. After lunch, we made our way back to the court to play half-court basketball as only some of the paint had finished drying. Before dinner came, we all gathered to hear a story from one of our cooks, Juana, who taught us all about her life and the civil war within Guatemala early on in her life. Through her story we learned a lot about the history of Guatemala and how it impacted the lives within it. After dinner came around, we all settled down for the night.
Day 7: For the first half of the day, we woke up and had breakfast then played basketball on the court before lunch came. After lunch, we took turns with the crowd of locals playing basketball and soccer on the newly finished court. We played with them for an hour or so and watched as pure joy and laughter spread throughout the gathering crowd. After our rotation of sports, the dances begun. One by one the grades ascending from first grade to sixth grade, the locals showed off their very well practiced dances of celebration. We stood and watched the dances in their complexity, shocked as to how much they had practiced for us. After the kids finished their dances, the teachers had a turn showing us their practiced dance as well. When the dances had finished, the teachers gave all of us gifts displaying even more of their gratitude. We took many pictures with them and the kids and even though the celebration had ended, joy and laughter was still stirring around. Dinner rolled around and we enjoyed yet another well prepared meal. After dinner, we were struck with fatigue and ended the night with card games and chess.
Day 8: We woke up early today to have breakfast and packed up. We said our long goodbyes and gave our thanks to the cooks, taking pictures with them before getting ready to be picked up. While waiting to be picked up by the trucks, many kids crowded around us not wanting us to leave. Many more pictures were taken and many more hugs were given to the little kids as our numbers diminished with every truck. As the last truck left with the last of us, the kids chased us down the street as far as their little legs could take them. As we left the crowd of kids and met up with the bus, we ventured out on another 2-hour bus ride to where we’d stay for the next night. We stayed in rooms right on the beach of a massive, beautiful blue lake surrounding three volcanoes. Another amazing sight to see. After dinner, we settled down with some conversations and relaxation before bed.
Day 9/10: We started our day off early with pancakes and waffles for breakfast, then packed up all of our luggage once again to get ready to leave again. Before we climbed on the bus, we took a 15-minute boat ride across the stunning lake to a town where we learned about the weaving process of cotton and much more about the Guatemalan history of women empowerment. We took a 2-hour break to shop and see the sights of the town as there is much culture and art to explore. The art is absolutely beautiful as many of them display stunning landscapes and exotic animals, as well as cultural images. The art was near irresistible as many of us ended up buying paintings. The 15-minute boat ride took us back to our bus where we piled in once again to travel to our final hotel where we stayed for our final night in Guatemala before saying our final goodbye to our amazing leaders and taking off back to the states. We will truly miss Peter, Carlos and Viktor and we hope this is not the last time we meet. As we continue daily life back in the states, the village of Chocantariiy will stay in our hearts and prayers.
Our takeaways are very heavy on our hearts; we will move forward with a more willing and godly way of life. We have learned how contagious selflessness can be as well as what the true importance of gratefulness is. Humans by nature are very social and it is incredibly important to stand together and love one another despite differences. Giving is essential and must be done with an open heart without expectance to receive. In turn, when you give more than you receive you are on the path of a fulfilled life. As Peter said, “To be 1st, you must put yourself 2nd.”
Andrew Helt, Patrick Helt, Nathan Farra, Shane Farra
COMMUNITY QUOTES
Everything went very well, I am very happy with the project that was carried out. All my admiration for the volunteers for working shoulder to shoulder with us, we really liked their way of being with us, they adapted to our culture. Justo Xiloj - community leader
As a parent, I feel very satisfied with the work that the volunteers came to do for us and for our children. We are going to miss them a lot because we adapt to them, it is going to feel strange that they are not here with us. Aquilino Ixcayan – community leader
Tears are shed but not of sadness but of joy for what was achieved for the community with the support of the volunteers. We are very grateful to the volunteers because there is a great need here. What we regret is that we were not able to communicate better with them due to language limitations, but from the bottom of our hearts we try to serve them in the best way. Santiago Sarate – community leader
We had a lot of fun with the volunteers despite not speaking the same language, they adapted very well to our way of being. They are very good people and we are immensely grateful for all the help they gave us. Victoriano Cuyuch – community leader
U.S. TEAM QUOTES
The hardest part of going home would have to be leaving all the kind people. Everyone in Guatemala no matter the ages treated us as family even though we are strangers. Their gratitude and selflessness has inspired me and I have to be able to visit back again soon. ~Isaiah Blidchenko
I learned about myself that I truly need to be social and that my relationships with others are one of the most important things in my life. They bring me a natural, fulfilling sense of happiness and joy that lasts and keeps me with that feeling even when I have reasons not to be. My relationships bring me the most happiness. ~Andrew Helt
Seeing how much the court meant to the locals was not only my favorite memory of the trip but one of my most impactful memories of my life. The smiles on all the kids faces and the love they were showing to us made every inconvenience and uncomfortable situation from the trip worth it. There´s nothing that makes me happier than putting a smile on someone´s face. ~Nathan Farra
I hope that when I go home I focus less on the things that truly are not important. It is my goal to live a more intentional life. ~Brenda Snell
I learned to be content with what I have and someone’s situation is always worse than mine, so there is no place to complain. I learned that you become happy with the things you have, not when you get the things you want. ~Grady Milholen
