December 2007

Warm Holiday Greetings from Guatemala,

The weather down here could not be more beautiful, but I have to tell you..I'm STILL dreaming of a white Christmas. I can't tell you how much of an appreciation I have developed for our four seasons..each one is so unique, and has its own special beauty.

We can't buy a Christmas tree here, because it is against the law to cut them down. The best we could do is buy some poor pathetic planted pine tree with about six branches and few needles...he's a Charlie Brown special, but we love him anyway. I put big straw ornaments on to fill in all the holes, so he is also a little droopy, but it's a real Christmas tree and that's all that matters.

Christmas in Guatemala is very simple for the Mayan people. The main focus is on the Nacimiento( the Nativity)..a tradition being steadily overshadowed by massive commercialism in our North American society. It is much easier not to get caught up in the swirl of consumerism, when those around you are able to experience the joy of the season in such simple ways. When we were training our teachers from our mountain villages, they stayed here at the community house, and we asked them about their Christmas celebration. They told us on Christmas eve, they go to church and come back for a special feast of tamales and ponche(a traditional fruit punch). There are no material gifts..just friends and family, gathering to celebrate the birth of Christ. They spoke about this with such happiness, and there was no sense of regret about the lack of gifts...we have so much more to learn from the poor.

It has been very busy since we arrived. In the last two months, we have hosted three service teams. They built three houses and all the furniture for a two room preschool.

In November we trained 12 new teachers: 4 from the daycare at The Guatemala City Dump,4 for our new school in Pastores, and 4 for a new program being set up by a fellow from the States. In December, we had a second training session for 3 teachers from the daycare, 2 from Saclala and 2 from Tioxya. Last week we set up the new preschool, with help from the teachers.

Many changes have taken place at the dump "Safe Passage" since Hanley's death. A new director from Holland has been hired. I do not envy her very difficult job. The houses at San Pedro for children needing family intervention have been shut down. The bakery and the metal shop and the carpentry program are on hold at the moment. The reinforcement program is undergoing some revisions, and a new education program director has been hired, so hopefully soon things will continue to improve. Fortunately, the daycare is surviving and seems to be doing well for now.

The University of Washington has just completed landscaping, and building a fabulous play structure behind the daycare. They have dedicated it to Hanley, and called it "Hanley's Garden". She would have been so excited about it. It is really special!

Shannon Moyle, the volunteer we brought down to run the Music and Movement program is doing an incredible job, teaching a daily bi-lingual program. The children love the music and cherish their time with Shannon. During this special time of giving, I would like to pass along a personal story that Shannon shared with us. Being a recent university graduate in the spring, she worked until October 2006 to save enough money to volunteer at "Safe Passage". By the end of the year, spending money was getting a little tight, so rather than buy a new pair of running shoes she put duct tape on her old ones to patch the holes. One day when a mother was dropping her child off, she noticed her shoes. Several days later she arrived with a very nice pair of running shoes for Shannon.

While scavenging the dump, this woman had found her child's special teacher a pair of shoes.. and as in all Cinderella stories they were just the right size. She brought them home, cleaned them up and presented them to her as a gift. This woman who needs to harvest the dump to survive, wanted to show love and to acknowledge the work of someone she knew was making a difference in her child's life. Needless to say, Shannon wears them daily with great pride, knowing that her efforts are appreciated.

We cannot say enough about the wonderful work the service teams are doing down here. Many are here for their third and fourth time. Our furniture builders have their work down to a science. All the furniture was completed two days ahead of schedule, and then they were asking what else we would like them to build. They are a "Dream Team"!

The house builders could not say enough positive things about their experience. "From Houses to Homes", under the direction of Joe Collins and Oscar Mejia, provided a rich and deeply rewarding experience with the families. At the end of the day words proved inadequate for the participants to share their powerful stories. Many lives were been deeply touched...both the gift givers and the receivers!

We will be spending Christmas with our children Amanda, Jason and a friend in Utila, a small island off the coast of Honduras. On the 27th of December we return to Guatemala to welcome 18 friends and family to the Community House to build two houses in memory of our very close friends, Terry Phalen and Ron Knowles. We miss them both very much, and we look forward to honouring them in this way. We lost Terry not long ago, and Ron at the age of sixty was diagnosed with Cancer and died within seven weeks, in October. The strength and courage they showed in facing their deaths, has truly been an inspiration to us all.

In February, our eldest daughter, Andrea, and her husband Craig will be coming down to build another house with friends from Ottawa. We are so fortunate to have all our children come to Guatemala this year. Our grandson Justin will be flying out to Vancouver to spend Christmas with his Mom and Craig's family. He is now in Engineering at Carleton University and seems to like it. He spends many hours practising basketball, so his life is also very busy.

Over the next three months, we have several teams coming, back to back. We have had to turn two teams away, which was very disappointing for them. I think by April we will be ready for some quiet time on the Ottawa River. As rewarding as this work is (and it is exceptionally rewarding) at times it can be very exhausting. But we are not complaining, the satisfaction of the work by far outweighs the difficulties.

I apologize for my total lack of communication to everyone. Free time for writing is scarce, but we think of our families and friends often and never will forget the part that each one of you, at various times, has played in this mission.

This Christmas, we wish for each one of you, a time of personal reflection, deep joy and a profound peace in your family, and may the Christ bring forth in you all that is good at this Sacred time of year.

In Solidarity and Love,

Susan and Richard