GCP UPDATES

The Global Citizenship trip to Guatemala this year was an adventure rich in discovery for the students who participated. Each student paid $2,250; some of this was fund-raised through the Wish List Auction, and other fundraising efforts at KCC. KCC also contributed a generous $7,000 through its Missions budget to help subsidize students fares and pay the way of the chaperones. Students were able to get a week of language study in the ancient city of Antigua, before traveling to Chiquimulilla where we spent almost 2 weeks with Fe Viva Missions, an organization headed by former HCS teacher Lynn Weiler and her husband Kim. In Antigua, students (in groups of three) stayed with local families while they attended the Christian Spanish Academy. They spent 6 hours a day at their Spanish studies, ate three meals per day with their host families, and still had a little time left over to tour a coffee farm, see museums, climb a live volcano, and spend lots of time in the very cool local markets. Everything we did required Spanish –the tours, the shopping, and just saying “pass the salt” at suppertime.

In Chiquimulilla, students were continually challenged to serve and give. From student fees, we purchased $500 of sports equipment for the orphanage at Fe Viva (called Casa Esperanza –House of Hope). Students then  painted lines for a tennis court on a newly built “sports complex” at the orphanage (the sports complex is a cement pad outside the orphanage built by another team from Canada. This pad is used for everything from basketball to soccer to badminton to tennis). Most of us got bad sunburns during this painting, but the fun didn’t stop there. Students also mixed dozens of wheel-barrows of cement to pour a new floor at Fe Viva’s Bible school, cleared fields of weeds, painted new houses built for orphans, cleaned and organized medical equipment, and spent a long, hot day distributing medicine and clothing at a very poor, remote village.

Without doubt, all this serving was tough and physically demanding; some students also had the added burden of sickness and sunburn. But the work we did pales in comparison to the rewards we got from this trip. Students were able to meet some amazing people who made an indelible impact on their lives. Some of these people worked at Fe Viva Mission, dedicating their lives to helping others through the medical and church ministries of Fe Viva. Others were students at Fe Viva’s Bible school –Guatemalans, El Salvadorians, Costa Ricans, Argentineans, Columbians, and Canadians. But the people who had the  most impact on us were the orphan children themselves. Our students came to bless and serve these children by teaching English classes, organizing games and youth nights, as well as bringing gifts and doing physical labour. But we received from these kids life-lessons that were far more valuable than the gifts we gave. Children who had none of the advantages that we Canadians take for granted, showed us such warmth and hospitality, such appreciation and zest for life, that none of us can return to our abundant (and somewhat selfish) Canadian culture unchanged.

I can’t wait for next year’s trip.

Steve Smith,
Director of Global Citizenship
www.globalcitizenship.ca
www.gcpblog.com

Report from HCS kids:

We have learned many important lessons by other’s experiences and their kindness to share with the rest of us. From John and Angela Nickel, we were taught about cross cultural experiences. They taught us if we want to successfully go into another country and into another culture, you must go to serve! Serve and you will achieve. Jesus showed us this example many times and by integrating and serving it will show us cross cultural experiences. Everything we have experienced in our lives so far is who we are, it is our culture. We can sin against culture and so it means we must be very careful and be respectful. Respect clothing, respect purchases, respect the people. Cultural experiences can really surprise you and some of us have certainly seen that.

A strange yet intelligent character Franko, also came to talk to us. A man with a great passion for life itself talked about his experiences through out his life. Also Josiah Bitgood talked to us about his experiences from living here in Puerto for 7 months. Some things we learned from these classes were:

• Have a goal with the end in mind, to go deeper then just the outside surface.
• Push through the impossible with God by your side. Don’t ever give up, for God has our back.
• Be a humble leader by coming underneath but being strong.
• Love and forgive always, and to not hold anything against one another but to forgive your brothers.

A few others from the Spanish group and film crew, attended  nearby high schools and middle schools, where they spent time with the children and helped teach English which again tested our Spanish.

Mr. Smith also is teaching us Leadership, Cross Cultural Studies and English. We are reading short stories and poems, and writing our own material. Mr. Smith is teaching us Don Quixote as we start to dive into the novel.

Through out the past week we have had several youth events, which consisted of a battle of the bands night, where a few students from our class participated in. They either were in a dance, drama, or the band itself. The overall night went fairly well, our group got placed second. The top 3 bands were from Zicatela, Puerto, and CANADA! This event took place at the church that we have been attending, Amistad Con Dios.