Happy Feet--Day 1

I'm so sorry I was unable to blog or post pictures during the week long Happy Feet campaign, but I will do my best to bring the blog up-to-date over the next couple of days.  

We finished all the shopping on Sunday afternoon and started packing on Sunday night.  In order to save space in the vans for shoes, luggage and people, we decided to put all of the food/drinks/ supplies/dishes/appliances and everything else we needed for the week in the back of our truck.  Stephen brought a tarp and his straps so we loaded the bed to the roof. The back seat was also filled to the top!

About 8:00 a.m. Monday morning the caravan of two trucks and four 15-passenger made its way from Nelson and Rosemarie's house to pick up the team at the Biltmore.  One van was filled with luggage, 15+ duffles of shoes/socks and the rest of the supplies (soap, powder, towels, gospel bracelets.)  The turnaround time was quick and we were on the road to our hotel in Chimaltenango about an hour and a half out of Guatemala City.  We were able to get checked in and drop off all of the food (except for Monday's lunch cooler) and begin our journey up the mountain.  

On Sunday evening, we had heard that several groups of workers were going to be staging protests and the protests would block traffic.  After about an hour of driving we came upon a long line of traffic which was unable to move past the protesters.  Everyone was out of their vehicles and a few of the gringos shared the gospel with the people on one of the stopped buses.  After about an hour, we decided to take our lunch break so we set up the cooler behind one of the vans.  

We had plenty of time to eat, clean up and visit because the protest was expected to continue until 1:00 at the earliest and 3:00 at the latest.  The local pastor we were working with told us that the the people in the town where we were planning to go began gathering at 10:00 am and would wait until we arrived (at whatever time.)  About 1:30, we were informed there was a "short-cut"around the mountain and the four vans began following Pastor Francisco.  We were stopped yet again, but finally arrived at the church about 3:00 p.m.  It was completely full!

We quickly organized the shoes, feet-washing stations and began the process of sharing with the kids.  Oh my goodness, what a blessing to see their precious faces!  I was fortunate to translate for Emily and she was so patient with me.  Most of the children who are under 6 years old (not yet in school) only speak and understand Kaqchikel (their specific indigenous dialect) so there were times when we were translating English to Spanish and Spanish to Kaqchikel.  The school-aged children learn Spanish and, even though it is their second language, they were able to understand us.

Since we arrived so late, we had to work quickly through the 150+ children in order to make our way back down the mountain roads before it was dark.  The process includes measuring each child's feet before taking them to a place in front of a gringo and translator.  The gringos washed their feet, covered them with talcum power, put on a new pair of socks and gave them a new pair of "Crock" style shoes.  After receiving their shoes, they were given a beaded bracelet through which the gringo was able to present the gospel.  Even though the benches were hard and our backs were hurting, we continued working until every child had a new pair of shoes/socks and had heard the gospel.  While we were sharing with the kids, two other team members shared with the moms.  Wow--what a privilege to be a part of this ministry.  

There's more to come, but that will have to wait for another day.