Note: Today’s blog is another guest post. This time by doctoral of physical therapy student Whitney Vrba. She shares about her time in Guatemala during the University’s trip the end of August. Enjoy!

Loving culture, beautiful land. Hard workers, praying hands. Advocacy, family care. Welcome in, here’s a chair. Tortillas, tortillas, tortillas.

It’s been a few weeks since I returned back from Guatemala, and in beginning to reflect on my time there, the small poem above came out, which compiles a few of my thoughts about the country. My amazing team and I spent one week in Guatemala and spent time in Chichicastenango, Canillá, and Antigua learning, meeting new friends, and serving in therapy clinics. The culture is quite pleasant– one of rich history, hard work, and honor/shame interaction, which is why you’ll always feel welcomed and cared for by a Guatemalan. The land is rich in green vegetation, countless corn crops, and mountains. We learned that many Guatemalans work very hard for long hours to obtain enough money to eat and drink water, and many Guatemalans cannot find enough work to meet these needs. We also learned that prayer is a big part of the culture, but some may be praying to mayan gods, and some to God the Father. There is a group fiercely advocating to the government for rights of children with disabilities currently, and it’s amazing to see how God is breaking through in that realm. I saw that family is a top priority in the way they took care of each other– even if that means walking miles upon miles to get to therapy. I mentioned the honor/shame culture earlier, which means they never want to shame you, which means you will always be welcomed and likely given a chair to sit in. Corn tortillas are a staple, and I happily ate them for every meal, and no Texas tortilla will meet that glory.

One of my favorite moments on the trip was seeing a big brother’s love for his little brother. We were invited over to see a family’s home and learn about what their everyday life looks like. I met a sweet woman who is the mother to two boys, one around 4 years old and the other around 18 months old. The younger boy has hydrocephalus, so he has had brain surgery already and he goes to physical therapy at Aselsi (clinic in Chichicastenango) to work on functioning as best he can. After the mother led us into the kitchen to show us how she makes tortillas (from scratch, all with her bare hands, and they were DELICIOUS), I caught a glimpse of the boys right outside the door. The younger boy was in a seater and the 4 year old boy was kneeling on the ground next to him picking up different toys. Tears came quickly to my eyes when I saw that he was searching for the right toy for his brother. Soon he found a toy truck and brought it up to his brother to try and make him smile. He proceeded to try to entertain his little brother the whole time his mom was with us in the kitchen. This is the kind of commitment to each other I saw in Guatamalans. It inspired me to care harder for my own family members and the people closest to me.

Something I’ve gathered continuously on trips to other countries is how incredibly large the Kingdom of God really is. So many cultural traditions, colors of skin, languages, styles of relating, types of music, and so on… but only one family of God. He is working in so many places at one time, and I’m so in awe of how great that day will be when Jesus returns for His bride. I am so grateful I got to see and learn how Jesus is moving in Guatemala through people in Aselsi, in the communities, and at the government level.

Thanks for reading!