choppy seas

Today I escaped from Alcatraz. It's the infamous prison island in the San Francisco Bay. It's surrounded by cold waters with strong currents and various 'wildlife' (that's open water swimmer code for sharks!) that might threaten any escape attempt. Today I succeeded in an escape, in spite of very choppy seas. Our guide was Gary - or Mr Alcatraz as he has become know as he has swam this stretch of water over 700 times. After the swim, he told us that the sea was very choppy and if this was any official swim event, then it would have been canceled due to the poor conditions, but because we were well used to the cold temperatures, and were looking strong and steady in the choppy waters, he let us continue.

And it occurs to me that that's a bit like life. I am often in 'choppy' situations, when every time I lift my head up to breath, the only thing I can see is another wave coming towards me. Or when I think it has passed, another one takes me by surprise. Occasionally I get a whole mouthful of water, that puts me off my stroke, and makes me wonder if the guy on the safety boat is even watching as I struggle to continue. But he is. Somehow he sees a strength in my stroke that I don't recognise, and he lets me continue to the finish line, which he sees so much clearer than me.

And recently it's seemed like my life has been more choppy waters than calm seas, but maybe by accepting that fact, we are calmer and stronger in facing the waves that inevitably come. Maybe acknowledging that life will be full of struggles and challenges is the first and biggest step in dealing with them. And knowing that the guy in the safety boat IS most definitely watching gives me a peace that means I don't need to be able to see the finish point all the time. Sometimes I only get glimpses of it, as a wave momentarily subsides, but it is always in his view. And I can trust him.

Independence Day

Here in Guatemala, they celebrate Independence Day on 15th Sept -- although generally they see it as an excuse to celebrate for a whole month!. Guatemalans are very patriotic.
Celebrations normally take various forms. School marching bands have been practicing for months for the parades and competitions between local schools. Many towns organise an 'Antorcha' - when participants take it in turns run through the streets with a flaming torch, often from one town to the next. This year because there's been so many landslides on the highways, the President put a stop to the antorchas for safety reasons - although it upset several Guatemalans when he then flew out of the country to enjoy the Mexican version of Independence celebrations instead.
Mexico celebrates the same day - and this year it's 200 years of Independence - but Guatemala has only reached 189 years!

Preparing to escape from Alcatraz

So as most of you know, I like swimming - especially in the sea or lakes! People tell me that it's too cold - but I don't usually notice!!! Well now I'm putting my craziness to a good cause.

Since I've been in Guatemala, the activity of gangs in the country has increased. Many communities around Guatemala City are under the control of gangs and young people and children are easily manipulated into getting involved. The gang lifestyle is marked by violence, crime, drugs and prison, and very few survive past their 25th birthday in the gangs. I have been in contact with a group called El Barrio 4 Christ (www.elbarrio4christ.org). They work with gang members, both in and out of prison, bringing God's love and acceptance to gang members and their families. (The gangs are often blamed for everything bad that happens in Guatemala and are hated by everyone - even other prisoners) El barrio 4 Christ works to see lives transformed by God's love so that the young people can live lives free of violence and aggression. They do this by prison visiting, helping in outreach centres (reaching and empowering young people in neighbourhoods affected by gangs), as well as helping gang members who want to make a new start, with discipleship, training and job opportunities.

So in September, I will be escaping from Alcatraz. Alcatraz was a maximum security prison located on an island in the bay of San Francisco. Even after it was closed as a prison, it has since held an iconic reputation (and appeal) as being inescapable due to being surrounded by cold water, which is effected by strong currents and humoured to be visited by sharks!. That will be my challenge in September. The swim is actually only 2 1/2 km - fairly short for an open water swim - but it's the other factors which add to the challenge.

So if you are able to make a donation that would be fantastic. As you help me escape from Alcatraz, you'll be helping young people in Guatemala escape from a life of violence.
If you'd like to make a donation please go to www.justgiving.com/suzanne-escapes-from-alcatraz.

Training mentors

On Sunday I led a training afternoon for mentors. The Latin Link Stride programme includes a mentor for each Stride volunteer - it's someone that they can talk to about how they are adapting to the culture, coping with living with a family, developing in their work situation, and in their relationship with God. I look for people who are mature, and have some experience of living and adapting to a new culture, so that they can help Striders through this process.

Sometimes it's hard to do, and it does involve investing time in meeting with the volunteer, but it's worth it in seeing Stride volunteers progress in different areas of their lives. Here in Guatemala, where we have a very small team of long term Latin Link members, we rely on the help of others - not just mentors but host families as well - to provide all the support that Stride volunteers need.
So this weekend it was great to be able to thank and encourage the mentors - both those who have done it before and those preparing for the role. We had a fantastic lunch, and then several dramas -thanks to the present Striders -- giving an idea of how not to do mentoring. Then we gave the mentors chance to practice doing it better. It was a really good afternoon, a lot of fun and from the feedback, it seems everyone found it helpful too.

rain, rain and more rain

It's been a rainy couple of weeks in Guatemala lately, and it has caused chaos -especially for the road network. There's been a lot more rain than usual this year, and the tropical storm at the end of May left most of the country saturated with water. So when we had another week of heavy rain, it caused a huge number of landslides. The worst affected was the Inter American highway which winds it's way up through the mountains towards Mexico. Many sections of the road are cut out of the mountains - and with the effect of the heavy rains (and deforestation) landslides made several sections completely unpassable. The emergency and rescue services were overrun, and weren't able to reach some sections of the road for a couple of days. In one incident a bus was virtually buried by a landslide. As rescue workers and locals tried to dig people out, many of them were also buried by a second mudslide. Another incident saw thousands of cars and buses trapped overnight on the highway between 2 landslides with emergency services unable to get to them.
The road is now passable again, but hundreds of people are still living in refuges across the country. The government is just beginning to organise collection points for emergency supplies and donations.
In a country so frequently affected by extreme weather and natural disasters, it's easy to see why it finds it difficult to move beyond emergency responses and asking for aid.