Step Tour Guide

I think one of the perks of the job of Short Term Coordinator is to organise the holiday time for the Step teams, and get to show them my favourite place in Guatemala.

 I never get tired of this view - and a swim in the lake is definitely the best way to start the day. I even managed to persuade a couple of people to join me.

 This time, I took 2 teams together to the Lake - watching them interact was quite entertaining!

 We celebrated David´s birthday altogether.

 The adventurous ones before their Cables Extremos (Zip wire) escapade!

My usual hostel. The downside is having to accompany so many people who want to buy souvenirs. In my opinion shopping is the most boring activity in the world! - but I took advantage of this - and managed to do all my Christmas shopping - and send it all home with one of the steppers who lives near my family! Bargain.

Amor del Niño Step Team

The final team to arrive, worked with the Amor del Niño (Love the Child) home. The home provides a temporary home for children (mostly babies) who have been abandoned, and are awaiting adoption. The team helped with the general running of the home - helping with the endless laundry (for 50 babies!), cooking and spring cleaning tasks.

 They also led some activites and games for the older children.

 They also did a mural on the garden wall. The castle was designed by one of the older girls in the home.

  

 This team lived in my house (and half of them in a friends house locally) so I got to see quite a bit of them.

 And of course the obligatory photo at lake Atitlan!

Zaragoza Step Team

 The Team in Zaragoza were working with Educando Para La Vida, an organisation focused on education for the whole community.

 The team got involved in the afterschool kids programmes, sharing Christian values alongside educational support.

 They also visited the local school, where Educando Para la Vida has very good links and taught the children English.

 Also at the school, they were able to repaint the walls with a mural.

 They also created and painted some dividers at the organisations centre, to be used when they have medical campaigns.

Alotenango Step Team

View of Volcan Fuego from the team house.

The Step team working in Alotenango lived in the Pastors house and had this fantastic view from the kitchen 'window'.

Great way to start the morning.

 The active volcano gave them plenty of entertainment. Here´s their reaction when it erupted. Maybe.

The team were mostly involved in childrens work, helping with the after school programmes that the church runs, as well as visiting the local schools, assisting the pastor as he runs Bible classes for all the school children.  They also got involved in some building work, as the church wanted to build a classroom for all their activities with the children.

It started like this.

And ended up more like this. The church will be putting a roof on it soon.

With lots of hard work in between.

The team family portrait.

And they also had a bit of time off - and I played Tour guide and took them to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan.

I love Step teams.

This summer has been really busy  - with 3 different step teams working in Guatemala. As it´s my job to oversee them and make sure they´re all alright, it´s been busy and tiring  - but it also reminds me of so many reasons why I love Step teams. Here´s just a few

1. Step teams are a glimpse of real church. That sounds wierd I know, but let me explain. Step teams are Latin Link´s programme which brings together diverse people to create teams who live and serve together in another country. For me there´s a sense of heaven in it - although admittedly not the fluffy-clouds-and-harps kind of heaven. I´m talking more about community. In church - which is supposed to be the body of Christ, it can be so easy for us to ´buy into it´ for just a couple of hours a week, and then go back home and do our own thing. That´s not how´s it´s supposed to be. The book of Acts talks of a church of shared lives, shared possessions, shared experiences and challenges. Step teams seem like that to me. It´s not easy - but it is real. Living together in very close proximity - and often in very basic conditions, means that you can never escape from the rest of the team  - or from the inevitable frustrations and differences of opinion. You have to confront those things, work through them with your team-mates and get past them. It doesn´t mean denying who you are, but it does mean compromise and showing real love for people. You have to engage with each other on a deeper level than we are used to. And I think that´s what church is meant to be.
This year, I saw Steppers gather round and comfort a grieving team mate; I saw Steppers support team members as they dealt with past hurts and allowed God´s healing into their past; I saw Steppers recognise their own weaknesses and errors and ask for forgiveness; I saw Steppers encourage others in tasks they´d never tried before; I saw Steppers bridge the generation gap and work together; I saw Steppers learning from one another; I saw Steppers stay up all night to care for their ill team mate; and I saw Steppers celebrate together after they perform their first drama or their first song in Spanish.

2. Step teams are about opportunities to fulfill your potential. So much in life today tells us we can´t to it. Being on a Step team says you can! In a Step team everyone has a role. There are leaders, treasurers, childrens work coordinators, first aiders, drama coordinators, music /worship coordinators, translator and so many more. Everyone has a vital part to play in the team working well. As I´ve talked and helped teams evaluate their experience this year, I´ve been so encouraged to hear many team members express a greater confidence. Many felt able to lead a Bible Study for the first time in their lives, others to pray out loud, others to lead a children´s activity from the front, others to preach or share their testimony, others simply to cook a meal for 10 people and not burn the house down (although it got close a couple of times!). Some team members began their role with very shy and nervous fairy steps, but quickly took great strides as they realised the skills and gifts God had given them. (It´s fantastic to watch!) Some team leaders felt completely out of their depth leading a team, but learnt to lean into God´s presence for his strength and wisdom. And then there are those who God is clearly calling into longer term mission. I love the conversations with them - as they think about possibilities and get excited about how God is leading them.

3. Step is about cross -cultural relationships. Step teams always work in a church or project in another country. This year the 3 teams all came from the UK to work in Guatemala. (Latin Link Step teams also visit many other countries.... go to http://www.latinlink.org.uk/National-Sites/UK/What-can-I-do/Team-Mission-Step for more details). The idea is to live and work alongside the local church community. Even with limited language, teams are able to build friendships with local people. The interchange of cultures is a real blessing as Step teams and Guatemalans learn of each others cultures. This year, steppers learnt how to make tortillas Guatemalan style, and carry baskets on their heads. In another project, the teenager from the local bakery (which had been visited by a certain Stepper every day for 2 weeks), decided she wanted to celebrate her birthday with the team  - so brought the cake, the piñata and the whole party to them. In another project, friendships between Steppers and project staff were established over hours sitting side by side in the kitchen sorting beans.

Of course Step isn´t perfect - there´s challenges and difficulties along the way -  but I feel privileged to be a part of it all.

Cultural Reflections

It´s been strange (in a good way) to be in another country for a few weeks - and to recognise the differences in culture - even though there are similarities as well. Cuba is a bit of an enigma in itself. Outside of the country, it´s portrayed in so many different ways - depending on your political leanings or which aspects of society you put greater emphasis on. It´s achievements in education and health service are some of the best in the world, but the same can´t be said for freedom of speech and human rights. And within the country, even the great acheivements of the government aren´t quite what they seem. The Cuban newspapers are always full of good news  -- which is a breath of fresh air compared to Guatemala where the most popular newspaper is nicknamed 'The Daily Death' -- but of course if you only ever hear good news, people doubt it´s authenticity and accuracy.
And the Cuban people are very different from Guatemalans -- they seem to be much more outgoing and extroverted, they speak very directly and loudly,  - whereas Guatemalans are more reserved and conditional in the way they speak.
Although I speak Spanish, the Cuban accent is very strong and with certain people, I found it difficult to understand. And even when the words were clear,  there´s so much more to communicating in another culture. In many ways I was back to square one - learning about the appropriate ways to interact with people and of course making mistakes along the way. I was reminded again of how a missionary life is not suited to perfectionists! It´s humbling to realise (again) that you don´t understand what´s going on, or how you should react to people and events... but equally encouraging to see the God works in us anyway! 

Recent Travels

 I have just returned from 2 weeks in Cuba. It was a great time of meeting different Latin Link friends and contacts there  - thinking about ways in which we can work together. For several years, Latin Link has been developing friendships with churches there, and some of the possibilities now are a result of those long term friendships.

 

I spend a week in Havana -this view is from the Baptist Seminary

 Retired Latin Link members were able to teach in the seminary as well as lead a conference for retired people with a church in Havana. Their humility and years of experience in Peru was a real advantage as they shared with the church and with pastors.

 

I then spent a week in a small town, 2 hours west of Havana. Strider Hollie has got to know the church and pastor over the last couple of years, and was able to organise the visit of a Step team who are now helping out with a children´s holiday Bible school and youth activities.

 The Step team got around in a variety of modes of transport.....

 Here - the Edinburgh Step team in the back of a truck.

 

It was highlight for me to spend an evening with the Step team as they visited a house church. As building new churches is virtually impossible, the vast majority of growth in the Cuban church is through house churches - who meet together in someone´s home - not more than 12 people - and study the word and encourage each other. For that reason, leadership training is a huge need. During our visit, a few members of the step team shared testimonies and preached, and we prayed for each other. It was a real privilege to be invited to share with them. Most of the church, particularly in that area of Cuba, have never met people from outside, and were encouraged by hearing of what God is doing in other places

Airport farewells.