Posts tagged monastery

A few days late, I know… I apologize! I was too busy or too exhausted to write anything but gibberish… So here’s an update on the rest of the mission trip:

Saturday was an emotional day. We had a break from morning Matins, so we all went straight to finishing up yard work. Some of the older girls sat down with Emily and I while we were weeding the walkway, and helped out. And by helped out, I mean worked twice as efficient as both of us combined, using their bare hands. It was a nice opportunity for all of us to ask questions and get to know each other better.

During our lunch break, three of the boys who set a fire in their dorm a couple nights prior, had to shovel bricks into bags as part of their punishment. They were of course allowed to eat, but they had rice and beans, instead of the pizza and ice cream, so graciously provided by Father Dean in memory of his father who recently passed. Rebeca, a 13-year-old who I became very close with, was seen crying and eating only rice and beans as well. She refused to tell me what happened, I think she was embarrassed. I assured her that I have done my fair share of stupid and embarrassing things in life. It was hard to see such a sweet, smart, hard-working young girl miss out on pizza and ice cream, that of which I’m sure they only get a few times a year; but when trying to keep order with 50+ kids, rules are rules, and Mother Ivonne teaches that they must own their consequences. This is where the “American kids are spoiled” part comes in again.

After lunch, we went back to weeding, and Rebeca joined us again, just a little quieter this time around. Later while attending Vigil (another type of church service), the kids all began singing; and I instantly broke down. I think it was the culmination of a lot of things, but to hear these orphans sing with such heart and soul, with no words in front of them, was so touching. That evening, us missionaries sat outside and shared our thoughts and feelings from our experience thus far. Naturally, I cried through 75% of it. Dr. Prevas, who has made several visits, shared that she always feels she receives more from these children than she is able to give. We all agreed, but were reminded that we give more than we may realize. JoAnn, or “Jo Jo”, who is 80 years old, shared that this was a part of her bucket list. For her, it all was a dream come true, and God willing, she will return. Geli, our team leader, reminded us that the majority of the orphans come to The Hogar emotionally and physically sick and abused. The Hogar is a home of healing for them, with structure rooted in Christianity, so it isn’t your typical government run orphanage. The children are always welcome to call The Hogar their home even after they turn 18, as long as they are in school, have jobs, or start their own families. We also discussed how some people don’t understand why we volunteer our time in a foreign country, especially when our country also has problems. Geli quoted something he was told regarding that subject, and it was that Jesus calls us to “feed all nations”, so why on Earth would we start with ourselves?

Sunday I woke up to what I thought was a gun-shot or bomb, but I was told it was just a car’s muffler backfiring. Still don’t understand the reasoning behind all the bad mufflers and random firecrackers going off. At 7:30am, a mariachi band started playing outside the church for Cara’s quinceanera. Cara was adopted by a family in Ohio when she was 3 1/2, and she still has memories of being at the orphanage. Her nanny continues to work at The Hogar to this day. She chose to give up her American Sweet 16, and instead celebrate her 15th birthday with all of us in Guatemala. Liturgy, or “Mass”, was held directly following the dance session. What a sight to see, everyone dressed in their “Sunday best”. I “directed” (haha) the choir singing “Praise the Lord” in both Greek and English during Communion. Following that, we headed over to bless and dedicate the playground which was graciously donated by the Vrettakos family, Peter, Bess, and Stephanie, in honor their “Papou”, or grandfather, who recently passed. It had been over 6 hours of fasting, and no one had consumed any food, tea, or coffee yet. Us adults of course complained more than the children.

We entered the dining hall for lunch, and it was so beautifully decorated in orange Hawaiian theme by Cara’s family for her Fiesta Quinceanera. Everyone wore lei’s, including the 3 nuns and Mother Maria’s dog, Mieka. Cara had also changed into orange Converse shoes, which her mother had bedazzled for her, to match her beautiful orange gown. The mariachi band returned, and the dancing continued all afternoon. Exhausted, after High School Musical and Jonas Brothers music, all I wanted to do was take a nap, but the kids naturally had more energy than that. Somehow I found myself playing soccer with them for awhile in the gym. They are all amazing soccer players! I’m not sure they completely understand or care to follow the official rules, but regardless, they’d make any American soccer team proud.

Before sundown, I sat in the park with some of the older girls, who wanted to listen to my music. They also learned the chorus to my song “Someday”, to hopefully have that footage be used in the upcoming music video. Elisa, who is a 15, going on 16, year-old wannabe rock star, asked me what inspires me to write music. For the first time, the purpose and drive behind my music career was finally put to it’s official use. My ultimate goal is not to become rich and famous. I strive to make a living, earn respect in the industry, and most importantly, use my God-given gifts and talents to inspire others. I was able to explain the meaning behind my music, and be a positive influence on these girls. I am forever grateful for that moment on the lawn. My music career could end tomorrow, and I would not have one regret. After dinner that night, some of the girls walked me to our dorms, and told me that tomorrow morning their “hearts would break” when I left. I assured them that my heart would break just as much, if not more.

On Monday, after finding a huge spider in my suitcase and after morning Matins finished, Mother Ivonne expressed her gratitude of our visit. Some of the younger children presented each of us with handmade posters, prayer rope bracelets, and cross magnets. Rebeca was the one to bring mine to me, and I couldn’t help but start sobbing. She hugged me, looked into my eyes, and I lost it. Then we all lined up outside the church, and each child gave us a hug, thanking us and we said our official goodbyes. After our last breakfast as a team, we headed over to the classroom, and did presentations. We were supposed to do this in the beginning of our visit, but it got pushed back. We each talked for 2-3 minutes, giving a better insight to our lives in the US, some showing photos on the projection screen. We left them with a few gifts to have after classes were over that day. Naturally, Matt and I gave them Organic Trader Joe’s Lollipops. ;) Just because their orphans, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the best!

Shortly after, we all loaded into the van headed to the Monastery of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity in the mountains outside Guatemala City. We were able to have an inside look at the slums, while trying not to get car sick from the city’s poorly paved streets and Jorge’s driving! Side note - many streets and bridges are collapsed around Guatemala City due to all of the recent mudslides. They do not have the quality, nor equipment, as the US does to fix them as efficiently.

An hour later we arrived, and it was a breath-taking sight to see! Once past the gates and armed guards, we saw the construction site of the new Hogar San Miguel orphanage on the cliff. They hope to move the children to this site in little over a year for better air quality, and more room, safety, and quietness. They plan to keep the original site as an intake for orphans, as well as an Orthodox Christian learning center for the growing number of Orthodox Christians in Guatemala. The current orphanage costs about $35,000 a month to run, and the new orphanage will cost $1.6 million to completely finish. They are in need of donations now, more than ever! The views at the Monastery are incredible. It overlooks Lake Amatitian and 2 volcanoes, Pacaya, which is very active, and another bigger one that is dead. Mother Ines gave us a tour of the future orphanage site, which will be so beautiful once finished. The nuns then invited us to stay for lunch and I felt like I was in a movie, the kind of movie where important people are discussing important things in a beautiful place in the middle of a very dangerous country. It all was too surreal. The Monastery strives to be as self-sustainable as possible-which I LOVE. There is a fish farm (we ate the Tilapia for lunch which Mother Ines caught that morning herself), rabbit farm, including a worm farm to create compost out of any remains, vegetable garden, and plenty of fruit, avocado, and cocoa trees. We were also lucky enough to have 18 year-old orphan, Sarah, with us for the entire day. She had to go out to get her official adult ID. We finished touring the property, took a group photo, said our good-byes and headed to a hotel for the night, so not to leave or enter The Hogar when dark for safety purposes. We had one final team dinner at the hotel, and Jorge (the driver and Mother Ivonne’s brother) joined us. He shared some stories on his relationships and experiences with all the orphans. He is the only positive father figure in their lives.

So Tuesday morning at 5:30am, we woke up and made our journey back home, back to reality, but it really didn’t feel like reality at all. If anything, it felt like the complete opposite. It’s really hard now to give a shit about anything else but these kids! My motivation to keep working hard though, is knowing I can make a bigger and better impact on their lives, and so many others, if I keep following my dreams and goals in the blessed life I’ve been given.

I had a great time meeting and getting to know our team from Baltimore - I like to call it “My Big, Fat, Greek Mission Trip”. :D I also want to thank all of you who have followed me on this short journey, prayed for me and those at The Hogar, and donated your time and/or money to better their lives. Like we reminded the orphans, we will always be together in the presence of God! I urge everyone to do whatever they can, whether in their own communities or in a 3rd world country, to help those in need. Also, stay tuned for the upcoming “Someday” music video which will feature footage from this mission trip!

God Bless!

-AZ

Sorry I didn’t blog yesterday … my phone wasn’t working and we didn’t have the password to the wi-fi at the orphanage.. God forbid! ;)

But, after all the warnings and horror stories about getting a gun held to you just so someone can steal your cell phone (even if you’re driving in the car, they’ll take it through the window!), we made it safe and sound to the orphanage. When the guard opened the gates, it literally felt like a different world. Their own little “oasis”. Unfortunately, they’re stuck in the one city block the majority of the time. They were celebrating a girl named Guadalupe’s 15th birthday party when we arrived. It is as important as a Sweet 16 in America. She was dressed in a salmon-orange gown and a tiara. They had a mariachi band come play for her and the kids danced all afternoon. We even had chicken and cake! We definitely were spoiled our first day.

The orphanage is run by 3 Orthodox monastic nuns - Madre Ines (An engineer who runs and oversees everything but lives at the monastery), Madre Maria (She deals with the adoption process and all that entails and also lives at the monastery), and Madre Ivonne (A biologist who directs the orphanage as well as lives here). They hire poor mothers to help nanny; they work 24-hour shifts, get to eat meals here, take leftover food home, and get paid, so it’s a win-win situation. There is a Matins service every morning at 7am, Vespers service at 415pm everyday, and Liturgy (if a priest is in town) on Sundays. The child are not forced to do anything, but I’d say 30 of the 55 come to church everyday on their own. They are the most well behaved, disciplined, non-picky eaters I’ve ever seen. Puts most American kids to shame!

Today we helped mow the grass since it hadn’t been mowed since September 7th and weed the gardens. I also got to teach the 3rd graders music class! I taught the the chorus to “Someday” and we sang and danced together. They were very quiet and shy at first, but by the end of it they kept saying “otra vez”, or “again”! Oh, and we ate fish raised at the monastery right off the bone minus the eyeballs for lunch.

Tomorrow we take the little ones to the museum and to their favorite fast-food chicken chain restaurant. We also get to see 10 of the older girls’ dress rehearsal for their upcoming trip to Russia! They were invited by the Russian government to sing in Moscow. Our team members brought down some sweatshirts, coats, and boots for them to have.

Please pray for everyone at the orphanage! The situation is only getting worse, but hopefully in a couple years they can move them all to a new place at the monastery in the mountains. They are no longer able to accept any more children, but it is somewhat of a blessing because Madre Ivonne cannot handle more with the little help she has. She is a living, breathing, Saint. Side note - she researches mushrooms, and creates and sells mushroom capsules that she feeds the kids once a week for their immune system. Result? They hardly ever get sick - all 55 together all the time!

If I had a spare bedroom and the government wasn’t corrupt, you’d better believe I’d come home with at least one. ;) They ran out of food one day and people worried. Madre Ivonne said “God will provide”. The next day a large donation came through. Again, for more information or to donate please visit www.hogaraphaelayau.org. Your donation could literally be their next meal! The children and Madre Ivonne are eternally grateful to all of you who already donated… Thank you for caring! :D

-AZ (hopefully I’ll post a photo tomorrow!)