B.J. Murrey - World Orphans, Central America

Yesterday morning after breakfast, we were picked up by Mike Glick, a CAM missionary. He took us to the local dump which is nearby and where many children and families scour the mountains of trash for items they can eat, use or sell. Recently many people had been killed here when heavy rains collapsed a mountain of trash on top of 18 people. They have yet to recover the bodies… nor will they try most likely.

The eerie thing about the dump is that it is immediately on the edge of the general cemetery for Guatemala city. It’s about 10 city blocks square and has hundreds of thousands of graves. What’s unique about this place is that the mausoleums are “condominium style”, stacked high and deep, and all the families with money are entombed in a private mausoleum. This cemetery is located immediately on the edge of the dump. The back side of which is infested with vultures scouring the trash alongside the people. It’s pretty creepy to see hundreds of these birds just perched on the tombs waiting for the next morsel to arrive from the trucks at the dump.

After the dump & cemetery, we had a lift in spirits as we visited Casa Benjamin, a daycare for kids up to teenage years. It was a well-built place, with great features & quality staff. The children, as they always have a way of doing, immediately lifted our spirits as they ran to us, hugging our legs with big smiles. We played catch with a few boys and colored with a couple of girls (who LOVE the camera’s attention) while we talked to the care-taker about the day to day operations. This is a CAM project, and has been running for almost 30 years.

After we left Casa Benjamin, we headed outside the city & into the mountains to a place called “the Oasis”, which is a troubled girls home. The girls here are from ages 5 to 18, and most have been forcibly removed from abusive families by  the government and given custody to the home. This was a magnificent property to view, though it was obvious that it was very much controlled by western dollars. Manicured lawns, pristine houses and construction… which in and of themselves are not bad, but are nowhere near close to the national Guatemalan standard of living. There will certainly be problems that come up when the girls “graduate” from the Oasis and begin to reintegrate into the community (because they are very much removed currently…) because they will not want to go back to living at near poverty level after living “high on the hog” at the Oasis for so many years.

It was nice to see, however, that the Oasis employs a similar style to World Orphans in the buildings that they house the children in. Their buildings are far more elaborate (read expensive) than anything we would ever build, but as far as construction method and layout and functionality, they are quite similar. The home is about 25 by 50 ft and has room for about 10 kids and house parents. Bunk beds and Siamese bathrooms are used for living space while the kitchen / living room is open and spacious, giving the entire structure a very much “home style” feel. That was my favorite part of the Oasis – being able to see 3 stages of construction of these homes: foundation & walls, completed & being finished out, and inhabited. As a construction guy, having a chance to see the progress and be able to talk to both the construction crew and the directors of the property, I gleaned a ton of information into how it’s done here in Guatemala. This will be most helpful when we fund a home, I know.

After the Oasis, we returned to the seminary where we met with Dr. Irving Wenger, a CAM missionary of 28 years and the Professor of Missiology at SETECA. He was helpful to speak with in figuring out more logistically how to network with pastors & missionaries here in Guatemala in order to fulfill my duties with World Orphans. He also provided insight into how locals react to certain social contexts and what his responses typically have been. Though not terribly helpful to Paul & Scott I don’t think, Dr. Irv was an extremely helpful resource for me who I will probably call on again in the future.

It was now late in the afternoon and we were meeting with Dr. Oscar & Gloria Campos, who also work here at the seminary. They are friends of Rod Vestal’s, and attended Lake Pointe while in Dallas. Oscar helped start the Spanish ministry there too. They took us out to Antigua for dinner. What a treat, let me tell you. As we neared the city, I felt like I was going on a 2^nd date or something. I hadn’t been to Antigua since I spent 2 and a half weeks there in 2004. I fell in love with this charming city and the lifestyle there & have thought about it every day for the last four years. Now, here I was going back.

We ate dinner at a restaurant called Don Posados, which has live music & dancing. I enjoyed the best steak I ever had eaten here in Guatemala. The homemade tortillas and freshly made cheeses were delectable too. It’s really an exquisite place, but we wanted to treat the Compos’ to a nice meal for helping us while we are here & for just being great folks. We didn’t see much while in Antigua because it was dark and sprinkling rain, but I know that we’ll be going back today and also the first part of next week too, to see a state-run orphanage nearby. It was great to see my old city, its cobblestone streets, 500 year old buildings, and lively people & atmosphere. I can’t wait to get back here so soon!

It felt really good to get back to the seminary to sleep though. What a long day & how tiring – both emotionally & physically. Apart from Rod’s & Paul’s snoring, I slept pretty well & am ready to see what today holds for us.