Day 8: The Bittersweet Reality of Our Service

Today we awoke to our last day at the elementary schools. For those serving there, it was a bittersweet day of simultaneously partaking in their summer celebration while having to say goodbye for the last time before heading stateside.

Starting with our morning reflection and a breakfast of fried plantains, we headed off to the Francisco Coll school in Zone 3 for the annual soccer game at the end of our service. Mr. Cabrera offered a speech not seen since Vince Lombardi, and from there the only direction to go was up. It was a tightly contested game, but in the end the Titans prevailed with a score of 3-1. The opportunity for the match was met with a sense of graciousness on both sides and, after a quick photoshoot, we headed back to the school. Just as luck would have it, recess occurred at the moment we entered back into the school. A barrage of never ending piggy-back rides and finger-gun shots erupted with a playful intensity that was characterized by smiles and laughs. The bell rang, and we began to prepare for the children’s presentations.

The kids had obviously prepared for this event, and they put themselves into their performances. First there was teacher appreciation, which culminated in Mr. Dane putting his hips to work behind loud latin beats (Note from Mr. Dane: I was compelled against my will to dance in front of the ENTIRE school.  But what can I say: I embraced the moment, and my hips don’t lie). Then two of our own, Milano and Daniel, joined a dance competition. Unfortunately, they were promptly booted. A sound came and a pack of clowns rushed out and performed their own comedy skit, which was met with laughs by all the children in the school. Finally, there was a dance performance complete with the pageantry of traditional dresses being donned by the 6^th graders. Afterwards, it was our turn to reciprocate. First, a speech that we wrote was read aloud to the children while they prepared a special surprise for us. A group of fourteen children came up to each one of us and presented us with a bracelet made by them. Soon after, Robert showed his saxophone skills performing a solo piece. This was followed by an acapella rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and finally a confusing version of the Cuban Shuffle that left everyone a bit dazed. But through it all, there was a constant stream of smiles and laughs that lit the day brighter than the hot Guatemalan sun ever could.

After the performances, we distributed pizzas and soda to the kids, which was a special treat that comes around once a year for the children. We also had it for lunch: it was Domino’s, and it was surprisingly delicious. After resting up, we said our goodbyes to the children before they left the school for the summer. The last syllables of Adios that were heard was difficult, but left us with a sense of pride for what we had done and the relationships we had so fruitfully cultivated. Then it was time to put our energy to work. We continued our construction projects under the ever watchful and cheery eyes of Don Lolo and Don Julio. We made a large amount of progress on a new sidewalk which linked the annex classrooms to the rest of the square. Again we thought the culminating clouds meant it would storm, but it ended up holding off which allowed us to put in as much work as possible. There was an unexpected guest who showed up, Don Lolo’s son, who we played soccer with for a good chunk of time. With our tools cleaned, we headed back to the retreat house, opting to skip soccer in order to relax before dinner.

Dinner was delicious, and at the end we celebrated Adam Newell’s birthday with an otherworldly Tiramisu cake. After the cake was demolished, we were present at a very emotional reflection session as our time comes to an end. Before we went to bed, we separated items from our donation bags to give to the community before we leave. We hope to take our mission back home, and will not be satisfied with merely talking about ideas without taking real actions. Collectively, we have come to a single conclusion: that the kids have served us far more than we could ever hope to serve them in such a short period of time. We refuse to let such an experience grow stale in our minds so that we can help any way we can when we arrive back stateside.

As we prepare to leave, we hope this experience has been nourishing to our hearts, minds, and souls. With how our discussions have unfolded, it is most definitely true that this is the case. As we go to sleep for one of the last times, our hopeful optimism refuses to be diminished and only seeks to keep growing with the seeds of compassion, love, and mindfulness.

-Written by John and Franklin