Guatemala & The Challenge

1.  1.    I AM GOING TO GUATEMALA!

For two weeks in March. Into two rural villages. For medical missions. With a team of 10 from Richland, WA. Do I know much Spanish/Kekchi/indigenous languages? Nope. Do I know this group of people from WA? No, I’ve only met them through skype. Did I plan this? Absolutely not! It never even occurred to me to go to Central America! Then how did it happen? An impromptu opportunity by God Himself through a random email. Confirmation? He provided two thousand dollars in one week. He allowed other supernatural things to occur. There is overwhelming peace in my heart. Am I excited? OH YES. The thought of going to remote areas where there is no running water, electricity, and sleeping on the floor are foreshadows of where I feel my future calling lie. For what purpose? To provide medical care to villagers who do not have access to or cannot afford health care. To love them with the love of Christ. To humble ourselves and learn from them and acclimate ourselves to their culture and way of life. Most of all, to glorify God and to partake in His greater, indescribable, unfathomable work amongst the nations! As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I can’t shake this “weight of glory” feeling in my being, the powerful yet humbling realization that I (and you) are part of something INFINITELY bigger than ourselves and our present circumstances.

With that being said….

2.      2. I am going to live for 30 days eating on a $1 a day, from February 2^nd to March 2^nd. 

     There are a few reasons for this, and I have no doubt that these reasons will be more defined, deepened, and perhaps changed over the next few weeks. Because my trip is on the forefront of my mind, I would like to prepare for it in this way. On one website, I read a statistic in which 61% of Guatemalans live under a dollar a day, and 80% live on less than $2. Therefore, it would give me a small glimpse into their lives and how I too will live once I get there. This idea was first inspired many months ago by a dear professor of mine when she sent me a link of a British man who did this experiment to personally experience what it would be like to live like the 1.4 plus billion people on this earth who go about their days with than a dollar a day (click here for article). The World Bank define this as the standard for “extreme poverty” an idea which I am only familiar with through stories, media, and some places I’ve gone to in the M.East and Indonesia. My dad grew up living in “extreme poverty” for the majority of his life; growing up, his family of six couldn’t even afford a cup of ice at one time. In one of the many conversations we’ve had about his childhood, he said this to me: “Syeldy, you will never know what it’s like to be truly hungry.” His eyes pierced mine, and as his voice cracked with this utterance, his black pupils reflected countless memories of going to sleep with sharp pains in his stomach, dreaming of something more than tempeh and rice, of being unable to study well because of insufficient caloric intake, of rarely having enough. His words will always haunt me.

 Therefore, to give concise goals for this experiment:

Developing empathy for the plight of the poor.  I am currently reading “The End of Poverty” by Jeffrey Sachs as well as seeking Scripture about those who are less unfortunate around the world. I need better understanding of the plight of the poor in this world and greater awareness of my role in this issue. 

Having a right perspective towards food. I, unfortunately, am the victim of knowing how to feast with little experience in having to fast for more than a few days. One of my chief weaknesses is gluttony and I need a new perspective on hunger as well as practicing self-control. Exploring the strong psychological, physical, and spiritual ties between man and food. Developing a grateful heart.

Raising awareness for the people and country of Guatemala. I will keep a countdown of the time until my trip, and in that time, I will post facts, pictures, and prayer requests for Guatemala!  Because this will be a medical trip, my team is also seeking for donations for vitamins, over-the-counter meds, and eyeglasses!

Prayer. Prayer for the nations, especially Guatemala. Prayer for the poor. Prayer for you. Prayer for strength and endurance for myself so that God would teach me how to pray and it would increasingly become a greater delight for me to do.

Nutritional analysis and body changes. Being a Biology major who is taking Nutrition this semester, I am intrigued as to how my body will adapt and change. I will record what I eat each day along with its nutritional content, and analyze whatever weight loss occurs in light of my changing diet. I will attempt to diversify what I eat and how much of the RDAs I can actually follow on such a small budget. I am truly a nerd at heart, and am excited at the thought of using my own body as an experiment!

However, after some thinking and referencing from the articles/blogs of others who have done it, there will be some guidelines:

1.       I will not take free food or beverages from others, excluding water from the fountain or a public place. This means that I will bring prepared food for every meal, even if it is in public for a get-together.
2.       I will not “carry over” any extra money from a previous day to the next day (i.e., if I only eat $.85 on Tues, I will not eat $1.15 on Wed).
3.       The maximum amount of food I will eat will be $1.00 exactly, though I will try to aim for a cumulative total of something a little lower.
4.       Because I will be heavily involved with school, work, and various other activities, I cannot risk making my body sick by completing depleting it of various vitamins and nutrients, so I am going to continue taking my multi-vitamin. I’m not sure yet if I’ll factor that into the equation because that would leave me an estimated amount of $.70 of food/day. Hmmm.

I will try my hardest to blog every day (except Friday) but do not be surprised if I can only do it five days a week. I'm going to the store tomorrow to purchase the food, so I'll blog about my first day on Thurs evening.

I have found guidance, inspiration, and creativity from these blogs so I'll be referring to them often. I'm very thankful that I'm not a pioneer in this! Click here and here to read them!

Ready? Here we go!