Back from Guatemala, Snow Boots and Flip-Flops and other contrasts

I arrived safely back from Guatemala on Thursday night. It was great to be back with Jessica, Lil' A-P and Sol. We are mid-way through Week 34 of the pregnancy and cannot wait to meet our little girl.

Today I took a "travel comp" day to get caught up on things around the house and run some errands that I had neglected during my trip to Guatemala. I raked the leaves in the yard, cleaned the house, did some small home improvement projects and got caught up on work at Wellshire Presbyterian Church where I am the Youth Director.

The temperature today in Denver was in the high 70s. Just last week I was shoveling 20 inches of snow off my driveway and sidewalk. I love living here in Denver, a city of contrasts. We have almost two feet of snow one week and I am tromping around in my Sorel snow boots and the next week we have temperatures in the high 70s and I can walk around in my flip-flops. A few winters ago, I even went skiing on a Saturday and golfing on a Sunday.

These contrasts in temperature and weather are not so common in Guatemala. The weather tends to be pretty even keel there. However Guatemala is a land of contrasts, just not contrasts of temperature.

The contrast in Guatemala is the incredible wealth and the oppressive poverty. Last time I was in Guatemala I was visiting a coffee plantation. I saw workers in the field that were making an average of $300 per month, just a little more than minimum wage in Guatemala. While I was talking with one of the plantation workers a loud noise caught our attention. It was the owner of the coffee plantation, arriving to work in his own private helicopter.



The wealth in Latin America is impressive, even by our own standards here in the United States. One of the richest men in the whole world, Carlos Slim, is a Mexican. The upper classes in Latin America live well. Which is why it contrasts so much with the impoverished masses, the folks we have the privilege of working with in Healing Waters International.

I never cease to be amazed by the spirit of the people we work with. Despite extreme poverty contrasted with such wealth, the people we work with have profound faith and an incredibly positive outlook.

The class system in Latin America is not as rigid as the caste system of India, but the chance of moving from the lower classes to the upper classes is pretty slim. Despite this, and despite having this class contrast front and center every day with helicopters landing in coffee fields and Land Rovers and Mercedes driving by urban slums, the people we work with find joy in their lives, their families and their faith.

That is one of the things that drew me to Latin America originally and keeps me coming back. That spirit, the sense of faith and community, and the general sense of joy.

So as I settle back into my life here in Denver, trying to decide whether to wear my flip flops or my snow boots, that contrast will make me grateful for my time in Latin America and the people I am privileged to work with there.