Our group’s service trip to Guatemala was a once in a lifetime, eye-opening experience for all of us. The trip was a cultural immersion experience, service opportunity, and a chance to meet new people all at the same time. I learned so much more in Guatemala than I ever expected to. My expectations for the trip were radically different than what I received when I arrived in San Lucas for the very first time. I expected the town to be completely run down with people begging and living off the parish for sustenance. Instead, I found a town full of wonderful, Christian people who were generous, extremely happy, and very helpful. The people of San Lucas and the parish formed a wonderful community where everyone worked together to achieve a better life.
When I first heard that the school was planning a service trip to Guatemala, I was very excited. I went to Fr. Kirk’s office as soon as I could to let him know that I was interested in going on the trip. Soon, I was enrolled in the intersession class and I could not wait to get started on learning about Guatemala and its people. During the first week in intersession, we studied the complicated and violent history of civil war in Guatemala. We also learned about the Mayan culture and how it has survived so much abuse. By the end of that first week, I was even more excited to learn about the Mayan culture, to work alongside the people of San Lucas, and if possible, help the people in some way, shape, or form.
Saturday evening we were all in the chapel preparing to embark on our pilgrimage to Guatemala. Although I was sad to be leaving my parents, I was very excited to arrive in Guatemala and I had great expectations for the trip. We arrived the following morning and were eager to learn about the Parish’s role in the community and how we would be helping in the community during our time in San Lucas.
Our group got into the work schedule very quickly, during the morning we would do about 3 hours of work and in the afternoon around 2 hours. All of our work however, was completed with help from the locals. When we sanded the soccer field, a supervisor from the parish helped us figure out how much sand we needed and where to put it. When we were picking coffee, we always had a guide from the parish. Even when we were clearing rocks, the locals were helping us.
I was amazed how friendly and hard-working the people of San Lucas were. Every day, we ate with them, worked with them, and talked with them. It was incredible that these people with what little they have, their church, their homes, and their families, that they could still possess so much kindness while many Americans have so many more physical possessions but are still reluctant to perform any act of kindness. It makes me feel bad that we have so much compared to these people, but still struggle to find true happiness. This trip has made me realize that we don’t need our physical possessions to find happiness; it is in our family, friends, and relationship with God where we find our true happiness.
-Robby Baughman
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