By Abinet

My time in Guatemala passed far quicker than I expected. Already, the memories of our first time helping build stoves feels distant to me. Even though so much has happened, I know that the memories I’ve made while stay with me for years.

Keeping in line with the thought of being thankful this thanksgiving, I’m grateful for the community we have helped, and the community we’ve built among ourselves on this trip. Especially the new friends I’ve found in Christchurch. They have made this trip enjoyable, even in the littlest things.

I remember one time, me and Loc and Nhat and Cuong helped an older gentleman move rocks down from his house to the street of Cerro de Oro. This unplanned act of helping the community really changed my perspective on life in Guatemala. I finally could step into his shoes just a little bit, unlike before when I read about the lives of Guatemalans. I thought about how long he had been doing this, with no help, and I was both amazed and impressed that before we came, he had been doing this all by himself. I began to wonder how many like him had been working alone, in the blazing heat.

Another memory is when me and Flagg saw a group of workers on the side of the road, sweating and clearly working for a few hours before we saw them. When we asked if they needed help, they said later we could, but they did ask if they could have some water. Flagg gave them some, and they were so joyful and happy as they drank. What suprised me is that we were not even 50 feet from a store that sold water and snacks. To me, it was incredibly cheap, around 5 Q’s. To the workers, I dont know if they even had enough money to buy one.

This was another, if you want to call it this, eye opening experience. Again, I was thrown headfirst into a real life experience that wasnt on a travel guide, or a news headline, or an instagram post. It hit me then that I was in Guatemala, on some random road, in some small town, walking around with hundred of Q’s when the workers next to me couldn’t even purchase a bottle of clean water.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that, even though everyone says it, be grateful for what you have. Be grateful for your health, because somewhere in the world someone is mouring the loss of their family. Be grateful for your family, because somewhere someone fears heading home. Be grateful for your friends, because somewhere someone is contemplating ending themselves because they dont have anyone to talk to. Be grateful for the nature we get to be in, before it all gets taken down for more houses. And above all, be grateful that your alive. The fact that you are born is a miracle in itself. Don’t let it go to waste.