People here are so good at celebrating, in fact, that they even went along with the huge party that the group from Texas threw today in honor of July 4th. I've been out of the country on the 4th of July for the past 6 years, so this holiday has kind of lost its endearment for me, but not for everyone! The group made hundreds of hotdogs (ironically, they did not realize that a local grocery store recently donated 15,000 hotdogs to the orphanage because they had passed their expiration date so that's all we've been eating), potato salad, 250 cupcakes, and neopolitan ice cream. They also gave the kids noise makers, red/white/blue necklaces, and lollipops shaped like stars. One of my kids, proceeded to explain to me that the reason it's star shaped is because, "Ustedes tienen un montón de estrellas en su bandera." (You have a ton of stars on your flag!) I nodded. She then proudly imparted her newly confirmed knowledge to every other Casa Samuel child. The celebration continued with music--a must here. As good anthropology students, Matt and I were mildly horrified as 200 Guatemalans were subjected to two go-rounds of I'm Proud to Be an American and the Star-Spangled Banner. But, thankfully, they evened things out and treated us all to a rousing rendition of Guatemala's national anthem...which is SO MUCH longer than ours! Impressively, the kids knew all the words and sang them with enthusiasm. Then, because this night wasn't random enough, they whipped out some kind of National Anthems of the World soundtrack and went on to play the songs of each person represented in the room and all the remaining World Cup contenders. Listening to the German national anthem with a bunch of Texans and Guatemalans was indeed odd. Finally, as the great equalizer, they began to repeatedly play the World Cup theme song, Wavin' Flag, to the delight of everyone. Even the little ones were singing along!
However, the most passionate celebration I have witnessed since coming here took place on Friday evening. This past week the kids had no school and there were programs, activities, and competitions between the houses everyday. There were also church services. Long church services. Friday's service was 3 1/2 hours long, most of that being praise music. After a short sermon and a puppet show the band came on stage. This was the loudest praise band I have ever heard, complete with 3 trumpet players. Guatemalan worship music tends to be quite upbeat, and the services often involve flag waving and dancing. Friday was the epitome of a praise celebration! They cleared out all the chairs, and for 2 1/2 hours children of all ages sang, danced, and waved flags with joy. The band played without stopping, and the kids' energy never gave out. I can't say the same for mine...one of my little girls decided I was going to be her personal dance partner, and she also decided this needed to involve me spinning her around by her hands hundreds of times. She's surprisingly heavy for a small six-year old!
Having been here for a month, I know how excited these children can get over the World Cup, a birthday, a piñata, Toy Story 3, pools, pizza, new toys, or snack time. But the most enthusiastic that I have seen them has been during praise times on Sunday mornings and last Friday night. The pastors keep telling everyone to abandon their shame and embarrassment and dance, which I think is mostly directed at the Americans because the children have no problem doing that. Some of the older girls in Casa Alabanza and Casa Ester are great dancers. They could probably get a hip hop contract, but instead they patiently teach younger children new dance moves every Sunday morning to worship God. Watching children who have been through hell shamelessly dance in circles, weave around the room in trains, and wave huge flags as they sang about God's goodness and love was something I had never experienced. Then, the song Niña de tus Ojos came on. The lyrics are as follows:
Me viste a mi cuando nadie me vio. (You saw me when no one saw me.)
Me amaste a mi cuando nadie me amó. (You loved me when no one loved me.)
Y me diste nombre. (And you gave me a name.)
Yo soy tu niña, la niña de tus ojos, (I am your daughter, the daughter of your eyes,)
porque me amaste a mi. (because you loved me.)
Me amaste a mi. (You loved me.) x2
Te amo más que a mi vida. (I love you more than my life.) x4
As I listened to the children singing this song and watched the faces of some of the older girls, I realized that these words are true for them on a different level than I can understand. For many of them, there really was a time when it felt like no one saw them, no one loved them, and no one knew their name. To be someone's daughter is something that most of them can't claim. As much as they might celebrate all the other fun moments that their life at Casa Bernabé contains, this is the thing most worth celebrating. The words to this song are the reason they raise their flags and dance with joy every Sunday. Porque me amaste a mi.
Here are a few from our day in Antigua...
This is the 4 of us from SMP, Wheaton's summer ministry program
market places = Matt getting to shop with 10 girls.
This is when Matt realized he should have chosen to cheer for Spain instead of Argentina:)
La Iglesia de la Merced
checking out the flag
Mateo with some of the Casa Esperanza boys
Guatemala's national anthem
star lollipops!
And now, the praise service...
Thanks for sharing, Emily. The words to that song are so precious! What a humbling thought to envision that worship time! And thanks for posting the pictures. We are praying for you all!
ReplyDeleteIn Christ,
Denise (Lauren Harlow's mom)
Great job on the blog Em- so well written. I miss worshiping there :( Praying for you all!
ReplyDelete