Allie Grady

Building a Playing Field and a Sense of Community

One particular moment of our Guatemala trip which stays in my mind was when we carried bags and buckets of dirt to create a playing field for the Mission’s school in San Lucas. This process initially involved only our St. Martin’s group, and we transported the earth through a “chain” of people who each performed a specific task.

After taking a break from this chore, we found ourselves joined by Guatemalan school children, who were only too eager to help out and who insisted upon shoveling the dirt and carrying the massive bags and weighty buckets themselves. The children managed to communicate with us enough to be given one glove apiece and to understand, from our broken Spanish, what needed to be done with each load of earth. I was surprised by the children’s enthusiasm and their willingness to work.

They volunteered to assist us on their own terms, simply because they loved seeing us there and liked being able to work alongside us. Each child was smiling and laughing while working, and, like us, they were dancing to our music. I realized that, though these kids had little, they were still able to give and work hard and laugh along with us all. They were just as playful, enthused, and energetic as any of us had been as children, and I found their attitudes to be contagious.

The language barrier between us and the Guatemalan children was not an obstacle that prevented interaction and understanding, at least in this situation, which I found surprising. This chore also brought our own group closer to one another, as we all worked to move the dirt from place to place. This bonding was the result of many of the San Lucas Mission projects. I thoroughly enjoyed bonding with the group and learning about the spirit and attitudes of the Guatemalan people on this trip.

Memories of Guatemala

Leah Spalding

Allie Grady

Samantha Pitkin

W. Edgett Hilimire

Sam Morse

Patrick Hawkins

Wyatt Good

Photo Gallery

Lasting images from the 2008 trip to the Guatemalan Highlands by St. Martin’s teen and adult parishioners.