For four months in 2007 we hosted a young man from Guatemala. It was kind of a fluke that we even were given the opportunity. Having been an exchange student to Great Britain as a child and having been to Norway so many times, I knew that someday we would hopefully open our home, too. However, I never even thought of hosting a Spanish-speaking child. I always thought that we would have someone European. You know, Norway or England. Well, in the summer of 2007 we received a phone call from a woman who said that she had spoken to Erik's Spanish class in the Spring and Erik had expressed an interest in hosting. "Really? He didn't mention it to us..." So we talked about it and decided to go for it. We will NEVER regret that decision.
Pablo arrived on September 22, 2007. He was 15 at the time and would be enrolled as a freshman at B-W. Pablo lives on the edge of the western highland area of Guatemala. The community is called Retalhuleu. (Ray-tal-hu-le-o) His parents own their own business. They sell building materials to contractors. One thing that you need to know about Guatemala is that there is a huge gap between those who have and those who have not. Pablo's family "has." But they are in the minority. The percentage of Guatemalans who are illiterate is over 50%. The poverty there is apalling. The government has no social programs. Only the poor attend public school and that is only offered for about four years. Most kids do not attend because they have to purchase books, uniforms, and supplies and their families cannot afford them.
Eventhough Pablo's family is not below the poverty level, they do not hoard what they have. They are very religious and believe in helping those less fortunate than them. They have domestic employees at their home for two reasons. First, they employ a "guard/groundskeeper" because the police are not trustworthy enough to protect their property. So there is always someone at their house. They also employ a woman who cooks and does cleaning and laundry. They employee these people partly because their time occupied by kids and work and partly because they hope that by paying these people to do this, they can help reduce the poverty and thus the crime rate. It is a concept that we would consider luxury but in a country like Guatemala, is more like a social theory.
So Pablo came to stay with us. His English was okay. Not great, but okay. By the end of the first week, it was already better. He became instantly involved in our church and the soccer team at school. What we didn't realize was how much he would be involved in our hearts. We loved having him here. When he left I thought that my heart was breaking right in half. After that pain, I didn't know if I could ever do it again. But we did.
We stayed in contact with Pablo over the internet. Mostly we communicated through MSN Messenger at least once a week. I also "chatted" with his younger sister, Isabel. One day I asked her, "Why don't you come to see us?" She really liked that idea and I guess her parents warmed up to the idea so on April 30, 2008, Isabel came to stay with us. She was only here for a month, but Erik went back with her. Her parents were so grateful to us opening our home to their children, they paid for Erik's ticket. It was a huge opportunity for him, since he takes Spanish in school.
I miss having a girl around. It was so fun having her here. As I said, I will never regret having them here even after suffering the heart-break. They are great kids and the reason that we are leading a youth mission trip from our church to Guatemala this summer. We hope to help the poor in their community by doing some "Bible School" and helping with any construction that we can help with. Not to mention, I will be able to visit my "kids".
