The Blog I did not Post. "Our American Bubble"

As I spoke to a good friend on the phone, she said "your life seems so American there!" It was an uncomfortable statement for me. I said, "It does! We are in a bit of an American bubble." I often wonder what friends and family back home think. I didn't know how to answer and had a hard time explaining, because I know it can seem that way.

Yes, we could replace your American lives here. It's possible. If you want American fast food, it's here. If you want the latest electronic item, it's here. If you want to work out and take Zumba, yes, it's here too. I have been asked to sell Mary Kay! How American is that?? It's almsot all her and if we have not seen it yet, I'm betting we could find it (except for brown sugar!)

In so many ways our lives seem and could be very American and at some level you must remember, we are Americans! So as I sit and reconsider the statement “your lives seem so American there.” I have to ask...

Is having 10 ft. concrete walls around your yard wrapped with razor wire, American? Are you kidding me? In Colorado walls with razor wire are called prisons, not homes. Razor wire is used to keep the bad guys in, not keep them out!

We do not live in an American bubble. We live in a suburb of Guatemala City. We find the American school a huge blessing, and the “American” things a comfort amidst the radical change we have been through this past year.

In Guatemala we purchase non-refrigerated eggs off the shelf and milk in a box. That’s not American. In Guatemala we do not flush toilet paper. Most people here do not drink the tap water and those who do, shouldn’t! Traffic laws here are optional and pedestrians do not have the right of way. Men, women and children walk along the big busy dangerous highways late into the night begging or selling everything from fresh flowers to pirated movies. In Guatemala it is normal to have guards with shot guns or automatic weapons at every store. The meat is mostly just scary!

We can drive just over a block from our home and see smoke billowing out of the doors and windows of many tiny homes, a reminder of American blessings and of this countries need. When it rains we know that most of our friends in the village of El Rosario are just a few of the many people in Guatemala who will have another cold night sleeping in the mud (my eyes water at these realities.)

We drive past the entrance to an orphanage everyday on our way to school. It is one of many orphanages that are filled with babies and children whose parents are missing or just don’t care. The children in these mostly understaffed orphanages are blessed. In Guatemala, adoptions have been frozen for over 5 years so even an understaffed orphanage is better than the streets.

At every corner there is someone with needs. We have a choice to run to the rescue of so many and actually do very little because we would be spread so thin. Or watch and pray and put all our efforts exactly where God is asking us. We will take our time. We will go deep. We will find comfort in the familiar things. We will grow familiar with the Guatemalan things. We will continue to serve the Lord daily with all we do. This is not an American bubble, I misspoke, this is our mission field.

If you would like to support what God is doing through us in Guatemala, click here. Follow our journey at www.GodCalledUs.com

If you have questions or just want to catch up, do not hesitate to contact me directly. You can email me at vondasisneros@gmail.com or call our Magic Jack number in Guatemala, 970-449-9449 (local call for you). I would love to hear from you!