I want to know, have you ever seen the rain....

Jason and I have been hanging out in San Pedro la Laguna for 3 weeks or more now – and we are both absolutely in love with this town! So, I apologize if I haven’t had much to say recently, but when you are stationary (and not traveling), it’s hard to write about just our day-to-day activities.  But just in case you were curious – our daily lives have consisted of Spanish courses in the morning, volunteering at our hostel (Yo Mama’s Casa) in the afternoon, and Jason playing in a band in the evening a few days a week.  We’ve also helped the owner of the hostel paint and clean up a few private rooms in the back, and now we are more comfortable situated away from a lot of the guests of the hostel.  I’ve learned to make some pretty amazing granola, and other than that – nothing too exciting had been going on.

Until recently – there has been a LOT going on in Guatemala, which many of you may have heard already.   Last week, Volcano Picaya erupted and brought much turmoil to the streets and towns surrounding it.  The streets were filled with volcanic ash, homes were destroyed and some unfortunate families lost loved ones.  Travel was chaotic, planes were unable to go anywhere and the roads were shut down in many places.

Then it started raining.  And raining.  And raining.  Hurricane Agatha, which traveled down the coast of Mexico, caused torrential downpours all throughout Guatemala.

And last Saturday, the rain caused a terrible landslide to occur here in San Pedro la Laguna.  And other landslides began to wipe out other small, underdeveloped villages surrounding Lake Atitlan.  The effects of the rain were monumental, and now many families are left without shelter, food, water, and clothes.  Farmers lost their crops.  Children lost what few toys they had.  And many lost their hope.

What was amazing was how quickly the town pulled together to help those in need.  The travelers and the foreigners that live here, the churches, the schools, and the locals all began to pull together what few resources they had and organized a system to help those who lost everything.  A search began immediately for a young girl, who sadly was never found.  Churches began to shelter and protect those who were left homeless.  And Yo Mama’s Casa turned instantly into a makeshift soup kitchen.  Some of the hostel guests went around to the different restaurants and tiendas to ask for donations of rice, beans, flour, pasta, vegetables – anything that they could afford to give.  We visited a local Mayan woman who makes tortillas for a living in hopes that we could purchase 100 or more tortillas to add to our dinners.  She didn’t have any flour to make the tortillas, but luckily a restaurant had donated several pounds of flour to us.  So, she was able to make a ton of tortillas for us.  When someone returned to pick up the finished product, the woman refused to let us pay her for her hard work.  She was just grateful that she was able to provide something for those in need.

Meanwhile, other guests stayed back at the hostel and began to crank out meal after meal with the donated food items, and we fed hundreds.  Many we fed were workers in the field who were digging up everything that had been buried beneath the mud and debris, and many were families who had been staying in churches and temporary housing.  We were able to continue with the hot meals for a few days.

But now so much more needs to be done.  Homes need to be built for those families who have nowhere to go.  Some other displaced families have other structures to live in, but they are empty.  Those who lost their farms also lost their food source and their income source.  So, we are all trying to figure out how to get more donations to buy what these families need.  Our friend Sharon has been working closely with the local Spanish schools, churches and families to develop lists of family names, items that they specifically need, and organize how to make sure everyone gets exactly what they need, since there isn’t that much to really go around.

The Yo Mama’s House Band  (with Jason at the helm) has been playing all around town, and we have been able to collect food, clothes, and money at each event.  Our Spanish school has set up a link on their website for those around the world who want to help financially.  And there’s even a Facebook page setup to help raise awareness and money.

Not to mention, if you are reading this, YOU too can help us by 1) Joining the Facebook page 2) Donating what little (or lot) you can through the website 3) Sending an email or this entry to all of your friends and family members.  And in return, you can rest assured that we are making sure that the money is going only towards buying food, medicine, clothes and other necessary items for these families – and that the purchased items are getting put directly in the hands of those families who need it the most.

This week we’ll be taking off of school to catch up on our lessons, but also this will allow us some time to get involved with projects around San Pedro, and to see if other towns around the lake could use our help as well.  It is heart-wrenching to realize that these people lost everything that they own in one bad rainstorm, that their entire houses could be swept away from them so quickly, and that they have to rely on the sole kindness of others to help them recover since there’s apparently no government programs in place to help in times of crisis.  I definitely feel that Jason and I arrived in this town for a reason, and I hope that we are able to make a small difference while we are here.  There are some absolutely amazing travelers that are going above and beyond the call of duty here  – big ups to Sharon, Becca, Isobel, Jen and all the members of the hostel and the Yo Mama’s House Band.  Let’s keep it moving!