Hey this is Shannon Ryan and this is my first time here in Guatemala. This is the first time I've ever been on a mission trip as well. So far I have absolutely loved my experience. I am so happy I was given this opportunity to come here and am so thankful for the cones introducing me to all of this. Over the past few days I've gotten to know quite a few kids in Las Conchas, Guatemala. Every kid is sweet as can be and if I show even the slightest smile they'll dash to give me the biggest hug and sweetest "hola". Each child has a name and a story and each child has made it very easy for me to fall in love with them but there are 7 kids who have truly touched my heart to the core. Martina is a 10 year old who has 110% captured my heart. She has two younger brothers- Alberto (6) and Luciano (5). The 3 kids have a cousin, Angela (8). Angela's mother ran away and her father works, so she lives with the 3 kids and their parents. Their house is currently a complete wreck. It is such the mess. Half of their home has a roof and we are working to fix this. These 4 kids know how to stick together. They also have another set of cousins- Andrea (8), Hosea Manuel (6 or 7), and Melanie (2). Since Melanie is just a baby, I haven't seen her much this trip. The other 6 however are always on my mind. Martina is so trustworthy. Like no matter what the case, I know this girl has my back. I totally trust her with my backpack even if I'm not close. But that's rare because I'm always by her side. She always wants to carry my backpack though. She eagerly says "mochilla mochilla!!!" (Excuse the spelling- not my language) and pleads to carry my backpack. She'll do whatever she can to help me out. We're mostly always holding hands and talking about whatever we can. She is fully aware that I am not fluent in Spanish so she is always teaching me new things and helping me communicate with the family. My love for her tender heart grows more each day. Alberto loves to be silly and run around. Out of the whole gang, I think he loves "chiclé" (gum) the most. In America sometimes if we're getting someone's and we don't call their names we may say "hey" or "excuse me" but Guatemalans make this "chkk" noise. So Alberto will sneak up and go "chkk chkk chiclé chkk chkk!!!" Luciano has the biggest brown eyes in the world and his smile is so cute I could die. You can normally find the two boys hanging around Simon who is part of our group. They love him. Angela is such a hugger is precious. She makes the best of whatever she has and is always smiling. Her mother isn't around but she knows her cousins will always have her back and stick by her side through thick and thin. This next girl, Andrea, has a soft spot in my heart. She has multiple times showed me pure, selfless love. To me, this young girl is a rare jewel. Her precious heart is made of gold. She is so kind, I cannot even begin to explain the love she radiates or I'd have you reading for days. While Andrea and a few others were braiding my hair, Carly, another person in our group, was handing out little plastic bracelets and necklaces to the girls. When Andrea saw, she told me she'd just be a moment and then she'd be right back. Carly was only a few feet away from me, but she didn't want me to feel abandoned. Once she received her plastic, long, pretty pearl necklace, she ran back to me. Before she continued to braid my hair, she put her necklace on me. She told me it was a present for me. I immediately refused but she insisted I keep it for myself. Andrea receives so little and not so often. She finally gets a beautiful piece of jewelry and she gives it away to another. This showed me how much a jewel she truly is. She doesn't need any accessories to make her pretty, it is her heart that is stunning. However I do find her very beautiful on the outside as well! She's honestly the cutest little thing, but my point is how that action of giving showed how much she cares for others more than herself. No worries though, I eventually got that necklace back to her after she continued to try to give it to me and she was rocking it today. Another example of her graciousness was this afternoon when she gave me a piece of her food. I'm not sure she has maybe ever has a piece of chocolate. If so, then it has been a special occasion. Tanner, a boy in our group, gave her a cup of gold (chocolate power bar) and she came up to me and said "¡comida para ti!" And handed me a piece of it. Cup of golds are my favorite but again I refused because I know I can go home and eat a cup of gold every day if I want, but this was rare for Andrea. She was not up for discussion and said "no no no! Para ti." And went off to continue to play. She is just so giving I could go on and on. She always puts Manuel, her brother, first. They constantly are holding hands while walking and she makes sure he gets a piece of gum even before she does. I have not gotten to know Manuel as well but that doesn't stop the love I feel around him. These kids have the vibes of God's love. I came here to show God's love through me, however that is what these kids have done for me. I have seen so much love and grace poured out from God through these kids. It is so hard to say goodbye to them and each day it becomes more difficult. We have such fun running around and playing games. They loooooooooooove (really love) pato-pato-ganso and we play all the time. It's duck duck goose and it is a blast with them. I am going into my fourth year of high school cheer leading this year so I have had the opportunity to spend multiple hours with elementary aged kids playing games and becoming friends at quite a few Little Girls Cheer Camps, but never have I met a child that has touched my heart so deeply as these kids have. We don't even speak the same language and they call me their best friend. They have so little, but truly make the most of it. I feel so much love from them and I can only pray they feel God's love from me. Tomorrow we will be giving them some new shoes and I cannot wait to see their reactions! I look forward to seeing all their sweet, happy faces in the morning.
