Guatemala Reflection: Part 2 - We are a Family

By Barbara Thomson

This is part two of Barbara’s reflection on the youth pilgrimage to Guatemala this July, on which she was one of the three adult leaders. If you missed it, you can read part one, "Witness", here.

My family grew as I attended this year’s visit to Guatemala. Being a St. Martin’s member has already grown my family to include the other adults and St. Martin’s youth. This year it grew to include the Guatemalan families that our group of 11 (plus 3 - our driver, guide, and interpreter) met as we plowed through the Highlands from churches to homes and missions in our packed red van.  

Our wonderful translator, Melvin. Photo by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

It takes a leap of faith to be an adult leader on these youth trips – especially one who gets on board at the last minute! I have chaperoned twice to South Dakota, but I was asked just a few weeks before this trip to join and didn’t fully realize all of what I’d be getting in to! We know before we leave where we’re going and what we’ll be doing, and we trust that we will get along while we’re there. As soon as we go through security, the magic of being in a family – my new family –  kicked in. We were not the traditional household of parents and children, but rather a group of people with certain roles who watch out for, take care of, and love each other during our time together and thereafter. 

Photo of the youth at the chocolate factory. From Clare's camera.

Our group started every day with breakfast, piled into the van, took on a new experience, sat down for lunch, took on another experience, sat down for dinner, and ended with compline. We quickly knew who positioned for the window seat, who carried the soccer balls, and who loved fancy coffee and pink drinks. At the end of the day, we all asked God to “Keep watch with those who work or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep…”

Compline by flashlight. Photo by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel.

Ground transportation in San Lucas. Photo by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel.

Kate balancing a tub. Photo by Gavin.

While our youth group became a family as we walked through security at the airport, we met our extended St. Martin’s family as we walked into their churches and homes, and then played soccer. (We found that our St. Martin’s kids were better prepared for their cold showers after a hot and sweaty soccer workout.) With each new family we met, each new story we heard, these people became family to us. We were welcomed into homes and churches where they fed us, taught us, and shared time and company. 

Guatemalan church family. Photo by Gavin.

Youth with a Guatemalan family. Photo by Clare.

Hospitality. Photo by Clare.

Playing fútbol. Photo by Clare.

At the end of the day, we would talk about and try to understand what we saw, felt, and learned that day. Every day someone talked about how he or she was touched by the children’s love for learning, communicating despite language gaps, how welcome they felt at the homes and churches we visited, the care from our guide, driver, and interpreter, and the gap in wealth. We also spent time thanking our St. Martin’s kids for showing so much appreciation and respect to the families they met. We were proud of them and appreciate their individual contributions.

Home visit near Chichicastenango in Sepela. Photo by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel.

Dinner with the Bishop of Guatemala. Photo by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel.

Within our own group, we took care of each other. There were moments of concern as some were overwhelmed with emotion and some had digestive issues. When asked to help get the sick ones packed up so we could get the group to Antigua, they helped out without flinching and the sick ones were given preferential treatment for the 2 hour ride. When we arrived back in Miami, the first ones at baggage claim collected all the bags and had them waiting for the rest of us as we made our way through Customs. 

Kate holding a baby. Photo by Clare.

The St. Martin’s folks and the Guatemalan folks became a group of people with certain roles who watched out for, took care of, and loved each other during our time together. I’ve also found that the love doesn’t end. We may not see each other regularly but our care for one another lives on so that when we see someone, like Leslie who we recognize from a story from years past, we make sure she gets her new glasses. We are connected. We are a family.

We're on a boat! Photo by Gavin.

The family returns home. Photo by the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel.

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, 

for the love which from our birth over and around us lies,

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

We know that not everything about Thanksgiving, or everything about this moment in your life may feel like something to be grateful for. Yet, in everything there is something to find thanks for. The sun in the morning. A functioning heating system. The multicolored leaves. God's promises to be with us through whatever our trials. The freedom Jesus offers us in letting go of who we think we should be, in order to simply be Christ's followers, God's children. A community of faith to support us and remind us of who we are in Christ.

As you approach whatever Thanksgiving plans you have - be it dinner with family, friends, or heading to the Thanksgiving feast at this month's SUPPER at Christ Church and St. Michael's on Saturday at 3 p.m. - here are some prayer resources for your day:

A General Thanksgiving
(Book of Common prayer, page 836 - or online at BCPonline.org)

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have

done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole

creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,

and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for

the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best

efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy

and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures

that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the

truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast

obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,

through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life

again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and

make him known; and through him, at all times and in all

places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

A Litany of Thanksgiving
(Book of Common prayer, pages 836-837, or online at BCPonline.org)

Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so

freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and

sky and sea.

We thank you, Lord.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women,

revealing the image of Christ,

We thank you, Lord.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and

our friends,

We thank you, Lord.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,

We thank you, Lord.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,

We thank you, Lord.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering

and faithful in adversity,

We thank you, Lord.

For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,

We thank you, Lord.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,

We thank you, Lord.

Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and

promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;

To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the

Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Additional resources

While these two resources are taken from websites geared toward those who have children in their lives, they are good resources even if you are celebrating among only adults.

42 Bible Verses About Thankfulness

Gratitude Journal Prompts for the Whole Year

For each perfect gift of thine to the world so freely given,

faith and hope and love divine, peace on earth and joy in heaven,

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

The pastoral staff at St. Martin's is here for you in both times of gratitude and times of challenge. Please call 215.247.7466 to make an appointment.

God's blessings be with you this Thanksgiving!

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

Rector

Burnt Buns and Gratitude

Brown ‘n Serve rolls, slightly charred. Two varieties of cranberries (even though there were only three people in my family and I didn’t partake in the cranberry consumption): sliced jellied and whole, both straight from the can. Tablecloths and goldware in the formal dining room with the grandfather clock ticking away.

There are certain traditions and foods - prepared in very specific ways - that we associate with holiday meals. I’ve come to realize that these things are different for everyone, and that we tend to hold onto them rather tightly. Hence the sweet potatoes prepared in three different ways at some family feasts. When I think of Thanksgiving, my senses are immediately filled with memories of everything mentioned above. But I also think of my family’s tradition of going around the table before the meal and saying what we are thankful for. An unsuspecting guest at our table might get caught off guard by this practice, but it was always included, right before the prayer. In the past few years through social media, I’ve noticed that people have extended this practice of naming gratitude to the entire month of November. On Facebook, many people post something that they are thankful for each and every day. I believe this helps people intentionally focus on gratitude and go beyond the “I’m thankful for my family” or “I’m grateful for this bountiful feast” that usually come up when people are excitedly awaiting their first bite of gravy-laden turkey.

At St. Martin’s many of our children learn the basic prayer form of thanking and asking prayers, wherein we begin by naming things we’re thankful for - blessings that God has bestowed upon us - and then name things we’d like to ask God for (which often range from “a new rocket ship” to “my neighbor who is sad because her cat died.”) My family has started using this practice at home before meals and at bedtime. It’s not just a simple practice that my nearly-3-year-old can grasp; I’ve found that it’s also a helpful discipline for me. Sometimes in the midst of a difficult week, I am challenged to articulate something for which I’m grateful. Having to do this on a regular basis opens me up to experiencing and acknowledging gratitude more readily.

On Saturday morning, I awoke before the sun to drive my husband to catch a 7 a.m. train out of 30th Street Station. As I drove home, I was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude: the sunrise was casting pinks and purples over the city and creating unique lines in the sky; a single rower was silhouetted against the Schuylkill River; and as I navigated the curves of Lincoln Drive, a gust of wind sent hundreds of leaves swirling around me. Instead of grumbling about not getting to sleep in or anticipating the potential complications of three days of solo parenting, my heart was bursting with joy and appreciation that I got to be me, seeing what I was seeing and feeling what I was feeling at that exact moment. I thanked God for opening my eyes and heart to Her abundant and beautiful presence all around me.

This Thursday, as I reminisce over the burned biscuits of Thanksgivings past and take stock of my blessings over the past year, I pray that I am overcome with this same gratitude. I pray that I remember not just the obvious and expected thanksgivings but the many small moments that fill me with the Spirit each and every day. 

What will you thank God for?

- The Rev. Callie Swanlund