Eagle’s Nest Orphanage Recap
“On this trip, I learned that people who work hard together, sweat together, and perhaps smell together (on days when there’s no water for showers!) will then be more able to laugh together, cry together, and share in the same struggles. That is what made this team a strong one, and that is what made the project a success.” - Autumn Weis
While it was true that most of us had enough bug bites on our legs to map out major constellations, not many of us got enough sleep, and cold or waterless showers were common—none of this mattered to us, for we were blessed with the opportunity to spend time with our wonderful kids at Eagle’s Nest! Each morning we eagerly awaited the adventures of the day—whether it involved changing multiple diapers at once, getting a raspberry blown on our faces, getting attacked with tickles or hugs, or just making a child laugh and feel loved.
While many backstories of how the children ended up at Eagle’s Nest are heartbreaking, we were reminded that these beautiful kids are not defined by their circumstances or stories; they are all precious children worthy of love and respect and are in a place where they are loved and are healing.
Daily we met in awe of the beauty of lake Atitlán and its surrounding mountains and volcanoes. Here we would talk about the plan for the day, share some stories from the previous day and take part in team-building activities. Often this was the point at which we realized how God can take a group of people (mostly strangers) and transform us all into a close-knit group that felt like a family with the unified goal of loving these children and running a well-structured program.
On the Sabbath at Eagle’s Nest, the men gave sermonettes, while during the week the young ladies presented leadership discussions called “Team Talks” (similar to TED talks) which led to deep follow-up conversations that further enabled our team to grow spiritually and to feel more like a family. “It was so exciting to see what God was doing in the lives of our Youth Corps Team.” - Jonathan Magee
After breakfast, we would set up for our respective activities. Daily we were reminded that though we all wore a few official “hats” in helping with dance, music, art, English, etc., our primary job role was to love the kids. An overall theme we had was showing the kids they are “worth more than gold”—a phrase from the song called “Gold” by Britt Nicole that was used in a music video we made with them.
We spent most afternoons helping with the construction of of a new transitional home. This included hauling bricks, dirt and rock along with sanding the wooden support beams. Often times, some children would “help” us work, which sometimes meant getting a wheelbarrow ride. Team members and their congregations donated $2,000 to support the construction of this project, which will offer a safe and supportive home to teens once they turn 18 years old.
We also spent more time with our Guatemalan brethren this year during two church picnics. The first was in Guatemala City and the second in San Marcos (a more remote region, which rarely has a chance to welcome visitors). At each picnic we enjoyed great food and fellowship along with playing games and having a Jelly sing-along. Prior to the trip team-members collected clothing donations which were shared with our brethren.
Before leaving Guatemala we partnered with an organization called Hope Renewed, which runs a preschool near the Guatemala Dump. The Guatemala Dump is home to thousands of impoverished families who search through the garbage to find recyclable plastics, metals and things to be repaired. Hope Renewed offers the kids there a chance to improve their lives and escape the cycle of poverty through education. Thanks to the generosity of LifeNets our team hosted a fun field day for the children complete with face painting and games to kick the new school year off. We also gave a donation to help purchase school supplies for the upcoming year.
While our contributions may have seemed small in the greater scheme of things, we did make a difference. Still we were told that we would potentially get more from these kids than we gave, and perhaps that is true: “The kids at Eagle’s Nest have taught me so much about the need to be childlike—to forgive and mend relationships quickly, to show you care every chance you get, to treat your friends like family, to always be willing to lend a hand to others, and to never let the past hold you back from enjoying the present and dreaming for the future. I went there to teach and help kids, but they taught me major lessons, as well.” - Chelsea Dawe
To see more of the kids and hear more stories from the United Youth Corps Team, check out our blogs at the Good Works website: goodworks.ucg.org/blog or learn more about the organizations we partnered with:
To see more photos from this project check out the UCG Flickr.
