Outreach - Report from Padres Partners Trip 2008
"Padres Partners" Guatemala Trip June 2008Thirty St. David’s adults and youth traveled to Guatemala June 22-30, 2008, to work at four different Habitat for Humanity sites in and around the areas where St. David’s partners with three Episcopal congregations. Sarah Haley, a student on this trip, wrote the following reflection about her experience this summer.
"In the weeks following my time in Guatemala each day was like a discovery of how lucky I am. After all the goodbyes were said at the end of the trip, I jumped into the car ready for a hot shower and a comfortable bed. Pulling away from the St David’s parking lot I was suddenly overwhelmed by the world I had always known; the street signs and lack of homeless dogs struck me as unrealistically organized and controlled. The juxtaposition of Radnor and Tecpan really unnerved me and I grew increasingly upset. (This completely confused my parents who were waiting to hear all about my adventure but instead had a crying daughter in the backseat.) 
Driving past Radnor High School, I couldn’t assimilate Joselyn (a frequent ten year old visitor to our work site) and her education situation with my own experiences; Joselyn loved school but had to take a year off to take care of her one year old sister, so driving past my beautiful high school seemed unintelligible. CVS proved too stimulating, so I sat in the car and tried to re-understand ACME and the Land Rover dealership across the street.
This surprising culture shock has waned but my respect and gratitude for what God has given me continues to strengthen. I accredit this trip with fortifying my humbleness towards all that I have and getting a much better understanding of how many people of the world live. This trip also taught me that living simply doesn’t mean living unhappily. I had assumed that the Guatemalans living in corrugated metal and bamboo houses must be unhappy, but almost everyone I worked with or met was all smiles and “Buenos Dias!” As much as the Habitat people and Guatemalans thanked us I really couldn’t help but feel overwhelming gratitude for them, my fellow Padres Partners and St Davids for this experience."