FROM HELL TO HEAVEN IN GUATEMALA
By Joseph Mena Khalil
Real Break is an alternative to the traditional college spring break. It offers Orthodox college students an opportunity to participate in service projects, and by doing so, to make positive changes in their lives, as well as in the lives of those they help, rather than foggy memories and empty experiences many have during spring break.
I recently went to an Orthodox Orphanage in Guatemala called Hogar Rafael Ayau on an OCF Real Break trip. By God’s grace, I experienced things that have penetrated my heart and opened my eyes to many things. I wish to share my experiences and meditations with you because I desire that others benefit from this story as I have. Before my arrival, I was told that most of the orphans there have disturbing pasts. The Guatemalan government, aside from being corrupt, is ineffective in law enforcement. As a result, Guatemala City is a dangerous place, especially for children. The orphanage is located right in the center of this city (surrounded by a 17 ft brick wall). The people in Guatemala City are extremely poor and their poverty compels many of them to great sins against children. Many children are exploited by adults in order to make money or satisfy their desires. Some are sent to beg on the dangerous streets. These children are ordered to stand in the middle of the road and beg for money from cars stopped in traffic. Imagine your five year old brother or cousin in the middle of a busy street standing in between cars three times his height. The things we can barely think and talk about happen to these children every day. Some children starve to death because their parents are so hungry they will not share the food with their own seed. Many children are abused physically by their parents. Forgive me for sharing with you these tragic stories, but I ask you to take a moment and think about the situation these children are in. They have no police to protect them from their parents or exploiters. They have no one to raise them, love them, or show them any kind of positive emotion. What they learn from their parents is abuse, stealing, and selfishness. What do you think they will do when they get older? The only thing they were taught. This is where I was going and these were the children I was going to spend a week with.
A few Orthodox nuns were called by God to serve the children of this city. Children were taken away from this corrupt city and placed in the hands of these nuns. At the time of my visit, the orphanage had grown to about 150 children: 150 abandoned, abused, and exploited children. How could a few nuns be expected to raise these children? Could a few nuns show these children enough love and care so that the children could move beyond their dark past and start living a normal life? I will answer this question in time, but, for you parents who are reading, imagine being put in charge of just one of these children. How difficult it would be to try to take this child who has only seen and experienced evil and show him how to experience love. Would you be able to force this child to behave let alone teach him about Christ and the Church? In our country, children like this spend their whole life seeing psychiatrists and counselors. Remember, that is with a 1:1 ratio, child to parents.
My first day there was a Sunday, so we started the day with liturgy. We were not sure about the time change and ended up being ready an hour before liturgy, so we decided to walk around. Suddenly, a small boy, about the age of 6, ran up to two of the members from our group and gave them a hug. He walked them to the church and, we sat in one of the pews talking and playing with this boy. What love that boy had! Not knowing us and seeing us for the first time, he, without hesitation, acted as though we were his family. Soon the rest of the children had formed a line outside to enter the church. Upon entering, each would bow before the icons in the back of the church and then do three full prostrations in front of both the icon of Our Lord and the icon of the Theotokos Virgin Mary kissing the icons after the prostrations. After all completed their prostrations, the liturgy began. A nun and a young girl led all the liturgical chanting, but could barely be heard because of the overwhelming chorus of children singing. Almost every child had the service memorized and joyfully sang with a loud voice. There were points in the liturgy when I felt the church was going to shake because almost 100 loud voices were praising, resulting in one powerful and resonating sound. Can you think of anything more beautiful than young children filling the church with their voices, praising God with all their heart? I assure you the angels rushed to behold the children of God and listen to their voices directed to Heaven. Truly, a feeling of peace and calmness, which only comes from God, overcame all of us that day. It was evident God was among those children because just listening to their praising and being around them lifted us spiritually.
Throughout the service, we noticed children doing many prostrations. Nobody was forcing them to do these prostrations, but it was out of their own will that they subjected their bodies. Some children started prostrations at the beginning of service and didn’t stop until the service ended. When we asked one of nuns about this, she told us that some of the children say that they lied or did something wrong and felt they needed to repent.
That Sunday happened to be the first Sunday before the Great Fast. A special service called Forgiveness Vespers is celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox on this day. Towards the end of this service, the two priests did full prostrations before each other, kissed each other’s hands, and asked each other for forgiveness. The nuns then did the same before the priests, each one prostrating before the other, kissing each other’s hands, and asking for forgiveness. This was an act of great humility, but what I saw next I will remember for the rest of my life. The children lined up before the priests and nuns. Each child did a prostration before the priest while the priest prostrated before the child, each kissing each other’s hands, and asking each other for forgiveness. Each child followed this same pattern with the nuns also. After completing this process with all the nuns, the first child stood next to the last nun in line. Then the next child would stand next to that first child in the same line and this process would repeat until there was a circle of priests, nuns, and children all the way around the church. This continued for about 30 minutes until everyone in the church had prostrated before everyone, kissing their hand, and asking them for forgiveness. Overall, everyone prostrated before about 100 people, most of which were under the age of 11. I am still amazed by this service. First of all, these nuns were the authority in the orphanage. They had to be strict in order to control the children. Essentially, they were the parents of the house, yet these nuns gladly prostrated before every one of their children. More incredible than this though, was seeing the children bow before their authority figures and before each other. Picture yourself prostrating before your parents. Picture yourself prostrating before your children or your younger sibling. Certainly it would be difficult.
Personally, I benefited greatly from all the prostrations, kissing of hands, and begging for forgiveness. At first I was embarrassed. It was hard for me to allow priests, nuns, and innocent children to kiss my hand. They did not know they were kissing a defiled hand. I wanted to pull my hand away but was afraid this would offend them. After a little while, when the prostrations became more difficult and my body became weaker, I began to feel as though I was prostrating before Christ Himself, asking Him for forgiveness. I no longer saw orphans. With every kiss of the hand, I felt I was pulling Christ’s hand begging Him to forgive me. By the grace of God working through these orphans, I was able see Christ in all those around me. Surely, if one can feed, clothe, and visit Christ through others, then one can humble himself and ask for forgiveness from Christ through others as well (Matthew 25:35). I urge you all to prostrate before as many people as you can, especially those whom it is the hardest to prostrate before. If not physically then spiritually prostrate before them; for it is not them whom you prostrate before, but it is Christ Himself.
Apart from their actions in church, I noticed great faith and love in these children. One of them was walking outside and didn’t know he was being watched. He made the sign of the cross and then continued to walk. Moreover, all the children would repeatedly hug us when they saw us. Many of the children made us cards expressing their gratitude for our presence. One girl’s words touched me the most, though. This young girl was talking to us about all the noise we could hear coming from the city. She told some of us that our parents shouldn’t be worried because this (the orphanage) is a holy place and nothing will happen to us. She then made the sign of the cross. There was not a doubt in her mind that she was protected by God.
How could these be the same Guatemala City children I described earlier?
As for my earlier question, “Could a few nuns show these children enough love and care so that the children could move beyond their dark past and start living a normal life?” The answer is no. A few people cannot accomplish such a transformation which I just described to you. These children went from hell to heaven, from hate to love. It is clearly the love of God that has caused this transformation. It is this same transformation God wants to accomplish with all of us. I have written about many sad things: orphans, abuse, and abandonment. But now I ask you to rejoice with me. Rejoice because God has dwelt among these orphans! Rejoice because these orphans are learning to become strong spiritual soldiers! Rejoice because these orphans are among nuns whom God works through! Rejoice because these children have returned to the image of God! What a great service these nuns and others are doing for these children. What is more important than loving God’s children and teaching them about Him?
If you would like to be a part of this type service that has taught me and others so much and has placed God in the midst of Guatemala City orphans, please contact the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) by visiting its website,
www.ocf.net/realbreak, or by calling the Main Office at (800)-919-1623. Go on a Real Break!
Joseph– Mena is a senior pre-med student at MiamiUniversity. He participated in Real Break in 2005.
