A letter from Volunteer Debbie Clark

My thoughts and experience with the GCP organization:

I can’t believe that I can go on and on (those who know me, are saying, “No Deb, we know how you can go on and on.”J) about what I experienced in Guatemala in just 7 short days. I was amazed how quickly I fell in love with these children. I felt very fortunate to have Guillermo take the time and with his heart tell us their “stories”. One can only have the desire to do more and more once you know what is behind all those beautiful faces. I love how no matter what age a person is, doing service is such a learning experience. Here are a few of the lessons I learned:

“One’s junk is another’s treasure”….the children are so grateful and love anything you give them, brand names, sizes, colors are not a concern to them. It’s all WONDERFUL to them.
Hard, long hours of physical labor, and little sleep. Who would ever think that one can find joy and happiness in the following statement? “Whew…. We put in a good’s days work today!” The sorting, cleaning, and organizing never ends… Thank goodness.

The REWARD?…. the children. The “Icing on the cake” is to be wanted, loved, kissed, and hugged 24-7 by these children is the best feeling in the world. And did I mention “perks”? … the bond and friendship you make with the other volunteers is priceless and lasts a lifetime. It’s so amazing what we learn and see what we are capable of doing together, working for the same goal and all at the same time laughing, crying, and learning…….how blessed are we. Not to mention the example of showing that the love, hard work and having just plain fun is showing the children just how much they are worth. They know they are loved by someone and life can be good. We become the “light at the end of the tunnel” for them.

Guatemala…. I’ll be seeing you soon!