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Integration in Guatemala
- Information regarding Guatemala 2007
- Readings on Guatemala
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The Guatemala program is an experience available to all students in the School of Psychology. For two weeks each summer, faculty lead students on a journey which helps them understand how mental health professionals can respond to individuals and families that have been scarred by violence. Guatemala is a country that for some 36 years was burdened with civil war. While the peace accords were signed in 1996, the healing continues.
Students hear the stories of those who suffered and those from Guatemalan culture who helped. A native healer, a Guatemalan social worker and a US trained psychologist all give their perspective on the situation and their personal experience as caregivers. Theologians, pastors and lay people reflect on their faith in the context of Guatemala's history.
The following comments and poetry are by students who participated in this program: Guatemala was a life changing trip for me, experiencing the poverty yet seeing the mystery of God. One of the speakers said, "We encounter the mystery of God everyday." It moved me how these people were able to experience God's mystery EVERYDAY, how rich! I was also struck by how despite the persecution and hardship, there was a deep faith in God and trust in his sovereignty. That the Christians in Guatemala were able to live beyond the questions of WHY? and more on the belief of- my God is with me in the suffering and he is good. These words can not sum up the ways Guatemala, the team, the speakers and God has impacted me. If you desire to go, you need to experience it for yourself. Sabrina Lee
In Guatemala we met with mental health workers whose religious conviction for justice penetrates the way they practice psychotherapy. They introduced us to a psychology that is organized around the commitment to act against oppression.
--Joy Malek
God’s Tears
Burden of apples
stammers up the dusty path
Child straining to keep his hold
in the pressing crowd
Suffering haunts my vision
tears burn for release
I pray
Beauty-heavy as roses in spring,
wraps me in this place
God breaks through in thunder
lightning flushes out new color
Gentle whispers of smoke
volcanoes wonder
Cold tears wash the sacred ground
I smile
Thrust out like peddler’s ware
hands blessed by cool water
In worship, silent cities of
the dead ring bright
In celebration, dancing laughter
carries my soul
I wait
Alone
the blaze begins
Burning a path of damp fire
from corner to corner
Outstretched hands burn with the
memory of cool rain
I plead
Praise comes through as a shout
in the market, filled with life
Crying out with joy
laughter flows with tears
Hope unstoppable in
the whisper of anguish
--Candace Genest--
I went on the first Guatemala trip, which was absolutely amazing. I had studied Latin American culture, taken much Spanish, and read "I, Rigoberta Menchu," the story of a Guatemalan woman and social activist whose village endured much torture. So, going to Guatemala to study psychology and theology was incredible, and I cannot possible comment on all my experiences there. What struck me in many ways was the amount of contrast in this country. The level of pain and trauma many have experienced was obvious as much as the brightly colored clothing worn for centuries by the indigenous people. It was such a great experience traveling as a group and supporting one another, learning together about this new culture, and having some fun in the midst of some long days. Toward the end of our stay, we awoke one morning to what we all thought was gunfire right on the other side of the wall from our bedroom. I never jumped so quickly out of the top bunk before. Thankfully, we then heard a mariachi band and learned the noise (at 6AM!)was firecrackers and the band was going to celebrate a birthday.
I think what helped make this trip and class so enriching was the well-planned speakers and trips to visit with people, staying in Santiago, Atitlan with families. But there were many serendipitous moments that each of us experienced by ourselves that made the trip unique for all of us. Anne Turk and I stayed with a woman who shared her mission she called "Integracion" in her effort to educate those in other countries about the horrible disease that had taken the life of her small child a few months prior. The next morning, Anne and I toured the colorful local
cemetery and saw scores of children's' graves. Later that day we debriefed in the village's higher class hotel drinking coffee while overlooking the lake and watched the village men walk with their packs up the mountain to pick coffee. It is a country of such contrast.
I highly recommend taking this class if you can. It is a very rare opportunity. It will challenge you emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. And, you will come back with a different perspective on life and perhaps gain a different sense of meaning for why you are going into this profession.
-- Amy J. Smith
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