Brothers Go Abroad On Life-Changing Trip

WAITSBURG - Chad and Nicholas Pearson say they view the world differently after a recent trip performing missionary work, building houses and fixing toilets in the South American country of Guatemala.

The Waitsburg High School incoming juniors, both age 16, visited Guate- mala City, Antigua, Panaja- chel and a couple of small villages from June 17 through June 30.

Traveling outside of the United States the first time and seeing poverty up close, made the Pearson brothers more grateful for what they have and grateful they could help others, Nicholas said.

"It has made us feel closer to everyone we know," he said. "It doesn't make sense to fight over things."

The Pearsons traveled to South America with 20 other teens and six group leaders from the College Place Pres- byterian Church. All of the teens were ages 14 to 20.

The group visited the only women's shelter in Guate- mala City that houses women who had been battered by their husbands and parents, Nicholas said. At the shelter, the group cleared off a hill- side so corn could be planted and fixed broken toilets.

The group also traveled to a small village about three hours outside of Guatemala City where it assisted workers in building homes for widowed mothers. The houses were very basic, but the Pearsons were able to use their hands to help families in need of a good home.

"It wasn't that we were there making houses," Nich- olas said. "It was that we were there spreading the Word and showing them we care."

The brothers said they had never built houses or fixed toilets like most of the teenaged group, and they got to learn some new skills. The leaders had some basic plumbing experience and some Guatemalan workers helped instruct the group on how to build the homes, they said.

"They were very patient with us," Chad said.

The Pearson brothers said they experienced a large amount of culture shock throughout their trip. Chad said the boys had to wear long pants like jeans and the girls had to wear skirts, which was very different from how they dress at home in the states.

Also, the brothers said they got to put their one year of Spanish class to work.

"We got a lot of practice in," Nicholas said.

The group stayed in missionary houses and middleclass hotels and got to eat authentic and basic Guatemalan foods like eggs, beans, soup with potatoes and carrots and corn tortillas, which they ate at each meal.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Nicho- las said of the food.

The group did get to spend two days as tourists where they learned to barter and brought home souvenirs of a bracelet, a necklace and machetes in decorative, hand- made sheaths.

With the locals, the mem- bers of the missionary group played games and exchanged smiles and friendly waves.

The group visited a place called Squatter's Village, where the homeless reside on government land in an area that is considered one of the poorest parts of the country, the Pearsons said. At Squat- ter's Village, the group host- ed a vacation Bible school and the Pearsons said they were surprised at how much joy the children exuded de- spite their living conditions.

"They're grateful for ev- erything they get," Chad said. "They had big old grins on their faces. They have nothing to their names and they're fighting to survive every day."

What the brothers really noticed was the shoes the children had on - nicer dress shoes that were old, too small and full of holes. Seeing the shoes made them appreciate the fact that they always had shoes that fit.

"I know now that I don't need everything I have," Chad said.

Now that the brothers are back in the U.S., they said it makes them upset to see American children complaining about not being given new toys and they are recognizing other more superfi cial parts of the culture in the states. They gratefully thanked all of their sponsors who helped them raise thousands of dollars to be able to go on this life-changing trip.

The two hope to be head- ing back to Guatemala with the group again in two years. They said the second time around it will be a very differ- ent adventure because they already know the culture they will be visiting.

"It will be a totally different experience if we go back," Chad said.