I’m going on a Bloggers Trip to Guatemala with Lemonade Int’l. (happy 8th blog-versary)

Eight years ago, today, I began this blog as a cathartic response to my frustration at a girl in my dorm. It was a very strange post full of rambling, weird logic, bad grammar, and typos. Not much has changed since then in those respects, but I do want to let you all know about an amazing opportunity that this 8-year endeavor has offered me.

Recently, some old friends of mine (that I happen to have hooked up) got me connected to this amazing non-profit, Lemonade International. LI does great development work in the La Limonada neighborhood of Guatemala, the largest urban slum community in Central America.

LI shares my own convictions that international development work should utilize local resources (instead of bringing in outside talent for everything), empower communities (instead of simply giving them aid), and build long-term relationships (instead of “short-term” “missions” programs) in order to reverse injustice. Here’s a trailer for a documentary about their community and their work:
http://vimeo.com/12475578

I’ve been asked by their Executive Director to join a team of bloggers from around the country to be a part of their first-anual Bloggers Trip. We will be heading down there in mid-April and will spend several days seeing the work that LI is doing. We will visit their schools, houses for displaced children, vocational training programs, microbusiness incubators, and hear presentations on the history of the area and the philosophy if LI by those that work close to the neighborhood and the organization.

In response to our time there, we will each be blogging before, during, and after the trip. We will try and convey the realities and stories that exist in La Limonada, and also offer you ways to respond and connect to the organization as well.

Look for more posts in the months ahead as I think through and prepare for this trip emotionally, spiritually, theologically, and philosophically. I’m also trying to raise the funds for my plane ticket. If you’d like to give towards that, you can do that here at Paypal.

Thank you to all of you that have read this blog, commented, shared, and given me feedback over the past 8 years. This has been one of the most fulfilling endeavors of my life (I’m not exaggerating either!), and I look forward to the next 8 years to come.

The header picture I’m using for posts about this trip is by photo blogger Nicolaus Czarnecki.