August 4th-14th, 2006

Post Trip Reflection: Willie Bridges

Willie Bridges brings to the group an analytical mind with good problem solving skills. He has a background of working with young people and has a respectful attitude toward all. This will be his first trip to TN2 but he has been in South Africa.. He has worked for the Hennepin County Attorney’s office for 22 years. He is a senior planning analyst on the Board of Directors for the Illusion Theater and Life Missing Link. Willie shows pride in being a single parent with son, Ramone Wm, Jr.. He also has a grandson named Adora.

How does one begin to reflect on an experience that is very special and makes one realize how lucky he is?

I began my journey with nine other people to a place that is far away from home. I had to travel with people I didn't know very well. I would live with a family in Guatemala whose culture is different than mine. How does one begin to prepare for this new adventure? I had time to share information about myself before the trip and learn more about the people that I would be traveling with. The people that I would live with would have had very little information about me.

When we arrived at the airport, the people of Tierra Nueva Dos (TN2) greeted us with smiling faces. These were people who I didn't know but who were glad that we were there. It felt like a family reunion. The difference was they weren't my family but, as I got to know them, some of them would become my extended family. They would look out for me and take care of me.

Guatemala is a beautiful country with its mountains and landscape of trees and foliage. When you look closer at the terraces on the side of the mountains, you notice people’s homes and you can see that the homes are made with whatever material one can find. These homes are so very close to each other and there's very little land. Then you begin to realize that most of the people are poor who live in Guatemala City.

We spent the night at the Sister Parish Center in Guatemala City with two staff members. They gave us an orientation on the history of Guatemala and explained about the culture of the people we would stay with in TN2.

I was sitting in the front seat of the van as we were driving into the city of Tierra Nueva Dos (TN2). The roads were bad and there were pot holes and as I looked at the homes, they looked like the ones on the terraces in Guatemala.

Willie with Alexandria and Eluvia, part of his host family.

TN2 is where I met my extended family. Eluvia is the head of the house. She greeted me with a big smile and a hug - it made me feel very good. Eluvia lives with her son and her two grandkids whom she has adopted. Jonathan, who's six, and Alexandria, who’s nine, call Eluvia MAMA. You can see the love the kids have for her. The oldest son is going to school and working. We tried to have a conversation - I speak no Spanish, but the little book I had helped me to communicate with him as best as I could.

Eluvia is such a warm and giving person - a very motherly person. I was told later that Eluvia would watch me as I walked to church by myself to be sure I got there safely. It reminded me of my mother who watched me go one block to school from the front door - she wanted me to get there safely. As time went on I got to know my extended family. I helped Alexandria with her math – it’s a good thing that I can count in Spanish. I played card games with the kids. Jonathan told me that he wished I could talk like him. I told him I would work on my Spanish.

In TN2, I met some of the teenagers and I enjoyed this very much. I shared with them the things I do in my job. I work with young people, and I'm always encouraging them to do and be the best that they can be.

Leslie, Willie and other delegates doing rubbings at the Cathedral in Guatemala City where the names of massacre victims are inscribed.

One of the many highlights for me was talking with the women's group about domestic abuse. I explained to them that I was on the Harriet Tubman Board of directors for six years and on Daps Board. I told the women that no one deserves to be abused by their husband, boyfriend or children and that they were brave in trying to stop this kind of behavior in their city. It may have been the first time they have heard a man say this. I felt very good about sharing my views on this type of behavior.

I'm lucky I've got a new extended family. Eluvia says that I'm always welcome to come home and visit anytime. Eluvia is like me in the same way that she fights for what she believes in and she's not afraid to speak her mind. She fights for the good of the whole.  

This adventure has taught me that families, regardless of their means or where they live, want the best for their kids. There is laughter, but most important there's hope that things will get better

I've met so many giving people on this trip and I've allowed myself to learn from them. They have opened their homes and hearts and allowed me to see their world.

God has a plan for each of us and this was a part of his plan for me.