What Can a Mission Trip Teach Us About Wellness and Steamtherapy?

If you are a regular reader, you know that Mr.Steam celebrates wellness and the art of steamtherapy.

At the same time, Mr.Steam realizes that, despite the deep tradition and history of steam bathing around the world, some people don't have access to what's needed for a steam bath, let alone basic necessities such as a private space to call home or a front door that locks.

In this article, we celebrate members of the Modenus BlogTour community who do something about these basic issues on a regular basis in Guatemala. They remind us how the joys of wellness and steamtherapy come in different forms.

Destination: Mission in Guatemala Via BlogTour

BlogTour Designers Kelly Kole and Joann Kandrac of Kandrac and Kole visit Guatemala on an annual basis with family and friends to help those in need. They work with Fontaine and Paula Greene, founders of Catalyst Resources International. 

This June 2014, Modenus assistant editor, Florence Von Pelet, and her sister joined Kelly Kole and Joann Kandrac to build a home for a family in need. The opportunity came out of conversation during BlogTour Milan and the support of BlogTour sponsors, including Mr.Steam.

As Florence describes in A Trip To Guatemala: A Country Of Color And Love,

"The family we were to build a home for included a loving mother, three beautiful girls and two sweet boys. Their father had traveled to the U.S. seven years ago for a job opportunity allowing him to send $100 back home monthly. After a few months of what seemed like a miracle, the father vanished and the money stopped coming. The struggle is more than real for the single mom who graciously accepted us into her home. The family of six sleeps on one mattress in a single room home with dirt floors and a rusty tin roof. By then we were ready to build a home that the family deserved. The story is all too common in Guatemala." 

All this in a country beautiful with lush foliage, vibrant colors, rolling mountains, and breathtaking volcanic vistas as you can see in the image below. 

Despite the intensity of effort to complete the project, it's a success from multiple perspectives. As Florence explains, 

"There were three days of sweat, laughter and an innumerable amount of nails for our team built a two bedroom home, with a front door and lock. We celebrated with a touching dedication to the family. The experience from building the home to forming friendships was beyond anything we could ever expect. Sadly, problems in Guatemala run deeper than shelter with water often being polluted or unavailable, education being limited or non existing and violent crime continuing to run rampant. So it was all the more inspirational to see the upbeat demeanor of the people. Guatemalans never showed an expression of sadness or frustration, on the contrary, the smiles were warm and heart felt and the welcome we received was genuine." 

What a Mission in Guatemala Can Teach You About Wellness and Steamtherapy

Intense experiences provide perspective. In this case, they led to three observations that reinforce how important it is to celebrate wellness and steamtherapy - as we celebrate it via this blog - Guatemala style. 

1. Guatemalan Culture Has Deep Roots in History 

Just as steamtherapy has deep roots in history (the ancient Mayans enjoyed the benefits of steam as a ritual entrance to the Goddess Temzcalteci, the goddess of the sweat bath), so does Guatemala.

Although Spanish is the official language of Guatemala, the country is of Mayan origin. Twenty two indigenous language of Mayan roots have survived. 'Guatemala' translates into "land of the forests." According to Everyculture.com,

"Guatemala was derived from one of the Mayan dialects spoken by the indigenous people at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1523."

Vibrant textiles are found everywhere! Women of all ages wear long skirts, hand woven with brilliant colors and patterns. The markets in Pana Jachel and Antigua, villages sitting at the foot of majestic volcanoes, have a plethora of vibrant textiles from blankets to backpacks for purchase.

According to Laura Morelli contributor to Traveler.NationalGeographic.com,

"Today's weavers descend from the ancient Maya, whose civilization developed across a wide swath of Central America from the second millennium B.C. onward. Over centuries, weavers in each village developed their own characteristic patterns and colors of clothing, portraying their communal identities much like a dialect. On a blank canvas of fabric, they repeated characteristic geometric designs, stripes, flowers, birds, and animals using brocading and embroidery techniques."

Color, in Guatemala, plays an important role in personalizing each village, too. As you can see in the photo above, buildings are painted in vibrant, warm and friendly colors.

Family dynamics descend from Mayan times with young girls taught very early on to care for younger siblings. According to EveryCulture.com,

"Indian children are socialized to take part in all the activities of the family as soon as they are physically and mentally capable."

Whether similar or different from your own personal experience, it's worth appreciating how other cultures respect their traditions and history.

2. Wellness Begins with the Joy of Life 

Upon arrival in the village, children and families greeted the group with open arms and excitement. Florence shared with us that,

"Throughout the entirety of the building process, there was never a moment in which the family or neighboring children were without a smile. The family cleaned around us, offered help and laughed with us even with a language barrier. Their "Joie de vivre" was something contagious."

Neighbors would come together and listen to music and engage in conversion, especially in celebration of what had been accomplished. Talk about a community based celebration of wellness, somewhat similar to #MondayMambo: Get Moving With Mr.Steam...

(This reminds of how living well and feeling good as described in How to Feel Good: Yoga, Steam Therapy and Living Well, relates to walking, talking with others, being active and outdoors.)

3. Everyone Needs a Sanctuary to Recharge

An important part of this mission project was creating a sanctuary for the family, a safe place to live with a front door that locked and space to recharge.

This is at the heart of steamtherapy and critical to being able to nurture wellness. To think that so many - especially women - can't count on this most basic requirement is reason to be grateful for what we can count on in this country.

Florence explains,

"What was more important is that we were able to help provide a sanctuary for the family that they didn't have prior. Their former shelter was a small, one- bedroom house with mud floors, one bed and limited space. What was worse was the inability to feel secure without a proper door or lock. Unfortunately, small crimes do occur in the village. Not to mention not having a place for some quiet time. The end result of the house we built consisted of a two bedroom house, equipped with a new stove, a kitchen and living area, four new beds and most importantly, a front door with a lock. The family was finally able to feel safe and have a quiet place to resort to in any of three rooms, a luxury they previously never had."

Mission Accomplished: Opportunity to Feel Good 

Florence says,

"This journey provided us all with an inside view of a wonderfully traditional culture that exudes life and love. It was an honor to build a home for such a loving family that welcomed us and taught us the value of love, tradition and happiness. Something, perhaps we should all learn to embrace."

We are so fortunate in North America to have ready access to personal sanctuaries conducive to recharging ourselves. At the same time, isn't it grounding to know that other cultures, perhaps with less affluence yet with deep historic roots, can teach us so much about wellness, laughter, music and community.

If you've done similar mission trips, which moments did you celebrate? What did you learn about what you consider important?