Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million people were affected when the volcano erupted on 3 June. When the search for victims was suspended after two weeks, the death toll had reached 110, with 200 people still missing. The psychology students joined a team of professionals to provide psychological care for the survivors, now living in shelters. Jimena reflected:<\/p>\n
\u201cMany adults wanted to express their pain, but could not express it in words. Others could say it with their eyes: desolate, lost, angry, unable to comprehend what had happened, without hope. They wanted to give thanks for the life they still had, but didn\u2019t know how to live it now. Some were strengthened by their faith in Jesus, but nevertheless were wrestling with valid questions: What can I do now? How do I start again?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Close to the broken-hearted<\/h4>\n
With the adults, the students were silent companions, there to share their pain. They sat with those who could not talk, and listened quietly to those who could. Diana shared her experience:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart ached for them. And at the same time my inability to do something frustrated me. I felt afraid and helpless. The first thing I did was to ask God for strength to be strength for them. But inside I was talking to Him, questioning Him. Why had He allowed this to happen?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But among the painful stories, I found God. The God of miracles, the God of love, close to the broken-hearted. Some spoke of how God had saved them. They told me how His hope and peace was all they had left. I heard one of them saying: \u201cI am alive to speak of the miracles that God did in my life, and I will not remain silent.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At that moment my heart was broken. I had been putting myself in the position of questioning God\u2019s plans. But they were still worshiping Him, despite their suffering.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Life in the\u00a0shelters<\/h4>\n
The students spent much of their time with the children in the shelter. Jimena reflected:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe children\u2019s resilience is incredible. Their smiles, their laughter; their desire to play and hug and learn in the midst of the situation is amazing. They were excited because they were going to be sent back to school the following week. They were the ones who gave life to the shelter. Their tenderness and joy strengthened the adults.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Doing what they\u00a0can<\/h4>\n
Other GEU students have joined the relief efforts as well, going along with their churches or families to bring food, clothing, medicine and even music. The student movement is raising money to support three families affected by the eruption. They continue to consider ways to support the survivors in the medium and long-term. And they continue to pray. They can\u2019t do everything, but they\u2019re doing what they can.<\/p>\n
Staff-worker Benita writes:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe long with all our heart that in the midst of the pain, they can feel in a palpable way the constant embrace of our God who restores, our Father who sustains.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Let us join them in\u00a0prayer:<\/h4>\n
\n
- Pray that the God of peace would comfort the survivors and bring healing and hope.<\/li>\n
- Pray that God would give wisdom and strength to the government, churches and organisations (including GEU) as they respond to the needs of the survivors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":616,"template":"","area":[631,460],"theme":[1217],"class_list":["post-731","conexion","type-conexion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-guatemala","area-latin-america","theme-social-action"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-03T14:23:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/\",\"name\":\"Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-03T10:38:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-03T14:23:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Conexi\u00f3n\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"IFES\",\"description\":\"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Locally. Nationally. Globally.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png\",\"width\":262,\"height\":262,\"caption\":\"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","description":"Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","og_description":"Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million","og_url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/","og_site_name":"IFES","article_modified_time":"2019-07-03T14:23:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/","name":"Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg","datePublished":"2018-07-03T10:38:11+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-03T14:23:00+00:00","description":"Jimena and Diana are two of the GEU Guatemala students who have been volunteering to support survivors of the recent Fuego volcano eruption. 1.7 million","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/eb0dc-1d48fb2045tqitzyseh7x9q.jpeg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/sharing-the-pain-of-the-broken-hearted\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Conexi\u00f3n","item":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sharing the pain of the broken-hearted"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/","name":"IFES","description":"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Locally. Nationally. Globally.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#organization","name":"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students","url":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ifeslogo.png","width":262,"height":262,"caption":"IFES \u00b7 International Fellowship of Evangelical Students"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conexion\/731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/conexion"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/conexion"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area?post=731"},{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fru2.ifesworld.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}