Our Guatemala mission trip is nearly 9 months away, but the planning process is already underway! Last year's trip was incredible for our team (both adults and students) as many of us witnessed real poverty for the first time and most importantly experienced God in a new and powerful way. This will be the blog that is updated with pictures and stories while in Guatemala and will track our training times, plans, and all things Guatemala until we arrive back in the States.
Thank you for reading and for your prayers as we plan to do the work that God has called us to be a part of in Guatemala.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
So our group just did something that no one else has ever done
Note to self: Mini buses cannot park in the parking deck! We officially shut down all traffic trying to park because we had to go back out the entrance. I asked the parking manager if this had ever happened and she replied while laughing "NO!"
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, April 10, 2010
The last day
Our flight tomorrow is scheduled to leave at 12:31PM local time and will arrive in Atlanta at 6:06 PM. This has been such an amazing trip so please ask one of our team members to tell you some stories. Thank you for reading and please come to our Guatemala Trip share time on Sunday, April 18 to hear from the students and see more pictures/videos.
We finished up today by going to Antigua, Guatemala. It is a beautiful place as you will see in the pictures below:
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We finished up today by going to Antigua, Guatemala. It is a beautiful place as you will see in the pictures below:
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Going to Antigua
If you look up pictures of Antigua, Guatemala (not to be confused with the resort town on the coast) you will find a town that reminds you of Savannah, GA or Chatleston, SC with a Spanish twist. The cobblestone roads make for a very bumpy ride and the public parks are flooded with people from all over the world.
We are going to this beautiful town today to let the students shop, eat, and see the city after a long but rewarding week.
Last night I was able to see a church meeting the people where they are. Iglesia El Camino, the church that we have worked with a good bit this week, took food the the Guajeros (spelling?), or the people that live in the landfill. The children and adults formed two long, twisting lines waiting for their one scoop of rice and leftover pizza, chicken, or hotdogs. I couldn't speak, or see for that matter through the tears, as I watched two year olds carry a bowl, cup, or a piece of paper that they found in the dump to get their portion. This is so real! Poverty is so real...not that I doubted, but it seems so much more real now.
The smell of burning trash, smoke blowing directly through the area we were standing, small children with clothes that do not fit (if they even had clothes), and trash blowing in whatever direction the wind carried it are just a few of the things that our senses picked up all at once. It was needless to say OVERWHELMING. But this is where these people live all day, everyday.
The day wrapped up with a special farewell service just for our group. We were presented with medals that read "Honor de Merito" and have our names printed on them. I couldn't believe that they were giving us medals (with their very limited resources no doubt). It felt backwards...they should have been the ones receiving medals not us. They are the ones living and serving here everyday year round.
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We are going to this beautiful town today to let the students shop, eat, and see the city after a long but rewarding week.
Last night I was able to see a church meeting the people where they are. Iglesia El Camino, the church that we have worked with a good bit this week, took food the the Guajeros (spelling?), or the people that live in the landfill. The children and adults formed two long, twisting lines waiting for their one scoop of rice and leftover pizza, chicken, or hotdogs. I couldn't speak, or see for that matter through the tears, as I watched two year olds carry a bowl, cup, or a piece of paper that they found in the dump to get their portion. This is so real! Poverty is so real...not that I doubted, but it seems so much more real now.
The smell of burning trash, smoke blowing directly through the area we were standing, small children with clothes that do not fit (if they even had clothes), and trash blowing in whatever direction the wind carried it are just a few of the things that our senses picked up all at once. It was needless to say OVERWHELMING. But this is where these people live all day, everyday.
The day wrapped up with a special farewell service just for our group. We were presented with medals that read "Honor de Merito" and have our names printed on them. I couldn't believe that they were giving us medals (with their very limited resources no doubt). It felt backwards...they should have been the ones receiving medals not us. They are the ones living and serving here everyday year round.
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Friday, April 9, 2010
Pics from today
View one from the school.
View two from the school. The lot can be seen to the left where the future school will be.
View three from the school.
Looking over a portion of the dump. The houses we worked on backed up to this.
The medals our team received tonight from Iglesia El Camino, the church we worked with this week.
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