This Pilgrim's Journeys

Ugh. My least favorite day - the day we wake up to packed suitcases and a waiting water truck to load them onto. AKA, the day we leave Guatemala. We left very early and got to the airport by 7:15. Thankfully, everything went pretty quick with getting through and we had time to eat and shop and relax. Plane number one; landed in Houston, ate, and went to our gate. Then they changed our gate and our departure time so we had to hang out a little longer. Then, since our flight was so full or something, nine of us got our seats changed - changed to up further, in Economy Plus. Hurray, more leg room! Finally we landed at BWI, grabbed our luggage and loaded onto the bus. I got to my house about 3:15 AM and went right to bed.

Even though it means it's our last day, I always love church in Guatemala! And it never disappoints, because the Spirit is always there. Worship and the sermon were good as always. It's a good thing our translator was chosen to translate that morning, because his English needed a little practice! ;) Haha, also an amusing service! After church, I finally got to see Madelin again, although I can't call her my "little friend" anymore, as she is growing into a beautiful young lady! We also got to see Juan and talk with him a little bit. Me and Madelin Lunch was, as usual on Sundays, at the steak house across the street from the compound. I think the food tastes better every year! It was sooo delicious. Back at the compound we rested a bit and then headed back to Getsemani for some of them to play basketball with the Guatemalan youths while the rest of us hung out. While there it rained a bit, and there was a lovely rainbow!   Dinner was pizza nigh

Ah yes, our tourist day in bright, lively Antigua. The only disappointing part is that it meant it was Saturday already and our week was almost over. Sigh. Some of the group hiked up to the cross above Antigua; the rest of us walked around and shopped some, etc. Miranda and I headed out to our usual destinations in our usual order, and took our usual pictures of the arch. I got most of my necessary shopping (gifts for people) done before lunch. Lunch was of course at our usual eatery, Restaurante de Fonda la Calle Real, at four different tables. I even got my usual lunch items, with a few variations...delicious as always! Although always too much for me to finish. Our table had an enjoyable time together. My lunch table :)  View from the second floor of the restaurant Lunch! PC: N. S.  After lunch was more shopping at the two larger markets further down, where I finished my list and enjoyed relaxing a bit more than usual. Coffee at & Cafe was

Yum, cold pizza for breakfast (left over from the night before) before we left for the site of a future house for the couple who run Getsemani school. Currently, they were working on the surrounding wall first, so that's what we all chipped in to help work on. Since there were so many of us, we kind of switched in and out to do work. It was a good half day of nailing and trying up wooden boards to pour concrete into; mixing concrete; pouring in the concrete and doing all the necessary parts to make it settle correctly, etc. And of course, we had some lunch in there, too. Some of us took little walks down the dirt street and found beautiful views. By 2:30 we were all cleaned up; we said a prayer over the property and headed back to the compound. Our work finished for the day Supper was a relaxed and enjoyable time of food and fellowship. Worship that evening was so good . Later on as everyone dispersed either to bed, games, or chatter, that was also a good time of fe

This day was one that I will remember forever, one that on some level I am still processing. This day was a completely different missions experience. This day, I saw a deeper understanding of the love of a Father through the love of a father. This day I saw desperation and hope and a strength I can only hope I would have. We left the compound at 5 AM, picked up a couple of people along the way as well as a lead car, and drove and drove and drove. We went down the mountains as the sun rose with beautiful hues and passed many beautiful views full of volcanoes, mountains, rivers, fields, and eventually palm trees and sugar cane as we got lower and lower in elevation. Beautiful sunrise! Volcan Pecaya spewing out some smoke Palm trees! First time I ever saw a river and bridge in Guatemala Volcanoes in the distance Finally, we arrived in Siquinala. The air outside of the vans was definitely more tropical than our usual location up in the mountains. We were, a

It was a flawless blue-sky day as we drove out to Yalu once again, over two very bad dirt roads as we got closer to the village. Back at the school there for the third year, seeing the walls that we painted two different shades of blue two years ago, the youth did their skit once again. The kids really enjoyed doing Allelu Allelu with us, especially when they realized they should be trying to out-sing (yell!) the other half when it was their turn! Then, we played a crazy game of Sharks and Minnows with hundreds of excited children!! It was a crazy wave of little Guatemalans swarming us Americans. The kids watching the skit To shorten a long story, we had gotten a very late start in the morning and didn't have time to actually do physical labor for them, but we did see the location of where we at least left the supplies we had brought to build a chicken coop. It was a tiny little area where a family lives up along a hillside. It was the wife's idea to raise chic

How lovely it is to wake up in Guatemala! Our day began at Getsemani school, where we interacted with three different groups in an open area on the third floor. The youth did their skit (very well!) that they had just learned the night before. The games of Sharks & Minnows and Octopus Tag were a big hit, also. So many smiling faces! Doing their skit Sharks and Minnows! After lunch back at the compound, we returned to Getsemani to pick up some people. Walking inside the school as we waited, I felt so at home, so relaxed and peaceful...I hadn't felt so peaceful in soooo  long! I felt so free. We drove to a little village on the other side of San Bartolomé, a place with an amazing view, of volcanoes, hills covered in crops, and deep valleys. We went to a school on the side of a cliff/mountainside. The youth did their skit and some on the team shared testimonies. It was a very small group of kids, as others had to go home to help their parents with the farming, b

After two years, I was finally returning to one of my favorite places, with golden brown dust, smiling children, and colorful culture. How I missed you, Guatemala! 21 of us left on Monday, July 23 for a week long mission trip. We got to BWI very early and sat ourselves in line for check in. When we finally got through that process, security went well and we boarded for our 6 AM flight. And then, for the worst flight experience I've ever had - we were delayed for three hours and forty-five minutes on the tarmac, in our plane. And it was hot. Apparently there was some sort of bad weather somewhere; we were not the only plane having trouble leaving. In fact, by the time we got to leave, there were 20 other planes in a line waiting to take off. I learned later that many planes were canceled due to weather - so praise the Lord that we got to go at all!  Unfortunately, what had been a four-hour layover in Houston turned into a run for our connecting flight. Thankfully