Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Home: Safe & Sound
We left Guatemala City airport this morning at around 8:30am. The winds were favorable (according to the pilot), and so we arrived in Dallas Ft. Worth ahead of schedule by a few minutes. Customs, baggage, and security were no problem. We had to say goodbye to Nicholas in Dallas, which was sad, but he gave us parting gifts: Starbucks gift cards!!
So with McDonald's burgers in our stomachs and frappuchino's in our hands, we parted ways with Kimmy and Kristin. Their flight back to Philadelphia was in concourse C, and we were waiting to board in D. The flight home to Columbus was smooth and arrived on time, with all the luggage waiting for us.
This has been a great trip. I may try to post some reflections later in the week. Right now, I need to get to bed, because work in the morning will come soon. :)
So with McDonald's burgers in our stomachs and frappuchino's in our hands, we parted ways with Kimmy and Kristin. Their flight back to Philadelphia was in concourse C, and we were waiting to board in D. The flight home to Columbus was smooth and arrived on time, with all the luggage waiting for us.
This has been a great trip. I may try to post some reflections later in the week. Right now, I need to get to bed, because work in the morning will come soon. :)
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Saturday
We drove into Antigua today, which is an old colonial town and perfect for tourism. There are many typical markets, jade stores, silver stores, and beautiful views of the volcano around every turn. First we visited the wood factory. The owners are extremely talented craftsmen who excel at making wood into different fruits, animals, plates, and more. For such a tiny shop, they really have a lot of different items!!
After the wood shop, we visited the jade store. The owner shared with us about harvesting the jade from the mountains, and we saw the unfinished jade all around the store. The prices of the jewelry are incredibly reasonable: about $30 for necklaces and earrings. It's all beautifully crafted as well.Eventually we made it to the typical market, which is a sensory overload experience. The colors, the scents, the shop owners yelling at us to make purchases, and then of course the joy of bargaining down prices. The market is about two or three blocks square, with hundreds of shops inside the walls. The team really enjoyed visiting with the shop keepers finding deals, and buying souvenirs for family and friends.
After shopping in the market, we had lunch at Pollo Campero again (which made Jesse very happy), and the drove back in the other direction into the center of Guatemala City: Zone 1. We went down into the underground market which is three levels underground, filled with tourist shops, typical markets with produce, fruit, flowers, meat and restaurants, and an entire floor of pottery and baskets. It's an amazing place and a great experience of Guatemalan life.
Friday, August 6, 2010
We did it all!!
Wow! What a day!! This morning, I was skeptical we would achieve all we had set out to do. But God's blessing was with us, and we did it all.
We began by working on Alicia's house again. Thankfully, she was able to take the day off from working at the feeding center to be with us during the day. We worked throughout the morning, and we finished shortly after lunch time. (Lots of pictures coming soon!) Around 1pm., we started the "dedication service." This consisted of our team singing a few songs to Alicia and her family, sharing some verses from the Bible, and praying for her family and the new home. I was deeply touched by this time.
Then it was "moving day!" We brought in a new table, four chairs, two new beds, and many houseware items. Alicia shared her heart with us. She told us that she could always "see" her new house, but she didn't know when it would be able to be built. She didn't have the money. And then, somehow, God provided a way. But she said that she had never hoped for this much. As we all crowded into her one room, 144 sq. ft. house, I was completely humbled. It was an incredible experience.
Thankfully, the rains held off as well! Dark clouds were looming overhead, but the rain didn't fall until just after we finished praying and moving everything into the house. The timing was perfect. We quickly packed up and headed down the mountain back into the town of Villa Canales. We drove to Pastor Juan's church, which was a small, tin building on the railroad tracks. They did not really know we were coming, so the group of children was small. But that was a blessing.
We were able to spend the afternoon with about thirty children and parents. They were quiet, respectful, kind and so so so so cute!! They sang loud, danced with us, played games, and did a great job on the craft. It was a real blessing to do our final day of VBS with such a wonderful little group.
After finishing at Villa Canales, we drove back to La Primavera. Our team hiked up the hill alone, without Roger or Beth (this was a bit of an experience for Kellye and I, to be in the neighborhood we know very well, but on our own). We found Rhodi's house easily, and she welcomed us in her usual manner. She was beaming from ear to ear, thanking God every moment, and insisting that we all sat down, even though she barely had enough chairs. The team shared with Rhodi about how she had been on our heart all week, about how we had been blessed by our time with her, and about how we wanted to do something special for her. One person said that she had blessed so many people, we wanted to bless her, but it would never amount to as much as she had blessed others. We gave her a new apron, new glasses and plates and flatware, and a few other small items. She was very excited and very gracious.
On the drive home we stopped at McDonald's for some quick McCafe's, then a stop at the tortilla stand to get some supplies for dinner (which resulted in a funny story with Sam....I'll write about it later), and now we are home, showered, and enjoying Beth's amazing enchiladas.
Everyone is asking where I am - Gotta go, or there won't be any food left :) :)
We began by working on Alicia's house again. Thankfully, she was able to take the day off from working at the feeding center to be with us during the day. We worked throughout the morning, and we finished shortly after lunch time. (Lots of pictures coming soon!) Around 1pm., we started the "dedication service." This consisted of our team singing a few songs to Alicia and her family, sharing some verses from the Bible, and praying for her family and the new home. I was deeply touched by this time.
Then it was "moving day!" We brought in a new table, four chairs, two new beds, and many houseware items. Alicia shared her heart with us. She told us that she could always "see" her new house, but she didn't know when it would be able to be built. She didn't have the money. And then, somehow, God provided a way. But she said that she had never hoped for this much. As we all crowded into her one room, 144 sq. ft. house, I was completely humbled. It was an incredible experience.
Thankfully, the rains held off as well! Dark clouds were looming overhead, but the rain didn't fall until just after we finished praying and moving everything into the house. The timing was perfect. We quickly packed up and headed down the mountain back into the town of Villa Canales. We drove to Pastor Juan's church, which was a small, tin building on the railroad tracks. They did not really know we were coming, so the group of children was small. But that was a blessing.
We were able to spend the afternoon with about thirty children and parents. They were quiet, respectful, kind and so so so so cute!! They sang loud, danced with us, played games, and did a great job on the craft. It was a real blessing to do our final day of VBS with such a wonderful little group.
After finishing at Villa Canales, we drove back to La Primavera. Our team hiked up the hill alone, without Roger or Beth (this was a bit of an experience for Kellye and I, to be in the neighborhood we know very well, but on our own). We found Rhodi's house easily, and she welcomed us in her usual manner. She was beaming from ear to ear, thanking God every moment, and insisting that we all sat down, even though she barely had enough chairs. The team shared with Rhodi about how she had been on our heart all week, about how we had been blessed by our time with her, and about how we wanted to do something special for her. One person said that she had blessed so many people, we wanted to bless her, but it would never amount to as much as she had blessed others. We gave her a new apron, new glasses and plates and flatware, and a few other small items. She was very excited and very gracious.
On the drive home we stopped at McDonald's for some quick McCafe's, then a stop at the tortilla stand to get some supplies for dinner (which resulted in a funny story with Sam....I'll write about it later), and now we are home, showered, and enjoying Beth's amazing enchiladas.
Everyone is asking where I am - Gotta go, or there won't be any food left :) :)
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