Day 10 Lake Atitland

Last night we had our first debrief session. It was encouraging hearing everyone's stories and how the trip has affected their perspective on our world.

Today we went across the lake to a Mayan village. We all took small three wheeled taxis called tuk tuks up to a church that is over 500 years old.

Several of us are struggling with a frustratingly persistent cold so please pray for health.

Tomorrow we travel back to our home stays for one last night.

Day 9 To the resort

Today was a travel day. We spent the morning driving and arrived at the resort in the early afternoon. Much rejoicing over water pressure and hot water.

Day 8 Where everything else comes from?

Toured the plantation this morning. The farm is amazing. We started with learning how coffee is processed. Then we learned about everything else. It grows everything from snails for restaurants to bamboo for hardwood floors to ornamental plants for the Holland flower market to macadamia nuts. This diversification helps provide stability in the uncertainty of global food markets.

We then took a drive through a road that leads through the jungle to the community of Chuba where we ate frozen chocolate bananas.

Day 7 Where rubber comes from

Today we said adios to our homestays (or G moms as some of us have started to call them) and headed northwest to a rubber plantation. Our tour started with mangos fresh from the trees. We then toured the plantation some on horse back some by tractor drawn trailer. Part way through some of us took a swim in a local stream where we learned that rather large spiders can walk on water.

We then headed to Columba a town just south of the Mexican border to stay for a couple of days at another plantation. A pool (heated by fire wood) awaited us there.

Day of Contrasts

The day began with a devotional from Sarah about poverty and wealth. We then loaded up to go to Guatemala City. It was a challenging day where we saw the two extremes of Guatemalan life. We visited the dump where over 30,000 families make their living and to a beautiful school located nearby that helps work with the children of these families. Then it was off to the other side of the tracks where we visited an upscale whose movie theatre had recliners and waiters. Lots to ponder.

We will be heading north for two days to visit a coffee plantation We may not have wifi so the next blog post may not be until Saturday.

Santa Maria birthday party

A group of students on this trip were responsible for planning a birthday party for some students at the all girls school located in Santa Maria.
We planned 5 different activities for the girls to participate in during the event. Each station had 2 WRCA students directing and interacting with their group of girls. We split the girls up by grade and had them rotate from station to station every 10 minutes. There was a bracelet making station, a jump rope station, musical chairs, colouring, and a potato sack race. After all the girls had a turn at each station we handed out the birthday presents and cards for all 25 birthday girls. Then we served them all some cake and tortilla snacks. While they were all eating the party planners gave them each a goodie bag. The girls were very grateful and absolutely ecstatic to be able to be a part of such a large celebration; many of the girls have never had the opportunity to participate in a birthday party like the one they were in today. They had us all lined up so every girl at the party could give us a hug before they left. They also gave us all a small gift at the end to say thank you. Meeting all of those girls was a wonderful experience and we are all very blessed to be given the opportunity to meet all of the students and staff at Santa Maria.

Kathryn and Sarah

Day Four - Conquer the Concrete

Today half of us bussed down to Santa Lucia to help build onto a school there. We first cleaned up the school a bit and got everything ready for the add ons to the classrooms. We then went downstairs to help out with adding onto the new flooring by mixing, carrying and pouring the concrete. We also got to interact with some of the kids there as well. The school fed us two different snacks that tasted amazing: nachos and pizza! And we also had our lunch there as well. We are now on our way to Antigua to hang out a bit before we head home for dinner.

Day tres - Pakaya Volcano

Another beautiful day in Guatemala. We started the day journaling about experiences so far and then had a short time of prayer.

We hiked up to a volcano called Pakaya. It was about a 90 minute hike to the base of the final summit. Some of us rode horses and the rest did an admirable job of the hike. We ate lunch at the summit with a clear view of the surrounding area. It was beautiful.

We then had supper and spent some time exploring Antigua.

Tomorrow half the group will be back at Santa Maria to help in the girls school there. As part of the Santa Maria group, Mitchell, Joon, and Daniel will be helping coach the girls some soccer. The other group will be headed to another school to help with a building project there and get a chance to interact with some students.

Day dos - Antigua

We started the day with devotions in the town square. We then boarded the bus for Antigua. Our guides sent us on a scavenger hunt through the Antigua market to teach us about the Guatemalan culture and also give us an experience of what it is like to try to navigate simple transactions in another language. Some of us even enjoyed coconut water served in sandwich bags. We then debriefed the market experience in the nicest Macdonald's any of us have seen complete with fountain courtyard and view of the volcano.

After some shopping, we went to the ruins of an old church and convent. We had a chance to sing in a very acoustically unique space in the basement of the convent.

Tomorrow we are off to hike the Pacaya volcano.

Day 1 Visit to Santa Maria de Jesus

We all arrived safely last night at about 10:00 in San Juan to the warmth of our home stays. This morning we were all sharing stories about how welcoming the Guatemalans have been. We began our day in the town square with a talk from a couple from Mission Impact, Michelle and Gerber (pronounced harebare). They did a great job of preparing us for our visit to Santa Maria in terms of how to interact with the villagers and gave us the background of the political struggles Guatemala has faced. San Juan, our home stay village, is more middle to upper middle class neighbourhood by Guatemalan standards. Santa Maria is predominantly Mayan and less wealthy.

We began by visiting Mission Impact's school for girls. Education for girls in Guatemala is not always available and MI has opened this school to address that inequity. If a girl has not entered school by the time they are 7, it is difficult for them to go back and do so. This school accepts older girls and encourages them to stay longer. Many girls only go to school until about grade 3 because their families want them to help at home.

We then went on a guided tour of Santa Maria with three students from the school as our guides. After that we were treated to meal of traditional Guatemalan food at the house of one the locals. At this same home, three of the children presented us with a card they made and a homemade journal to write about our experiences. After that we walked to a house on the edge of town for a very eye-opening and humbling tour of one of the more average family's homes.

Tonight we are off to Antigua to take part part in the Good Friday celebrations.

Guatemala bound

On the flight to Guatemala. The flight is about three hours long and it looks we are on time. We have wireless on the plane so we are able post. Not sure when we will be able to post again - depends on availability of wireless. Temperature is 68 in Guatemala.