Day 8

We woke up this morning ready to explore Antigua and have a mini adventure. Unfortunately, during breakfast we learned that the zip line tour that we had hoped to do was booked for the whole day. It would have been a great memory of our trip, but we did not despair. We simply made new plans.

We went to a coffee plantation for a tour. The plantation also has a Mayan museum, so we started there. It is so neat to learn about different cultures. The tour guide plays a variety of musical instruments (a horse jaw is one!) and explains what they would be used for. Then we learned about the different clothing of the Mayan cultures in one state of Guatemala. We finished by watching a video that played Mayan music with some of the instruments that we had seen on the tour. Overall, it is very interesting.

After the first tour, we started the coffee tour. It is amazing how much work goes into making a cup of coffee. The plantation where we were is environmentally friendly and organic. They do a lot to keep the coffee pure and their grounds are beautiful. They have their own compost pile which is made up, in part, of the outer shell of the coffee bean. They clearly are concerned with making their coffee the best it can be for the consumer and the environment.

After the tour and some shopping in the gift shop, it was time for lunch. We went to Pollo Campero since we did not eat there on our first day here. The food was very good and it is always fun to see people’s reaction to their “Guatemalan KFC” meal.

We went to the jade factory next. It was interesting to see the stages of how jade is harvested and turned into a finished project. We end up in the showroom (gift shop) when the tour was over. The jewelry was amazing. Some of us bought pieces as a souvenir. It was a lot of fun to learn about jade and then shop around.

We went to the main square next. We looked around the cathedral there. It is very beautiful inside. Next, we went to the markets to shop and haggle. Some people are much better at haggling than others! We enjoyed walking around and buying trinkets for ourselves or loved ones at home.

After such a busy morning and afternoon, we went back to the hotel to relax for a little while before supper. It was a good time to rest or show others your purchases. Then, it was time to eat!

We went to a very nice restaurant. They had a great variety of food, so there was something for everyone. There were some marimba players who played music while we ate. After we were all about finished with our meals, four men in Mayan dance gear came in and started dancing. It was not a short song and they were moving around quite a bit. I am sure that it was hot under the mask! When the song was about two-thirds over, one of the dancers came to our table and pulled up two of our group to join the dance. What a great experience we had at this restaurant!

When we had finished our dessert, it was time to leave. We walked to the main square again to look at the cathedral in the dark. It is a beautiful building. We had a prayer circle there to thank God for our trip and ask for his protection on the way home. Then, it was time to drive back to the hotel for bed. Sightseeing is so much fun, but it can wear you out!

Tomorrow we will sightsee a little bit in the morning, and then it will be off to the airport. As always, your prayers are requested and appreciated for our travels tomorrow.

Pictures of La Avanzada

Day 7

Today, there were no fireworks to give us an early wake up. We met for breakfast and confirmed the plans for the day. There were some errands to run before we could go up to La Avanzada. After that, we drove up for the last time.

When we arrived, we had two tasks to complete right away: finish the desks and visit Ismael with some food for his family. The desks have large screws that stick out down below where they could gouge the students’ legs. The guys decided to cut off the excess and file them down.

After we finished both of our tasks, we had the teachers come in to see the finished product. The construction workers did a fabulous job and finished a lot of desks and benches. The teachers were very appreciative. Two of the men from the governing board also came to thank us. One of them had been in there working the whole time. It was great to hear them as they each gave a little speech to express how thankful they are. They asked God to bless us for all of the work that we had done for the community, especially the kids. It was a great moment that I will not forget.

The teachers wanted us to see the finished project, so we carried the benches and desks down to the school. The kids were so excited! The second grade class needed the benches with desks that fit two students because they are so crowded. The kids started clearing out their old desks and putting the new ones in. It is so much fun to be around all of the excitement and activity!

We had planned on singing and talking with the kids, but there was so much action, that it was not feasible. We gave the principle the soccer balls so that they can use them in the school. She said that they have a trip planned to La Union in a couple of weeks that the balls would be needed for. She was very appreciative.

We played and talked with our kids (they certainly become a part of you while you are here) as they rearranged rooms and then it was time for the Incamparina. The kids received a bowl of beans, their vitamin drink, and more bread. This is the most I have seen the kids eat ever. Maybe even my three previous trips combined. To be clear, that is a total of five meals, their drink, and bread. That breaks my heart to think about.

We had to say goodbye to all of our friends when it was time to go. There are some who just hold on as you hug them and they do not let go. Again, it is heartbreaking. Leaving is so hard. We finally all made it to the van and went to La Union to have lunch. After lunch, we had to finish packing and load our suitcases onto the new van.

We headed out for Antigua. It is a very long trip that starts off cool, gets really hot, and then cools down again. That is what happens when you travel down a mountain into a valley and then back up to higher altitude.

In Antigua we are staying at a beautiful hotel. The rooms are very nice and it is in a gated community, so we are able to walk around if we want. We put our things in our rooms and then went out to eat. We went to this great pizza place where they use a stone pizza oven with coals to cook the pizza. The food was amazing!

After eating, we were all beat, so we went back to the hotel and called it a night!

Day 6

I am still playing catch up. I have the internet, but the power went out and did not come back.

Today started off with a bang! Literally! Lots of loud, huge booms woke the us up at about 4:00 in the morning. Some of us were concerned that it was gunfire right outside the complex. However, it was only fireworks to celebrate Father’s Day. It is apparently acceptable to set off fireworks on holidays and birthdays at various hours of the morning in this culture. Had we known that, it would have saved a few people from a lot of worry!

After sleeping a little bit longer, we met for breakfast. We are all well enough to go back to the village today! Hooray! We ate breakfast and got ready to leave. We have a lot to do today. It is our last full day in the village.

The construction workers started working on the desks and benches right away. They have a lot to do, so they started right away and worked all day. The metal parts of the desks and benches had to be painted today. This will help prevent them from rusting. The wood is still being cut and sanded.

The rest of us went to the school to finish handing out the Vitamin Project mementos. The fifth and sixth graders were in school! Yea! We went in and sang with them for a long time. Charles has taught them a lot of great religious songs. It is so neat to hear them sing along, even if they are pretty shy.

After the singing, we handed out the cards. We had the kids who were not sponsored write their names down and took their pictures. Then we had to go to the preschool class to take the pictures of the missing students in there. They are all so cute! It is so funny to try to get them to smile for a picture. None of them have the “ham it up” quality that a lot of our kids back home have. They are very stoic in their pictures.

We were able to watch as the kids received their Incamparina drink today. They all wait patiently in a line for it. There was a meal served again, so they ended up with their vitamin drink, a bowl of food, and some bread. We paid some women in the village to make bread for the children to have while we are here. Today it had beans and cheese in it. I think that it was a great treat for the kids. They all seemed to really enjoy it!

After watching the preschoolers eat, we went back to the main school. There were more pictures to take! When it was all said and done, there were two students who were not in school. Hopefully they are there tomorrow!

After we ate lunch, it was time to get back at it! The construction workers started their project again. Everybody else went down to the field with new soccer balls. We invited the children we saw on the way. News travels fast in this village. We went down to the field and started playing. The children light up when they are given so much attention by adults, especially men. It is a rarity in their lives to have that interaction. Their moms and dads have work to do and the sun goes down by about 6:30. It doesn’t leave very much time for playing.

Sadly, it was soon time to go. We loaded up and went back to the apartments. Charles had another English lesson, but only one student came. It was Nenrod, who has been with us a lot. He is one of the scholarship students. After talking with him for awhile, it was time to go to supper. We ate and then planned for tomorrow. It is hard to believe, but we leave for Antigua tomorrow. It seems like we just got here and it is already time to leave.

We went back to the apartments to start packing. We also had the Lutheran family come back for another service. We thought that they were bringing a new group with them, so they were told that it would be the same message. They were fine with this. The same people came, so they heard the message again. We talked with them for a while after the service was over, then it was time to go to bed, pack, or stay up talking. Then the power went out. It flickered, but never restored. Spoiler: It still was not on when we left for Antigua! Yikes!

Day 5

Okay, so here I am playing catch up again. I did not have the internet on Monday, so I could not post this.

Today we woke up and found that the sickness was spreading and more people were not feeling well. We went to breakfast and made plans for the day with a shorter crew. When everybody who was going was ready, we made our way up to La Avanzada.

We were supposed to start VBS today, but we had a lot of Vitamin Project mementos to hand out still. We went to the fourth grade class and handed those out. We tried to sing with the kids, but they were too distracted by the cards (and maybe a little too cool) to really participate. We tried to go to the fifth and sixth grade class, but their teacher did not show up. If the teacher is not there, it means that the kids get the day off of school. We went to the preschool room instead to hand out the cards to the kids who were not there on Friday.

We have found that it is difficult to do much at the school. There is not a lot of room in most of the classrooms. This means that our VBS at the school is going to be difficult to do. It is not possible to get most of the team into some of the rooms. However, we do what we can!

While part of the team was handing out the mementos, others of us went on some house visits. We had been given a list of names of people who might need some medical advice from our nurse. A small cut here can get infected quickly because they do not live in sanitary conditions. The water here is not safe for consumption, but they all still use it. Many of the villagers do not use soap. They found that there was not a lot that they could do for some of the people, but they were able to see Ismael on Friday and give him some medicine for his sores. (Ismael is the man in the village who is in a wheelchair.)

We were also able to begin working on the construction project today. Part of the team worked on cutting new wood for some desks and benches. A few of the men in the village came to help. The work was a great way to build a relationship and respect between the men in the village and Divine Shepherd.

During the afternoon, those of us not doing construction had hoped to go to the field to play with the kids, but it kept raining on and off. We did not want to get caught out in a downpour. It did start to rain pretty hard, which makes turning the vehicle around difficult. Carlos, our driver, managed on the third try with some of the men adding weight over the tires. We were able to go back to the apartments for the night!

The trip down the hill gets a little worse everyday because of the rain. Today was no different! Carlos goes nice and slow over the really bad patches. We always make it down safe and sound.

Upon our arrival at the apartment complex, we found that a couple of our ill people were feeling much better! Praise God! We are hopeful that with some more sleep, we might all go up to the village tomorrow.

Charles has an English class that he teaches on Monday and Tuesday nights. We offered to help with them. A few of his students came, so some of us partnered up with them. The students were able to practice their English with native speakers. I think that they enjoyed having us there to help.

After supper and planning for tomorrow, it was time for bed. Many of us still need the extra sleep.