Today, October 9th, marks 1 month of being in Guatemala. Every day since I’ve been here I have written in my journal- for my 1 month-aversary I decided to go through my journal and take one or two sentences out of each of my journal entries to give you all a little summary of my month. Enjoy!
Today we woke up at 4:20am in Atlanta, GA and started on our way to the airport to go to GUATEMALA!
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to all the stray dogs, police with huge guns standing everywhere & in every store, & having to throw our toilet paper into a trash can.
Today was our first day of teaching, but it was a short school day today. Through teaching I want God to show me that it’s not all about the words the kids remember but that they remember they are loved and they are worth loving.
I sweat in places I didn’t know I could, worked muscles I didn’t know I had and had so much fun while doing it. (Ministry this day was helping build a road. It involved going up and down many large hills for the whole day)
I’ve learned that you just have to laugh at yourself sometimes. Ordering in a restaurant where the waitress only speaks Spanish & I only speak English is a very entertaining thing.
The chicken bus ride (public transportation) from Antigua back to San Lucas was so hot. 7 more people squeezed onto the bus after I thought it was already full so we were all squished. (A saying in Guatemala for the chicken buses is “one more always fits”)
Today was Independence Day in Guatemala so we had another off day. I took the day to relax.
Today was our first full day of teaching. I can’t wait to get to know my students more and spread joy to them.
It was so fun getting to play with my students at recess today. All the kids think it’s so cool to hang out with the “gringos” (white people) and they fight to hold our hand.
Today I am so thankful for the community of girls I’m living with and how open we can be. We had a nice chat today about the guys we have crushes on back home & other girl talk.
Living with guys is an interesting thing- especially going grocery shopping with them.
Anna made everyone pancakes to wake up to today (she really is the best)
Church today was on top of a mountain under a humongous gazebo type thing- like a wedding reception. We got to ride in an open shuttle bus up to the top & it was such a beautiful ride
I need to start putting my full trust in God instead of just saying that I trust Him.
It was so cool to see how God opened up the doors to talk to people and led us to specific people & let us know what to say (this day we did ‘ask The Lord’ in Antigua. You just walk around the town and pray about what streets you should go down & who you should pray over and who to go talk to. It was a really neat experience!)
Today our house watched Harry Potter together
My team made a pan of brownies today then all sat on the ground around the pan and ate them out of the pan.
It makes me so sad to have to leave my kids over the weekend and send then home to unsafe homes and parents that night not care for them
My team and I went zip lining in Antigua over a coffee plantation today. Such a gorgeous and breathtaking view
My team minus Alycia plus Anna went to Cafetalito (my favorite hangout here. It’s a cute coffee shop with a waterfall on the wall & other cute stuff) to get wifi and just hang out with each other
The pop here is so much better than in the states because it’s made win real sugar- not artificial sugar.
I love thinking about all the future people that will drive on this road that we are helping build. I hope it’s a road full of love and blessings
Today was día de el niño (Day of the kids) in Guate so when we got to school in the morning some teachers were dressed up as clowns- then we got to go in a classroom as they did 2 piñatas.
After my 4th grade class the kids attacked me with hugs like usual & whenever I’d say hasta mañana (see you tomorrow) they would all scream no because they didn’t want me to leave. They make me feel loved
Today was Graces birthday so around 5:30am Cali(our driver who lives with us during the week) lit off firecrackers in the backyard which is a birthday tradition here in Guate.
Today Anna, Jamie, Mikaila & I walked up 316 stairs to get to The Cross on the Hill. We spent a lot of time up there taking pictures and just enjoying each others company. I think that’s a big thing I’ll miss at the end of these 9 months- being able sit somewhere without any tv, phone or computer & just really enjoy being with each other.
Abbie and I got to skype with the lead singer, Joel, from For King & Country today for a tiny bit- so cool!
Today was a weird day in ministry- which I guess just makes today a normal day.
Today I got to teach kids how to say different animals. I stood up in front of the classroom making the most ridiculous animal noises & loved every single second of it.
Today was construction day. We picked some fresh corn off the side of the road, started a fire on the gravel road and roasted the corn. Fun day!
