WELCOME!!!
So it’s been a week now in Santa Cruz de Quiche, Guatemala, and here is what life has been like!!!
Green mountainsides, a rainbow & hot showers?!
My squad arrived safely to Guatemala and took a bus from Guatemala City up to 7,000 ft. elevation to the city of Santa Cruz de Quiche.
We were welcomed warmly by our hosts Erv and Sally from Agape in Action (http://agapeinaction.org/AIA/Home.html) who manage and live at the compound we are staying at this month. The compound is located right next to the local hospital and has hot showers, a fenced in area for our tents and a kitchen for preparing and eating our food. WOW! Are we spoiled!
Remember playing on the monkey bars? (video to come…)
Through the AIA ministry, each of our teams are paired up with a local ministry in Quiche to serve along side for the month. My team is working with a government daycare that provides care for 170 little Guatemalan children ages ranging from babies, 2, 4, 5, & 6 year olds. I have 25 4 year olds that I play with and love on each day from 8-4pm. We spend our time playing outside and doing various indoor activities. When we go outside to the playground there is high demand for help across the monkey bars…..the kids absolutely LOVE swinging and moving across the monkey bars with the assistance from their new teacher whom they call “CENA”. This is a highlight of the day for me as I get to see faces light up as they make it from one side of the bars to the other After we play on the playground, we come inside for a snack, crafts, singing, dancing, and reading. The class has a teacher with whom I work with despite the language barrier. You may be thinking, how do I communicate with the teacher and students speaking very limited Spanish?! Well fortunately some of my Spanish from high school (thanks Maramba) has been retained and I do my best to listen and understand what is happening and being said.
Café y Torta por favor!
Since being here in Quiche, I have spent a few hours in local cafes in which there is wifi and good food! While I am not a coffee drinker I have come to enjoy a sweet treat such as chocolate cake and a warm cup of café latte. During my times at the cafes my teammates and I have befriended some of the locals and enjoy time catching up with family and friends over the internet.
Still want to know more?!?!
5 questions you may have about Quiche…
- Do they have a McDonalds? While they do not have this fast food restaurant, they do have a fried chicken place and sell many brand name junk foods (Doritos, Pepsi, Coke, Snickers).
- Do the people in Quiche have cell phones? Definitely! Walking down the street you can see many a Guatemalan texting, talking or using their cell phone. I even have a phone!! Nothing fancy of course….
- Where do people buy their groceries? There is a local grocery store that reminds me of an Aldi back in the states. Limited items and brands, no music, and nice workers. This grocery store is located right in the middle of the outdoor market. The market has tons of street vendors selling things from bananas, to Colgate toothpaste, to DVD’s, corn tortillas and more! Its crowded, smelly and lively!
- What is the weather like? Well we were fortunate to arrive here during the rainy season, which means it rains AT LEAST once a day. The duration of the rain varies by day but you can always count on some amount of rain each day.
- What is there to do for fun? I’m glad you asked….aside from catching some free wifi at a tasty café (such as San Miguels that has the BEST chocolate cake and coffee) they have delectable ice cream
Teammate Courtney and I
To help us answer this question, we asked the Tourism Guide for Quiche, Casear, who took us around town.
La Cascada – The Waterfall Park of Quiche…..here my team and I enjoyed the beauty of the land, the giant waterfall and zip lining.
Q’umarkaj (Mayan Ruins) – Another popular place to learn about the history of Quiche and Guatemala. Back in the early 1200’s the Mayan people had a city on top of a hill in which they lived and worshipped their gods. When the Spaniards came later in the 1500’s they conquered the people and took over the land. It wasn’t until September 15th, 1821 that Guatemala earned their independence, which we enjoyed celebrating here this past Monday.
THANKS for your prayers….God has continued to protect and unite our team and squad and allowed us to experience so much already here in Guatemala. As we enter week 2 I look forward to ‘tasting and seeing’ God in all we do and everyone we meet. God is at work here working in and through us to share the LOVE of Jesus with all we meet here in Quiche!
For Him,
Lauren
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Psalm 34:8-10
