Never thought I would be chased up part of a volcano by an angry bull

The morning I left for the world race I was flooded with good buy text filled with encouragement and love. One that really stuck out was from Tom Godar, a man I highly respect and who leads a bible study at his house that I attend. He wrote, “God bless you on your journey. May peace and hope be your companion. May the Holy Spirit guide you in marvelous love and passion for the lost. Be safe, be smart be Sarah” I thought to myself, now those were good words to live my time on the race by.
          

     Making it to Antigua, Guatemala took what seemed to be forever. Prior to this trip I had never waited for a flight for more than 9 hours, but we managed to make it fun so 25 hours of traveling didn’t seem that bad. Once we arrived I was pleasantly surprised that the bus took us straight to a hostel where we would be living for the next three days during debriefing.  We were living the good life, having running water, internet, warm beds, and good food.  On the day before we were going to be splitting up going to different cities with our small team we were able to spend the day hiking a volcano. That hike was more intense then I had anticipated but was worth it because the view was so breath taking.  About half way up we saw a bull and a cow. The cow was not phased by our presence however the bull started getting irritated with us and before we knew it the tour guide was yelling RUN! RUN! I thought he was joking until I looked back and saw the bull running after us. He didn’t chase us very long but it still got my heart racing.  

  

When we got to the top of the volcano we were able to roast marshmallows in a hole with lava in it and explore. My favorite part was taking pictures of each other jumping in the air with the most serene background. While we were all up there we decided to do our declarations. (Yelling positive encouraging worlds about God and ourselves)  It didn’t seem real it, was that beautiful. I think it really hit me that we weren’t just on a mountain when Scotty and I went under a bunch of rocks and I thought I was going to roast it was so hot in there. 

The next day we all said our good buys and team love bound hoped on a bus to Panajachel, Guatemala. We were under the impression that we would be arriving at a house with rooms for us to stay in for the month. When we got off the bus we were greeted by Pastor Ben who kind of looks like a darker crocodile Dundee with a bit more of an edge. When we met up with him we had to carry ALL of our stuff a few blocks. For those of you who are not familiar with The world race I had on a 50lb pack with my school back pack on my chest that weighs about another 20 pounds and my day pack.   By the time we stopped walking we were by a little corn field and some gravel behind a building. Pastor Ben told us that was where we would be sleeping for the next month and when we needed to poop you just dig a small hole in the con field and bury it when you’re done with your business. I dropped my bad and smiled not saying a word. He then told us that that is usually were people set up their tent and live when they come to help out but 72 hours prior to us arriving someone gave a HUGE donation to Pastor Ben so he could start working on a building similar to a motel and that we were the very first people to be staying there. Can you say upgrade!? We had three rooms that the seven of us shared so I am now rooming with Angie B. We both have a bed and share a bathroom. 

During our stay here we are going to be doing a plethora of things. Some of them include: construction work , working with kids/orphans, widows, visiting prisons and a witch cave. And yes a witch cave is just what it sounds like.