Day 4, 5 and 6 !!

tricia and kayla on the boat across the lake!

beautiful view of the lake

kayla getting followed by guatemalan children to buy their things

our morning worship on the shores of lake Atitlan

5th DAY

Today we woke up and took 3 different vans again to the city of Panajel. On the way there we got to stop by an orphanage and play with many many kids. There are so many kids there who have no parents and who have been raped, abused emotionally and physically, or simply just dropped off on the side of the road. Some of the kids at the orphanage have been there for 6 or 7 years because no one comes to get them. yet they are so happy. the lady working there told us that once a month a group will come and play with the kids. that is not enough. i wish there would be groups coming in every single week and playing with the kids and sharing Gods love with them. many of the students in our group found one or two kids that they aboslutely adored and just did not want to let go when it was time to leave. we also went to this same orphanage last year so it was cool to come back and visit again. After we left there we continued driving for an hour or so to Panajel and Lake Atitlan which is my personal favorite! When we arrived we went out to lunch at this beautiful resturant on the lake which you can see the entire lake and all three volcanoes from where we sat and were eating. after that we checked into our hotel and later that evening went out for supper. we went to supper at the Sunset Cafe and it was a blast! we had a live band playing songs in english a rock band and almost all 30 of us were making a huge joyful noise to the Lord on the dance floor and just having such a good time! it was so cool for the waiters and waitresses to see that we didnt need to be drunk or dancing grosse to have an incredible time but that the Lord was just with us and it was sooo fun!!

then later we went back to the hotel and had an awesome awesome bible study that night in one of the hotel rooms. we were all able to open up about what the Lord is doing in our lives and we discussed the different gifts we feel the Lord has given us. it was an awesome time of fellowship and prayer with one another.

the next morning...

our 6th DAY

we had an abosolutely amazing worship service on the shores of Lake Atitlan. People gathered around, not to sell us things, but to just be in the presence of people with true joy and community. It was so awesome because many guatemalan people just sat neat us and watched us sing and praise and worship our King of kings and Lord of lords. it was beautiful and many of us were in tears as we shared the experiences that have touched us most deeply so far on this trip.

after we headed off across the lake to this town of Santiago. We had a market day, mercado dia, and bought many things for our friends and family back home. in guatemala it is custom to bargain for the price of an item so if a notebook is 50 Q, then you say ahh i will take it for 35 Q if they say no you just start walking away and pretend like you dont want the item and they chase you down and say okay, 35 Q it is. haha so it was fun to see the group bargaining for their items and trying their best to speak spanish with the guatemalan vendors!

we had lunch and headed back to the dreamer center for a quiet evening at our host families. then we went to the dreamer center again and played games like the rhythm game and pyschiatrist. dominoes pizza and back to home for bed!

that is all for the last couple of days we hope all is well back home and hope to write again here tomorrow or the next day!!

please continue praying for us as students and adults to continue growing in faith and sharing Gods love with the people of Guatemala

Hasta Manana!!

dance party at the sunset cafe!

this boy did not stop smiling while we were there

beautiful girl at the orphanage

kelly and this girl fell in love, she was the cutest!

Mike handing out bracelets at the orphanage

Taylor blowing bubbles with a young boy


4th DAY

Hey everybody!! So on our fourth day in Guatemala we had an awesome chapel service where a bunch of people shared from the day before the experiences they had at the malnutrition center. there were many tears of realizing how good we truly have it back home in the U.S. we drove three vans to the middle of nowhere ville about fourty five minutes away from Antigua into a small village. the vans had to literally climb up these small dirt roads and curve along the edge of huge cliffs to get to this village. it reminded me alot of the mission "speed the light" because without these specific vans we would not have been able to get to where we went to do the clothing distribution. on the way there i realized a small glimpse of how big our God is. so many people on the streets of Guatemala and God calls them each by name. He knows the number of hairs on their head and what their favorite ice cream flavor is. it is amazing to be on this trip and being the "aroma of Christ" like it talks about in 2 corinthians. even a smile is a universal language here of Gods love. After the clothing distribution we headed back to the dreamer center in antigua and i met a girl here who was here after school. the Gods Child Project has the more poor students stay after school an hour to receive another snack because they probably will not eat another meal until school the next morning. as americans it is hard for us to comprehend. i met a girl named gabriella who is thirteen. she started school, as in first grade, when she was only twelve years old so last year. it hit me the impact the Gods Child project makes down here knowing that this girl can now attend school and hopefully college one day. we had a chill evening downtown at a resturant and played some pool and then headed to sleep! an awesome fourth day in guatemala.

the clothing distribution a ton of people waiting for clothes

eric, tia, and marion serving at the clothing distribution

the warehouse where we had the distribution and all of our team helping out

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