We're safely back at the training center!

Wow! What a weekend we had!

Friday

We all hopped on the bus around 7 for a long bus ride into the mountains to the Mayan Village. Wow, what a bus ride that was. I have to say the Guatemalan country is the best I've ever seen, and it cannot be captured in a photo.

When we got to the base of the Mayan village, we had to be transported almost straight up the mountain in Joel's 4x4 and Carlos' (village director) 4x4 truck. That was really big excitement for the kids because Joel has a roof rack on his truck so lots of kids were fighting over who gets to ride up there! The road was very bumpy and washed out from the rain. On the way up, one of the groups (we had to take 3 trips) was able to pick up a Mayan village woman with a basket on her head and transport her the rest of the way up the mountain. I'm not very good with the miles that we drove from the last largest city, but she had to have started very early in the morning traveling to the city for her things and was heading back. She was very appreciative of the ride.

While at the village, we conducted a mini-Day school (each group took an hour at the same time) and we were all amazed at how well-behaved the children were! Shy smiles and and quiet, attentive children were what we saw. (Even Joel will say--they were much different from the city kids) They loved the craft. We then headed to Carlos' house where he served us a delicious meal of chicken, rice, and boiled potatoes. We also presented the shoes and blankets to him at this time. He was very appreciative. We were unable to hand out the shoes individually to people in need, because Carlos would have a better ability to discern who should receive the shoes and blankets best. Many of the children I saw were barefoot, and some had shoes on that had been dress shoes and now looked like flip flops.

We then headed to the soccer field and played with the kids. What fun! I would guess all the children of the village were there. They were all for sure there when the pinata came out! This pinata was SOO big that Heather could have easily fit inside of it! It was shaped like the cartoon character Betty Boop. One thing I noticed was how polite the older children were to the younger ones. They were all very patient to wait their turn. In fact, in some cases, the older ones were encouraging the younger ones to try it. They had fun with Ryan Walters when he tried to break it (he was blindfolded) and was unable to get a hit. We then headed back down the mountain to the bus and traveled the beautiful road to Lake Atitlan. The word beautiful does not accurately describe the view. Many however, missed it because it was a long ride and naps were in order.
It was at this time that our lives almost ended. We had to pass a truck with our bus and the back tire of our bus went off the road into some sand and we did a little lurch and spinning of the sand before we were back on the road. The back of the bus felt like it was hanging off the cliff! No worries though, we had an AWESOME bus driver, as you'll read later in the story.

As we traveled to Lake Atitlan, we received a birds eye view of the Lake. Typically in the rainy season the air isn't very clear and Joel was concerned we wouldn't be able to see the gorgeous surroundings. I can't say it enough, God has been blessing us with great weather. It only rains when we don't care. It's totally amazing! We were able to catch a beautiful view and were very excited to see our luxurious accommodations that evening. They didn't disappoint.

Now--this is the bus story. As we were heading into our hotel at Lake Atitlan, the driver was following Joel, and he led us down a VERY narrow street. Parked cars were on each side, and our driver manuvered skillfully through it all. We were so close to a beer delivery truck that the kids could roll down their windows and easily grab a cold one for themselves! (Don't worry, we only let the adult leaders do that..... Just kidding!) Anyways, as we got to the end of the road we had to make a left turn. The turn was so tight that the front right corner was against a building, the left side was against a pole, and the back right corner was against a building! Needless to say, we weren't going to make it. So the driver had to back all the way back up that street with all those cars parked on it and go another way! What an adventure! M.J. was very reluctant to say that this driver put Safety Sid to shame. Sorry, Sid, she loves you!! :)

Do you know how we know that God was totally going before us on this trip? The courtyard had a SWING! Just like the one Heather has at home. (Heather's favorite thing to do is swing) She bolted right for it when she saw it. The hotel was fabulous with flowering vines covering all the walls and roof. All the windows and doors were cut out of the vines, and orange flowers were on the vines all over the place. Each room had it's own fireplace and candles. Lot's and lots of hammocks, all different shapes and sizes lined the covered walkway. We dropped our stuff and headed a short walk to supper at Sunset Cafe. The food was great! As we were eating, a storm developed and on the Lake we could see thunder and lightening. It was beautiful.

We headed back to the hotel were we all wanted to swim in the pool! The pool had a curvy tube slide and almost everyone tried it out! Even Pastor Bill and Marge! It was raining, but we didn't care. We played chicken fight, freeze tag, and scored cannonballs, and had the whole pool to ourselves! Most of us slept very well that night.

Saturday

Again we were blessed by God because we had a beautiful clear morning and totally calm Lake. At 9 we were to head to the docks and board our double decker boat only for us and head across the Lake to Santiago. The ride was beautiful and lots of pics were taken. (It think the pics are over 2000 right now) All of us were given the choice to shop in Santiago, or visit an old church and learn about a Saint that was from America who lived there. The group was split in half--some wanting to shop, others went to the church. At the church we learned about this wonderful person who gave his life to teach others about Jesus. They also had a wooden cross with a depiction of Jesus with very large hands and feet. This was to signify that Christ walked with and helped all people. The shoppers also picked up some great items, with lots of great deals. We only stayed in Santiago about an hour and then boarded the boat again.

Now the FUN part...... oh you already think we had that??? We boarded the boat and headed to a private cove and had a blast jumping off the very top of the double decker boat!! Even Pastor Bill!! Many conquered their fear of heights on this day. To my knowledge, all but 2 jumped off the very top of the boat. And they were adults. Everyone was very encouraging to those who were fearful. When Janice finally got up there, she didn't want anyone to talk, so they all sang "Yo Tengo" one of the songs we learned for the kids here. We stayed here for about an hour. SO much fun!

We headed back to change and another bus ride to Antiqua. We stayed in a hostel on this night which wasn't nearly as nice as the previous night, but most slept very well.


Sunday

Headed to a wonderful breakfast place for fruit filled crepes! Delicious! Then headed back to hostel for our worship service. I'm going to have to continue this with you later tonight, because I have to head down for supper now. I'll talk to you soon!