I will remember today forever! We started the day off with home visits. Jill, Joel and I had the privlige of meeting our sponsor children. We went to Joels house first and met his family. The family invited Joel to ride their horse and told Joel that he could come and stay with them any time so that was pretty neat! After Joels visit we went to my sponsor child's house. I was greeted by a huge banner and balloons placed all around the house. Karen told me that the family wanted to go out of town for the week but they heard I was coming so they cancelled their trip. Jario said that he had been praying for me to visit and his prayers were answered. They offered us drinks and fruit and we talked for a while. They told us they own a small peice of land on top of the highest mountain in Tactic. On this peice of land thet fast and pray. One day they plan to build on this land to further God's kingdom. They also told us that they own a christian radio station and they let Les and Oki Dokie talk on the air. After my sponsor child we headed to Jill's sponsor child's home. Her sponsor family sells fruit and drinks outside of their house and gave us some fresh watermelon to eat. It was delicious!!! After our home visits we went to children ministry and had a great last day with the kids. It is so amazing to see children have so much joy in something as simple as bubbles. Oh and we finally experienced the HUG LINE. I can see why the hug line is so famous! but it didn't satisfy our class. We definitely had some issues saying goodbye to the kids and I know most of us could stay there forever or take them home with us. It blows my mind that kids can have so much joy even in the toughest situations. After children ministry we went back to the house to get ready for dinner. We didn't have time to stop for ice cream which was so sad but we must stop tomorrow because I must have one last scoop of Guanaba ice cream before we leave. At dinner we had hamburgers and I would just like to say they are WAY better then the big macs at McDonalds! After dinner we headed to the church to join 11-B in some shopping experiences but there was one problem.... the van wouldn't start so we got some of the strong boys in the class to push the van to jump start it and after a couple tries we got it going but Jill and I were convinced we were going to die but thankfully we didn't! At the church we did some shopping and we came back to the guest house for a night of dutch blitz and laying on the roof star gazing. I don't want to go home and I am pretty sure I could stay here forever but shout out to the best friends back home. Looking forward to many more adventures tomorrow but for now its time to dream big and say goodnight.
God Bless,
Cat
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Day 6 (Jacques Randshuizen)
Breakfast 6:30 am and what a wonderful morning it was (is) in tactic. The 11a class was off too Chicoy on a morning tour and then we were off to a BEAUTIFUL sinkhole in the middle of the mountain area in Chicoy. The sinkhole was around 125 ft deep .... what a walk!
The walk up too the sinkhole was a 5-7 minutes =( . Once everyone was in the hole we all gathered and sang. 4 rituals were taking place while we were singing and it became quite the distraction. After 15-20 minutes the other groups left. We all thought it was strange that they had not put their fires out. BUT the cool thing was, that while we prayed and cried all the fires went from full blaze to just smoke in just under 5 minutes. We all agreed that God was with us in the that place. 6 of us ended up re-giving our lives to Christ!!
The 11a's they found themselves digging up more dirt so that the Tactic school would be able to have their own sewer and water system put in place. It turns out that we are moving the same dirt pile that the grade 12's moved last year!! AWESOME !!
In the afternoon we (11a) did children's ministries and had the best time of our lives, playing or helping the 80-100 kids that showed up. Soccer is the best sport in the world!! Hockey is nothing, NHL players have NO skill compared to these 9- 10 year old Tactic children. O we ended up loosing to the local soccer team 9-4. WE GOT LUCKY!!! all of their team is in pro sports.
There are so many photos that are going to shared. Well it is 10pm and well its time to say good night.
The walk up too the sinkhole was a 5-7 minutes =( . Once everyone was in the hole we all gathered and sang. 4 rituals were taking place while we were singing and it became quite the distraction. After 15-20 minutes the other groups left. We all thought it was strange that they had not put their fires out. BUT the cool thing was, that while we prayed and cried all the fires went from full blaze to just smoke in just under 5 minutes. We all agreed that God was with us in the that place. 6 of us ended up re-giving our lives to Christ!!
The 11a's they found themselves digging up more dirt so that the Tactic school would be able to have their own sewer and water system put in place. It turns out that we are moving the same dirt pile that the grade 12's moved last year!! AWESOME !!
In the afternoon we (11a) did children's ministries and had the best time of our lives, playing or helping the 80-100 kids that showed up. Soccer is the best sport in the world!! Hockey is nothing, NHL players have NO skill compared to these 9- 10 year old Tactic children. O we ended up loosing to the local soccer team 9-4. WE GOT LUCKY!!! all of their team is in pro sports.
There are so many photos that are going to shared. Well it is 10pm and well its time to say good night.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Day 5 - Mr. Werth
What a day!
11B was up early & had breakfast at 6:30 AM so that they could go to the sinkhole @ Chicoy. There is a great deal of significance to the sinkhole site in Mayan worship; to access the sinkhole one has to walk up a very steep hill & then descend down into the sinkhole. Visiting the sinkhole allows for worshiping the gods of the over-world in a high place & then the gods of the underworld in a low place. Two in one! Witchcraft & spirit worship are a big part of the Mayan religion, and the sinkhole has been used for centuries by witch doctors to cast spells and curses. But, the team learned, due to short-term mission teams entering into the sinkhole & worshiping the one true God, the sinkhole has lost its power! What a testament to the truth of Ephesians 6:12, the passage about our struggles not being between flesh & blood, but between powers and principalities.
While 11B was at the sinkhole, 11A visited Chi'xim. Chi'xim is a catholic church the sits up on a mountain side, overlooking Tactic (another high place). Chi'xim is named after the corn god in the Mayan religion. The lessons learned here by the team were about the syncretism that is evident throughout Central America; the blending of multiple religious beliefs into catholicism/christianity. The team observed a ritual burning of offerings to the many gods of the Mayan religion...right at the feet of the catholic church. During Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter Sunday) worshipers can complete the one ritual of burnt offerings & then step into the church to complete other rituals. Again, two in one!
Following these visits, 11B went to Chamche to do their first childrens ministry & 11A went to Chijacorral to move dirt around on the work site. For the afternoon, roles were switched; 11B did work ministry & 11A did childrens ministry. The entire team was at Chijacorral for the afternoon.
Work ministry in Guatemala, due to Impact Ministries vision of building schools & medical clinics, is an opportunity to move dirt by digging down hills and filling up trenches. And there's a lot of dirt in Guatemala! Imagine 15-20 teenagers armed with pick-axes, shovels & wheelbarrows. What first comes to mind is chaos, injuries & lawsuits...but these teens quickly become an organized work "machine" that methodically levels ground for playing fields and school extension foundations! If the construction company for our Multi-Program Facility at BCS falls behind on their construction schedule, I know a few Gr. 11's who can step in & help out.
Childrens ministry preparation was a big part of February's activities for the Gr. 11's. Developing dramas, craft activities, practicing songs & learning how to organize games has paid off big time with our teens leading around 80 Guatemala children through 2.5 hours of FUN! What a blessing to see the big "kids" spending time with the "little" kids. Language differences were not a barrier in any way. All the parents back home would be proud of their daughters/sons with the way they interacted in such a caring way with the Guatemalan children. What a blessing!
11A had the opportunity to play soccer against what turned out to be a highly skilled team of Guatemala youths, and ended the evening with two very Guatemalan activities; churrascos (tasty beef strips in a tortilla with sauce) & firecrackers! We have heard firecrackers most mornings, bright & early, as Guatemalans celebrate birthdays. Now, it was our opportunity to participate in the popping, exploding, screaming & laughing that accompanies this activity. 11B will get their chance tomorrow, they can hardly wait!
Long day, but one worth writing home about (or blogging about)!
11B was up early & had breakfast at 6:30 AM so that they could go to the sinkhole @ Chicoy. There is a great deal of significance to the sinkhole site in Mayan worship; to access the sinkhole one has to walk up a very steep hill & then descend down into the sinkhole. Visiting the sinkhole allows for worshiping the gods of the over-world in a high place & then the gods of the underworld in a low place. Two in one! Witchcraft & spirit worship are a big part of the Mayan religion, and the sinkhole has been used for centuries by witch doctors to cast spells and curses. But, the team learned, due to short-term mission teams entering into the sinkhole & worshiping the one true God, the sinkhole has lost its power! What a testament to the truth of Ephesians 6:12, the passage about our struggles not being between flesh & blood, but between powers and principalities.
While 11B was at the sinkhole, 11A visited Chi'xim. Chi'xim is a catholic church the sits up on a mountain side, overlooking Tactic (another high place). Chi'xim is named after the corn god in the Mayan religion. The lessons learned here by the team were about the syncretism that is evident throughout Central America; the blending of multiple religious beliefs into catholicism/christianity. The team observed a ritual burning of offerings to the many gods of the Mayan religion...right at the feet of the catholic church. During Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter Sunday) worshipers can complete the one ritual of burnt offerings & then step into the church to complete other rituals. Again, two in one!
Following these visits, 11B went to Chamche to do their first childrens ministry & 11A went to Chijacorral to move dirt around on the work site. For the afternoon, roles were switched; 11B did work ministry & 11A did childrens ministry. The entire team was at Chijacorral for the afternoon.
Work ministry in Guatemala, due to Impact Ministries vision of building schools & medical clinics, is an opportunity to move dirt by digging down hills and filling up trenches. And there's a lot of dirt in Guatemala! Imagine 15-20 teenagers armed with pick-axes, shovels & wheelbarrows. What first comes to mind is chaos, injuries & lawsuits...but these teens quickly become an organized work "machine" that methodically levels ground for playing fields and school extension foundations! If the construction company for our Multi-Program Facility at BCS falls behind on their construction schedule, I know a few Gr. 11's who can step in & help out.
Childrens ministry preparation was a big part of February's activities for the Gr. 11's. Developing dramas, craft activities, practicing songs & learning how to organize games has paid off big time with our teens leading around 80 Guatemala children through 2.5 hours of FUN! What a blessing to see the big "kids" spending time with the "little" kids. Language differences were not a barrier in any way. All the parents back home would be proud of their daughters/sons with the way they interacted in such a caring way with the Guatemalan children. What a blessing!
11A had the opportunity to play soccer against what turned out to be a highly skilled team of Guatemala youths, and ended the evening with two very Guatemalan activities; churrascos (tasty beef strips in a tortilla with sauce) & firecrackers! We have heard firecrackers most mornings, bright & early, as Guatemalans celebrate birthdays. Now, it was our opportunity to participate in the popping, exploding, screaming & laughing that accompanies this activity. 11B will get their chance tomorrow, they can hardly wait!
Long day, but one worth writing home about (or blogging about)!
Another day in Tac Tic (Alexis)
Hola, gringos! That's what we've been hearing all day. Gringo is slang for a white person. Talissa would like to give a big "HOLA!" because she is sitting right here. Today, 11A went to Chi'xim. (Shi-Sheem) Chi'xim, is the Myan god of corn.
Sam just screamed at the top of her lungs because Josh dangled a green balloon in her face. She thought it was a snake. Hence the screaming. We haven't seen any real ones yet, but we have encountered cockroaches.
Anyways, in Chi'xim, we saw a strange blend of religions- Myan, Catholic, and some witchcraft. There was a ceremony going on with some people burning offerings of tobacco and alcohol to the gods. Needless to say, it was a very unpleasant smell. Then we went into the temple and heard a little more of what they believe from Les.
11B was at the sinkhole while we were in Chi'xim, they all said that it was a really good experience, but wouldn't say much more. Chandler said we should experience it for ourselves. Chandler and Ali have food babies. They also say "Hola!" (A food baby is when you've eaten so much you look a bit pregnant).
Finally, 11A went to children's ministry. I painted hands, so did Jacques, and Stephanie. Others did crafts, made balloon animals and played games. The ballon animals were VERY popular, so was my 'rosa' design. 11B did manual labour, digging and hauling dirt. Jenna Kim says "HI!" Seems that many people do...
Right now, my class is about to walk out the door to play soccer with some youth. Should be MUCHO fun.
ADIOS!
Sam just screamed at the top of her lungs because Josh dangled a green balloon in her face. She thought it was a snake. Hence the screaming. We haven't seen any real ones yet, but we have encountered cockroaches.
Anyways, in Chi'xim, we saw a strange blend of religions- Myan, Catholic, and some witchcraft. There was a ceremony going on with some people burning offerings of tobacco and alcohol to the gods. Needless to say, it was a very unpleasant smell. Then we went into the temple and heard a little more of what they believe from Les.
11B was at the sinkhole while we were in Chi'xim, they all said that it was a really good experience, but wouldn't say much more. Chandler said we should experience it for ourselves. Chandler and Ali have food babies. They also say "Hola!" (A food baby is when you've eaten so much you look a bit pregnant).
Finally, 11A went to children's ministry. I painted hands, so did Jacques, and Stephanie. Others did crafts, made balloon animals and played games. The ballon animals were VERY popular, so was my 'rosa' design. 11B did manual labour, digging and hauling dirt. Jenna Kim says "HI!" Seems that many people do...
Right now, my class is about to walk out the door to play soccer with some youth. Should be MUCHO fun.
ADIOS!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Day 4 - SAM HOGMAN
Hey there, Samuel Hogman here, filling in for Mike Stacey this time. He took a sick day... unfortunately along with two others (Jenna and Leah). But God's protected them and they're now back to normal.
So today was quite a hectic one, what with a complete schedule do-over and of course, the spreading of a bit of sickness which luckily was only a bit of heat exhaustion as far as we know. At the start of the day we had the pleasure of going to a beautiful house just outside of Tactic for an incredibly generous breakfast by a Guatemalan lady. It was great, but hard to eat, considering it could've easily fed a number of Tactic families for a day.
From there, we were off to a mountain village called Parachuch... I think that's how it's spelt. It was really something to see true poverty. Yes Tactic and the rest of Guatemala is in incredible poverty, but we later learned that the people of Parachuch didn't even have a source of water at the time being and hadn't for some while now. They have to make a several hour journey to Tactic very frequently down the rocky, tough road on which we had yet another adventure trying to drive up. Apparently, 11A had a very similar experience in the village they visited. It was amazing to see though, how God cares for and can reach anyone, we learned alot today from the faith of these people.
After lunch, we had a pretty relaxing afternoon; that is if you can relax while running around town on an awesome scavenger hunt! From chasing chickens down, to trying to find any English-speaking people, to having policemen laughing at us as we try to find a pig's-head or the post office, it was a fun time. It was the group that found an English-speaking guide and a van as a mode of transportation that won of course, but the experience was an amazing way of discovering this city. Oh ya, and the lunch was just incredible... as usual.
And now we end up at church! Let me tell you, what we call "church" up in North America... it just isn't church. What we witnessed today, that's how church was meant to be. God was in that place, as we watched the Guatemalans, children and adults alike screaming out, giving their hearts to their Lord Jesus Christ. Many came to the Lord that day, and me, Michelle, Josh and Brent had an opportunity to go up and pray over these newly-converted Guatemalan children. What a blessing it was to witness this church service. Tears streamed, voices broke, and hands reached up as we experienced the true church.
We finished off with a great time of reflection at the guest house. Again, more tears, reminiscing and overall just an incredible time of sharing. There is so much to learn I can't even get into detail about all of it. We learned how grateful these people are, and we learned what it truly means to be a good Samaritan. What a day.
And the end of the day; it consisted of us boys setting off multitudes of firecrackers! As well as talking with 11A and prayer and reflection. And now... journalling, talking with my buddies, and trying to get this blog down in time to get a good sleep, so that we can have another amazing day tomorrow, of learning, starting children's ministries, visiting the sink-hole, and continuing to grow closer to these people and to God. Hallelujah!
So today was quite a hectic one, what with a complete schedule do-over and of course, the spreading of a bit of sickness which luckily was only a bit of heat exhaustion as far as we know. At the start of the day we had the pleasure of going to a beautiful house just outside of Tactic for an incredibly generous breakfast by a Guatemalan lady. It was great, but hard to eat, considering it could've easily fed a number of Tactic families for a day.
From there, we were off to a mountain village called Parachuch... I think that's how it's spelt. It was really something to see true poverty. Yes Tactic and the rest of Guatemala is in incredible poverty, but we later learned that the people of Parachuch didn't even have a source of water at the time being and hadn't for some while now. They have to make a several hour journey to Tactic very frequently down the rocky, tough road on which we had yet another adventure trying to drive up. Apparently, 11A had a very similar experience in the village they visited. It was amazing to see though, how God cares for and can reach anyone, we learned alot today from the faith of these people.
After lunch, we had a pretty relaxing afternoon; that is if you can relax while running around town on an awesome scavenger hunt! From chasing chickens down, to trying to find any English-speaking people, to having policemen laughing at us as we try to find a pig's-head or the post office, it was a fun time. It was the group that found an English-speaking guide and a van as a mode of transportation that won of course, but the experience was an amazing way of discovering this city. Oh ya, and the lunch was just incredible... as usual.
And now we end up at church! Let me tell you, what we call "church" up in North America... it just isn't church. What we witnessed today, that's how church was meant to be. God was in that place, as we watched the Guatemalans, children and adults alike screaming out, giving their hearts to their Lord Jesus Christ. Many came to the Lord that day, and me, Michelle, Josh and Brent had an opportunity to go up and pray over these newly-converted Guatemalan children. What a blessing it was to witness this church service. Tears streamed, voices broke, and hands reached up as we experienced the true church.
We finished off with a great time of reflection at the guest house. Again, more tears, reminiscing and overall just an incredible time of sharing. There is so much to learn I can't even get into detail about all of it. We learned how grateful these people are, and we learned what it truly means to be a good Samaritan. What a day.
And the end of the day; it consisted of us boys setting off multitudes of firecrackers! As well as talking with 11A and prayer and reflection. And now... journalling, talking with my buddies, and trying to get this blog down in time to get a good sleep, so that we can have another amazing day tomorrow, of learning, starting children's ministries, visiting the sink-hole, and continuing to grow closer to these people and to God. Hallelujah!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Uno, Dos, Tres (Cat)
Hola!
Sorry we haven't blogged for the last couple of days. We have been busy seeing the beautiful things that God has created here. After arriving in Guatemala we drove up to Antigua and spent the night in a wonderful hotel with very hard beds and a live turtle according to Ali! Ashley Jill and I woke up to the boys enjoying the morning sun on the top of our roof. After a VERY cold shower and a delicious breakfast we set out to explore the cobble stone streets of Antigua. We walked around the city and learned about the many churches, convents and volcano's. We spent some time in Los Cappucinos which is a nunnery. There Les led us to this dome shaped room and asked us to just listen and let God speak to us. We spent time in thought, worshiped and shared scripture! The coolest part of this was when we were singing our theme song "Living for your Glory." When singing this song, there was a light that shone through the tiny window and it felt like God was right there with us. Les also shared something really important with our team. He said " don't let your past define your future. As long as you let God into your present, you will do great things." I thought this message was so important because I find personally I worry about my past a lot and it stops me from living for God. I know I need to live for God and this is the start of a new begining as a better person. After Los Cappucinos we spent some time shopping! Many of us bargained our little hearts out (Aunt G would be proud) and spent some money on gifts and are excited to share them with you back home! We then got on the buses and began our journey to Tac Tic, which by the way is a five hour drive with little or no air conditioning. I think many of the adults heard one too many songs by the end of that trip! After arriving at the guest house in Tac Tic we headed to a local youth group to sing songs, play games and eat a wonderful snack prepared for us by the people of Guatemala. After an over all wonderful day we headed home to our bunk beds to get some much needed rest.
The ladies woke up to some interesting stories from the boys who stayed at the hotel. Apparently there were one too many cockroaches at the hotel! But you don't have to worry because Brent used his man powers to squish them. After breakfast we headed off to do some home visits. We visited many sponsor children and had a great time taking pictures, giving piggy back rides, sharing laughs, singing songs and just experiencing the overall joy in each one of them. I'm sure each student has their own favorite story to tell about the day! After lunch 11A headed out to a school to help dig out a soccer field for the children to play on. It was cool to see that Bearspaw was the first missions team to get their hand on that piece of property and to this very day we still are using our hands and talents to developed the land. Jill recieved a nice flower from a little Guatemalan boy name Renaldo and we all spent the last few minutes of the work ministry interacting with the little ones and playing soccer! We then came home and enjoyed a nice meal and some wonderful worship/reflection time. What a wonderful third day eh? Anyways off to bed!
Nighty night
Dont let the cu ka rachas bite!
God Bless
Cat
Sorry we haven't blogged for the last couple of days. We have been busy seeing the beautiful things that God has created here. After arriving in Guatemala we drove up to Antigua and spent the night in a wonderful hotel with very hard beds and a live turtle according to Ali! Ashley Jill and I woke up to the boys enjoying the morning sun on the top of our roof. After a VERY cold shower and a delicious breakfast we set out to explore the cobble stone streets of Antigua. We walked around the city and learned about the many churches, convents and volcano's. We spent some time in Los Cappucinos which is a nunnery. There Les led us to this dome shaped room and asked us to just listen and let God speak to us. We spent time in thought, worshiped and shared scripture! The coolest part of this was when we were singing our theme song "Living for your Glory." When singing this song, there was a light that shone through the tiny window and it felt like God was right there with us. Les also shared something really important with our team. He said " don't let your past define your future. As long as you let God into your present, you will do great things." I thought this message was so important because I find personally I worry about my past a lot and it stops me from living for God. I know I need to live for God and this is the start of a new begining as a better person. After Los Cappucinos we spent some time shopping! Many of us bargained our little hearts out (Aunt G would be proud) and spent some money on gifts and are excited to share them with you back home! We then got on the buses and began our journey to Tac Tic, which by the way is a five hour drive with little or no air conditioning. I think many of the adults heard one too many songs by the end of that trip! After arriving at the guest house in Tac Tic we headed to a local youth group to sing songs, play games and eat a wonderful snack prepared for us by the people of Guatemala. After an over all wonderful day we headed home to our bunk beds to get some much needed rest.
The ladies woke up to some interesting stories from the boys who stayed at the hotel. Apparently there were one too many cockroaches at the hotel! But you don't have to worry because Brent used his man powers to squish them. After breakfast we headed off to do some home visits. We visited many sponsor children and had a great time taking pictures, giving piggy back rides, sharing laughs, singing songs and just experiencing the overall joy in each one of them. I'm sure each student has their own favorite story to tell about the day! After lunch 11A headed out to a school to help dig out a soccer field for the children to play on. It was cool to see that Bearspaw was the first missions team to get their hand on that piece of property and to this very day we still are using our hands and talents to developed the land. Jill recieved a nice flower from a little Guatemalan boy name Renaldo and we all spent the last few minutes of the work ministry interacting with the little ones and playing soccer! We then came home and enjoyed a nice meal and some wonderful worship/reflection time. What a wonderful third day eh? Anyways off to bed!
Nighty night
Dont let the cu ka rachas bite!
God Bless
Cat
Day 2 - Travel to Tactic
Hello All: Mike Stacey here with 11-B again. We didn't have internet until this morning, so I will post twice to update you on yesterday's events and today's events.
Yesterday (Friday), we went to the market in Antigua after touring around a little bit. We first visited the cathedral (central church) and walked the streets of Antigua, taking in the sights one by one. We walked all around Antigua until we came to a church where many previous Bearspaw groups have set foot. We walked down underneath the church itself, and sat down in a large underground room that has perfect acoustics for talking and singing. We had a semi-brief period of worship in the room, and as we were singing, the light in the underground room went from dark to shining bright. It was as if God was listening to our worship, and parted the clouds to let the sun shine through for our time of worship to Him. It was quite an experience. People commented that the sound of the person sitting across from them in the room reflected so that it sounded like that person was right behind them singing. Definitely a highlight among the group.
We then ventured to the central market in Antigua, and we were introduced to the concept of "haggling" and "bargaining". The leaders told us that in Guatemala, if you can't lower the price offered by the vendor to you on an item that you want, your shopping experience was unsuccessful. =P People had items originally priced as high as 400 "quetzals" (dollars) and managed to haggle the price down to 90 "quetzals." It became a bit of a contest between people to see who could haggle the greatest price difference. All in all, fun was had in great amounts.
The drive to Tactic was a grand adventure to say the least. We stopped at a fast food restaurant called "Pollo Campero." It served fried chicken and french fries, and everyone loved the food! Sam Hogman (11B) commented that KFC could take lessons on how to cook chicken from this restaurant, so that might give you an idea on how good the chicken tasted.
We then proceeded on the drive to Tactic. In Guatemala, the dividing lines on the road we were told were mere "suggestions", and every driver in this country does not obey the lines or road signs. We had a couple of close calls on the 2 lane highway leading to Tactic, as crazy drivers passing in the other direction did not care about whether we were heading directly towards them in our one lane. Large buses even pulled out to pass people. Quite the crazy experience, but we were kept safe by the skills of my van's driver - "Israel." In my van, we sang songs such as Journey's "Don't Stop Believin", and worship songs. The whole trip was filled with songs and car-ride games, but no one once complained.
Once we got to Tactic, we quickly settled in and were invited to a youth event put on by the community. We got to worship with the local youth, and we then had wide games such as Tug of War. We also had eating contests, and Leah Verburg won for the girls, and Sam Hogman won for the guys. We were then served " bean tamales", little pastries with bean and jelly inside of them. They were really good!! The group also formed a soccer team and played a little 5 v 5 match with the teens of the community. Brina Martens, Samantha Temple, Emma Pedersen, Ali Oliverio, and myself consisted of "Team Canada", and we ended up winning 3-2 in "overtime." Fun again was had by all, as all of Bearspaw was cheering on Team Canada, while the Guatemalans were cheering on their boys in the game. It was an atmosphere of fellowship, friendship, and tons of fun.
Today's events, which included home visits to sponsor kids, and manual labor at the local school (moving rocks by wheelbarrow and shovel) will be included in the next blog.
God Bless,
Mike Stacey 11 - B
Yesterday (Friday), we went to the market in Antigua after touring around a little bit. We first visited the cathedral (central church) and walked the streets of Antigua, taking in the sights one by one. We walked all around Antigua until we came to a church where many previous Bearspaw groups have set foot. We walked down underneath the church itself, and sat down in a large underground room that has perfect acoustics for talking and singing. We had a semi-brief period of worship in the room, and as we were singing, the light in the underground room went from dark to shining bright. It was as if God was listening to our worship, and parted the clouds to let the sun shine through for our time of worship to Him. It was quite an experience. People commented that the sound of the person sitting across from them in the room reflected so that it sounded like that person was right behind them singing. Definitely a highlight among the group.
We then ventured to the central market in Antigua, and we were introduced to the concept of "haggling" and "bargaining". The leaders told us that in Guatemala, if you can't lower the price offered by the vendor to you on an item that you want, your shopping experience was unsuccessful. =P People had items originally priced as high as 400 "quetzals" (dollars) and managed to haggle the price down to 90 "quetzals." It became a bit of a contest between people to see who could haggle the greatest price difference. All in all, fun was had in great amounts.
The drive to Tactic was a grand adventure to say the least. We stopped at a fast food restaurant called "Pollo Campero." It served fried chicken and french fries, and everyone loved the food! Sam Hogman (11B) commented that KFC could take lessons on how to cook chicken from this restaurant, so that might give you an idea on how good the chicken tasted.
We then proceeded on the drive to Tactic. In Guatemala, the dividing lines on the road we were told were mere "suggestions", and every driver in this country does not obey the lines or road signs. We had a couple of close calls on the 2 lane highway leading to Tactic, as crazy drivers passing in the other direction did not care about whether we were heading directly towards them in our one lane. Large buses even pulled out to pass people. Quite the crazy experience, but we were kept safe by the skills of my van's driver - "Israel." In my van, we sang songs such as Journey's "Don't Stop Believin", and worship songs. The whole trip was filled with songs and car-ride games, but no one once complained.
Once we got to Tactic, we quickly settled in and were invited to a youth event put on by the community. We got to worship with the local youth, and we then had wide games such as Tug of War. We also had eating contests, and Leah Verburg won for the girls, and Sam Hogman won for the guys. We were then served " bean tamales", little pastries with bean and jelly inside of them. They were really good!! The group also formed a soccer team and played a little 5 v 5 match with the teens of the community. Brina Martens, Samantha Temple, Emma Pedersen, Ali Oliverio, and myself consisted of "Team Canada", and we ended up winning 3-2 in "overtime." Fun again was had by all, as all of Bearspaw was cheering on Team Canada, while the Guatemalans were cheering on their boys in the game. It was an atmosphere of fellowship, friendship, and tons of fun.
Today's events, which included home visits to sponsor kids, and manual labor at the local school (moving rocks by wheelbarrow and shovel) will be included in the next blog.
God Bless,
Mike Stacey 11 - B
Friday, March 26, 2010
El Dia Dos (Day 2) -- Mike Stacey
Hey everybody. Mike Stacey from 11B here. After a long day of traveling, and a somewhat unexpected delay on the highway, everyone made it here safe and sound. We are in a little town outside of Guatemala City called "La Antigua." Not sure how far outside it is, or even what direction. Most of the boys in my van lost their sense of direction once they left the airport, and winding mountain roads (on the way to the hotel I am writing from) didn't exactly help that.
After a horrendously long delay at Houston International, everyone was glad to get on the plane to Guatemala and rest. Everyone knows how boring some airports can be, and sometimes how exciting others are, and unfortunately due to the lack of variety of stores in the terminal some people began to resort to "crazy" games by about mid-afternoon. Fun was had by all though, and some slept, while others played cards. Mr. Peterson held a somewhat impromptu Spanish lesson throughout the 7 hours, and most left with more knowledge of Spanish than they came with.
After reaching Guatemala Airport, the cultural experience began. Hot, humid gates with no air conditioning reminded everyone that they weren't in the USA or Canada anymore. As we picked up our bags from the terminal (all 86 of them), the boys loaded ALL the bags into the vans, while the girls laid back in the vans and watched. (Apparently it is a cultural norm here for the males to do all the hard labor.) =P
Excitement was beginning to build, and singing contests were beginning to develop between the vans. The girls would have won if it was judged on harmonious melodies, but the guys would have won if it was judged on pure effort. =P Famous songs such as "Don't Stop Believin" and "John Jacob JingleHeimerSchmidt" were painfully sung off-key by my van, all the way through the winding mountain roads.
Reaching the hotel was a welcome reprieve from the long ride, as the journey here was slowed up by a procession on the highway. Our driver in our van told us that the procession was made up of boys from Guatemala City marching to Antigua on foot, which is apparently a tradition here.
The hotel we stayed at overnight is an old colonial house that was obviously influence by Old Spanish architecture. There are mini-courtyards with fountains all over the hotel, and you can climb up on the roof and overlook the entire "city" and see the dormant volcanoes in the distance. The rooms are quite quaint, and there are vines and ferns climbing all over the walls.
One of the abnormalities of the hotel is there are random holes in the walls in some of the rooms at head height, so every room gets to shower with a breeze from the outside. There is no invasion of privacy however, it is a nice relief from the humidity that is present here in Guatemala.
As everyone has rested up quite nicely, we are all ready to go touring in Antigua, the old colonial city. Instead of going the last day of our trip, we get to go touring the central market and practice the art of "bargaining" today.
Signing off from "La Antigua", on behalf of homeroom 11-B,
Mike Stacey
After a horrendously long delay at Houston International, everyone was glad to get on the plane to Guatemala and rest. Everyone knows how boring some airports can be, and sometimes how exciting others are, and unfortunately due to the lack of variety of stores in the terminal some people began to resort to "crazy" games by about mid-afternoon. Fun was had by all though, and some slept, while others played cards. Mr. Peterson held a somewhat impromptu Spanish lesson throughout the 7 hours, and most left with more knowledge of Spanish than they came with.
After reaching Guatemala Airport, the cultural experience began. Hot, humid gates with no air conditioning reminded everyone that they weren't in the USA or Canada anymore. As we picked up our bags from the terminal (all 86 of them), the boys loaded ALL the bags into the vans, while the girls laid back in the vans and watched. (Apparently it is a cultural norm here for the males to do all the hard labor.) =P
Excitement was beginning to build, and singing contests were beginning to develop between the vans. The girls would have won if it was judged on harmonious melodies, but the guys would have won if it was judged on pure effort. =P Famous songs such as "Don't Stop Believin" and "John Jacob JingleHeimerSchmidt" were painfully sung off-key by my van, all the way through the winding mountain roads.
Reaching the hotel was a welcome reprieve from the long ride, as the journey here was slowed up by a procession on the highway. Our driver in our van told us that the procession was made up of boys from Guatemala City marching to Antigua on foot, which is apparently a tradition here.
The hotel we stayed at overnight is an old colonial house that was obviously influence by Old Spanish architecture. There are mini-courtyards with fountains all over the hotel, and you can climb up on the roof and overlook the entire "city" and see the dormant volcanoes in the distance. The rooms are quite quaint, and there are vines and ferns climbing all over the walls.
One of the abnormalities of the hotel is there are random holes in the walls in some of the rooms at head height, so every room gets to shower with a breeze from the outside. There is no invasion of privacy however, it is a nice relief from the humidity that is present here in Guatemala.
As everyone has rested up quite nicely, we are all ready to go touring in Antigua, the old colonial city. Instead of going the last day of our trip, we get to go touring the central market and practice the art of "bargaining" today.
Signing off from "La Antigua", on behalf of homeroom 11-B,
Mike Stacey
Day 2
Well... we made it to Antigua, Guatemala! It was a very long day, but we are here safely.
This morning has started with lot's of sunshine & birds of all varieties greeting the day. The team will soon be up. We are staying in a hotel (Los Bucaros) that has been renovated out of an old Spanish villa. The hotel has two courtyards with fountains & trees. Outside, cobble stone streets surround the hotel, running up & down other villas turned into hotels and restaurants.
We will be touring the Antigua ruins today & the journeying north to Tactic (4-5 hours in vans).
Tonight, if internet access is set up, we will blog about the events of the day.
Hasta luego!
This morning has started with lot's of sunshine & birds of all varieties greeting the day. The team will soon be up. We are staying in a hotel (Los Bucaros) that has been renovated out of an old Spanish villa. The hotel has two courtyards with fountains & trees. Outside, cobble stone streets surround the hotel, running up & down other villas turned into hotels and restaurants.
We will be touring the Antigua ruins today & the journeying north to Tactic (4-5 hours in vans).
Tonight, if internet access is set up, we will blog about the events of the day.
Hasta luego!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Houston Airport (Cat)
We have arrived in Houston! and I am pleased to say we have all made it here alive! Our flight consisted of many games of uno, switching seats, watching movies, dutch blitz, random Spanish lessons from Emma, and lots of turbulence. It it now 3:51 pm in the Houston Airport and Micheal is snoring, Brina is trying to kick butt at cards, Mr.Peterson is rocking out to his Ipod/ correcting Emma and Camille's attempts at Spanish phrases, others are chatting or trying to track down that last bite of American fast food and we are all enjoying our last moments flushing down toilet paper. Well our flight leaves soon so we will talk to y'all later as the Texans would say!
God Bless
Cat
God Bless
Cat
Travelling to Guatemala City - Day 1
I am standing in the Calgary airport @ 3:40 AM. Part of me is wondering how the night got so short! The other part of me is wondering if the students & chaperones will actually show up @ 4:00 AM. Then, people start showing up in droves! By 4:15 AM Continental starts moving us through the ticketing process. By 4:30 AM everybody (all 43 team members) have been processed & we're standing in line for customs & security. Things are looking good!
Customs opens @ 5:00 AM & we begin the "slow shuffle" through a very long line to the customs officers. Almost everyone moved through quickly & went on to security. All except for Mr. Werth, who had be checked for levels of radioactivity due to a recent Thalium stress test (where a radioactive isotope is inject into one's blood & then observed as it moves through the heart). The good news is... I have a heart! The bad news is...customs is worried I am carrying radioactive materials (which I am now presuming are illegal to take into the US).
After confirming that Mr. Werth is non-lethal, he moves quickly to security where he is detained for almost 25 minutes while security officials look for a metal "knife-shaped" object in his carry-on (spotted on x-ray). After emptying the entire contents of his carry-on (and not finding the mysterious device, but exposing his underwear & such to the other travelers in the airport) Mr. Werth runs to board the plane...after the last boarding call...after Mr. Blake came looking for him! No time for a Timmie's for Mr. Werth!
All has gone well since. We are sitting in the Houston airport passing the 7 hour lay-over until our flight leaves this evening for Guatemala City. Time now is 3:35 PM. Time left till we travel, 3 and a half hours. Airports are not very entertaining! Good things teenagers know how to entertain themselves...and everybody else!
Talk later!
Customs opens @ 5:00 AM & we begin the "slow shuffle" through a very long line to the customs officers. Almost everyone moved through quickly & went on to security. All except for Mr. Werth, who had be checked for levels of radioactivity due to a recent Thalium stress test (where a radioactive isotope is inject into one's blood & then observed as it moves through the heart). The good news is... I have a heart! The bad news is...customs is worried I am carrying radioactive materials (which I am now presuming are illegal to take into the US).
After confirming that Mr. Werth is non-lethal, he moves quickly to security where he is detained for almost 25 minutes while security officials look for a metal "knife-shaped" object in his carry-on (spotted on x-ray). After emptying the entire contents of his carry-on (and not finding the mysterious device, but exposing his underwear & such to the other travelers in the airport) Mr. Werth runs to board the plane...after the last boarding call...after Mr. Blake came looking for him! No time for a Timmie's for Mr. Werth!
All has gone well since. We are sitting in the Houston airport passing the 7 hour lay-over until our flight leaves this evening for Guatemala City. Time now is 3:35 PM. Time left till we travel, 3 and a half hours. Airports are not very entertaining! Good things teenagers know how to entertain themselves...and everybody else!
Talk later!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Pack 'N Pray - March 20th
On Saturday, all the Gr. 11 team members & chaperones arrived at BCS to find the gymnasium full of donated items to take to Guatemala. The job ahead was to pack as much as we could into travel bags. Here are some images of the action!
Approximately 1,700 pounds of clothing, toys, shoes & blankets were packed into our travel bags!
No more than 45 pounds per person, so we had to check it once & check it twice.
We concluded the event in a time of prayer.
We want to continue to pray for safety as we travel, for health while we are away, for unity of the team, openness to hear God's voice & hearts that will be filled with the compassion of Christ. We also pray for the individuals we will meet while in Guatemala, that they will not only be blessed by the gifts we bring, but that they will come to know the God who compels us to bring them.
Keep checking back to this blog over the next two weeks & follow our stories as we travel to the city of Tactic, Guatemala!
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