Friday morning the team was up bright & early, despite staying up late the night before participating in an hour of "roof top" worship. The day was proving to be a very warm day for our travel to Guatemala City.
The team was packed & ready to roll by 9:30 AM, we were ahead of schedule! Our first stop was in Mocohan, where Mr. Peterson was able to visit his sponsor children, a boy & a girl (twins). He was pretty pumped about this. Then it was on to Guatemala City. Because it was Good Friday, there wasn't much traffic on the highway & we made good time.
Once in Guatemala City, we stopped for a late lunch at Pollo Campero's & then dropped our luggage at the seminary Seteca where we were to stay the night. The team was then driven close to the central square in an effort to visit the Presidential Palace & the main cathedral in Guatemala City. Thousands of people were pouring into the square to view a large Holy Week procession & participate in a special mass. The team was instructed to maintain close proximity to one another as we wound through the press of people. We were surrounded with many inconsistent images; men dressed in black to participate in the procession, children & adults selling snacks, toys, sunglasses, jewelery and everywhere there were police and armed guards. We could feel the vibrations & hear the drone of dirge music from huge speakers in front of the cathedral. People lined both sides of the street & sat on the steps of the palace and the cathedral in anticipation of a procession. Everything was closed, so we didn't get to see what we were hoping to see, but then the procession began. Wheeled floats with images of Christ being betrayed in the Garden of Gesthemane, Judas' betrayal, Christ's trial & subsequent torture and ultimate death on the cross. The figures were life-size & life-like, but there was a recurrent theme of skeletons and skulls with each float, very eerie! The culmination was a huge float of Christ lying in state carried on the shoulders of close to a hundred men dressed in black. The final float was surrounded by men carrying pots of incense that filled the air with pungent smoke making it hard to breathe at times. Once the entire procession had passed by, the outdoor mass began. Three times our group attempted to move through the crowd to get back to our vehicles, but the crowd was too thick to push our way through. Finally, an opening was spotted & slowly the 40+ Canadians pushed their way clear of the central square.
Upon returning to our vehicles, the team found Israel (one of our drivers) doing what he does best; sharing the gospel. We prayed with the family who were watching over our vehicles & who had accepted Israel's invitation to make Jesus Christ their Lord & Saviour!
Upon our return to the seminary, we were able to freshen up for the evening while dinner was ordered. 15 of the largest Domino's pizzas we had ever seen. There were more slices of pizza than could be consumed by the team, even with 12 teenage males who made it a goal to eat eight or more slices each!
We then pushed the tables aside to form a large circle for our last group devotion of the trip. We went around the group & heard each team member share what they felt God is calling them to change upon returning to Canada. Some very personal challenges were shared that night, but all with the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The evening closed with over an hour of lifting each other in prayer. The lights in the dining hall were turned off at 11:30 PM bringing our Mission to Guatemala 2010 trip to a close. All that remained was our trip back to Calgary the next day.
Thank-you for following our pursuits in Guatemala, we hope you enjoyed the stories. If you are in Calgary on Thursday, April 15th, we invite you to join us for dessert, coffee & a time of sharing as we show some of our pictures and tell more stories of our time in Guatemala. This event will be held in the Bearspaw Christian School gymnasium starting at 7:00 PM. There is no charge for the evening. Perhaps we will see you there!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Update#1 - Mr. Werth
We lost our internet connection on Thursday, April 1st, so we haven't been able to give updates until now.
Thursday started well. As it was April 1st, Karren, one of the Impact Ministries staff, fooled us with a story about a potential 6.5 earthquake to occur at some time that morning. As she discussed the events of the morning, she gave directions on where to be if we felt nauseous or shaking; get out into the open, avoid being under overhangs and such. Some students were worried, but when she asked the group to remind her of the date, there was quite the mixed reaction when most realized the date. Good one Karren!
For the morning, 11A went into the market in Tactic to complete shopping for souveniers while 11B visited a small coffee finca to learn how coffee beans are processed. After a couple of hours, the groups switched activities.
After lunch, 11A drove to Coban, the provincial capital to visit the hospital. Team members took stuffed animals & blankets with them, to give to children on the pediatric ward. The team members took time to pray for each child to be healed of their illnesses, most being pneumonia-like. It was very humbling for all to see the lack of supplies for proper medical care, but quite a blessing to have families readily agree to being prayed with. Following this visit to the pediatric ward, the female team members were able to visit the maternity ward. Bags that were sewn by supporters of our Mission to Guatemala trip were filled with blankets & baby clothes and given to the new moms. What a neat experience!
Meanwhile, 11B was off doing sponsor visits in in Tactic & up in the hills of San Antonio. More opportunities to bless our sponsor children & be blessed by visiting and praying with them!
Both teams gathered together in the evening at the church in Chamche to participate in a joint devotion. Les Peters talked with the group about "reverse culture shock" & prepared team members for some of the challenges they may experience when leaving Guatemala and returning home. Then Les gave the team some homework. Our task was to prepare a response to the question "What is God asking us to change when we return to Calgary?"
I will share the results of the next day in another post.
Thursday started well. As it was April 1st, Karren, one of the Impact Ministries staff, fooled us with a story about a potential 6.5 earthquake to occur at some time that morning. As she discussed the events of the morning, she gave directions on where to be if we felt nauseous or shaking; get out into the open, avoid being under overhangs and such. Some students were worried, but when she asked the group to remind her of the date, there was quite the mixed reaction when most realized the date. Good one Karren!
For the morning, 11A went into the market in Tactic to complete shopping for souveniers while 11B visited a small coffee finca to learn how coffee beans are processed. After a couple of hours, the groups switched activities.
After lunch, 11A drove to Coban, the provincial capital to visit the hospital. Team members took stuffed animals & blankets with them, to give to children on the pediatric ward. The team members took time to pray for each child to be healed of their illnesses, most being pneumonia-like. It was very humbling for all to see the lack of supplies for proper medical care, but quite a blessing to have families readily agree to being prayed with. Following this visit to the pediatric ward, the female team members were able to visit the maternity ward. Bags that were sewn by supporters of our Mission to Guatemala trip were filled with blankets & baby clothes and given to the new moms. What a neat experience!
Meanwhile, 11B was off doing sponsor visits in in Tactic & up in the hills of San Antonio. More opportunities to bless our sponsor children & be blessed by visiting and praying with them!
Both teams gathered together in the evening at the church in Chamche to participate in a joint devotion. Les Peters talked with the group about "reverse culture shock" & prepared team members for some of the challenges they may experience when leaving Guatemala and returning home. Then Les gave the team some homework. Our task was to prepare a response to the question "What is God asking us to change when we return to Calgary?"
I will share the results of the next day in another post.
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