The Mission

We arrived in Guatemala City on Saturday afternoon.

We were surprised to see some familiar sights!

However, we also saw many sights we were not accustomed to seeing.

Look at those prices!

Luckily it's not dollars!

Our first stop was Antigua.  It was beautiful.  We saw local women making fabulous fabrics.

We had lunch at a lovely restaurant and got a chance to have a long visit with out sweet hostesses:

Vicky and Cheque

LOVE these two!!!!

They are BLESSINGS!!!  Cheque's story is an amazing story of overcoming unbelievable odds and the power of Christ.  I love hearing how a Christian doctor invested in a little Guatemalan cripple and how God used him to lead her to Christ and how after she came to know Christ and became a doctor in the United States she then went back to Guatemala to minster to others.

WONDERFUL TREASURES THESE TWO!!!!

Our first hotel was BE-U-TI-FUL!

It had a lovely courtyard.

CRAZY Cousins!

We spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the city.

It was so interesting!

LOVED looking at the architecture!

My favorite part of the trip was getting to know the people and visiting some of the locals homes.

Tyler and Andrew LOVED getting to know James.

He was so kind to the boys.

Cheque had us for dinner at her vacation home.

Everything was beautiful!

She served us a delicious lasagna with bread and salad and tiramisu.

YUMMY!

This is her gorgeous courtyard.

On Sunday while touring Antigua,

we learned the safe....and the NOT safe places to visit.

The picture below is of a pilas....which is where the Guatemalan women wash their clothes.

So thankful for my washing machine!!!

We are blessed!

I really enjoyed exploring the city.

The artistry was amazing.

Their attention to details.....was exquisite

We visited a museum and learned about Hermano Pedro, the only Guatemalan saint.

Andrew had fun climbing on the ruins.

We stopped by the butcher.....but we didn't buy anything.

We saw the milkman

One of the most shocking sights was this:

They had armed guards EVERYWHERE!

Gas stations, neighborhoods, McDonald's, Hotels.....Guatemala is evidently a pretty dangerous place.

We left Antigua on Sunday and made the 3 hour trek to Quetzaltenango.

Once we arrived we headed to Cheque's Mama's house for dinner.

She lived in a 200 year old adobe house.

It was beautiful!

Mama Mimi didn't speak a lick of English but she sure did love on us and have a gift for hospitality...

and a gift for cooking!

Mama Mimi and her helper Nina made a DELICIOUS paella for us.

YUM-YUM!

Saturday and Sunday were lots of fun....

Now before you start to think this was a vacation....let me assure you, come Monday morning we began to work....and we worked HARD!

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were full of WORK!

The goal was to get the roof on the mission.

We sanded.

Dr. Roberto and Mr. Grossman were busy fixing the machine.

The guys moved trusses.....many, many, MANY, many, MANY times!

We made adobe bricks....which involves lots and lots of shoveling!

We plained boards....lots and lots of boards

The guys moved adobe when a storm threatened....each adobe brick weight about 150 pounds.....so moving them is not easy.

Especially because they were not yet dry....so they can crumble easily...so not only do they weigh a lot....they also must be handled gingerly.

And we were ever so thankful for the "Amen Privy"!!!

What a blessing!

And then my camera died!

But we also painted, and stained, and varnished.

We swept.  We picked up rocks and took them down to the road to fill potholes.

We burned trash.

We worked very hard and long days.

We met new amigos.  We tried to speak Spanish.

It was an amazing trip....and yes we did get the roof on!

We spent Saturday traveling home.

It was a long trip....but oh my word....it was worth it!

That is a snapshot of our trip and tomorrow I'll tell you some of what I learned and how God has used it in my life......but this post is already entirely too long.....so thank you for your patience and good night!

Love,

Kim