Day 4 (January 6th, 2017)

On our fourth day of adventure in the beautiful country of Guatemala, we began with our morning devotion lead by Michele. She shared two quotes with us to apply to our experiences. The first was a quote by John Wesley: “Do all that you can. By all the means that you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as you can.” And the second was a quote from Albert Einstein: “The only source of knowledge is experience.” These were an excellent ilustration of the point of our trip. It is not only help these people, but to learn from them and hopefully learn more about ourselves.

Next, we travelled to our worksite where we would be working with two separate families building two smokeless stoves and one latrine. The worksite was similar to yesterday only we had a clearer view of the mountains and less children to ambush us with tickle fight. One child today, Edgar, gave the best hugs and stole a few hearts. We were also able to finish the projects in record time today. I guess we catch on pretty quick! For lunch we had a beef dish with potatoes and carrots and a side of fresh vegetables and lemons (which were confusing because they were green on the outside and orange on the inside). The children were more than happy to sit on our laps and share our food and laughter. Edgar was not too fond of the green lemons though based on his pinched face. These two families are some of the few that we will have the pleasure of working with again tomorrow.

Before our dinner this evening, we had our second class. Here we discussed two more essays involving truth in action and dire situations. This was followed by a wonderful dinner of savory chicken and kale crepes of sorts with a green soup and bread. The team then gathered with blankets and pillows in hand for a movie night featuring the Guatemalan film, Ixcanal. This was an incredible depiction of a Mayan family and their struggles but also their family love and values. Our team leaders arranged for popcorn and hot chocolate to be served while we watch. Our days are long but our hearts are full. We are more excited than ever to continue our journey and experience all we can, especially hugs and laughter of many more children.

– Anna