Just the Interns

Today we took five to the airport- Lindsay, Chris, Tia, Paige, and Jeremy. Immediately it felt so weird to walk to the car with only 6 of us plus Tom. We had to make some stops right afterward before we went to the dump again to let Elaine, Stephen, and Keith see it and take pictures. They are a group from Birmingham that are doing a picture documentary on a former prostitute, Lupita. She was helped by the hearts for the children ministry and is now married and has a full-time job. Tom doesn’t have anything really for us to do today or tomorrow. The three with us here are leaving on Monday and then a new group is coming on Saturday to stay for a week. They are mostly going to be doing construction on the church. It is barely started actually. The floor of the first floor has been laid, but other than that, there is nothing. Eventually the church will be a three-story building, but they still need to get at least $100,000 and lots of help to finish it. I really hope to help do some construction. I really like seeing a result from my work and I know we could see some big results! It’s so much harder to see that in people, but I know that what we’re doing is making a difference. There are people like Lupita and a guy that is big into the children’s ministry named Raul that prove that this ministry has been used by God to change people’s lives. Keep us in your prayers as well as the Allan family and all of the people of Guatemala.

Getting better!

We've been doing a lot of site seeing lately! We went to hike the volcano pacaya, which was super super hard! More than half of the team went up on horse back cuz of how difficult! I was very proud of myself that i was able to do it without one!! It was so beautiful! We went further up around the top of the volcano and all the sudden we heard a big crack and the rock next to us cracked open and lava started to pour out!! it was so hot! We all had to cover our mouths and run! it was awesome!
Then we went to the beach! it was fun to play in the waves in the pacific ocean! and the sand was black! how awesome!!
We went to antigua to do some shopping. it was a lot of fun to haggle prices with the vendors. they always tell you a very high price at first. you have to cut it in half and start haggling from there! i got a purse for Q35 (like 4.50) that the guy wanted Q90 (over 11 dollars). I'm going to back to do some more shopping, but i don't have a lot of money!
We had a full day of ministry yesterday! from 8am-11pm! I got to check people who were sick and I even prescribed some antibiotics! isn't that scary? I'm doctor holway, let me give you some meds! we also played with kids a lot and last night we went out on the street to minister to drugged up homeless young people. that was my favorite actually, i don't know why. most everyone else was scared out of their minds! hahaha
I'll try to write back soon!

first week

well i've been here for 5 days so far! it's so much different than the us it's not even funny! i live in a ministry house that does have electricity and water, but no hot water and it's not a very sturdy house! so far i've worked a lot with street kids and had a few church services. i visited the mayan ruins of tec pan and that was pretty cool! they were kinda small, but there is so much history in such a place! we saw some people doing ceremonial services for their ancestors; basically witchcraft. they sacrifice chickens to please their gods and ancestors- which is pretty sad. pray for that culture and their practices. some will claim to be christian, but worship these other people/gods.
Today i visited the city dump, where 10,000 people live and work. they collect certain items, like plastic, to sell. it was so sad to see how people work and live like that. they were dirty and all crammed into tiny houses made of scraps.
Then we went to buy pizza to feed teenagers who live on the street. There were several and the whole time they were sniffing paint thinners to get high. And boy were those people high!! But we ministered to them and fed them before playing some soccer with them. I even scored a goal! haha
Yesterday we were all sitting around the ministry house sharing our testimonies and all the sudden the house started shaking!! I had no idea what was happening. then all the sudden a girl on our team from canada said, it's an earthquake!! it didn't last more than 30 seconds and wasn't severe, but it sure got me excited!! haha i really wanted to feel a small one while we're here. we decided to keep a count on how many we feel over the next 2 months.
well we have a lot of site seeing coming up....a volcano we're going to hike, antigua, guatemala city palace, etc. but we are doing some tough work. Doing medical clinics and prayer services, etc. so hard and trying on me. Please pray for us and our ministry! also, don't forget to pray for the people here. they are so oppressed and live very hard, unhealthy, lives. Please pray for our safety and well being. the streets are crazy and the people don't exactly like us gringos! haha
I love you all and miss America so much.... 53 more days!!! haha

Less than two weeks to go!

There is less than two weeks until I leave...two weeks from this past monday. I have such mixed feelings about the trip. I'm so excited (especially since we got a schedule for the first 12 days) but I'm so nervous too! I really hope i don't get too homesick while I'm gone as well.

I got all of my funds raised and now I'm just working on collecting all the things I need for my trip and soon i'll start the actual packing. I still need to buy some toiletries and somehow find a one-piece bathing suit that doesn't cost a fortune! Good luck with that, huh? I'm also trying to figure out how I can pack all of this stuff without going over my 50 pound limit....that will be a miracle. I think i'm just going to carry all the super heavy stuff (like my books) in my carry-on bag.

I'm kinda nervous about the flight too...I haven't been on a plane since I was a child. Mostly it's not really the plane though, it's the airport. Atlanta is soo big and Guatemala is just going to be hard because I don't speak spanish very well. But I'm thankful I'm not alone, I will have my team to be clueless with! :)

I'm hoping to be able to update this blog around every week or so while i'm gone. Also, I might even figure out how to add pictures too!