April 10

Greetings!
We got up at around 7:00 this morning. Most of us slept pretty well, and were well-rested in the morning. For breakfast we went to Polo Campero, which was a fast-food Guatemalan restaurant. The food was excellent. There was a strange green sauce which looked like ketchup but was extremely spicy.
Driving through Guatemala was crazy. Pedestrians here have no right of way, and our van was constantly weaving in and out of traffic. Mr. Stevenson almost was hit by a bus while crossing the street. The little motorcycles were interesting to watch, because they would drive in the small spaces between buses and cars. We went to the Presidential Palace in Guatemala City. The president was there, and a Chinese trumpet band was playing. There were also soldiers who were gathered there to perform their marches. They shot off a bunch of fire crackers just as we were arriving, and it was really loud.
After observing this, we went into the Catholic Church that was right by the Palace. There were statues of Jesus, the saints, and Mary. We also saw the black “Jesus” which is actually a different Jesus than the one we believe in. In the Mayan culture there is a black god that the Catholics have made Jesus into. The people aren’t worshiping Jesus at all- it is a completely different god. We walked back to the van to begin the long drive to Tac Tic.
We drove to a gas station called “On the Run” and bought some drinks and food. As we walked out of the store, we met a Mormon guy from Idaho. He was interesting to talk with; he was obviously a “missionary” but he didn’t know what missions were. We also saw some really cute Dalmatian puppies. They five of the tiny pups and Kaitlyn and Chelsea had a lot of fun holding them.
After this we drove for a few hours along a winding road. It was really hot. As we drove through the major fault line in Guatemala, it began to grow warmer and warmer. It was 39 degrees Celsius for a while, and the van was hot and stuffy. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the valley. The food was delicious. We had chicken, fries, pop, and an ice cream and coconut bar.
We set out after eating at about 3:00. To distract us from the heat and constant turns in the road, we (most of the girls) sang songs in the back of the bus. The guys were annoyed by this but we refused to stop. No one got carsick, and we safely arrived at Tac Tic this evening and began to settle in. There are two guest houses for us: one is for the girls, and the other is for the guys. We explored the rooftop of our houses, which are flat with rebar sticking up in places. Guatemalans often simply add another story to their houses when their children marry, which is why the roof appeared this way.
At 6:15 we began the walk to Les’ house. We walked down the road and across a field littered with cow manure. There was a bit of a bog we had to jump over, and a little Guatemalan boy was standing there giving us a high-five as we crossed. At Les’ house we had supper, which consisted of mashed potatoes, salad, and beef. It was really good. Carmella, the cook, is definitely good at her job!
After we ate we went outside for a while. We found a huge frog – it was about 8cm long. We’ll be seeing many more of those in the next few days. We went inside and had a worship time. After we sang songs, we talked about what is expected of us and how we are to behave while we are here. After this, we drove back to the guest houses in Les’ van.
Although everyone is a bit tired, no one is sick and everybody feels fine. Everyone is doing well.
Dios te bendiga!


Submitted by Kristi Abramoff