April 17

Greetings.
This morning we got up a little bit early. We had to pack up and get ready to leave to Antigua at around 10:00. We learned that very early this morning Crystal, Josh, and Jordan had been really sick. As a result, when they got up this morning they weren’t feeling well at all.
We received news that the van would be late, so a few of us went shopping in tactic. There were still things that we wanted to buy and had not got a chance to buy earlier. We spent about half an hour finding the stores and merchandise we wanted, and then headed back to the guest houses. The other group had been at the guest houses tanning on the roof.
After we loaded all our bags into the van, we set off. We took two vans and quarantined the sick people in one. We drove for about three hours before arriving at Polo Campero’s for lunch. After lunch we kept on traveling for about another hour through Guatemala city. We stopped at a Fuego College where we learned about a program for those who would like to do both missions work and university at the same time. We were shown around the area and told what it is like to live there. It was great to learn about opportunities that we had not previously known about.
We traveled into Antigua and found our hotel. We’re the only ones staying in this small hotel (it has only nine rooms). We settled in a little bit, and then went to find supper. We walked to a small restaurant where no one was eating. I found it odd that there were so many places to eat, but no people eating there. After we ate, the sick people went back to the hotel while we went to look at the old capital building. On the way we stopped for ice cream at “Sarita’s”. Les described the history of the buildings and convents that were around it. We also walked through a quaint hotel where some Guatemalan men were playing a marimba. The music that they were making was beautiful.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for a long group meeting in a courtyard. Les explained to us about reverse culture shock and a couple of the leaders shared about their experiences with it. It sounds like we’ll all get a bit of it, which I’m not looking forward to at all.
Most of us are doing well so far. Although Crystal, Josh, and Jordan still don’t feel really well, we’re hoping that whatever made them sick has passed over the rest of us. Keep us in your prayers.
God bless.


Submitted by Kristi