The End is Near

Coming to you from Guatemala by your favorites, Cristian and Hannah!

What a day to remember! Sadly today was our last day in beautiful Guatemala City. We started our day nice and early with breakfast just the way we like it, and as usual we had devotion right after breakfast. Lovely Sandra led devotion explaining and reminding us that the our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who works through us. This will be good to remember as we leave Guatemala.

Unlike our past days, we did not have home visits but instead we had the opportunity to see the touristy side of Guatemala City. Our lovely group had the opportunity to choose between going to the Kaminaljuyu Archaelological Guatemala Park to see and explore the City of the Death and all of the Mayan ruins or to go to the Godoy Coffee Roasting place where organic gourmet coffee is made, roasted, and sold. My group (Cristian) was made up of Anna, Emily, Hannah, Casey, Yasmine, and Michelle . The group was led by Sandra and Carlos who did an amazing job explaining the old Mayan ruins, sites, and traditions. The other team was made up of Andrew, Mil, Skyler, Maddie, Jack, and Haylie. Their team was led by Kevin and Manuel. Both teams had a great time exploring a bit of Guatemala's beauty.

After returning from our trips, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of all our favorite leftovers from the week. The lunch was extra special because we got to eat with the Guatemalan missionaries again, like we did on Monday. All of the missionaries were so welcoming and friendly with us this week, so the whole day was bittersweet because we knew it would soon be time to say goodbye. We enjoyed some time after lunch to relax, hang out, or spend time talking with the missionaries before people began arriving for the faith lessons around 2pm. We enjoyed sharing pictures of with each other and getting to have a little more time to talk and laugh together.

Faith lessons went well again today. The young children spent the first part of the lesson in the garden, where they did the story, skit, and craft. After that, they walked to a nearby park, where they had lots of fun. The older youth were on the 3rd floor of the house, where a nice breeze kept everyone cool. Both groups had less kids than any of the other days, but that made it nice to build more personal relationships with the kids. Some of the missionaries had children of their own who attended the faith lessons, so it was fun to make those connections.

After the faith lessons, it was soon time to say goodbye to our Guatemalan friends. We all enjoyed getting to know each missionary this week, so they truly will be missed when we return home. We all made a special connection with different missionaries that will not be forgotten. We will remain thankful for how they guided and protected us this week. The missionaries not only shared their smiles with us, but also their love and positive attitudes.

For our last dinner, we enjoyed a five star meal with a view that consisted of pepperoni, cheese, and ham pizza, along with Guatemalan gasosas (flavored sodas). We enjoyed the meal on the roof, where it was cool enough to wear sweaters. After our familiar American dinner, our whole team gathered one last time to reflect upon our week. Both Kevin and Ginny joined us and asked us questions that prompted us to discuss the things we learned and the ways we were changed this week. In different ways, we were all touched by God, and being able to share these moments as a team was a special way to end the week.

Tonight we end by packing and getting ready for our early flight (leaving house at 3:30am!!). Although we are very excited to see our family and friends again, the friendships we made this past week will never be forgotten. We will cherish the relationships and memories that we made. This experience was a blessing from God, and we cannot wait to share it with everyone back home. Guatemala has been great to us, and we are forever grateful.

Special Shout Out to Melissa (Maddie's Mom), on her 21st birthday (LOL). Happy Birthday from Groundwork Guatemala 2018!!

Isaiah 55:10-11
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.