GUATEMALA - University of Florida group - March 4

Hola from Guatemala!!!!

So let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Jessica, and I’m a college student at the University of Florida. This is my first trip with Orphan’s Heart, and needless to say I’m a tad bit excited! Yesterday in Miami, I got to meet the rest of the team and Howie (our fearless leader and the only dude on this trip).  Bekah, Moriah, and Lauren are three high school students from Florida. There’s also Savannah, Tami and Katie, who also hail from Gainesville. Last but not least we have the intern, Ella, from Canada, (I know, so far away!), who will be staying at the Malnutrition Center for 6 weeks.

After a long day of traveling (mostly sitting in the Miami Airport…) we got into Antigua at around ten last night and collapsed into our comfy beds.  Yes, I said comfy. They offered us mango juice on arrival and the rooms have FIREPLACES. We also get our own beds, and the hotel itself is all Spanish colonial style. Needless to say, we were all “oohing” and “ahhing” like crazy Americans. The Lord provides, that’s for sure!

Case in point: Almost all of the walkways around this hotel are draped in beautiful hanging flowers.

And, um, this is where we have our WOW! meetings. Lovely, right?

Today (Sunday), we had a fabulous breakfast buffet. Savannah and I got to have it twice, since we got confused about the hour time change and showed up at seven instead of eight!  The coffee is DELICIOUS! I had four cups, needless to say!

Next we headed to the Filadefia Coffee Company in a big open-roof truck along with some cheerful Guatemalan guides. They drove us to the top of a mountain and we zip-lined TWICE across a ravine teeming with coffee plants. Obviously, I was slightly terrified at first, but after the first time I didn't want to stop! Everyone had a great time and no one died (hurray!) zipping between the magnificent mountains. I had to resist the urge to close my eyes. There was no way I wanted to miss the view! It's so beautiful here and the weather has been perfect. The mountains are gorgeous and the people are so beautiful and kind. 

Oh, look! It’s us in the truck! Fabulous!

 After zip-lining we came back to Antigua and went shopping in the market after a delicious meal at Pollo Campero, the best fried chicken in Guatemala AND the only place I’ve ever been where you can purchase flan in a cup!  It was fun to haggle, and I think I got myself some good deals... as far as I can tell. Most of the vendors sold lots of colorful things—quilts, scarves, bags, dolls, shirts. I just wanted to buy it all. After dropping some major cash (actually most things were pretty cheap…) we took a lovely stroll around Antigua with our awesome translators, Alejandra and Olivia.

 

This city is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, to be honest. The buildings are beautiful and it’s all surrounded by mountains. We even happened to be in town for some pre-Easter festivities—a procession where the men dress in these purple robes and carry a huge statue-float thing down all of the streets of Antigua. It was quite impressive and interesting to see, especially because the float-thing was carried by such young boys, and I’m pretty sure I spotted some of the purple garbed men texting. The Catholic culture is pretty strong here and it’s interesting how different (and maybe not so different) it is from the mostly Baptist culture that I grew up in.

A little bit of the beautiful city of Antigua!

We came back to the hotel for a siesta then had a meeting, talking about our first day at the Center tomorrow, and dinner (steak and rice and veggies!!). Then some of us took a field trip to the local McDonald's to get some hot chocolate. Which apparently is the cool place to be... I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many people at a McDonald’s, just hanging out—families dining, teenagers and young adults "chillaxing". 

We all cannot contain our excitement to get started at the Center tomorrow. We are just so ready to love on some kids and share the love of Christ with them! He has most definitely filled us up today with His love (shown through His beautiful creation!) and we’re ready to pour it out this week on these children who need it so desperately.

Stay tuned for more!

P.S. Did I mention there is a volcano outside our window? It's quite magnificent.