Monday
I just want to say that I am somewhat hesitant and
embarrassed to
post today's "mission trip" note, because I
feel like everyone is
going to think "what kind of mission trip is
this" :) Let me just
say that today was our relax day before we spend the rest
of the
week working with the kids in the malnutrition center.
That being
said, today was actually an amazing God day for me.
Today we got to "sleep in...breakfast at 7:15",
they obviously
have no idea who they are dealing with! But I did make it
there on
time. First, we can see three volcanoes from our hotel
and this
morning we saw one of them poofing out smoke...too cool!
(bucket
list item-check).In the morning we headed out of town to
a
coffee plantation/resort that had tours of the
plantation,
horseback riding through the fields, and zip-lining
across this
large canyon. Each of us chose one of the activities we
wanted to
do for the morning; within our group, we had people at
each
activity. It was fun to come together afterward and hear
about
everyone's adventures. Tara, Kathy, Donna, Mandy, Emma
and I went
zip-lining. Oh my!! The canyon was about 500 feet below
and we
traversed both directions. Between the volcanoes and this
gorgeous
canyons I zipped along in awe of God's creation (when not
fearing
for my life). The guides did have to come rescue a couple
of the
ladies that didn't quite have enough speed going to make
it across
:). The part of this little adventure they neglected to
inform us
about was the hike back up the mountain after the second
zip run.
As I was gasping for air, the guide reminded me that we
live at
sea level and were now at about 6,000 ft. Or it could be
that I
was just way out of shape. I ended getting dizzy and
nauseous and
had to stop and lay down to catch my breath. The guides
were
amazingly sweet and encouraging.
Some of us grabbed a
wonderful cup of coffee for the rode and bounced our way back down
the
cobblestone roads to have lunch and see the town of
Antigua. Thiswas originally the capitol of all Central America and
later of just Guatemala, but after a devastating earthquake, the
capitol was moved to Guatemala City. There are 17th century
ruins, beautiful architecture, and wonderfully ornate churches.
Since it is Sunday, the town square was filled with people,
vendors, amazing colors and delicious smells.As we walked through
the area, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of everything was
a street
preacher boldly preaching the Salvation of Jesus (he is
the last picture in a red striped shirt). We took a walking tour
of the town and spent some time in the market, then came the
biggest God
present of the day. Prior to coming on the trip, I had
done some google research on Antigua and one of the things that
caught my eye was that the town is known for huge processionals
with floats
in the weeks leading up to Easter with a huge celebration
during Holy week. I thought how wonderful it would be to get to
see this but wasn't sure if that was going to work out. We did
learn that
there was going to be a procession in Antigua today and
when we were in the market, our guides Olivia and Alejandra let
us know that it was starting and we all high-tailed it out of the
market
and through the town to get to the procession route.
We
arrived just as one of the floats was passing. There is so much
to say about this and close to impossible to describe but here
goes. Each weekend for the 5 weeks prior to Easter, the streets are
covered with what looks like beautifully ornate carpets (about 20
x 12 ft.) But we learned these are actually pieces of art
created with colored sawdust, flowers, and pine needles. Families or
groups of families take responsibility for creating the carpet. It
is done just before the procession begins. The creation is in
reverence to Christ, a gift to him...similar to the palm fronds being
laid upon his entrance into Jerusalem. The floats depict Jesus, His sacrifice and other biblical images. These things are
enormous and carried...yes carried by around 100 men and women. This
is not an easy task and you can see the effort on the faces of those
involved. As the procession continues through the route, new
carries will slip in and give relief to someone. It is an honor to be
selected for this job. Those involved wear purple robes with
either white or purple hoods. People line the streets to watch and it
is a very somber event. A band follows behind each floats playing
music is equally somber. It was an amazing thing to watch and we
all felt so blessed to be here and share in the event with the
people of this community.
Afterwards, we gather at the hotel for a briefing of what
our week at the center looks like and what age group of children
we would get to spend the week loving on. As much fun as we have
had the
last day and a half, we are all ready to do what God
called each of us here to do. We are preparing ourselves emotionally
for the week, but through our weakness, He is strong.
"But you will recieve power when the Holy SPirit
comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8
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