Settling down in Guatemala

The team has had a busy few days. They’ve finished one stone wall and started on another as well as a set of stone stairs. They’ve also had a couple outreach events where they were able to interact with local youth. The Fourth of July was especially fun for the team. We took a break from work to practice our presentation in the morning followed by an American lunch of hamburgers, potato salad and apple cobbler. After lunch was a sports day with local youth. Our team was divided up to compete against other teams in games such as water balloon toss, relays, and tug of war. The winning team each got a slice of pizza. Our local Guatemalan helpers got us a happy birthday USA cake which was delicious. We finished by setting off some fireworks and lighting some sparklers. Today we were able to visit Joyabaj and go to the local indigenous market. The team enjoyed buying some souvenirs and snacks as well as seeing more of Guatemala. Tonight we will go to a local church. The weather continues to be pleasant and dry with a nice breeze. We have had no rain even though it is technically the rainy season. This might be a blessing because our missionary said the rain can make it steamy and greenhouse like during the day. So far our work environment has been hot but enjoyable. The team is continuing to bond well. They’re working hard. Please pray that we continue to stay healthy and able to do the job the Lord has called us to. Also pray that as we interact with local youth we would have opportunities to share the gospel despite the language barrier.

We don’t usually do much on the 4th of July so today was actually really fun. -Gus

The digging has been pretty fun so far. The food has been really good. The market today was bustling. -Asher D

The last few days were very fun. It was a lot of working digging the trench and working on the wall. Today was amazing. It was fun seeing Guatemalan culture. -Alyssa G

Yesterday was awesome actually. It was probably the most fun we have had here so far. Yeah it was fun playing with the nationals. Even though my team lost it was still fun. -Nathan V

We have had lots of fun playing games and working together with the locals in the past few days, and this morning we were also able to explore a bustling local market, which was pretty cool. I am enjoying my time here in Guatemala, and look forward to the remainder of our stay. -Phoebe C