Guatemala Day 7

Hello friends and family, 

Today we woke up excited to zip line and shop but the breakfast options were not so great. We were offered black beans in the shape of a turd with eggs and fried plantains (Falon was the only one to try the plantains and to say the least, they ended up back on her plate) or toast (aka toasted hotdog rolls) with jelly. Then we proceeded to Cablos Extremos to zip line. We had many that were scared but only one that refused to go. After several cheers and chants, Megan decided she would join in on the fun. We had a nice practice round and then we headed up the mountain on a hike where we saw monkeys eating some yummy bananas. The hike wasn’t easy, but it was worth zipping over the forest and seeing the beautiful view of a waterfall and a lake surrounded by mountains. While zipping, we had a screaming contest. Although no one else seemed to care, Courtney was very competitive and ended up tying with Ann Hilton. After finishing all eight zip lines, we still had something to look forward to, the swings... On the swings, we all had many spastic moments as we struggled to make it to the end.  Legs ended up above heads, and arms below feet; it was pure chaos.  Megan had the worst time, as the guide had to make a scary journey over the bubbling brook to help her become untangled.  But, alas, we had all made it out alive and headed for Antigua.  After some snacks and some winding roads, we arrived for a McDonald’s lunch in Antigua.  Shortly after, we were bargaining left and right for great deals; however, the peddlers were not so easy to deal with this year!  The wheeling and dealing went on for 4 hours before we met back up for dinner at Mono Loco (crazy monkey), where we enjoyed massive plates of nachos and pizza.  When we arrived back at Hostel Genasareth, we were thoroughly blessed to hear Betty’s testimony.  She shared so openly; and it touched each of us as she mentioned that she was first drawn to the Gospel at a Sports Ambassadors basketball game.  We said our goodbyes to her, as she would not be there at 4am to take us to the airport the next morning!  After Betty left, we had our final meeting in Guate, discussing our favorite moments of the trip and what we would like to take home from it.  The favorites ranged from playing with/loving on the children at the orphanages and Precious Moments and the church service to the shoe project and ziplining.  The “take homes” included being content and grateful for the blessings we have, showing love to those around us everyday, and being aware of God’s presence in our daily lives.  Overall, we had an amazing trip, filled with fun and inspiring memories.   

A final adios,

Courtney and Falon 

Guatemala Day 6

Today we woke up with excited spirits, for we were to drive 3 hours to Eagle’s Nest! On the way, we played “Name That Tune” and our ears were blessed by Caroline’s angelic voice again. When Coach Hatch was about to burst, we stopped for restrooms, coffee, glass-bottle coke, candy, and cookies. We hopped back into the van and were on our way to our destination. After many winds down the rocky dirt roads, we arrived alive...barely. At Eagles Nest, we jumped out, stretched our legs, then had a wonderful time at Falon’s hair salon school where she taught us all how to waterfall braid. Lunch was fabulous. Corrie almost teared up when she saw the “healthy option” of grilled chicken, veggies, and mashed potatoes. After lunch we all ventured outside to get a better look at the scenery and to have our usual photo-shoot. About 87 pictures later, we went to tour the “girls wing” of Eagles Nest. There, we got to hold the world’s cutest babies and play with the pig-tailed toddlers. We rocked, chased, laughed, and nodded even though we we had no clue what the kids were saying due to our lack of spanish skill. Coach Hatch then found out that the orphanage needed help with an outside chore. So, we split into two groups: one to stay with the kids, another to go work outside. When we walked outside we saw a huge pile of dirt. We quickly found out that our job was to level the dirt. We got to work shoveling, pick axing (“pig axing”-Megan), and wheeling the wheel barrel (“barrow”-AnnHilton) full of dirt to an alternate location up a steep hill. Many of us had near-death experiences as Emily was swinging the pick-axe, failing to yell “CLEAR” before striking the dirt. Others of us (*cough* Courtney) claimed the experience to be the hardest thing she has ever done. Towards the end of our task, Coach Hatch had us in a game situation yelling “10 down, 9 minutes to go!!.. Oh now were down 12! Hustle! Hustle!” After hauling the last of the dirt, we shared our last goodbyes with the sweet children. We watched in sadness as Ashley had to leave the little baby girl with whom she fell in love with and has decided to sponsor. Afterwards, we walked to the roof for another photo-op/photo-shoot round 2. We piled back into the van and headed to the hotel. All settled into our rooms, we walked to the restaurant where we had a nice meal of spaghetti, steak, and waffles. At dinner we were accompanied by a lovely stray canine who sat under the table for the duration of dinner because Ashley made the fatal mistake of feeding it. We meandered back to the hotel, stopping occasionally to check out some street-side merchandise. We cleaned up then had our nightly “pow-wow.” Everyone dispersed to their rooms to attempt sleep on the beds made of bricks (aka- best sleep of Corrie’s 17 years). That’s all for today. Over and out - Cille and Corrie

Guatemala Day 5

Today, we started out the day with a surprise guest - aka the stomach bug.  Our good friend and faithful pal, Ashley, fell victim to a quick case of upchucking.  As our day continued, we enjoyed another wonderful and delicious breakfast.  We then journeyed on to a school where we were greeted by loud fans.  The basketball game we had scheduled turned into a free-for-all game against boys and girls from the school.  After one half of basketball, we then turned to soccer for the second half.  During halftime, Mollie gave her testimony and did a magnificent job.  Corrie was a hit again with the Guate boys and picture taking.  We departed from the school and went to grab lunch and pick up now healthy and ready-to-go Ashley and Cindy.  On our way to the HIV orphanage we sang along to the tunes provided by Clint.  Upon arrival at the orphanage, we were given a tour of the hall of babies.  We ventured out to see the older kids and pass out our much appreciated toys. The kids absolutely adored the smallest little things - from hugs to rings and candy or simply playing with them. Soon after play time, the team passed out Jesus bracelets and Mollie shared her testimony again. Pastor/Chef/DJ Clint prepared wonderful hamburgers for all the kids and nuns. The kids were ecstatic that they had different food to eat other than soup. Corrie made friends with a precious deaf child and Madison with a sweet four year old that rocked the star sunglasses! While handing out candy, the “head nun” strictly told us that they were not to have anymore. Many of our hearts were torn when we had to say good-bye to the sweetest kids that we had made relationships with in such a short amount of time. So AnnHilton and Juan had sentimental leaps into arms and some other good-bye hugs were made and we darted out into the rain and headed to our last game in Guatemala City. The game was highly intense as we were down by 5 most of the game until the second half when it was crunch time. The game had come down to 36 (Guate) - 33 (Prep) and AnnHilton got fouled at the 3 point line in the middle of a shot. Here she goes... first shot is up and it is good! score is 36-34. Next shot goes up and it resembles the last. 36-35. Last shot’s up..awe man! the whole national gym yells, “AWE!” because she had missed. It was a well - played game between both teams. Afterward, Cille and Falon shared about their faith with the other team and did an exceptional job! It’s off to the hostel for pasta and bread - which was better than the frozen kind according to Cille! Headed to the beds with high hopes for Eagle’s Nest tomorrow!  Fun facts:  PDA count is up to 26 and Caroline can actually sing!

Adios,

AH and Molls

Guate Day 4

Well, today started out with an amazing breakfast of huevos (eggs) and panqueques (pancakes).  Then, we headed out around 9:30 to Precious Moments school for several hours.  We toured the school and were able to love on the kids there.  It was really great to see them smile, and many were familiar to us from last year.  We were able to rent a room near the school, where we conducted a pe-type clinic for the 3rd - 6th graders.  They were in 4 groups of 7-8, and they rotated through stations of bball skills, hopscotch/four square, pato-pato-ganso (duck-duck-goose), and jumping rope.  Caroline and AnnHilton shared their stories with the kids who attended the clinic.  Overall, the girls did a great job running the clinic and the kids had a blast!  Shortly after the clinic, the children came “shopping” for shoes and socks for Caroline’s MAD project, in which she was able to collect over 130 pairs of shoes and around 75 pairs of socks.  Watching the girls serve the children by helping the children try on the shoes and seeing the happy faces of the children once they had a new pair of shoes was truly a blessing.  It was truly humbling to be able to  help provide for the physical needs of these little ones (James 2:15-16).  They were very grateful and presented us with several hand-made crafts to show their thankfulness.  Hopefully, they will know that Jesus loves them through the way we were able to love on them today!  From there, it was on to Pollo Campero for lunch.  We had some delicious chicken and fries followed up with our fourth ice cream so far this trip.  We had a little time before our 7:00 game, so we chilled at the hostel for about an hour, napping and reflecting on the morning.  Then, it was game time - playing an all star team from Guatemala City.  We had some fans there to cheer us on - some of the youth from the church where we painted on Saturday!  The Guatemalan team was very good, but after a close, competitive first 3 quarters, we were able to pull away in the fourth for a 63-45 victory!  After the game, Ashley was able to share her testimony with the other team.  For dinner, we went with our faithful fans to Taco Bell, where we had an intense foosball tournament.  The final game was a USA vs. Guatemala matchup - first team to 3 goals.  The Americans struck first, taking a 2-0 lead, only to let the Guatemalans catch up and make it 2-2.  So, the next goal would win...and then a sweet goalie shot by the Americans would end in a 3-2 victory for us!The ride to and from our game was filled with joyful singing by everyone and a little rapping to Lecrae by Ashley and Caroline.  All in all, it has been an incredible day of serving others and being humbled by our great God.  

Day 3 in Guatemala City

Hola from Ash and Caroline. This morning started out with a blast, aka a blast of Mandisa in our ears (Coach Hatch has lovely wakeup calls). We enjoyed a breakfast of waffles, eggs, and watermelon. Who knew jelly on waffles was secretly delicious? We then proceeded to put on our Sunday attire and head to our host Martita’s church for an amazing service. “Pastor Clint” shared a wonderful message followed by Madison who shared her testimony. The passion we witnessed during worship would move most people to tears; it was truly humbling to see people dancing their hearts out and falling to their knees worshipping Jesus. Mollie and Cille played some pretty intense “peek-a-boo” with the local children at the church. After the service we changed clothes and loaded up the van to go get some Subway. For me personally (ash), ordering at Subway in America is a difficult task, so ordering in Spanish was quite hard but Betty saved us all. We then proceeded to go play some extreme sports. These sports consisted of one thing known as “gotcha” (paintball). The inner warrior was brought out in everyone and the women were separated from the girls. We figured out who we would want as backup in a gun battle and those people are definitely not Courtney(she claims that she is fierce), Cille, Corrie, Madison (who never took her gun off safety), or Falon. However, Emily Pyron is a scrappy sniper and Clint can barrel roll into trenches like no other. Megan showed off her hawklike eyesight and Coach Hatch sent a few off the field in tears (not really, it just makes her seem like she is tough even though she cowered behind an old car the whole time). Battle wounds were distributed left and right but we all managed to survive with no fatal injuries. Although our new friend Sarah got shot point blank in the neck from like 2 feet away, which looked rather painful. We then moved on to an intense go cart race that brought out everyone’s competitive side. The race was intense from the beginning when Courtney took an illegal head start (with the exception of Emily who would’ve gotten a ticket for going too slow). Ann Hilton drove around, hammering people in the back and giving Ashley whiplash. She was the most feared driver out there hands down. Mrs. Cindy was forced to do a 180 into the tire wall to escape Ann Hilton’s wrath. As everyone exchanged goodbyes, Caroline had an extremely awkward hug/high-five/pound encounter with Primo, a new Guatemala friend. But don’t worry, she’s promised to take lessons. After these terrifying experiences, the entire team was exhausted and ready for pizza y agua. After our hearty meal, our enthusiastic game of Signs was interrupted by a cockroach attack. That slippery critter escaped before it could be obliterated. Once we were all situated and ready for bed, we had a discussion about the sermon that somehow ended on an overview of Revelation. Fun fact for the evening, PDA is rampant in the Guate!! We have been keeping a tally of PDA encounters and we are currently on #18.

Peace and Blessings everyone,

Ash and Carol

Day 2 in Guatemala City

We got an early start this morning, eating a breakfast of toast, eggs, and pineapple, before heading off to the national gym.  There, we hosted a bball skills clinic for a group of children around the age of seven.  Next, we moved to an outdoor court and worked with some junior high aged boys and put them through several drills.  Today was not the best day to have a limited amount of hair because the sun was glaring and sunscreen was forgotten, but Clint managed to form a turban with an extra t-shirt to guard his scalp from the sun.  We were able to share the Gospel with both of these groups and distribute bracelets that tell about salvation.  Despite Mrs. Cindy kicking one poor sweet boy in the face with a ball, they were very receptive.   It was now time for lunch at a local church, Iglesia Del Monte.  After eating, we had some time to kill before painting an upstairs children’s Sunday School room, so we took part in some exciting games.  We played the thrilling game of Signs, followed by the sausage game, the 1-2-3 game, and ninja.  We then moved upstairs to paint, and when we had finished, the church members said that we could come back next year and paint some more!  They were very gracious in serving us lunch and then saying they had been blessed by us :)  As it was time to leave, and hence go outside and get into our van, a monsoon happened upon us, which made for an intense ride home.  We came home to a wonderful meal of spaghetti, followed by ice cream and wafers for dessert. It was a dinner filled with endless facts about Coach Hatch and Clint’s personal life aka how they got married and such. No kissing on the first date!! We finished off the night with a few rounds of Taboo and Catchphrase.  Fun fact:  Coach Hatch looks crazy wicked with cornrows, she really keeps things fresh. 

Holla

Megan and Coach Hatch, with a little Ashley

Day 1 of/in Guatemala

 Hello all, this is Madison and Emily coming at you live from Guatemala City, Guatemala. We started off the morning right rolling into the Jackson Medgar Evers Wiley International airport at approximately 4:15...with a few stragglers bringing up the rear. Our first flight to Houston was an adventure considering it was Megan’s first time airborne. We enjoyed a lovely brunch consisting of eggs, sausage, bagels, and bananas at the Houston Airport--it was gourmet to say the least. During our layover as we people watched, we observed a fun fact - fanny packs are back! From there we departed to the one and only Guatemala City. One Corrie Ray received first class while all the others were claustrophobic in the back, with cricks in our necks. Caroline and Ashley were able to share about Jesus with the lady they sat with. We arrived safely in Guatemala City and were warned to keep our jewelry close and our enemies closer. Wild Betty picked us up from the airport and took us to our casa(apparently stop signs are optional here). We quickly changed into our blue unis and hopped back on the rickety van. We ventured to the mall where we exchanged our money for quetzalas???? and grabbed a bite to eat at the local food court. While waiting for our money to be exchanged we ran into some “local” boys. Needless to say the marriages will be this fall...all families are invited. After co-mingling we headed back to the van. We then ventured to a local high school to play a game of ball. Corrie shared her testimony during half time of our game. She received a few whistles but definitely got the message across. We got through the game with no casualties, except Cille who took a spill and a shot to the face, but kept on going strong! After the game was over Madison and Courtney proceeded to chase some friendly roosters at the high school. The roosters won. Falon took part in a dance competition with some of the students. We left the high school with sorrowful goodbyes because we did not want to leave our new friends. Next stop...TACO BELL (a first ever for Emily and Corrie)! And no, not the local cats and dogs. We enjoyed a lovely mexican fiesta at the worlds BEST mexican eatery. But, that was not enough. We had cheers for ice cream. Betty took us to a wonderful creamery that left everyone satisfied. With full stomachs and full hearts we headed back to the casa. We have hopes of a wonderful night of sleep and no reactions from the nights meals. Tonight, Ashley, Mollie, and AnnHilton put together some owl purses/gift bags for the girls we will meet tomorrow. Now we will finally jump into our pjs and catch a few needed zzzz’s. Over and out and until tomorrow Mad and Em.