Guatemala :: Day 6

Wednesday's zip lining quest resulted in all of us agreeing to pay for the activity out of pocket and substitute that activity for our last day of Spanish lessons. Our teachers still had to come pick up their checks for the week, so we got to give them notes and gifts and tell them goodbye in the morning before embarking on the zip line journey. My sweet maestra made me a beautiful butterfly card complete with glitter, and gave me a necklace and bracelet. She was SO kind and patient all week--both with me and with our crazy schedule changes. ¡Muchas gracias, Andrea!

Con nos maestros 

We loaded up the open air truck and sang "This Is the Day that the Lord Has Made" all the way up to the base camp for the zip lining company. After signing our lives away, they drove us up to the first zip line and got us all fitted for our gear. We each did two zip lines, and my first one went a little something like this:

 

*video to come when I have a computer 😬*

The setting was absolutely unbelievable, and the canyon we got to look over as we zipped was indescribable. These pictures do it no justice!

We snagged the photos of each person and some chocolate at the bottom and rode back into town. We had 10 very quick minutes to change into business casual to prepare for our next engagement. The team was split into 2, and the first group left almost immediately to tour Bimbo, a multinational baking company. I was on the Village of Hope team, and we discussed our itinerary for the afternoon over some quick crepes at the hotel. 

There had been some miscommunication about our involvement with Village of Hope, which is why we ended up not spending the entire week working with Todd and Amy, the couple that founded and runs the orphanage. I was so grateful to get to visit this organization and witness first hand the unbelievable impact this family is making on this community and this country as a whole. Adoption from Guatemala was closed to the US and Canada in 2008 due to complete lack of restrictions and abuse of the system. Tragically, this means that adoptions dropped from 5,000 a year to 75 in the first year of the restriction. This means then, that Todd and Amy's endeavor is anything but short term. It is unlikely these children will ever be adopted. With this in mind, their mission is to create a home for all of the children on site. Families from the surrounding community are brought in and invited to live in the Village of Hope homes to raise their own children while also caring for 6-8 orphans. The orphans grow up in a home, they are raised by a family, much like foster care. The fathers of the families are employed by VoH and the mothers have nannies that help them with the children each day. One of the four houses is set aside for the teen mothers and their babies. These girls are 12-16 years old and raising infants. 

I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the narrative. We arrived at VoH after a slight detour by our faithful van driver that planted us in the yard of some sort of school and ended in us backing down a hill to do a three point turn in their soccer field. All while the video camera is capturing all of this out the window. Might have looked slightly sketchy in any American school. Anyway, we found our way to VoH and Jason got set up to teach a financial management class to some of the employees, with the help of a few members of our team. In the meantime, Todd took Kelly, Jackie, Amie, and me on a tour of the complex. The disparity between the villages we drove through to get to the orphanage and the campus itself was astounding. They have literally carved this tiny community out of a hill, complete with a school, homes, playground, garden, and rooms for mission teams to stay in. We got to meet some of the families in their homes, then Jackie and Amie went back into the office to teach the Bible study they had prepared on a whim to the teenage kids. I floated between both teaching sessions and just took in all the work that Todd and Amy have done in less than 3 years. 

There are some big dreams for this place, and while they are not lacking in physical help (they have 12 teams coming 12 weeks in a row this summer), any organization like this one could always benefit from financial assistance. If you want to learn more about Village of Hope and Todd and Amy's limitless vision, I would encourage you to visit their website or Facebook page. 

http://www.villageofhopeguatemala.com/

https://www.facebook.com/VillageOfHopeGuatemala/

I wish we could have spent days here, learning more about the heart and story behind Village of Hope.

We drove back into Antigua to change for dinner at La Tortilla, a cooking school just a few blocks from our hotel. We made a delicious authentic Guatemalan dish with a very sweet and talented Guatemalan woman and our Hungarian translator. This was probably one of my favorite tourist experiences of anywhere I've ever traveled! Thanks to Claire Allen and Shauna Niequist, I have developed this deep love for gathering around the table, especially when so much heart and meaning has been poured into the meal on the table. There is just nothing sweeter than breaking bread (or tortillas) with the community God has ordained and orchestrated. 

We left full and happy, tired and ready for some rest to prepare us for the volcano hike on Friday morning. Our last day will be one of adventure and soaking in our last bit of Guatemalan culture before we board the plane before the sun is even thinking about coming up on Saturday. 

Guatemala :: Day 7

This morning our very kind and accommodating hotel staff had breakfast waiting for us at 6am so that we could be on the bus to the volcano by 7. It was about a 45 minute drive to the base of the volcano where we met our guide and Dr. Baldwin and Liz picked up the horses they wanted to rent in lieu of actual hiking. These horses were at the front of the pack, so they set the pace for the rest of the group, which was varied in hiking skill levels. We stopped several times on the way up for our guide to point out different views, to be educated on the trees we were passing, and, of course, for some group photos. 

If you're thinking, "Oh. Another picture of a volcano." then I'm with you because actually I can't tell a difference between the 3 volcanoes surrounding Antigua. 

Walking sticks were available for rent at the base of the volcano. A hindrance going up, but I envied them on the way down. 

The descent was certainly challenging on the knees, but included some of the coolest features of the hike. Our guide opened a package of marshmallows that he showed us how to roast in the side of the volcano, and we stopped at the Lava Store that sits in the bottom of the crater. One of the employee has done the hike over 1,000 times to get to work every day! It has been ranked by National Geographic as one of the most unique locations for a business in the world. 

Felix, our guide, toasting some marshmallows in the fallen lava rock

We were sweaty and STINKY at the end of this hike, which was intensified by the fact that all 14 of us had to squeeze into one van when the other overheated on the side of the road. Luckily our drivers were champs. We made it back to the hotel and set out to grab some lunch at a local cafe. It was 2:30 by this point and we hadn't had a meal since 6, so these unreasonably large smoothies were absolutely essential. 

We had a little time to finish up shopping after lunch. I had severely under packed and was therefore completely out of clean shirts to wear to a real restaurant for dinner, so we stopped off at a market and I found an authentic Guatemalan top (pictured below). Still smelled weird, but at least it wasn't because of me. We walked back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner then walked back to Casa de Santo Domingo for our final dinner. It was unbelievably good, I wish I had pictures to convey how much I enjoyed it, but literally the only one I took was Dr. Baldwin with her tiny cup of broccoli soup. 

After dinner we walked into the outdoor arena, which was all set up for Holy Week in a few weeks. As I think I mentioned earlier, this season is extremely significant in Latin American culture, so the place was decked out in candles and white curtains and lilies. I hope I never forget what it looked like, how grateful I was to sit and worship, to listen to my dear friend speak truth into 17 hearts all in different places and professors who I so greatly admire lead us in lifting up our voices with "How Great Thou Art". No one could have written a more beautiful ending to this week. 

This week was chatoic at times, and often I felt entirely inadequate. I don't think I could walk away and tell you a list of 10 precise changes that took place as a result of our time. But I can tell you with full confidence that the Lord works all things for good, and that His plan is more complex and far reaching than I could ever imagine. I believe that seeds were planted this week and that the Lord will bring to fruition those which will bring glory to the Kingdom. 

I am walking away, as per usual, with a renewed passion for spreading the love of Christ beyond the tiny borders of Waco and even the great state of Texas. I'm thankful for those little tugs that pull my heart and tell me to "go." Obedience to His will may keep me in Waco, it may move me to Dallas, it may move me across the country or across the world, but I rest in this: Faithful He is and faithful He will always be. The travel bug is real, and I don't think I'll ever lose the thrill of jumping on a plane with my passport, but I am anxiously waiting to see why the Lord planted that passion and how He will use it to His glory. 

Thank you all for your continuous prayers this week, for all of your sweet words of encouragement, and an enormous thanks to those who made it financially possible for me to be a part of this team and this adventure. 

I am writing from the plane, and we are very nearly back to the comforts of the Wack...mostly Cheezits. 

Guatemala :: Day 5

Today was such fantastic reiteration of why we are here. This trip is exploratory, meaning that the findings from our meetings and contacts and experiences will determine whether it becomes an annual commitment for the accounting department. Today was exploratory to say the least and had all of us FIRED. UP. 

Our Spanish teachers showed up for lessons at our hotel at 8am again, but Jason threw them a total curve ball and decided to take everyone + their teachers on a field trip through Antigua. We started in the grocery store, then moved to a pet store, then chatted with a woman who sold tacos on the street about her business operations. I think I learned more from these "real life" conversations on the street than I did in 7+ hours of sitting and studying Spanish. Andrea was, again, very patient, and tolerated my VERY slow speech and incorrect verbs. 

We happened upon an old church on our way that has been converted into a trade school and stopped to ask about the work they do. It was the strangest, most interesting paradox between beautiful ruins and industrial development. 

A classic jumping team pic

The MacGregor boys climbing the ruins

A team picture in front of the welding station 

And one more team picture using our salsa form we learned the night before 

Our destination was La Casa de Santa Domingo (I think?) and our whole motley crew arrived to load the truck that would take us to the top of the lookout. We strolled through the art gallery and looked out over the city from the top. Our poor teachers were SO out of their comfort zones but very patiently took our pictures and answered our questions. 

There was a lengthy conversation with the zip lining operators about the possibility of sending 19 people through the extreme adventure course in business casual, but the end result was sending poor Myra on a quest to find a zip lining appointment to match our very limited schedule. In a move that I am not proud of, we ended up cramming all Baylor students into one truck and leaving our translators to grab the next one to fix the time crunch we were in to get back to the hotel. Jason gave us a speed tour through the rest of Santa Domingo, which was BEAUTIFUL and there was chocolate. 

And some candles that the nuns hand dip, as one does. 

Our bus picked us up at Santa Domingo and rushed us back to our hotel for lunch. Our afternoon was spent at a coffee plantation talking to truly the most interesting man alive. Ricardo Mont (sp?) owns and operates Azotea, his family's centuries old coffee plantation and museum. He gave us a personal tour and explained the entire process of coffee harvesting, which was fascinating even to this non coffee drinker. By the time he finished the tour, we had learned about his unbelievable involvement with the surrounding community. For example, he has just started a school on his property where each of the children is sponsored by a player on the Premiere London futbol team. We walked away with some very high hopes and big dreams for what our partnership potential could look like based on his contacts. Oh also a lot of coffee. 

The whole squad rocking their Jolie Joie-designed shirts 😏

"Green coffee" - this is how the beans are shipped all over the world. Starbucks makes $50,000 on one 50lb. bag of coffee from the plantation. 

The boys enjoyed literally rolling in the coffee (with their faces covered in chocolate from the drinking chocolate we all sampled)

Never a shortage of ridiculous team poses with this crew. 

Dinner tonight was at Frida's, a Frida Kahlo themed restaurant close to the famously photographed arch in Antigua. It was incredible, probably the best Mexican food I will ever have. We moved from dinner to our "ghost tour" of the city, which was hilarious to say the least.

I was reminded today how grateful I am for a university that promotes using all this mumbo jumbo I've spent 5 years learning to brainstorm ways to make the world better for those who will never know or care what a t account is. There are so many world changers here in Guatemala, and to be part of a team that has poured resources and time into finding a way to help those people by using the skills of our profession is indescribable. It follows, then, how thankful I am for the people who have supported me on this trip and the previous one to Uganda. You, too, are changing lives by helping me obey the call to GO. I cannot thank you enough for allowing the Lord to use you as instruments and stewards. 

¡Muchas gracias!

Guatemala :: Day 4

Oy! Regretting my decision to put off two days' worth of blogging. This is such a valuable time of reflecting and processing everything I'm seeing and taking in, so even if my mom is the only one who reads it, it is such an important part of every trip I take. 

This morning began with more Spanish lessons. Today went by a little faster because we were encouraged to go into the city with our tutors and have some more practical conversations. Andrea and I ventured to the Parque Central and walked into the Cathedral that I posted a picture of the other day. The country is preparing for Holy Week, so every window is clad with purple curtains and the cathedrals are full of flower and crop offerings. Myra told us that in Guatemala there is a heavier focus on the burial of Christ than on the resurrection. Apparently there is so much Mayan tradition interwoven with the already heavily traditionalized Catholic Church that Catholicism in Guatemala doesn't even resemble Christianity. This made for interesting conversation with the 12 verbs I know in Spanish and "Jesus Cristo." 

Andrea also took me to the market in town to look at the bags where I learned the words for pillow and various articles of jewelry. Currently, all I can remember is ateres for earrings. We still have two days left of Spanish lessons, thank goodness. 

After Spanish, Myra brought Little Caesar's to the hotel for our lunch. I can attest to the fact that crazy bread is just as delicious in Guatemala as it is in Dallas. Interestingly, there are more Amerian chains here in Antigua than I've ever seen in Europe, but on the outside they blend in with the typical shops and storefronts. I learned later in the day that because Antigua is a UNESCO world heritage site, the outsides of buildings cannot be materially altered. So, Little Caesar's looks a little different than it does on Coit Road, but tastes more or less the same. 

After lunch we were again divided into two groups to conduct our afternoon business visits. One group went to visit a marketplace and talk to the vendors about their processes and strategies, and I was in the group that visited two small businesses in the city. The first was a family advertising business. We spent probably close to an hour asking the owner about her approach to marketing, what her profit margins look like, how she wants to grow, what problems she is facing. She and her husband are both accountants and therefore had a much larger grasp on their financials than most business owners, according to Myra's assessment. 

The owner of Yoan with her mission statement to serve small businesses by helping them get started. 

Our next stop was a panerria, aka bakery, aka they make a lot of bread and the whole place needs to be bottled into a Yankee candle scent. It is a family run business that has been around since 1992. The son who gave us our tour has a dream of getting their products into US grocery stores, so keep an eye out for Unipan and remember you heard it here first ;) He showed us the bakery facilities and let us have a little sample while he answered our questions about their operations and business strategy. Both of these businesses showed much interest in the potential of having a team of business consultants, so I hope that our research on this trip allows such doors to open with future Baylor teams. 

Hair nets and business casual, what else

Bread *so many heart eyes*

Marvin, the grandson of the original founder of Unipan and a literal wall of bread

When we returned back to the hotel, we had a few quick minutes of debrief about the businesses we had visited before heading out for a very early dinner at a very American restaurant. Totally worth it for the brownie that followed. Our guide and Myra picked us up at the restaurant for a nighttime walking tour of the city. It is SO hard to follow a tour in another language, but I'm sure I will have more stories from tomorrow's ghost tour...

Our last stop of the evening was salsa lessons which were, in a word, hilarious. Many videos were captured and I will have to get my hands on some to share. 

WHOO all caught up. Spanish lessons will come bright and early again at 8am tomorrow so I am off to la cama. That means bed. 

Guatemala :: Day 3

My VERY rudimentary Spanish was tested first thing this morning as we began our four hour one-on-one Spanish tutoring. After a breakfast of the most delicious pancakes the world has ever known, Myra introduced us each to our tutor for the week. Andrea, my tutor, and many of the others speak little to no English so the dictionary got a lot of attention. She very patiently refreshed my memory of verb conjugation and los colores. Two faux pas: 1. She asked me some basic questions about myself--my age, my family, my hometown, etc.--then asked if I had any questions. I confidently replied, "No tengo preguntas," before I realized that she wasn't asking if I needed help with any of her questions, but rather if I had any questions ABOUT her. And I had shut her down so quick. Poor Andrea. And 2. About an hour in, I realized after she had corrected my double "l" sound at least 100 times that I had been taught the European inflections and pronunciations. I tried to explain this and could not for the life of me remember the word for "learn" so I ended up telling her that i TAUGHT Spanish in Spain. *eyeroll emoji* 

After four grueling hours of repeating "yo tú él ella nosotros ustedes" to an unreasonably patient Andrea, our lesson was finished and we loaded up the vans for lunch. Myra is the founder of an organization called Kairos, and the travel agency we used is an arm of that ministry. Its main outreach, however, is a private Christian school for kids whose families can't afford any school scenario. Some of the school staff prepared lunch for us while Myra told us about the projects we would be participating in for the afternoon. The up pcharge from the travel agency arm of Kairos goes to provide a week's worth of food to 4 families as well as a new brick stove to one family in the community. Half of our team got to go choose the groceries with Myra and deliver them to families while the other half went to "build" the stove. 

I, in my business casual ballet flats, was part of the stove building group. I wasn't prepared for the poverty that we saw in the home we visited and the surrounding neighborhood. It was reminiscent of the slums we visited in Uganda--shacks assembled from whatever material has been discarded on the curb. It was explained to us that the stove is a valuable gift because the alternative is essentially a smoke pit that fills the house with smoke every time the family cooks. Guatemalans have a life expectancy of only 50 years, largely because of the horrible lung diseases they develop from this precise problem. The new stove utilizes a pipe that feeds through the ceiling to avoid the smoke issue and protect the family. 

Kelly and Liz got their hands dirty and helped the mason actually add the final piece of the stove. 

Byron was the son of the couple receiving the stove and Jake entertained him with a new toy outside to stay out of the way of the stove construction in the very small living quarters. 

The couple was unbelievably hospitable and welcoming, so kind to answer all of our questions about her day to day life. They made sure we all had somewhere to sit, they told us about their chickens, they talked to us (through Gia and our interpreter) about how this stove will improve their living condition slightly. Much like in Uganda, I was astounded by how much joy and compassion can be exhibited by people who have so little by our very privileged standards. The moment that stood out to me the most was the woman sharing a tortilla with Jake, and not only offering that but salt and water and beans. Y'all, sometimes I get pissed when my roommates use a quarter cup of milk. This woman has no certainty of where her next meal will come from, but she would have given us every last drop of food in her home. Perspective, my friends. It doesn't matter how many places I've seen heart wrenching tragedy, I still need more. 

After we returned back to Kairos we were taken back to the hotel for a short rest before dinner. We had a delicious dinner at the hotel with Myra, her daughter, and her assistant, Jackie. After dinner they answered all of our questions about everything from Guatemalan customs to how Kairos operates. I wish I could communicate everything Myra said to you--this woman is changing the world. She has unbelievable vision and drive. She works tirelessly to provide 85 children, ages 7-16, with an education that will prepare them to escape the poverty cycle and become Christian leaders. She truly does it all. She built this program from the ground up with the help of her husband and parents, and hopes to one day hand it off to her daughter and alumnae of the school. We got to contribute ideas for how to grow the travel agency aspect, how to find donors who can commit to sponsoring each student, how to bring in more revenue to accomplish the things she wants to achieve without having to require more from the families who currently pay only what they can for their child to attend school. She is truly inspiring and I am looking forward to learning more from her this week, as well as witnessing the growth of a partnership with her long into the future.  

Tomorrow we will begin with Spanish lessons again, so pray for Andrea. 

Guatemala :: Day 2

You know the trip is going well when you're ready for bed at 8:30! We have reached the end of our first full day in Guatemala, which was one primarily of acclimating and absorbing the culture. I've realized my tendency to compare everywhere I travel to other places I've been, so I'm doing my best to observe Guatemala for what it is, not how much it reminds me of Spain or Uganda or Florence. There are certainly similarities, but this country has so much of its own to offer. 

We had an early morning breakfast in the garden of our hotel before our Guatemalan affiliate, Myra, picked us up to take us to church. If you've been hanging around this blog for a while (aka only my mother and maybe Riley Brandon) you know that worshiping in another language is one of my very favorite parts of traveling. My most recent exposure to Spanish was quizzing Taylor on words like "zapatos" freshman year, so I couldn't necessarily participate in the worship, but being surrounded by people worshiping the same Father in their own language just gets me fired up. 

Grantham and Myra walking to church 

The city square in the EARLY morning 

After church we stood in line to exchange our USD, and I thanked the kind woman for her help in German because I'm an idiot. I'm choosing to believe that it makes up for the time I thanked the German train conductor in Spanish. We got to explore the square a little more after it had come to life post-morning worship. 

We changed out of our church clothes and ate a DELICIOUS lunch of authentic Guatemalan cuisine at a restaurant close to the square, which is within walking distance of our hotel. We had a little time to kill in the markets before our vans came to pick us up to go to San Cristobal, a little village situated above Antigua. 

We climbed up the hill and our driver set us up with a little tour guide of a beautiful co-op focused on organic agriculture. The views from the top were astounding, and it gave us a neat glimpse at the lifestyle of the people in this community. 

Dr. Baldwin taking a break 

The view from the porch of the main home in the complex

HUGE avocados grown at the co-op

Our drivers very carefully drove us back down the mountain to our hotel, where we had some down time before dinner. We found some ice cream (and some Americans) back in the main square after dinner before heading back to the hotel for the night. We are settling in early tonight in preparation for our first day of interacting with our Guatemalan partners tomorrow. 

I cannot thank my home team enough for all of your prayers and words of encouragement this week. I am so grateful for this adventure and the heart changes at work. 

Buenas noches!