Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Day 4
Overview of our experience(s) so far:
- Met great people
- Ate great food
- Celebrated a great birthday (Jake)
- Made good progress on our work project
- Enjoyed our time so far at the orphanage
- Drank some great coffee!
Yesterday was a very productive day. The morning began with breakfast at the hotel and working on our work project for the rest of the morning at the orphanage until lunch. We were able to finish building 5 1/2 tables. Thankfully, no major injuries so far.
For lunch, we served the children nearly 50 boxes of Dominoes Pizza at the orphanage. Because it was Jake's birthday, the orphanage had gotten a piñata for him and the children to break open. Jake also recieved 17 birthday spankings. After this we came back to the hotel for a short time to change into VBS mode and take some short naps.
VBS went much smoother than the day before. We knew how to correct the problems that had come up, and corrected our mistakes. Thankfully, the weather held off until we returned to the hotel. (For the record, we have gotten rain every day so far. Planning on more today!)
After VBS, we returned to the hotel. We loaded up onto the busses for dinner outside of the hotel...kinda. We actually drove around to the other side of the hotel for dinner in the italian resteraunt connected to the hotel. The food was REALLY AMAZING!! Jake got a piece of cake and tasted it with his face (coutersy of Manuel)
In the past few days, some of us have been feeling unwell. We don't know why but we have theories as to the causes. Thankfully, nothing major.
When we finished dinner, Brad had everyone return to their rooms to get some sleep to hopefully shake off the bug. The early night helped.
Overall, we are having a great time and seeing the beauty of God's creation from a new experience. We hope that everyone back home is doing swell and we are greatful for all the prayers!
Love from Guatemala;
Tyler Bosch and Jake Smith
- Met great people
- Ate great food
- Celebrated a great birthday (Jake)
- Made good progress on our work project
- Enjoyed our time so far at the orphanage
- Drank some great coffee!
Yesterday was a very productive day. The morning began with breakfast at the hotel and working on our work project for the rest of the morning at the orphanage until lunch. We were able to finish building 5 1/2 tables. Thankfully, no major injuries so far.
For lunch, we served the children nearly 50 boxes of Dominoes Pizza at the orphanage. Because it was Jake's birthday, the orphanage had gotten a piñata for him and the children to break open. Jake also recieved 17 birthday spankings. After this we came back to the hotel for a short time to change into VBS mode and take some short naps.
VBS went much smoother than the day before. We knew how to correct the problems that had come up, and corrected our mistakes. Thankfully, the weather held off until we returned to the hotel. (For the record, we have gotten rain every day so far. Planning on more today!)
After VBS, we returned to the hotel. We loaded up onto the busses for dinner outside of the hotel...kinda. We actually drove around to the other side of the hotel for dinner in the italian resteraunt connected to the hotel. The food was REALLY AMAZING!! Jake got a piece of cake and tasted it with his face (coutersy of Manuel)
In the past few days, some of us have been feeling unwell. We don't know why but we have theories as to the causes. Thankfully, nothing major.
When we finished dinner, Brad had everyone return to their rooms to get some sleep to hopefully shake off the bug. The early night helped.
Overall, we are having a great time and seeing the beauty of God's creation from a new experience. We hope that everyone back home is doing swell and we are greatful for all the prayers!
Love from Guatemala;
Tyler Bosch and Jake Smith
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Day 3
Hola everyone! We apologize for the lateness of our blog post...rest assured that Brad is carrying 100% of the blame for our lack of punctuality :) Just kidding.
We really appreciate all your continued prayers! Yesterday (6/23/14) was a busy, productive day. We began with an excruciatingly early wakeup call at 6:00am so we could serve breakfast to the orphans at 7:00am.
Breakfast was crazy but fun. After saying prayers, we served the kids cereal, milk, and fruit, which is a rare treat for them.
After breakfast, half of us started our work projects while another half of us played with the kids. Through a soccer game, the playground, chalk drawings, and the beginnings of our tables for the bakery, we were all pretty wiped out by the time lunch rolled around.
For lunch, we stopped at Pollo Compero for some KFC like chicken (the difference being that it was better and cheaper than KFC). We managed to get some ice cream afterward, which was a true blessing.
After some downtime, we returned to the orphanage at 3:00pm to start our VBS. We began with five G@P songs and taught the motions for each song to all the kids. This was followed by the story of Esther, acted out impeccably by some of our own students. Following the story of Esther, we split into four groups. These groups alternated between crafts, games, snacks, and small group time.
VBS concluded with the beginnings of a storm. This didn’t faze the kids, however, who were quick to begin their soccer tournament in the rain. After watching the game, we returned back to our hotel. We ate dinner, did devos, prepared for the next day of VBS, and went to bed around 10:00.
We’ve found that being with the orphans truly is a blessing. We love the opportunities to serve them. In return, they really our days.
We would appreciate continued prayers for health - many of us are suffering from queasy stomachs, possibly from issues with food/drink. Karen Machiela has graciously consented to be our portable pharmacy to contend with this queasiness. Thanks for all of your prayers! We look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Adios!
-Katelyn Kurithof, Abbie Sall, and Sarah Vroegop-
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Day 2
Hi Everyone,
Today we started out by going to an authentic Guatemalan buffet for breakfast. The omelettes and coco cereal were incredible. While eating, we were accompanied by a quite loud but quite talented Mariachi band. After breakfast, we went to a church downtown Huehue. We were greeted with smiles and towards the end of the service we were presented to the congregation up on stage. We came back to the hotel for lunch and had a few hours of down time. At three o'clock, we went to the orphanage to spend time with the kids and start the work projects. We cleaned up the bakery and made space for the tables that we are going to create out of pallets. In the process of working and handing out a lot of chicles (gum) to the kids, it started to rain very very hard. We stayed for about another hour playing with the kids, and then returned back to our hotel. We had a great supper and great conversation/devotions and some great preperation for this week's vbs. A lot of dancing and singing in practice! Thanks for prayers!
Continue to spray for good health and strength and the ability to keep up with the children and their energy and love for life!
-Weez and Spenie G (Kyle and Spencer)
Today we started out by going to an authentic Guatemalan buffet for breakfast. The omelettes and coco cereal were incredible. While eating, we were accompanied by a quite loud but quite talented Mariachi band. After breakfast, we went to a church downtown Huehue. We were greeted with smiles and towards the end of the service we were presented to the congregation up on stage. We came back to the hotel for lunch and had a few hours of down time. At three o'clock, we went to the orphanage to spend time with the kids and start the work projects. We cleaned up the bakery and made space for the tables that we are going to create out of pallets. In the process of working and handing out a lot of chicles (gum) to the kids, it started to rain very very hard. We stayed for about another hour playing with the kids, and then returned back to our hotel. We had a great supper and great conversation/devotions and some great preperation for this week's vbs. A lot of dancing and singing in practice! Thanks for prayers!
Continue to spray for good health and strength and the ability to keep up with the children and their energy and love for life!
-Weez and Spenie G (Kyle and Spencer)
Saturday, June 21, 2014
First full day
Hola!
Today we started out our morning with a delicious breakfast consisting of the best pancakes we have ever tasted, a variety of fruit, eggs, and the usual tortillas. After breakfast, we headed out to the orphanage (fundación salvación). When we arrived and got off of the bus, we were instantly greeted by joyful kids who wanted nothing but love. We played with them for a few hours on swing sets, tires, basketball courts and kicked around some soccer balls. Since it was before lunch, the older kids were in school so we were unable to interact with them.
At lunch time, we headed back to the hotel and ate a wonderful lunch including lime chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and an array of fresh fruit. When we finished up with lunch, we voyaged off to the mayan ruins. We climbed up multiple old stone structures which led us to an amazing view of mountains. Unfortunately, our adventure was cut short due to rain and a bit of hail. When we were standing at the top of a stone structure, we saw the storm rolling in and decided it would be smart to escape the on-coming rain. As we were sprinting, the rain was catching up to us, but we found our way under a wooden covering. We then waited for 15 minutes waiting for the storm to calm down, but it didn't so we loaded onto the buses and returned back to our hotel. We arrived back at 3 o'clock and are now having some down time until dinner. After dinner, we are heading back to the orphanage and having a movie and popcorn night with the kids.
So far, it has been a fantastic trip and we can't wait to see what else is in store. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and please continue to pray for safety, health and a great experience. Pictures will be coming soon :)
Sarah Bomers & Ally Lee
Today we started out our morning with a delicious breakfast consisting of the best pancakes we have ever tasted, a variety of fruit, eggs, and the usual tortillas. After breakfast, we headed out to the orphanage (fundación salvación). When we arrived and got off of the bus, we were instantly greeted by joyful kids who wanted nothing but love. We played with them for a few hours on swing sets, tires, basketball courts and kicked around some soccer balls. Since it was before lunch, the older kids were in school so we were unable to interact with them.
At lunch time, we headed back to the hotel and ate a wonderful lunch including lime chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and an array of fresh fruit. When we finished up with lunch, we voyaged off to the mayan ruins. We climbed up multiple old stone structures which led us to an amazing view of mountains. Unfortunately, our adventure was cut short due to rain and a bit of hail. When we were standing at the top of a stone structure, we saw the storm rolling in and decided it would be smart to escape the on-coming rain. As we were sprinting, the rain was catching up to us, but we found our way under a wooden covering. We then waited for 15 minutes waiting for the storm to calm down, but it didn't so we loaded onto the buses and returned back to our hotel. We arrived back at 3 o'clock and are now having some down time until dinner. After dinner, we are heading back to the orphanage and having a movie and popcorn night with the kids.
So far, it has been a fantastic trip and we can't wait to see what else is in store. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and please continue to pray for safety, health and a great experience. Pictures will be coming soon :)
Sarah Bomers & Ally Lee
A few extra thoughts...
Just a quick word of thanks to all of you who have been praying for us. Making our way from GR to Atlanta and then on to Guatemala was "flawless". Vice President Joe Biden chose to visit Guatemala City yesterday as well. Air Force 2 was on the tarmac when we arrived.
Our trip through the mountains and villages went a bit long, but we arrived safely with our drivers Neddie and Juan. Two great guys who have a lot of gifts and talents when it comes to driving two lane roads, avoiding potholes and chicken buses!
We've had challenges initially getting these posts to you in a timely manner: no electricity and the inability to connect to Wi-Fi. We'll try to post a few pictures of our trip here and the beautiful hotel we are staying in.
Brad
Our trip through the mountains and villages went a bit long, but we arrived safely with our drivers Neddie and Juan. Two great guys who have a lot of gifts and talents when it comes to driving two lane roads, avoiding potholes and chicken buses!
We've had challenges initially getting these posts to you in a timely manner: no electricity and the inability to connect to Wi-Fi. We'll try to post a few pictures of our trip here and the beautiful hotel we are staying in.
Brad
Day 1: Traveling
After a long day of travel, we are happy to say that everyone is safely in their hotel rooms in Huehuetenango!! The flights went flawlessly and all luggage arrived in Guatemala City. Everyone enjoyed the flights, especially those who haven't flown before. (: We made it through customs quickly and flawlessly-none of the 30 of us were even asked a single question. We met our translators, boarded our bus and van, and began the long ride from Guatemala City to Huehuetenango. We previously estimated a 6 hour bus ride but it ended up taking us 7 hours. The slowdown was due to heavy fog and rain which we encountered in the mountains. The ride was very interesting and everybody was surprised by the scenery around them. Although several members of the group felt motion sick, only one person actually got sick---this was a great success! After arriving, we ate dinner all together at the hotel (Fuente Real Hotel) and settled into our very nice rooms. All in all, though it was a long day, it was a great day. We thank God for the safety that we received in all legs of the journey and the smooth sailing that we have experienced thus far.
Tomorrow we are starting our day with an 8 am breakfast at the hotel, (10 am in Holland) and then heading to the orphanage to hang out for a while. In the afternoon we will hopefully be touring the Mayan ruins here.
Thank you for all of the prayers that were lifted up on our behalf; we certainly appreciate them. Please pray for continued safety, wise decision making, open hearts, and a hedge of protection for the group as we try our best not to get sick or hurt!
--Katrina, Morgan, Kaitlyn B
Tomorrow we are starting our day with an 8 am breakfast at the hotel, (10 am in Holland) and then heading to the orphanage to hang out for a while. In the afternoon we will hopefully be touring the Mayan ruins here.
Thank you for all of the prayers that were lifted up on our behalf; we certainly appreciate them. Please pray for continued safety, wise decision making, open hearts, and a hedge of protection for the group as we try our best not to get sick or hurt!
--Katrina, Morgan, Kaitlyn B
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