Guatemala - Day 7

Hola everyone!

We have made it to San Marcos! Hooray!

We left Tejutla this morning around 9 AM. We were so sad to leave, but feeling so loved by the community there! Many of the students such as Kiernan McKee and the guys at his home stay, as well as Grace Teal and the gals at her home stay received gifts from their host parents. Kiernan and the guys got mugs, and Grace and the gals got napkin holders. Super thoughtful!

We drove for about 2 hours then arrived at the surprise spot for the students... The hot springs! We pulled up and were told that "we're here!" ... But it looked like it was in the middle of nowhere. We for sure deemed it a hidden gem because it was immaculate!

We stayed there from 11 AM to 2 PM and the students got to swim in any of the 3 hot spring pools they had there, we had a lunch of burgers and chips, and some of us such as Rebecca Madsen, Bailey Pearson, and Suzy Smith bought some ice cream! It was the perfect way to finish our time there.

We drove about an hour or so after that to San Marcos. We got there about an hour before the church was ready for us, so we were able to explore together in groups! Some of us stayed and played basketball or soccer at the park nearby, while others walked around and explored the city! Girls such as Ellicia Woolf, Katie Schmid, Grace Witherspoon, Jamie Stites, Elayna Sitzman, and more walked to a beautiful area with a fountain and sat down. Missy Beck pulled out her Bible to talk to us about a verse she came across last night, James 2:14-18. It was really powerful and relevant to our time here in Guatemala!

Then some Guatemalans came up to us and introduced themselves. It was a man with two girls probably close to the students' age! They mentioned how they wanted to connect with us again while we were in the town. Lisa Schmid and Missy Beck told them about our medical clinic so hopefully we will be able to see them again!

After that we went back to the park and played some basketball with other team members. Baldy, a Guatemalan traveling with us with the Children's team used to play professional basketball for El Salvador! And Joshua, an American who now lives in Guatemala, who's super tall (probably about 6'4"!) played, too! Not sure what the score was in the end, but I think everyone had a great time whether they were watching or playing!

Then at 4:00 we went over to the church where they set off some LOUD firecrackers and had music playing for us when we arrived! It was so nice! We then brought in all the bags, then had a welcome from the pastor here, and his two sons did some standup comedy and singing and rapping with Chris Erickson... I'll be sure to put that on the highlight video for the June 23 celebration. Ha!

After we got done at the church we went right next door to have some dinner. There was cooked vegetables, mashed potatoes, and chicken with a great sauce served to us!

Then we waited for our home stays to come pick us up at 7 PM, then we headed out!

Tomorrow will be a great day - We are doing a service day in the morning/early afternoon, then a church service that evening. Mike Lindsay will also be joining us tomorrow night, so we are excited about seeing him and him seeing Guatemala!

Here are some pictures from when I was with Med team the other day! Thanks for reading!