Arrival

Yesterday we arrived in Guatemala around 3PM and drove to the Hotel Vista Real which is a 5 star hotel :O to my surprise. I thought we would be staying there all week but since it was a 4 hour drive to the orphanage we had to relocate to Casa Manens. Anyway yesterday we just settled down and met everyone in the group which consists of about 10 people from the Baptist Church and then 8 people on the medical team.

Every morning and evening we have devotional time, which makes me uncomfortable when it is strongly religious. Basically one person is chosen to share a story, or scripture that they find inspirational. I like how it brings everyone together in a positive way but also makes me feel distanced from the group because I don't necessarily agree or have the same faith. After a long night of meetings and planning I passed out at 1030PM.

We woke up early, 5:45AM early.... we headed out en route to visit a shelter for girls that have been trafficked or abused. It was one of the most impactful moments of the day and possibly of the trip. We saw pictures of 28 girls that have passed through the home. It is pretty sad that the US is the top users of human trafficking and that it is prevalent even in the states of both non immigrant and immigrant populations. As we were blessing the home and saying a prayer for the girls, they started tearing up and it made me want to bawl. I felt like I had no right to cry in front of them though because they have been through so much more and have suffered beyond anything that a child should. After we left them we headed to Xela (Quetzaltenango) with a stop to eat at Katok.

Then it was another 2 hour drive up to the mountain to our location. The winding roads and gasoline fumes were starting to get to people and we had a vomiting episode in the car (not me btw). We drove to such high altitudes that we were driving through clouds!

anyway everyone in my room is sleeping now so I'll continue later.