Rainy Season.

It has officially hit here in Guatemala! I have never seen so much rain pouring down the mountains here. As we drive up and down the mountains, I just see rivers of brown water flowing so fast it looks like it can take out anyone in its path. Crazy sight to see. I was told it was rainy season here, but I did not believe it until today. Wow, what a sight.

Interns hard at work learning how to make tortillas.

Good news..NORTH PARK HAS ARRIVED! We have our new team of eight here for the week and we already love hanging out with them! They are from Abilene Texas and most of them have actually been here more than once already. So, it is really nice to hear their stories and listen to them share their experiences. Clearly, this place has kept a piece of their heart and God has used them already in tremendous ways in the years past. So, we are excited to see what He has in store for the group this week with us.

Precious boy at the Jocotenango CTC

Flexibility repeatedly has been key for us in this experience and this week is no different. Originally, we were supposed to be returning to San Jose Pinula every morning this week and working at the City of Children orphanage in the afternoons. But, there has been some unsafe political activity in that area...a lot of these incidents took place this weekend and it still remains too unsafe for us to return. Since the election is coming up in the Fall, these types of things are not uncommon. I am so sad that I will not get to return to the City of Children again before I leave in just 10 days but I know that God has given us even more opportunities in these other communities we have been reassigned for the week. From this experience, I have learned to put my trust in God and fully depend on faith. That has probably been the most changing experience for me, learning to fully trust in ONLY Him. Here.. I have my insecurities and I have my doubts, but never am I worried because I know that I have my Savior on my side every step of the way.

Welcome!

The city we have been called to minister in.

We are loving our time with this group so far! They came prepared. Awesome. Yesterday, one of the workers at the CTC came to us and said instead of just thirty, we are actually going to have seventy kids this afternoon. Alright! Everything went so smooth and all of the kids had so much fun! We also got to have some older kids so it was so much fun to hang out and play with them for the afternoon! So we did the same with three groups...a bible story, game, and craft. Figured out if I participate in a game, I am without a doubt, always the target. That made it even more fun! Before that, we sang a few songs and had a puppet show...puppets, definitely not a strength of mine. I got very few laughs. But, the day was so so fun and it makes me so excited to keep working with them. Last night at dinner, we also had some fun learning how to make tortillas! We each got our turn making tortillas just like a pro! Here are some pictures Betsy took to document us learning!