Another Sunday Funday

What a whirlwind of a weekend!  On Saturday evening we (the interns) were excited to greet our new team and housemates for the week. We’ve got the youth group from FBC Leesburg and Cindy, Claire, and John from Maryland along with Howie our fearless leader. After dinner we got some sleep before we hit the road early the next day.

Sunday morning we awoke to the aroma of pancakes in the kitchen made by Howie. We devoured breakfast and loaded up into the coaster. Even Samuel stayed the night at the dorm! As we zigzagged through the villages on our way to Antigua to go ziplining, we came to a halt on our journey: a parade! God blessed us with such a cool insight into Guatemalan life! It was in the town of Santiago, an agricultural community, so there were plenty of floats showcasing the local flowers and vegetables they grow there.  Like any parade back home, there were queens atop floats waving at onlookers and the coaster full of excited Americans.

Interns: Kaysey, myself, and Marianna

Once we made it to the cobblestone streets of Antigua we hit another roadblock: a half marathon.  Still, nothing could stop us from getting to our destination: Filadelfia Canopy Tours. Most of our group loaded up in the jeeps to take us up to the mountain where we would take a leap of faith and soar over God’s creation.  The skies were clear so we had a perfect view of Volcano Agua in the background. Even those who were hesitant to zip mustered up the courage to do so.  After the climb back up to our jeeps and the twisty dissent back down, we worked up quite an appetite! The only cure: McDonalds!  I personally enjoyed the pineapple pie (pastel de piña) and am thinking of writing to corporate to get this delicious pastry available in the states. Who’s with me?

We met up with Olivia and Alejandra, our wonderful interpreters, and headed to the market to get in some shopping. Deals were made, souvenirs were purchased, and everyone had a great time practicing their Spanish. The group made their way to the town center where it seemed all of Antigua was gathered. Families and tourists enjoyed the vendors, horse rides, and street performers.  We solemnly made our way into the church there as they prepared for worship. Our group split up and some of us stuck around the park to just chill and ride the horses while others made their way to the famous Antigua Arch to take an obscene amount of pictures.

Olivia and Alejandra led us to La Peña del Sol where we dined on cannelloni, burgers, grilled chicken or quesadillas. Yum! Still excited about all the events of the day, we had quite a lively bus ride home to the center. God spoke to us through Jay, the youth minister from Leesburg, from the book of James.  The first large group to stay at the center has made themselves at home and are ready to love on some kiddos on Monday!