Day 2 Getting Used to Guatemala

Day 2: Getting used to Guatemala 3/8/09
So…haha, I made a booboo today!! I forgot to set my alarm to Guatemala time and not U.S. time, so my room woke up 30-45 min earlier than we were supposed to! But, oh man am I glad we did. I went to the roof to have my early morning quiet time and I got to see the last of the sunrise over the mountains!! I have never seen creation like this. Pictures, words, even IMAGINATION doesn’t do it justice. God’s creativity is beyond amazing, and He gave it to us so we all (including Him) can delight in it. Man was it cool.
We had an amazing breakfast with the best coffee in the world (I drank it nearly black) and the workers were so nice. After breakfast, we headed down to El Lago de Atítlan. Just when I thought Christ couldn’t be more beautiful, he brought us to the biggest lake in Guatemala. It takes 45 minutes to cross by boat at max speed! And yes, I’m sure it was a lake because the nearest beach is 6 hours away! Enjoy the pictures!
Then, we loaded the chicken bus and headed for Chichicastenango where we are staying for the rest of the week. We had our first market experience!! It was INSANE! The natives were 3 foot nothing and made me look like a giant! 6 year olds tried to sell my life away and offer me everything in the world so I would buy their handmade dolls for one Quetzala(~70¢). It was fun bargaining and I bought awesome headbands for me and my sisters. There was this boy, John that followed us all the way from Pana Jachel, 2hrs 30min away and remembered my name because he wanted me to buy something from him. I felt horrible when I didn’t and he nearly cried. This was hours of stalking my team and I and I was praying that I didn’t see him in church later on because I would feel like a hypocrite. I raised that boys hopes and then shot him down. NOT Christ like at all. All I can do is ask God for forgiveness and pray for him and his family.
We went to church after lunch in the market. This place was on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere in a village called Chontalá. We heard singing as we walked through the open doors, they all cheered for us! Down the middle isle all the way up and through the altar were green pine needles. Trevor explains that’s how Jesus was welcomed by his people to Jerusalem.
“8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"[c]
"Hosanna[d] in the highest!"” Matthew 21:8-9
The people of Guatemala did this for us! This is an ancient Mayan tradition that is meant for the highest of honors and we got it. They all welcomed us with open arms and lots of celebration and prayer. They asked us to sing some of our worship songs for them and it was incredible! We sang them in both English and Spanish. They were so grateful Wesley returned. Many missions teams focus is to go into as many places as possible to plant the seed. But what they often fail to realize is that they need to water and harvest the soil and nurture the plant while it grows. That’s when you can reap a harvest for God’s Kingdom. And that’s what we’re doing!
After church we went to a Guatemalan grocery store to buy water and PB+J for the rest of the week for lunch. It looked really similar to ours. Then we had dinner and went to see old Mayan churches that have mixed with Catholicism. We, as Christians, know it’s wrong to mix a monotheistic faith with on that worships idols. Well, tonight in circle time, Vance brought up an amazing point that I will pray about and address later on in the trip: at least, in their religion, all their idols(statues) bow down before God. But what about our idols? What have we mixed with our faith? Patriotism? Love of money? Our significant other? Think about it.
<3 Sabie Q.