And they're off...
Neal is with the students on a plane to Atlanta as I write this. I am sitting in the home of Edwin's parents relaxing and preparing to head back to HueHue. Antigua was great. Lots of shopping. Lots of historical sites. Good times all around.
REMINDER: your children will be tired when they get to Kalamazoo today. They will also take some time processing what they did, saw, and experienced in Guatemala. Please be patient with them. Their responses will be short and surfacy. Give them time. They will open up and talk to you freely if you give them a few days to process.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
Earthquake
So, we were all awoken this morning by an earthquake at 5:30am. Well, everyone except Taye and Jadyn. It was pretty impressive. Everyone is safe and okay. We are leaving for a long trip to Antigua this morning and then Neal and the students will fly out of Guatemala City early tomorrow morning.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Church
Today we are sitting in our last church service in Guatemala. They have all been different yet similar experiences. This church is very large. There definitely over 200 people here and still room for more.
We had the opportunity to share testimonies, sing songs in English and Spanish, and listen to Edwin and Jesse preach.
It was bittersweet to sing our songs for the last time. Many did now know the songs before we started singing them 15 days ago, but now they are like old standards.
As I sit here in this church and take it all in I can easily reflect on all that we have done. Listening to our group talk about God and love for others makes me extremely hopeful for this generation. Our beautiful, amazing young people are not selfish and arrogant. They love others and care for the needs of others; that is something I am sure of.
These last two weeks have been amazing and definitely a time that I will not soon forget and I am sure the students agree.
We had the opportunity to share testimonies, sing songs in English and Spanish, and listen to Edwin and Jesse preach.
It was bittersweet to sing our songs for the last time. Many did now know the songs before we started singing them 15 days ago, but now they are like old standards.
As I sit here in this church and take it all in I can easily reflect on all that we have done. Listening to our group talk about God and love for others makes me extremely hopeful for this generation. Our beautiful, amazing young people are not selfish and arrogant. They love others and care for the needs of others; that is something I am sure of.
These last two weeks have been amazing and definitely a time that I will not soon forget and I am sure the students agree.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Agua Dulce Part 2
The last few days in Agua Dulce have been amazing! The trip up was the hottest trip to Agua Dulce that I have ever experienced, but everyone was amazing with no complaining. The sun was beating down on us the entire trip, but everyone kept their spirits high and enjoyed the trip.
Upon arrival Edwin took the group on a two hour hike through the mountains. We basically walked about 4 miles down to the small river and then came back up a different way. We stopped in a few small villages and even had the opportunity to buy a cola. We saw the first Protestant church in the area as well as a few Catholic Churches. It was a great way to start our time up here and it was definitely a workout!
The next day we headed over to an area church and painted the inside of it the entire morning. The cement was not the easiest thing to paint, but everyone got the opportunity to paint a textured wall. The biggest difference is that in Guatemala they add water to their paint. This is something we don't usually do in the USA, but it is how they paint. The church is now a very nice soft yellow on the inside and it looks great. The only tough part about painting was the smoke. Right outside a few women were cooking a huge meal for a wedding the next day. The smoke from their cooking fire was intense and filled the church, making it hard for many of us to see. After painting we held a Vacation Bible School in the church for about 50 kids. We acted out and read a Bible story, face painted, played games, did crafts, and played soccer. It was a lot of fun and also crazy at times. It was especially great to see some of our students get mobbed at various times...
On Friday we painted a small kitchen on the coffee plantation in the morning. This was even more difficult than the church on account of the cement walls. We also had more water in the paint with some lime and sugar as well. This was to help the paint act as a sealant on the cement walls. After much most of us started a Vacation Bible School right on the plantation while Neal, Kaylan, Katrina, and David kept painting. It was incessantly raining so not very many kids showed up, but the intimate group made it a lot more manageable and we were able to give a lot more attention to each child.
Seeing as it was the Fourth of July Gail cooked us an amazing American meal consisting of hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, and jalapeño poppers! It was perfect. After dinner we played music on the loud speakers and danced to a couple of songs while we waited for it to get dark. As it grew darker we went down to the patio to set off fireworks!! We had a lot of good ones (loud ones, colorful ones, and bright ones). We did a lot of lighting, running away, and laughing! Once all of the fireworks were done we came back up stairs for cake and more dancing! We held an Agua Dulce dance party for the whole area to hear and enjoy. It was amazing and fantastic! Everyone was dancing and having a great time as we celebrated America and our time here in Guatemala!!
This morning we are preparing for our trip back to HueHue where we will relax, hang out, go to church, and prepare to head home.
Rob Bradford
Upon arrival Edwin took the group on a two hour hike through the mountains. We basically walked about 4 miles down to the small river and then came back up a different way. We stopped in a few small villages and even had the opportunity to buy a cola. We saw the first Protestant church in the area as well as a few Catholic Churches. It was a great way to start our time up here and it was definitely a workout!
The next day we headed over to an area church and painted the inside of it the entire morning. The cement was not the easiest thing to paint, but everyone got the opportunity to paint a textured wall. The biggest difference is that in Guatemala they add water to their paint. This is something we don't usually do in the USA, but it is how they paint. The church is now a very nice soft yellow on the inside and it looks great. The only tough part about painting was the smoke. Right outside a few women were cooking a huge meal for a wedding the next day. The smoke from their cooking fire was intense and filled the church, making it hard for many of us to see. After painting we held a Vacation Bible School in the church for about 50 kids. We acted out and read a Bible story, face painted, played games, did crafts, and played soccer. It was a lot of fun and also crazy at times. It was especially great to see some of our students get mobbed at various times...
On Friday we painted a small kitchen on the coffee plantation in the morning. This was even more difficult than the church on account of the cement walls. We also had more water in the paint with some lime and sugar as well. This was to help the paint act as a sealant on the cement walls. After much most of us started a Vacation Bible School right on the plantation while Neal, Kaylan, Katrina, and David kept painting. It was incessantly raining so not very many kids showed up, but the intimate group made it a lot more manageable and we were able to give a lot more attention to each child.
Seeing as it was the Fourth of July Gail cooked us an amazing American meal consisting of hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, and jalapeño poppers! It was perfect. After dinner we played music on the loud speakers and danced to a couple of songs while we waited for it to get dark. As it grew darker we went down to the patio to set off fireworks!! We had a lot of good ones (loud ones, colorful ones, and bright ones). We did a lot of lighting, running away, and laughing! Once all of the fireworks were done we came back up stairs for cake and more dancing! We held an Agua Dulce dance party for the whole area to hear and enjoy. It was amazing and fantastic! Everyone was dancing and having a great time as we celebrated America and our time here in Guatemala!!
This morning we are preparing for our trip back to HueHue where we will relax, hang out, go to church, and prepare to head home.
Rob Bradford
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Wifi
Quick message that the wifi in the house is not working. I am at an Internet cafe, sending this out. Everyone is doing well and everything is great! We are headed to Agua Dulce this morning and we will not have any internet access until Saturday afternoon!!!
Rob Bradford
Rob Bradford
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