After a great night’s sleep, out team gathered at 7:15am for our Easter worship service. Tanner Howell read Luke 24 and we sang several worship songs including Revelation Song….
Before loading the bus, everyone filled up their water bottles for the day ahead and then we headed out to eat breakfast. Pollo Campero proved to be a lot of fun as everyone worked to figure out the menu. Most of us got the Tipico which consisted of scrambled eggs, refried beans, salsa, hash browns, fried plantains, and juice or coffee. Some folks braved the omelettes and others stuck to the safety of pancakes.
After breakfast, the bus started down the road to Antigua for a day of shopping and sightseeing before the work begins on Monday. We parked the bus and walked to the market. Jose chose a very safe area for our group and gave them some tips on how to get the best prices. I probably ought not share too much of what was purchased so as not to divulge any surprises that are headed home with the team on Friday. We had a lot of fun figuring out the dollar to quetzale conversion (1:7.6). Our students were putting their math skills to work. Good thing we have Mrs. Carr, Mr. Carr, and Coach Timms who have prepared us well for this in their math classrooms! They only brought me along to play the guitar and post to the blog!
We spent two hours in the market and then went to Las Palmas for an authentic Guatemalan lunch consisting of: rice, beans, chips, salsa, guacamole, tortillas, and the choice of chicken, steak, or sausage. We sat around and ate and talked for almost two hours and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. After our late lunch, we stopped by the world’s classiest McDonald’s to see the fountains, take pictures of the volcano, and enjoy dessert.
Our group headed to a beautiful cathedral in the downtown square of Antigua on our way to see the Resurrection professional heading into the Catholic Church. There was a lot of music, costumes, and excitement as we joined with the people to celebrate that Jesus is alive! This was definitely a unique experience with all the fanfare.
We walked around Antigua for a bit taking a few more pictures and then loaded up on the bus for the trek back to the seminary. We are going to stop for a quick dinner on the way back…even though we are all still quite full from lunch. The team will turn in early tonight as we have to be on the bus at 5:30am to head to our projects at the Hope Center and City of Hope.
Our team is having a great time together and have been such a blessing to me and the other leaders. It is very obvious that God put this team together for His greater purpose here in Guatemala. We are also enjoying the updates from the other teams and praying for our NCCS family serving all over the world.
Day two was a blast!
