Postcards from Guate

Making tortillas in Pana!

Taking in the view of lake Atilan

Students teaching at a local high school for Tuesday service afternoons

Graduation day at APPE

PACAYA!!!

Roasting marshmallows on the volcano

Antigua gearing up for Holy Week (Semana Santa)

Half way point thoughts

Where do I begin?  This is a new adventure we all on but its not just for fun and exploring.  It's a new chapter in our lives.  The knowledge and experiences gathered here could very well be a new foundation for the rest of our lives.  Arriving to Guatemala everything was new, exciting and very foreign.  Slowly it has transitioned into a daily rhythm of life.  Our weeks in San Juan del Obispo consist of many difficult Spanish classes that are jam packed with information, hanging out with our host families and cramming into chicken buses for some time in Antigua.  But what I have come to realize is that sometimes we get caught up in our weekly activities and start and start to lose sight of why we are really here in Guatemala.  The purpose is not just to be here and live seperate lives, but to truly dwell and become part of the community.  I know for me many times I loose sight of this.  God has constantly been reminding me of this purpose for being here and has been leading me in the right direction towards him.  God has showed me so much on this trip and it's truly a blessing to be a part of this amazing group.

-Sam Hamm

Dwelling

“Dwell among them”.  Before sending us off to spend two nights with Kekchi host families, Rob Cahill left us these words.  What exactly does it mean to dwell?  Rob directed our attention to Luke 10, when Jesus sends out the seventy-two: “Go !  I am sending you out like lambs among the wolves.   Do not take a purse or bag or sandals.  And don’t greet anyone on the road.  When you enter a house, first say ‘may this house be blessed with peace…stay in that house.  Eat and drink anything they give you…Do not move around from house to house”. With that being said,  we were placed in to groups of three and introduced to our new families.

In no time at all, Julia, Becca and I settled into our new bedroom with three plywood beds, a dirt floor and news papered walls.  At first it was a little awkward to communicate with our host family, since out of the seven who spoke K’ekchi, only the father spoke Spanish.  However, that never stopped us from busting out the crayons and paper to make the most impressive paper airplanes.

Countless tickle fights later, we were having our last supper.  Earlier that day, Becca and I were sitting in the kitchen with the children when we heard the chickens’ squawking and flailing.  Juana, our host mother then walked past the window with a chicken hanging upside down in her hands.  We knew its fate was sealed.  That night, the grandparents joined us for our last supper featuring (who could have guessed?) homemade chicken soup!  As we ate together, I looked into my host brother Byron’s bowl and saw the chicken’s head floating in the broth.  With unbelieving eyes, we three Outtatowners looked across the table to see Byron stab the chicken in the head with his fork and gnaw off a chunk of its neck.  Seconds of silence befell the table before everyone exploded into gut-rumbling laughter. 

When I reflect on Luke 10, I’m struck by the way Jesus sends the 72 off, as people living in the same manner as the common peasant.  As long as our group has been in Guatemala, we have seen numerous indigenous people everyday yet had no idea how they lived until we dwelt among them could we truly develop close relationships and understand a little more about what their everyday life entails. 

-Christ Kuepfer

Montericco- Summer Lovin'!

I think the word that sums up our weekend in Montericco is…HOT.  It was definitely our warmest weather yet in Guatemala, and we embraced it.  Some spent the weekend taking advantage of the constant waves, while others chillaxed on the mucho hot black sand on the beach.  Licuados (fruit smoothies) were usually the refreshing beverage of choice, and if we were hungry, our hotel had the best pizza I’ve had for a long time.  There weren’t any snakes or other weird creatures, just cockroaches.  These were easily taken care of though by the use of our shoes….or Anna!  All in all, it was a great weekend to just relax in God’s creation.  The waves perfectly demonstrated the power, might and love of God.  It was a great chance to have fun with the whole group, away from our Spanish studies.  By the end of the weekend, I think just about everybody was ready to get out of the heat and return to our “hometown” of San Juan del Obispo refreshed, and ready to get going with more Spanish.  So, until next time….Adios!

-Lisa Reimer

Montericco- Summer Lovin'!

Hola Guatemala!

The day of departure finally arrived as all of us students gathered in the hall of CMU full of excitement.  Our hearts were full of emotions that we couldn’t contain ourselves!  We were full of excitement, joy and anxiety for the start of this adventure.  After an overnight bus ride, we arrived at the airport in Minnesota to start our full day of travel.  When we finally arrived in Guatemala city, some us were so hungry that we stopped off for some real cultural food- McDonalds!  We spent the first few days in Guatemala at a retreat centre called Andulum.  It was nice to reconnect with the group and also a way to slowly integrate into the culture.  We had an amazing view over the wall from the complex.  Over and under the wall was a little village, clearly poor, that was full of farms and homes with tin roofs.  We mostly stayed in the complex, but on the third day there, we went to visit a coffee farm and a macadamia nut farm.  We left both well informed of how coffee and macadamia nuts grow and also left with some tasty treats!  Guatemalan coffee is fantastic!  At night, we spent time around a campfire singing songs and laughing while barking dogs and fireworks were sounding in the background.  What touched us the most during our stay here were the little children we met who lived on the border of the camp.   While trying to communicate with these kids, we were quickly frustrated by our lack of Spanish.  However, it has made us realize how much that learning Spanish is key to fully experiencing Guatemala and building great relationships with the beautiful people of this country.

-Clara Dastrous

New beginnings for everyone

This Sunday we loaded up our yellow school bus with all of our luggage, squished 3 people per seat and set off for San Juan del Obispo where our new moms, dads, brothers, and sisters awaited excited to be hosting yet another Outtatown student.


The mood in the bus was filled with lots of excitement for meeting our new families and lots of nerves of the unknown. Some were surfing through their Spanish-English dictionaries trying to memorize one last word or phrase and practicing them with their seat partners. Others were trying to remember and naming off the members of their new families.



We arrived at what we thought was the APPE language school only to find out that it had moved! Little did we know that we were in for our first driving experience on the streets of Guatemala. Nobody knew how skilled our driver was until he successfully got us to the school with the bus still in one piece as well as its precious cargo. Most of the trip to the new school was done in reverse because the streets are not wide enough to turn a bus around and cars were parked all along it too. Crowds of local gathered wherever we went and a loud cry from the back to signal to the bus driver that we were centimeters away from banging into a wall or house were common.

Well, we finally made it to the school and for some, reality finally sunk in when we faced our new families. A few final prayers for a calming spirit and good relationships to be made were said as well as our last goodbyes to our fellow students and leaders. Then we were all called, one by one, and we were sent off with a somewhat hesistant look back at the rest of the group. The walks home were filled with simple converstations like "Yo me llamo" (my name is....) and "Yo tengo ____ anos" (I am ______ years old). The night included many actions, charades and pointing and the little Spanish we knew to communicate.


Waking up early for Monday morning school. We thought we were done with that unpopular routine when we finished high school. But there it was, with the rooster waking most of us up by 6am. We all walked over to school and were greeted by our teachers. By Tuesday we were put into a class based on our level of Spanish and the real work began! We study from 8 to 12 in a class with about 3 people. Our teachers move pretty quickly through the material so by the end of class, we are all ready for lunch and a siesta!!



Anxiously awaiting to meet new families!



Our afternoons this week included trips to Antigua on the local Chicken Bus to explore the historic city, barter and buy at the market and enjoy an ice cream in the Central Park. We've also been playing lots of soccer, futbul as the local call it, and they usually school us with their tricks down the field before they score for the umpteenth time!



As this week on school winds down, we are all excited for a much needed weekend on the beach in Monterrico where we will be able to relax, spend time with each other, and maybe do a bit of studying if we find time!

-Emily Shuh