Senior Trip to Guatemala
Sorry it took me so long to get this out. Life is… busy
Every year our senior class at school and any seniors in the conference go on a mission trip to another country. It was our turn this year and we went to Guatemala.
We left on March 5 from Dulles and flew to Houston and then to Guatemala City. Our base was in the city. We got to base and settled in around supper time and went to bed shortly thereafter.
The next day we got up early and drove to El Porvenir. Once we got there we helped make some concrete walkway and steps and painted the wood on the church. The concrete was interesting because it had to be mixed by hand on a nearby pad and then carried up the steps to where it was being poured. That evening we went to the beach. It was really fun because it was around 90F and humid at Porvenir due to the lower elevation and it being near the coast. The beach was cooler and a breeze was blowing so it was a good way to cool off after a long day. After we got back from the beach we ate supper and went to bed.
On Friday we did some other odd jobs around the church and then packed up. We drove to Oratorio where we ate supper and played volleyball and soccer with the locals. We left around 10 and, due to road work and accidents, got back to the base around 2 in the morning.
Saturday was the day to be tourists so we went to an underground market. After we had shopped there a while we went to a fabric shop and some people wandered around to other shops. We went back to the market’s food court for lunch. Once we were done shopping we went back to the base to enjoy some down time.
Sunday we went to Joya Grande and gave a program in Spanish which was fun. Once we had given the program, we went back and had lunch at the base and relaxed the rest of the day. A lot of Spikeball was played. One of the missionary families had a volleyball court and we played that a lot too.
On Monday we went to a place they called “the farm.” While there, the guys dug footers by hand and the girls cleaned. It was hot there too. We worked until 5ish and then went to Pollo Campero which is the Guatemalan equivalent of KFC. I had a plate of chicken and fries both of which were very tasty. After that we went back to the base for the night.
Tuesday was our last day there. We went back to the farm and continued digging and the girls started tying rebar that day. That day we only worked till 4 so we could get back to the base and pack in time to leave. We left the base around 9ish and the plane left around one in the morning. We got back to our cars at Dulles somewhere around 8, ate breakfast at McDonald’s in Haymarket, and then went home.
I had never traveled on commercial planes or out of country before so the trip was an experience. It was so much fun though and it would be a blast to go back! Thanks to all the sponsors and people who went along for making it fun. Thanks to the people in Guatemala who helped arrange things and kept things running smoothly.