by Jolene Holzhaur
Well, we are here and accounted for! The flight was really smooth. There was hardly any turbulence, and for the most part it was peaceful. Some of us slept most of the way, and some were too excited to wind down. We met with our team leader Diana at the airport, and Willy our friend from the Castellanos Family drove us into Antigua, where we exchanged money and bought postcards to send home.
When we arrived at the school, we met with Jeff Sprecher, the team leader for Mission Impact. We were welcomed with fresh bread from Dona Luisa’s Bakery in Antigua, fresh Guatemalan Coffee (which I couldn’t enjoy since it’s caffeinated L) and fresh liquados, which if you can imagine a smoothie with cantaloupe, that’s what it would be. After a hot shower and a short nap, we had potato soup for lunch and yes, more bread. Ahh…lovin’ them carbs!
We went for a walk around Santa Maria to acquaint the rest of the team with this small, curious village. Our tour guide is Margarito (Lito for short), and he shared with us his testimony and the cultural norms we can expect to encounter while we are here. It is so wonderful to be surrounded by the gorgeous textures, smells and smiles of the people here again.
We are exhausted, but excited to be here to take on the challenges ahead of us. There will be lots to do over the next few days with building the water cistern for a coffee farming family, painting and other construction around the girls school, and the activities planned with the girls who attend here and the mothers who come for a weekly Bible study. All of us wanted to let all of you that we are doing well, and we are looking forward to sharing with you the rest of our journey through this blog.
Blessings to all of you at home, and continue to pray for our safety and health as we are on this adventure!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Here At Last!
They Have Arrived!
We just heard from the team and they have arrived safely (but a little tired) in Santa Maria de Jesus. They will rest for a few hours before they start their day. Look forward to their first post sometime tonight.
Blessings,
The Ministry Office
Sunday, June 28, 2009
And They're Off...
The GO Guatemala 2009 Team left CBC for LAX at 9:55 P.M. tonight. Their flight leaves L.A. at 1:45 A.M. and they will arrive in Guatemala around 8 A.M. As soon as we hear from them we will let you know! Check back on Monday night for their first team post!
Remember to keep them all in prayer.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
GO Guatemala 2009 Team
From top left to right: Joey Nigg, Daniel Pryde, Jon Nigg, Courtney Sibell, Elsa Johnson, Katie Hade, Megan Johnson, Sarah Calderon, Jamie Curtis and Jolene Holzhauer.
This will be CBC's (http://www.visitcbc.com/) 3rd mission trip to Guatemala as a part of our annual GO Campaign. We're all excitedly preparing to leave again in just 9 short days! It's amazing how quickly the last 5 months of planning have gone!
While in Guatemala, we're staying at Proximos Pasos, which is a girl's school in the small village/town of Santa Maria de Jesus. We will be serving alongside of the Mission Impact team (http://www.missionimpact.com/). Just to give you an idea of what we'll be doing while we're gone...
We will be:
- building a water cistern for a group of local coffee farmers, which will take about 7 days to complete
- leading a mom's group for about 70 women which will include a Bible study, craft, game, and coffee/bread snack time
- leading a youth service for about 100 girls that attend Proximos Pasos
- and many small construction projects at Proximos Pasos
The team will be busy! Please keep us in prayer as we continue to prepare for our trip. Also, be praying for safety as we travel June 28th- July 9th.
Check back for daily updates from the team starting June 29th.Guatemala 2008
We thought we would post some pictures from last year's mission trip to give you an idea of what is to come...enjoy.
