Here At Last!

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!