Guatemala - Part 1, The Country

Well, I made it home safely!  May was a tricky month for me.  I was getting ready to go to Guatemala, but that is the last place where I wanted to be.  Maybe it was some spiritual warfare (I felt very much like I did while in India), maybe it was some "Mommy not wanting to leave her children."  I believe it was a little of both.  However, after much praying from friends and family, and me letting God know that I was going to follow His calling in spite of my fears, I, along with my eldest daughter, and 12 friends from our church, set off for Guatemala with Compassion International!  I have been home a week and I am still processing our trip.  I think I can express it more clearly if I break it up into sections, so here goes Part 1, The Country!

I could not adequately describe the beauty of the country we saw while traveling through Guatemala.  My pictures hopefully capture just a glimpse.  It is a country of 39 volcanoes, most of those still active!  We even saw one belching smoke...it was fabulous!  The country was lush and green, and everywhere (and I mean everywhere...hillsides, the shoulder of the road, etc.) we saw the people growing corn and sugar cane.  The variety and amount of greenery was overwhelming.  The best reference I can give is that I felt like we had just been planted right down in the middle of the set for Jurassic Park...minus the dinosaurs!  We did not even see the coast, or the famous lakes, but still I was overwhelmed by the beauty of God's creation.  The beauty of this fallen creation, created in 7 days.  I cannot imagine what Heaven will be like since He has been working on it for 2000 years!

We were there at the start of Guatemala's winter and their rainy season.  I expected to be drenched every day.  However, before we left, a friend of mine prayed for me and our team.  She prayed that the Lord would cover us with a canopy of protection while we were there.  And He did!  Physically and spiritually, we were sheltered from the storm.  Each day it would rain maybe in the morning while we were at breakfast or in the evening while we slept.  During some of the afternoons it would literally begin to pour when we would go inside for lunch and then as we began to clean up our dishes, it would stop!  I never even took my poncho out of its case the entire week!  God also protected us physically and spiritually in miraculous ways that I will never forget!  I am so grateful to Him for that canopy and for those of you who prayed for us while we were away from home in beautiful Guatemala!