Hello fellow family and friends!

We hope you’re cold because we aren’t! Today, we went to the school for the first time, Colegio Cristiano Avivando el Fuego (CCAF) which means “Fanning the Flame Christian School”. One thing we are not used to are the treacherous climbs that we faced today at 7:00 in the morning. (#legday). Meeting the kids was an eye-opening experience for all of us. It was amazing to see the kids worship and interact with us despite the language barrier. They were so lovable, always wanting to give us hugs and play with us.

Next, they took us on a tour of the school and told us the history of how the school first began. The school itself is mostly sponsored by Canadian funds, and have an amazing pastor leading them with two main goals: unity and provision. We got to learn about the kids education and their spiritual walk with the Lord. The school itself just finished adding high school education and they took us on the roof (soon to be floor of the second level) to see the mountains.

Next, we took a tour of the town, El Tizate, and learned about its culture and history. We also got to meet our host moms, who graciously provide us lunch throughout the week. Today, we all went in groups to separate host moms and enjoyed a Guatemalan meal.

After lunch, we planned VBS crafts, games, music and skits for the program next week with the local kids as well as the school kids. After preparing for these, we met up with the Director of Children’s Ministries at a local church we are teaming up with for the VBS, to propose our ideas. We learned that here at this church in Guatemala, prayer is said simultaneously and spoken aloud. We did this as a team and experienced a lot of Guatemalan culture today.

Overall, we have been having lots of fun together and experiencing things we’re not used to back home. We are tired, but we trust that God will bring us health and happiness, as well as strength for the coming days. Thanks for all your prayers and support, please keep reading our blog.

P.S. – the guard dogs at the school had puppies and we are obsessed. With love, Rachel, Emma and Leah J