Spring Break

For our spring break Erica, Marieka, Arianna and I headed to Guatemala. Arianna has family there, so we went to visit them as well as "experience" Guatemala. It was quite an adventure to say the least. By the end of the trip we all agreed that God was probably using this trip to show us just how wonderful Belize is and how grateful we should be to live there. Belize doesn't smell like sewage and there aren't men walking around with machine guns everywhere. I think we were all ready to kiss the ground when we crossed the border back into Belize at the end of the week. :)

This picture was taken on the way to Tikal- Myan ruins about 1 1/2 hours from where we were staying. I wish I had a picture of the bus we took the day before from the border of Guatemala to Sainta Elaina. It was a 15 passenger van, yet there were 22 of us inside. Let's just say that you got to know the person sitting next to you quite well.

This is all four of us at Tikal. The ruin site is over 4km in size. It was amazing to see. We hired a guide who walked around with us for four hours telling us everything imaginable about these ruins. We climbed a whole lot of steps that day.

This is at Arianna's family's house. Erica, Marieka and I slept in that bed that you see right behind Erica. It was quite cozy. God totally used the living situation at this family's house to show us how much we take forgranted. This 8 person family lives in a house with just three double beds. They have running water only at night. The mother cooks in a kitchen with no electricity on a two burner coleman like stove. It takes all day to wash the clothes by hand in the outdoor sink. Yet, this house is filled with joy and love, despite the circumstances.

This is the family's kitchen. I was working on rolling out the dough for patties- they make for a great, nutritious deep fried breakfast.

We had lettuce eating contests.... I think the picture explains it all.

So while we were very ready to get back to Belize, we did have a fun time in Guatemala. We were shown extreme hospitality by Arianna's family and shown genuine love. It wasn't the vacation we were expecting, but God showed us that we make the plans by He directs our paths!