Goodbye Guatemala!

Wow! We are coming home already! It's crazy to think how fast these ten days have flown by. Today we went on a morning tour of Antigua and re-visited some of the sites that we saw previously in the dark. We visited the oldest Cathedral in Guatemala, which was beautiful and breathtaking. The Spanish architecture was unique and as we toured the Cathedral, many of the girls talked about how perfect it would be to hold a wedding there. Although some walls and most of the outside were broken down due to earthquakes, what was left of the building was still amazing. We all took a lot of pictures. Underneath the Cathedral were chambers where bodies were previously buried, which we toured as well. Next, we toured the convent, which was very massive and Less explained the life of a nun in early Antigua. We also walked into the storage cellar inside the convent which is a dome shape with a pillar in the very center. The acoustics inside the cellar were astounding and we all joined in worship. The sounds echoed off the walls and made our class sound like several choirs singing in harmony with each other.

Once our tour was over, we were all given about two hours of free time to shop at a marketplace with the rest of our consol money. Most spent all of their money, and bardered well. There were still some people who were tricked into paying double the price of what an item was worth, but for the most part everyone had the "knack for bardering". Everyone was amazed at how cheap everything was and how far an America dollar was worth in Guatemala. Others felt guilty for bardering because we all see how these people live inside their homes. The hot item that everyone brought back from the market were the Guatemalan ponchos. Many of the girls also purchased coffee-bean bags made from hemp material. The shopping frenzy pushed most of us back into our old consumerist attitude. After shopping, Less Peters made it clear at how quick we are to go back to our old ways, and how easy it is to forget about the changes we have made in Guatemala.

The last de-brief was very powerful. It seemed like God was making his last tug on people's hearts before we traveled back home. Many team members re-committed their lives to Christ, proclaimed him as their Lord and Savior or shared personal aspects of their lives that they needed to change. Tears flowed even heavier after the de-brief as everyone broke off into groups and prayed together. The prayer was only supposed to last about 20 minutes, but people just kept flocking to each other and praying for different things. Eventually, it got really late and Mr. Werth had to push everyone to head to bed. Hopefully, this last de-brief made a clear impression on everyone's heart that will last in Canada. We are all very nervous about heading back home. This trip has been so powerful and all of us are worried that our fires for God will burn out once we return to life in Canada. Please continue to pray for our team when we arrive back in Calgary. Changing was the easy part, making all our changes permanent will be a true test of our faith. Thank you for your support and your commitment to reading these blogs. It has been a pleasure to document our days for you all. God Bless!

Karlynn