Gearing up for Holy Week!

Here in Guatemala Semana Santa- Holy Week is a HUGE holiday. It's even bigger than Christmas. Most people (Guatemalans and foreigners alike) have off the entire week and use the time to travel, visit family, etc. Hordes of people go to the town of Antigua because it is famous for its processions and alfombras- carpets made on the street of flowers, plants, and colored saw dust. They are absolutely beautiful! Dan and I are hoping to go see some later this week. I think it's worth facing the crowds because they are truly beautiful.

An alfombra illustrating Mayan culture

Word on the street is that many people come to Pana since it is a popular vacation spot. I hear it's like a week long party so I am bracing myself for loads of drunk people on the streets. Kind of sad since it's suppossed to be a week reflecting on Jesus' sacrifice, but at least it's good business for the restaurants and all the street vendors.

This week will probably be crazy for us at Mayan Families. We are handing out over 500 Easter baskets to our clients which have been donated by various donors. This will be my first time distributing baskets (they also give Christmas and Mother's Day baskets), but I hear it is CRAZY! Please pray that things go smoothly and safely.

The past two weeks I have spent a lot of time outside of the office working with groups of short-term volunteers (usually a week or two). First, it was a group of high school students from St. Louis. Last week it was a group of adults from a church in Southern Indiana. Although being with groups can be exhausting (translating, answering 2 million questions, coordinating transportation), I truly enjoy helping them learn about Guatemala and being a type of bridge- connecting them and the local people. I participated in building some fuel efficient stoves with the first group. The group from Indiana visited some of Mayan Families' pre-schools and sang songs with the kids. All of the pre-school students are adorable! Also, they visited our Elderly Feeding Program. Here are some pics below. Also, I am working on creating a separate site that will be exclusively for sharing our photos with family and friends. Stay tuned!

Happy Semana Santa! May you find time to reflect on this special season and on Jesus' ultimate sacrifice- He died so that we may live. Amen.

Erika- one of our sponsored students & one of my favorites :)

The St. Louis group brought coloring books for all of the kids.

What a cutie!

Singing a song with kids in our San Jorge Pre-school

The little boy in front is named Mariceo & is so cuddly.
He's adorable!

One of the elderly women in our feeding program.
This is Doña Gregoria.

Waiting to sing some songs w/ the gringos. 

Pure joy 

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