Volcan Pacaya - Before Erruption

So in February Amber and I climbed Pacaya with the adult tour. It was neat because we got to go all the way to the very top and look into the crater which was smoking. It is an active volcano. I have a picture of the smoking crater which you had to be careful not to breath it in as it is sulfurous gas. In my next entry you can see the volcano after it errupted just a week or two ago. The lava is still hot. It was really neat. We couldn't climb to the top because it was to dangerous, but we did get to go pretty hi.

Volcan Pacaya - After Erruption

Well, John and I were the only ones brave enough from Global Shores to climb Volcan Pacaya with the Meeting Place this past Sunday. I had climbed it before and really wasn't that pumped cuz I didn't think it was the most beautiful volcano since the top was covered with volcanic rock and ash. Anyways, I was super happy I did climb because it had errupted a short while ago and now we could see the lava which was actually covering the path we normally would take up the volcano. It was sooooo cool. A lot of the lava was already cool, but a lot of it wasn't. I even saw the lava flow. It was super neat. People were burning stuff on it and starting fires etc. It was crazy. I'm so glad I went! Here are the lava pics.

Dump Pics

Here are the dump pics

The Dump

We took the Meeting Place to the Guatemala Dump where 15000 people live and work, 8000 of those being children. We hooked up with a Christian organization called Libre Infancia which is trying to help the people come out of the dump through day care and education at young ages. They currently have 50 children in their daycare and 60 in their elementary school. They provide breakfast, lunch, clothing, health aid, education and Christian education. They also provide food to the children's families. They are trying to change the mentality of the peopel that even though they are born into the dump, live in the dump, eat from the dump and work in the dump, they are not garbage. People working in the dump collecting plastic, metal etc. make on average about 7Q/day which is about one dollar. They have to feed families of 3-8 with this few Q. People actually have to fight the vultures for their food which they find in the dump. There are tons and tons of vultures. As you can see Jenni got pooped on and we were looking from the cemetery which is right beside the dump. Women work with their children all day collecting garbage and looking for food. If a mother cannot find food at the end of they day she might drug her child with glue or another substance so that they pass out and no longer feel the hunger pains. Another way for mothers to obtain a few Q is by prostitution. They may sell themselves for a measley 4Q just to buy a little bit of food to feed their kids. Violence, drugs, rape, and prostitution fill the dump. It is really so very sad. I felt totally helpless watching it all from afar. There is a higherarchy which permits certain people to be the first to search through the loads of garbage just out of the truck. People crowd around trying to find stuff first. You can check out my pics. I know they won't do justice to what it's really like, but at least you can get an idea.

Semuc Champey & El Salvador

Well, the weekend before the Meeting Place, (which is the youth group from Winnipeg that Amber and I are in charge of here in Guatemala)arrived, our whole group went to Semuc Champey which is a gloriously beautiful area 9 hours away with a river with rapids that turn into wonderful pools of water with little waterfalls leading from one to the next. We were able to swim in the crystal clear blue water and also explore a cave with candles which was really cool. We walked underneath a waterfall in this cave and then jumped back into the rushing water. The day after the 9 hour drive home Amber, Julianna, Jacobo and I went to El Salvador to try to renew our visas, but had no luck as now you can only do it in Guatemala city at an office, or you have to leave the country through Mexico or Belize. It was a long all for nothing trip which I really didn't need on my plate at that time, but at least we got papusas. These are a tortilla like food with cheese and beans inside. Then you top it with cabbage and salsa. They were pretty good. Anyways, the next day the Meeting Place arrived, so I was super busy on Tuesday preparing everything for their arrival that evening. Then the next day Wednesday I was burnt out. I had no energy whatsoever. I'm back to my normal self now :)

Amazing gRACE

Us girls had organized a Guy Appreciation Day, which entailed planning a surprise 'Amazing gRACE' all over Antigua for the guys one afternoon followed by a nice dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Anyways, it was a lot of planning, but a lot of fun. Here are a couple pictures of Greg and Kris doing whatever they had to to make 20Q so they could continue in the race, they not only salsa danced together, they also got into the mermaid fountain in the town centre! The dinner after was beautiful and we collectively made each of the guys an encouragement letter which we read out to them and gave them to keep. It was an AMAZING day!

Photos

Hey guys,

Well, here are a bunch of photos from the past 2 months in Tizate. There are some of our English class, we had our graduation and there's a pic of one of my closests amigas here in Tizate, Brenda. She's very special to me and like my lil' sis. Anyways, there is also a pic of our group and our free weekend at the beach in Monterrico. There is also a picture of us learning to dance salsa, it was a ton of fun! Cya!

Santiago - Indigenous Village

So while Amber and I were testing out tours and whatnot to take The Meeting Place to we went on a super neat indigenous tour to Santiago. The women there have just recently learned Spanish and are breaking the traditions of women not having jobs, education or speaking spanish. They are having tours into their town where they explain what they do and how they use the money they make to provide books and materials for the children of their village to use in school. They also showed us how to weave, make straw mats and fans, to grind coffee and to make tortillas. Then they served us Pepian with our tortillas and coffee. It wasn't nearly as good as Marianas Pepian, but alright none the less. Here are some pics!

April

Earthquake, Jessica & TMP

Hey guys,

Well, this past nite I was awoken by an earthquake. It was crazy cool and lasted quite a long time. I was moving in my bed.

Update on Jessica...Her mother had a baby boy just 4 days ago and he is a little cutie. Also, they told us that they would be getting their daughter back in about 2 weeks! Great news! I'm not exactly sure what all went on there with that, but I'm happy for them. Thanks for your prayers.

The Meeting Place has arrived and Amber and I are having a wonderful time with them. We had to do a ton of planning which was a little stressful, but now that they are here things are running really well and they are an excellent bunch. No complaints about all the hardwork they are doing, like carrying block up hills etc. I am very impressed.

Hopefully I won't take so long with my next blog update, I'm sorry about the pictures, I've been having issues posting them.