La Finca La Loma and Holy Week in Antigua
6. April 2015 Coming back from free travel was both exciting and an adjustment for our group. After spending one week in small groups away from each other, it was a bit of a transition to come together as one big group again, however, we were all very happy to see each other. We all....
Pig Brains & Fried Plantains
11 March 2015 Pig Brains & Fried Plantains 1// Roaming through the crypts, so ominous, so overbearing, we are greeted by the thickening of the dead. Trees tower above, providing shelter from the sun. Their leaves cast soft patterns against the crypts. I smell something fragrant. Broken glass from a crypt reveals the scent: bouquets....
Sun, Stars, Beauty and Silence in Petén
2 March 2015 This past week, most of the group’s attention was on our Thursday midterm exams. Everyone was very relieved when they were over. We also had a birthday to celebrate, which helped lift moods. The leaders even got a piñata, pizza and cake. Everyone spent the night at CASAS because we were leaving....
A Powerful Complexity
17 February 2015 From the images of the suffering Christ visible on the walls of ancient cathedrals, to the presence of wooden crosses hanging above front doors, it is evident that religion is a large part of culture here in Guatemala. This past week, the visits and discussions have centered around religious expression present throughout....
Learning to Receive
11 February 2015 After another week in Guatemala, we are all adjusting more to Spanish classes, host families, and the culture here, and it seems our bodies are finally adjusting more to the food – praise the Lord. One of the many great aspects of this trip is the opportunity to spend 2 months becoming....
New learning in Guatemala
2 February 2015 Throughout the big transition from the U.S./Mexico border to Guatemala, we experienced many different emotions. Coming off of such a full and difficult two weeks, we felt we had seen so much but hadn´t done anything about it to help. One evening we talked to a Christian border patrol agent, who challenged....
Exploring immigration on the border lands
20 January 2015 Our group arrived in Tucson, Arizona on January 8th shortly after midnight, and we spent several days in a hotel there while beginning our study of immigration issues at the US/Mexico border. Our first activity on the morning of the 8th was crossing the border to visit El Comedor (a soup kitchen....