Travel Day
May 6
The day started early with the alarm clock going off at 3:00 am. Ugh. After a quick shower and breakfast, I finished the last bit of packing, and we were out the door by 4:00 for a 4:30 am meetup at the airport.
It was smooth sailing getting through the check-in process and through security. We had about an hour and a half wait, and a small group of the team hung out together getting to know each other a bit better. The first leg of the journey was from Cincinnati to Atlanta, and the second was from Atlanta to Guatemala City. The flights were smooth with no issues.
Once at the airport in Guatemala City, we grabbed our bags and went outside the terminal to wait for the shuttle vans to pick us up. There were lots of vendors selling crafts, hats, etc., but they were not pushy at all. Some of them would approach us, but a simple “No, gracious” (no thanks) would suffice for them to move on.
It was smooth sailing getting through the check-in process and through security. We had about an hour and a half wait, and a small group of the team hung out together getting to know each other a bit better. The first leg of the journey was from Cincinnati to Atlanta, and the second was from Atlanta to Guatemala City. The flights were smooth with no issues.
Once at the airport in Guatemala City, we grabbed our bags and went outside the terminal to wait for the shuttle vans to pick us up. There were lots of vendors selling crafts, hats, etc., but they were not pushy at all. Some of them would approach us, but a simple “No, gracious” (no thanks) would suffice for them to move on.
Many of the women who were selling things wore traditional clothing, characterized by very colorful fabrics and intricate bead work. It was neat to see the traditional clothing style.
From Guatemala City we had about a 2-hour drive to get to Antigua, which is where we would be staying for the first part of the week. It took us about an hour just to get out of Guatemala City. The city is a sprawling city. It is a bustling city, but one marked by a lot of poverty. One of the interesting cultural aspects of the city that I noticed was the political advertisements. The country is in a presidential election cycle, and posters for the various candidates were everywhere.
From Guatemala City we had about a 2-hour drive to get to Antigua, which is where we would be staying for the first part of the week. It took us about an hour just to get out of Guatemala City. The city is a sprawling city. It is a bustling city, but one marked by a lot of poverty. One of the interesting cultural aspects of the city that I noticed was the political advertisements. The country is in a presidential election cycle, and posters for the various candidates were everywhere.
For the second half of the journey to Antigua, the surroundings changed to agricultural and natural environments. Views of the surrounding mountains started to loom around us.
The hotel we were staying at was very nice. It was far fancier than what I was expecting. I definitely enjoyed the hotel, but it did feel a bit incongruous for us to be staying there while on a mission trip to serve the poor. Later, while I was talking to one of the organizers, I learned that it was tough to find a hotel in the area that was big enough to handle the size of the group, and that for future trips, they will probably be looking for another hotel.
The hotel we were staying at was very nice. It was far fancier than what I was expecting. I definitely enjoyed the hotel, but it did feel a bit incongruous for us to be staying there while on a mission trip to serve the poor. Later, while I was talking to one of the organizers, I learned that it was tough to find a hotel in the area that was big enough to handle the size of the group, and that for future trips, they will probably be looking for another hotel.
On Thursday night before leaving, I was looking at Google Maps at the map of Guatemala, and I saw an icon on the map near Antigua that said “Caution – volcanic activity”. As it turns out, there is an active volcano about 10 miles west of Antigua that was currently erupting. The ash plume was blowing west of the mountain, so it wasn’t impacting us, but it was something that I was keeping my eyes on. The volcano is visible from Antigua, but by the time we arrived Saturday afternoon, it was no longer erupting.
Before any trip, I always check the weather conditions for my destination. For every trip, I keep an eye on the temperatures and precipitation. I have also had to keep an eye on hurricane, forest fire, and flooding status. This is the first time that I had to keep an eye on volcano status.
Late in the afternoon, we were able to meet Joe Berninger, the founder of the organization we were partnering with, along with some of the staff. The organization is Cooperative for Education (CoEd), and their tagline is “Breaking the cycle of poverty through education”. Joe gave a short presentation to explain to us how the organization is trying to make a difference.
CoEd uses 4 programs to achieve its goal. The first program is called Spark and focuses on literacy. In this program, CoEd provides reading books to the schools they partner with, along with training and support for the teachers on how to teach literacy. The second program is computers. CoEd works with schools to set up computer centers within the schools so students can learn technical skills. The third program provides textbooks to schools so that students can use them. The last program is called Rise. This program is a scholarship program to support 7th through 12th grade students. The government provides free education up through 6th grade and many students drop out of school at that point. This program helps students who otherwise can’t afford to continue their education to stay in school. In addition to covering the tuition costs over the 6 years, the Rise program provides opportunities for youth and leadership development as well as social support.
For dinner, we walked into town and ate at a local restaurant, getting a taste of local cuisine.
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY
God had blessed us throughout the day with safe travels. I enjoyed seeing how this group of strangers, over the course of the day, was beginning to get to know each other and starting to build connections.