Friday i went to an orphanage for the first time. Before we left i wasn’t excited. On the way there i wasn’t excited. While we were waiting for the kids to come play i wasn’t excited. i was tired and impatient and not in the mood for cranky kids to crawl all over me. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t work according to the mood of a tired, nineteen year old missionary (you should all be thankful for that, really). We were sitting outside, waiting, my team talking and laughing and making jokes as always. Questions such as “Why did we just come to wait around?” and “If...

We made it to Guatemala!  Exhausted but so happy to have made it! Karin at the Honduras/Guatemala border.   We can’t wait to share more!

If you know me I’m sure you wondering why it took until my third post to talk about food. But I’m here now and that’s all that matters. We’ve been in Guatemala now for three weeks and had too many food adventures to recount. I will tell about some of the highlights of the trip so far. We cook for ourselves which has been interesting but really rewarding. In order to do this we shop at the outdoor market for fruits, veggies, meats, and eggs and in the supermarket for the rest. The market is an amazing maze of colors and smells. As we run through the narrow spaces in between...

When I was told that I would be working at an orphanage for the next two weeks, I was stoked. Yes, I love working with kids! I thought. We'll get to run around and  play games and just be crazy! However, when told it was an orphanage that houses people with cerebral palsy, my whole attitude changed. I transitioned from being excited to nervous; confident to unsure; comfortable to uncomfortable. When we got to the orphanage, a few of my teammates jumped in: hugging, kissing, patting heads, and talking to these kids. I was overwhelmed. How were they all so confident? How did they know...

Before this trip, I thought I knew what community meant. I mean, I lived at college for 3 years. But let me tell you – living in a house with 19 people and 2 bathrooms 24/7 for 2 months is a completely different story than sharing a room with one or two other people.   Community is messy. It’s overwhelming.  But I’ve learned to love it.   Community is using the toilet while someone is showering and someone is brushing their teeth and someone is fixing their hair. Having 25 bottles in the shower. 2 lines and a table full of everyone’s laundry, drying....

Hello Everyone! Team Guatemala is safe and sound in the beautiful city of Guatemala! Our amazing contact Luis picked us up from the airport and has been showing us around our new home. We've been spending the afternoon settling in and getting to know out surroundings. We will soon be posting more blogs about our time here. 🙂 – Team Guatemala Leaders Roni and Mark 🙂