Day 1

As we landed in Guatemala I stepped onto something besides US soil for the first time. There is definitely a different smell as the air is earthy and a bit smoggy as there isn't much in the ways of pollution control here. Yet the greatest discovery is the temperature. It is so cool with a nice breeze blowing making it very comfortable with a lot less humidity than Houston. After getting off the plane we are waiting in line when one of the members of our group realized that she left her passport on the plane. After running to tell Catha I ran back to the plane and saw a flight attendant who wouldn't let me back on the plane but graciously went back and searched for us and found it. Disaster avoided and no one had to be deported. I was the last one through customs as I had lost my spot in line and got my first passport stamp. As I went through the gate someone had graciously grabbed my luggage so it was time to catch our bus... and I stepped out into one of the craziest scenes I have ever imagined as hundreds of people are pressed all together looking for loved ones, clients, and work. We couldn't take 3 steps without being asked if we would like help with our luggage. One thing I have learned about the Latin American Culture which I totally respect is that there is no such thing as a bum. Either you work or you starve, the only thing that gets me is that they travel in packs. I wonder how much success the last guy in line has after people have already said "no" 14 times to the 14 guys in front of him. So we start throwing all of our luggage on board and on the roof in a double time fashion and then cram into our bus for the crazy taxi routine as we are haphazardly driven through town to our hotel, the Marriott!Pulling up to this place after our direct shot flight on Continental and walking into the lobby where all the ceilings are done in gold leaf brought me to understand what "Suffering for Jesus" truly meant. WOW! This place was amazing, and one of the nicest hotels I have stayed at. After checking into our rooms some of us met up for our first excursion into the city for lunch. We were looking for something authentic and wondered around a little bit looking for something that was good and affordable. We finally ended up at a place called Cebollita's, which is Little Onion for all you gringos ;) It is hear that the fact that I am in a foreign country really sets in as I start looking at the menu and realize this isn't anything like Spanish class. Fortunately Victoria Salgado is with us to help with what we don't understand, which is pretty much everything. We start with drink orders, now let me explain what the mission manual we received states. Don't drink the water or use the ice in order to avoid a case of Montezuma's Revenge. Well that isn't exactly what it said, but you get the gist. Ok so back to ordering drinks Victoria orders a local drink specialty called Passion Tea I think and Stephen gets the same. I along with the others though opt on the side of the manual and get Agua Refresca. Well when our drinks came out what a surprise; they brought us Club Soda, hot Club Soda at that and since we didn't trust the ice we had to suffer. I ordered a plato tipico which had a tamale, sausage, and something that looked like a chalupa with pork and beets (which I didn't eat). To be honest not one of the greater dining experiences of my life, more to do with what I ordered instead of where I was eating. We did have a great view though of a nice patio with a beautiful fountain that let the cool breeze blow into the restaurant. It was then time to pay and get back to the Hotel for some orientation stuff. The bill came in Quetzales (Keht-zahl-es) which are worth about 1/7th of a US dollar. So after the initial shock of a $65 tab we went back and learned a little about what we were going to be doing for the week. As a way to get acquainted with the city we hopped on the bus and went to a local park and just walked up to people and started talking. This is not my strong area, but I tagged along with Dena and we started talking to a woman who was watching one of the numerous soccer matches that were going on. We learned that she was attending an iglesia de Testigo de Jehova to which we translated to Witness of Jehovah. After some encouraging words we parted ways as she went home with her family. It wasn't until later that it dawned on us that she was a Jehovah's Witness. The reality that Christians aren't the only ones sending out missionaries dawned on us and as we shared stories with the others we found many "religious orders" were at work in Guatemala. The park was closing so we got back on the bus and headed to a local mall for dinner and some more opportunities to meet people. I went to the taco inn and had quesadillas which were made from pork that was cut right off of a leg rotating in front of an open flame and goat cheese. Fortunately they nuked it in the mircrowave so I felt better about the meat being at a safe temperature. Afterwards we walked around and just observed people and continued to get to know one another. After an hour of this we met back in the food court before it was time to get back on the bus. We were all talking and being ourselves and then we left. Once on the bus we did something that would become a common practice: a head count. We were two people short! Joel and I jumped off the bus and started running to find our missing girls. Fortunately they were coming out at the exact same time. It was very unfortunate to hear what they had to say. They had missed us meeting but knew to come to the bus because the security guard had told them that the Americans had left. Yes being that the majority of us are non-hispanic makes us stick out in crowd, but I think our behavior is what really made us stand out. Our group of 45 people was making more noise than the whole food court. It would have been nice if instead the guard would have said that the Christians have already left. After getting back to the hotel some of us met for something that would become a nightly thing of group prayer. I really made some good friends there and it was nice to lift up the concerns, joys, and triumphs of our trip each night. I almost forgot about something that happened to me. I had a spider bite on the back of my knee. It wasn't looking good and being in a foreign country wasn't a huge boost of confidence. Yet I asked for healing that this might not hinder me from working in the mission field and am happy to say that the very next day the swelling started to recede and the poison runner had stopped progressing. Afterwards I went to bed as I was exhausted after a long first day.