Tuesday we took a boat across the Lake Atitlan and made our way to Nahualá to help out with their reforestation project. We got to play some soccer with a few of the scholarship students and then afterwards we started our long walk to the project site. Upon arriving, we ate lunch (hamburgers i.e. more Guatemalan food) and learned how to plant the trees. The kids were given 100 trees to plant and after lunch they got to work. Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and worked really hard. The people of the community were very appreciative of the effort. Maybe we´ll all go back in 10 years and see how it looks. That evening the kids were shown a video of Bob Hentzen and his walk. Afterwards, we took the group outside to a bonfire and had an activity where everyone wrote down one thing that they wanted to see disappear from our world and they burned that in the fire. Then they replaced it with something positive by lighting a candle.
Wednesday was a tough work day for everyone. We walked down to Lake Atitlan which is still very much contaminated. At the lake a community leader showed us how they are cleaning the lake. Essentially, the algae that has formed carries bacteria that is damaging the lake so the idea is to simply get it out. And that´s what we did. Many got sunburned and were exhausted by the end of the day. Luckily we got some ice cream in the afternoon and got to ride the cattle truck back up to the center. That evening was our soccer tournament. We invited staff from other projects to come and play and the kids really had a good time playing late into the night.
Thurday we took the group to a subproject in Mazate where they were greeted with a grand reception including flower pedals, singing and dancing. At the end of the presentation, the little sponsored children came up and gave everyone hugs. In the afternoon, we went to an amusement park called Xetulul where the kids got to go on rides, eat lunch, bumper cars, and we even saw a magic show. Later back at the center the team had prepared an obstacle course for the jovenes which included egg balancing, mummies, marshmellows, sack races, and a scavenger hunt. We followed that up with dancing and, of course, more soccer.
Friday was a special day because we had the opportunity to visit the home of a sponsored family. The kids were able to see and hear the struggles of a single mother with her 8 children and how CFCA is helping. It was very emotional and moving for many of them. After the visit, we went to Antigua and everyone was free to go shopping and eat lunch. That night we headed back to the capital and ate dinner at the Conquistador hotel. We wrapped up the week with a sharing circle where everyone could talk about what they experienced and how they can bring what they have learned back with them to KC.
Saturday morning we drove the St. James group to the airport at 4:30AM and said our last goodbyes. It was a wonderful trip and I was really glad I got to be a part of it. Thanks to all the wonderful people I met from St. James and good luck the rest of the school year!
Here you can find links to more CFCA pictures from the week
...and here too!
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