Day 9 from Marie

Howdy!
Today we had the wonderful opportunity of traveling across the lake (on a massive boat) to a cute little indigenous village. As soon as we staggered onto the shore, several children and women began filling our faces with beautiful jewelry, wood carvings, and colorful bags. This is when I began the daunting task of bargaining. The streets were full of cheery Guatemalans showing off their impressive work.
On our way back to the hotel our boat Captain showed us a cozy little lagoon. Almost everyone jumped from the second level into the cool and cleansing water. Kelly was a stud muffin and jumped from the top about ten times! The lagoon did bring about some challenges (aka trying to get 20, very close to one another, while treading water- in order to take a picture.) J
One adventure led to another, and soon 18 of us found ourselves zipping through the luscious forest. Zip lining in Guatemala is nothing like you’ve done before. We began the journey by climbing 700ft in about one mile. Once we reached the top, we had eight zip line rides down. We had amazing views of the lake, volcanoes, waterfalls, and monkeys! Elliot and Rosby were the champs.
Then after dinner tonight, I had one of the most memorable moments of my life. Steve led us in devotionals. In the beginning of the trip Steve gave everyone a little card that had a fruit of the spirit. We were assigned to keep an eye out for a team member and a Guatemalan that embodied the values. After everyone shared, Steve led us through a very different way of taking communion. Instead of one person simply handing it to everyone else, we gave communion to each other. As we felt called, we would give communion and pray for our friends. God’s presence filled the room as smiles, tears, and laughs were shared. I will never forget this experience of sharing communion with one another, and becoming brothers and sisters in Christ.
P.S. Clarita is the best roommate EVER!!! =)