Día Siete

Today we took 39 children, ranging in age from 5 to 17, on a field trip to the zoo in Guatemala City. For some of the kids, it was their first time ever leaving the village, first time having pizza, and first time trying ice cream! The excitement was evident on all of their faces throughout the entire day. It was sincerely joyful to watch the children enjoy themselves in a new and exciting environment.

This is my first year joining God’s mission in Guatemala and I am so thankful for this opportunity. I have met so many amazing people and have formed relationships that will last forever. Today we took some of the children to the zoo and it is something I will never be able to forget. They were all so incredibly happy and their smiles could light up a room. So many amazing things happened today that it is hard to pick out just one thing to talk about. We enjoyed seeing a bunch of different animals, eating some Dominos pizza, and ending our zoo trip with ice cream and the giant slide! On the way home, Mayta fell asleep on me and it was just so adorable and heartwarming. To make the day even better, a bunch of us jumped into the pool fully clothed and shared quite a few laughs! Overall, this whole week has been such a blessing and has really brought me out of my comfort zone and closer to God! -Makayla Johnson (1st trip)

Nothing will ever give my heart as much joy as coming back to Guatemala! I feel so blessed that I have been able to visit Playa de Oro three times now. The kids here have so much love to give and the biggest hearts for us and each other! Today we were able to take the kids to the zoo and they were all so excited to see the animals, eat pizza and ice cream, and go down the slide! One of the kids, Alexander, spent the whole day by my side. He was so excited to see all of the animals and tell me what they were! The kids are a perfect example of having true joy in life! It was such a blessing to be able to spend this special day with the kids and know that they will never forget about it since most of them don’t get to leave the village! Their true joy was shared with us as we jumped in the pool with our clothes on to end the day with the fun we had! I am so thankful to be here for the third time to experience this beautiful country with beautiful people and I can’t wait to return! -Megan Sotebeer (3rd trip)