Guatemala

So we made it to Guatemala and left our kiddos with Pehrson's parents/my sister for 10 days! Longest we have ever left them, but we knew they were in good hands and we had an experience of a lifetime. We went down there for dental work, but had some fun adventures along the way. When we first got there a couple of us rented a car and went to the beach. It was a black sand beach and wasn't the prettiest beach I've ever seen, but the water was super warm and that's all that really matters. Pehrson and I were the only blondes there. Seriously. And we were about a foot taller, if not more, than everyone there. So needless to say, there were LOTS of stares.

We got to our beautiful hotel in Antigua and woke up the next morning and went to church. We barely found it, it blended in and we were walking the wrong way until we saw the missionaries and they directed us in the right way. I sat by this 8 day old baby. It was pretty warm outside and this poor baby was wrapped in like 4 layers, she was so sweaty. But the baby still had no name and was just the sweetest little thing. Made me want another....

Then we meet up with everyone and went zip lining. It was fun!

Then we rented some bikes and did some exploring of the city. The cobblestone made for a bumpy ride, but we had a blast riding around looking at all the cool buildings and little markets.

There is Jade all over and we even went to a Jade factory and learned about Jade. But nothing was as cute as my Jade! 

Markets. Buildings.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE PICTURE OF THE WHOLE TRIP! Pure talent.

Then we asked a lady if I could try and hold the basket on my head. You guys those things are heavy! I don't know how they do it with such ease.

We also learned how to make chocolate one night. YUM!

After 5 days in Antigua we made our way over to Lake Atitlan. One word: BEAUTIFUL! We woke up early one morning and took a boat across the lake to hike a Volcano in San Pedro. The hike was about 6 hours long and I don't think I have ever been as sore as I was after this hike. I could barely lift my legs to put my pants on the next day. I was SO sore. 

Our ride to the beginning of the hike.

Just a farmer on the side of a Volcano.

Hard workers.

And we found some awesome rope swings.

The next day we rode in a Tuk Tuk

Saw some monkeys.

And hiked up to this pretty waterfall. It was gorgeous.

It was our last day and we just explored the city and bought some souvenirs. 

We had a banquet that night and they first do a "roast" and make fun of everyone there and then one by one, each person goes around the circle and says what they like about Ayuda or the trip, etc. It's kind of like a testimony meeting. What a cool experience. I loved hearing what everyone had to say and share some thoughts of my own. We finished the night off with some dancing

I feel so lucky to have gone on this trip. It was awesome. But I sure was anxious to see my kiddos. And these chubby little feet. 

Thanks Ayuda for letting me go on this journey with you. I will cherish it forever.

The Clinic in Guatemala

So the real reason we came to Guatemala was to serve these beautiful people. I have never seen anything like it. I've wanted to do a humanitarian trip for a long time now and it was everything I expected and more. This was Pehrson's 4th international trip. He would always come home and tell me about them and I was always jealous of his experiences and wanted to see it for myself. So I finally made it happen. I learned a lot of lessons. But what I learned most was that every person wants the same thing. Even though sometimes we couldn't communicate with each other. The same things made us laugh and cry. We are all just humans on this earth getting through one day at a time. I fell in love with these cute kids and wanted to take them all home with me. 

My hair was a mystery to them, this little girl would touch my hair and then run away, then touch it again and hide until I sat down and told her that it was okay to play with it. She played for about 20 minutes...we were both loving it! She would check on me all day to make sure that the hairdo she did was still there all day. So cute!

We worked at a school in Patzicia. The weather was perfect. I was ready for some humidity but it was pretty cool throughout the whole week.

I LOVED listening to Pehrson speak Spanish.

The first day there weren't that many people but word spread that night and when we arrived on Tuesday there was a crowd of people. Some people waited in line for 2 days straight just to be seen. These dentists were working hard.

I was able to assist Pehrson a couple times. It was awesome. But 90% of the time I was sterilizing all the instruments all day. Which was great too. Anything I could do to help!

Class of 2013

Another thing I learned was that the Iphone is a popular device down there. The kids loved seeing themselves on my camera and playing silly kid games. This little girl had just gotten 4 silver crowns put on her front teeth and while she was looking at herself in my camera she noticed them and lifted up her lip and got really excited. Silver teeth are a sign of wealth in this area, so some kids really want them. A mom asked if they could put silver caps on her sons perfectly normal teeth. Crazy!

Seriously fell in love with these kiddos.

One of Pehrson's patients.

AND.....The reason their teeth were so bad. HA

We walked around the city a couple times and passed out toothbrushes and toothpaste. You would've thought we were handing out gold. Please notice the picture below of P holding up some toothpaste and all the woman reaching for it. hahaha unreal.

After a week of hard work we drove to a new city and spent the last two nights exploring and hanging out together. And when we got off the buses all these people surround you and try to sell you things. There was a little girl there with her mom and Pehrson told her that he was a dentist and she told him she had a loose tooth and he just pulled it out right there on the spot. hahaha it was pretty hilarious. Such a dentist!

It was such a wonderful experience for me to be a part of. I am so glad I got to go this year and not just hear about it. When you go to places like this you really realize how lucky you have it. I will never complain about laundry again. These woman share the same water with 10 other woman and then hang dry their clothes, fold it and put it all on top of their head while carrying babies and other things. All I have to do is separate the colors and push a button. 

It was also cool to be surrounded by the spirit of Ayuda. 60 people of all different faiths working together to serve these people who need our help.....badly! I will never forget this experience and will do another trip one day for sure. 

It was work but I had a blast.