The day started with some “excitement” some time last night one of the high school kids hit a water pump or line with the basketball when they were playing so we woke up to no water in our bathrooms, unable to flush the toilets or use the sinks. Luckily it was an easy fix and by 6:30am the water was back to normal.

We went to Mass at 7am – the Gospel for today is so fitting for the work we are doing. It is part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount and today talked about being salt for the earth and a light for the world. Father challenged us that as we went into our day serving the people that we would keep this in mind that we are called to bear witness to Christ in all that we do.

Before breakfast there was a woman at the convent who had some of her homemade goods available for sale. She makes custom bracelets, does hair wraps, makes necklaces, headbands, and more! She is so quick, we were all amazed at how she made a custom bracelet with a name on it in about 4 minutes and was able to put a hair wrap in the girl’s hair in about 3 minutes.

Breakfast was at 8am and we had ham omelets, chocolate pancakes, cereal, beans and tortillas. After breakfast we left the convent and went back to the locations of the tiny homes to finish those off. There wasn’t much left to do, we built the door and a window and got those secured. Emiliana, the woman who we built the home for was so excited to have this place for and her two children. She gave all of us hugs and just kept saying “Thank you, may God bless you.” On the way back to the bus we stopped and a few girls bought mangos and papayas. We also stopped for ice cream.

While we were waiting for all of the groups to finish and get back to the bus there were two ladies making tortillas at a shop next to the bus. I asked them if I could take a video of them making the tortillas to show my mom, they said yes (here you go mom!) – they were so efficient, it was mesmerizing to watch their work flow.

Lunch was amazing! It was a traditional Guatemalan dish called Pepian, it is like a chicken stew. It was absolutely delicious! It was served with rice and vegetables (carrots, green beans and potatoes).

After lunch we divided up again and did visits to the sick and elderly. Our interpreter today was Chipeto and our minister was one of the Carmelite Sisters, Sister María José. We visited one family where the father (only 39 years old) was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer, another family where the father (Jorge, 42 years old) has peripheral neuropathy and cannot work due to the numbness and weakness in his legs. It was heartbreaking to hear their stories and how desperately they want to be able to provide for their families but are unable to do so. At the end of each visit we pray with the family, normally either the interpreter or the minister says the prayer. At Jorge’s house he and his wife, Flavia, said the prayer. I didn’t understand most of what they were saying, but at the same time I KNEW what they were praying. You could hear in their voices as they cried out for God’s mercy and love. Thanking the Father for all of the good things He has given them. I had chills down my entire body listening to them pray.

On a lighter note we visited an elderly woman named Nadia who turned 87 last week. She was the cutest little lady and had quite the sense of humor. Toward the end of our visit she told us that we should all just stay in Guatemala and not go back home so that we could continue to visit her. I asked her if we could move in and live with her and she emphatically said YES and then looked right at Johnny (the only high school boy in our group) and said “especially you” – we laughed so hard!

After the home visits we made our way back to the convent and the lady who was selling the items was still there and so I got my hair wrapped. Nearly every high school student (including the boys) got in on the fun of the hair wraps, they even got one of our interpreters Meynor to get his hair wrapped! We sure are going to be quite the site the rest of the week with the bright strands in our hair!

Around 6:00pm we loaded the bus to go out to dinner as a group. The interpreters and masons came with us as well. We went to a place called Pollo Campero, which is like a KFC mixed with Pizza Hut. They had fried chicken and pizza. We pre-ordered our food since there were so many of us, so when we got there they almost immediately started bringing us our meals. After dinner we walked just down the way in the same shopping center to a frozen yogurt place. We slightly overwhelmed the man when nearly 50 people showed up and he was the only one working. He was a champ though and got everyone taken care of without complaint.

When we got back to the convent we met up as a group to do a Powwow (for those not familiar, the mascot for St. Pius is the Warriors and they do a “tribe system” much like “families” at other schools – so that is where the Powwow reference comes from). It was great to hear from all of the teens about their experiences the last few days, what has touched them, stories from their time interacting with the families we are serving. Things they want to carry forward or challenge themselves to do over the final few days in Guatemala.

After the powwow it was time for bed!

Today was another beautiful day in Guatemala being able to enter into the lives of the people. We only have one more day of service as Thursday will be a “fun day” for us. I am excited to end out our days of service strong and give my all to the beautiful people of Guatemala.

Mileage Tracker:

• 8,767 steps
• 3.76 miles