Greetings! The blog has been quiet because for the third year in a row I have left the US for beautiful Guatemala. Each year our church partners with a church in San Lucas Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. We build homes for the poor in El Zapote, do basic medical and first aid training and other ministries. As you can see, we also enjoyed Lake Atitlan. Part 2 soon. Thanks for stopping by.
Back to Guatemala for this post. My church supports missionary endeavors around the world including, of course, Guatemala. We visited one of my favorite ministries in Guatemala: Manos de Compasion. Located in the Bay of Santiago Atitlan, Manos de Compasion is a childrens’ home. Their number one goal is to minister to abandon, abused, and forgotten children. The views on the journey there are awesome, and the opportunity to have fun with these kids is priceless.
My day job is as a pastor in a church that regularly offers short term mission opportunities. Last year I fell in love with the people of Guatemala, so I returned this summer. This post, and the next few, will contain images from our 10 day trip. These are images of the property where we stayed in San Lucas Sacatepéquez, and images of beautiful Nueva Santa Rosa.
My last, but not the last post from my trip to Guatemala this past summer. Not the last because I will return, but the last in this particular series. Thanks for stopping by.
In part 4 of this series I talked about our missions team arriving at a children’s home situated near the Bay of Santiago Atitlan. Some of the team members stayed at the home with the children and some of us hiked to the top of a ridge above the home. It was a wonderful hike along a narrow, steep path, with thick trees and plants. By the time we reached the top, clouds were carried over the ridge by the wind and we stepped into a mysterious world of beauty shrouded in mist. I thought a Hobbit might step into this Middle Earth-ish world. Part 5b will have more images from this location. Thanks for stopping by!
One of our rest days took us on a road trip to a children’s home located on the Bay of Santiago Atitlan. Our journey took us over twisty mountain roads that had spectacular views. Unfortunately, there were few places to stop and pull over to enjoy the views, or take some pics. As we got closer to our destination we passed through a small town that afforded us a wonderful view of the lake. The four lake view images in this post were taken from that spot.
Once we arrived at the home some of our team stayed and played with the kids, while others took a steep hike to get to the top of a ridge behind the home. The two images without water were taken as we ascended the ridge. The beauty of this country is truly stunning. Stay tuned for the next post where we will see what I saw at the top of the ridge. Thanks for stopping by.
Back to our hike at Pacaya for this post. Pacaya erupted in early 2021. The black, cooled lava fields were spectacular to see, as were the hiking paths through the those fields. In the center of the large image in this gallery you can see a small eruption from Fuego, an active volcano in Guatemala. Thanks for stopping by.
Welcome to this episode of Guatemala: the photoblog posts. Today’s episode: Why we went to Guatemala. If you are just tuning in, this is the second post from a recent trip to San Lucas Sacatepequez, Guatemala. I was part of a team who volunteered from our church to work at this church: Iglesia Galilea. We helped pour the concrete floor for their sanctuary. This was all done by hand! We helped make the concrete (we went through 340 bags of cement), then brought it inside with wheelbarrows, then the Guatemalans finished the floor. It was HARD work, but so rewarding and fun. The team was outstanding, but I was never able to stop the mixer from spitting cement all over me! Coming in the next episode: volcanoes! Thanks for stopping by.
rutakintome pictures 
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