Stinky Cheese

Okay, forget pretty much everything I said in my last post about Guatemala.

Remember how I said we were so high yesterday, at one of the churches we worked at, that we were knocking on the door of heaven?

Well, today, we were twice as high as that!!! Seriously.

We began driving up a mountain, and one hour later, we reached the top. At one point, our bus could not make it up the mountain...so most of us had to get off the bus and walk for a ways! We were like the Little Engine That Could...altho I was pretty sure we could not. But, we made it!

After the long drive, straight uphill, we had the most AMAZING view of Guatemala City I have ever seen...check back in a few days for photos, after I am able to upload them off my camera.

We went to a church, La Iglesia Pentecostal Latinoamericana...which translates to, The Latin America Pentecostal Church.

The church was tiny...no windows...with a metal roof...and the sun was hot. Add to that, 180 children, 50 moms, and 18 gringos...and you get one VERY HOT and very CROWDED church! We were cooking....I seriously thought I would pass out at one point, I was so hot.

The pastor spoke, the children sang, and we then played games and did activities with the children...inside the church. It was like the inside of a sardine can...but it was extremely fun and it touched my heart. I looked at the bright side of being inside an oven all afternoon...which is, I probably sweated off 10 pounds, at least. I hope.

Then, it was time to make the tostadas and black beans, along with the fortified milk to drink. I was in charge of sprinkling a little queso...aka cheese...on each tostada, so my hands now smell like stinky cheese. I have washed and washed and washed them, to no avail. I am hoping stinky cheese will repel the mosquitos, and not attract them. You think? With my luck, my stinky cheese smelling fingers are probably ringing a silent dinner bell for every mosquito in Guatemala.

We then played Bombas de Jabon, which was a riot, altho we did take that outside....and by then, the clouds have moved in and it was so refreshing....

When it was time to say goodbye...I kid you not...ALL 180 children hugged and kissed each one of us. As well as most of the moms. It brought me to tears....

We had a long trip down the mountain, and I was thanking God for good brakes on the bus...altho they did squeak a bit. By then, it was almost 6 pm, and we had worked up an appetite.

We made it to headquarters by 7 pm, where we had a delicious dinner of fresh avacado and tostadas....okay, there were sandwiches, too, but I pretty much made a meal of the fresh avacado. It is absolutely to die for here...it cannot get much fresher!

And...there were brownies for dessert. Which is truly amazing, as I ALWAYS have brownies on Monday. It is a tradition at my house, so it was a gift from God to have our cook make frosted brownies for dessert tonight. Heaven.

Ely and I had a 45 minute drive home tonight, in the pouring down rain...much thunder and lightening and flooding, like last night, so traffic was very, very slow.

Tomorrow is another long day...Ely and I will leave her house at 6 am, in order to be at Headquarters by 7 am. We then have two feeding sites we have to do, so it will be another 14 hour day.

But give me a brownie at the end of it, and I am one happy girl.

Paz.