Guatemala Retreat Apri 3-8

 

 This year our EMM Workers in Central America Retreat was held in Guatemala City at Semilla.  Semilla is a Mennonite Seminary and a beautiful oasis in the middle of a bustling city.

 Our sessions were held on the third floor (which used to be a roof balcony, but has been closed in to make for a terrific room with a beautiful view of the surrounding volcanoes.)

This is our group standing in front of the Hands of Peace Memorial. (Where else would a bunch of Mennos take a group shot? !).  From left: Phyllis and Galen Groff (our regional reps), Steve and Beth Gibbs (our retreat leaders), Brittany Lentz, me, Stefan Hess and Sheila Yoder.   I thank God that Sheila came to interpret for me :-)  I cherish her friendship and willingness to travel to Guatemala.  It was wonderful to catch up with her, too,

 Brittany and I arrived ahead of the others so we went out to dinner together.  There are no American fast food chains in Belize so it was a treat to eat at Pizza Hut.  After dinner we walked over to this store to buy some coffee.  Can you identify this fast food chain?   It's a Guatemalan McDonald's...amazing.

On Saturday our group took a trip to the old capitol called Antigua.  This is the view from the mountain overlooking the city.  Brittany was brave enough to walk down and take a photo.

 

 This is a pretty mural in the restaurant where we ate lunch.

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The famous archway in front of the cathedral.

 We walked around the market and I saw these shoes.  Sulmi and Kristel love high tops.  Here they are with a Guatemala woven print.   They made me smile and think of my girls.

 These are human statues...real people!  They pose with tourists for a donation.   I had never seen this before.  They kept perfectly still with straight faces and their eyes shut the whole time.

All over we saw the Maya women and children trying to sell their wares.  They must do this everyday.  What a rough way to eek out an existence.

A BIG thank you to Galen and Phyllis for planning the retreat, praying over all of us, and making us feel loved and supported.