My Trip to Guatemala
by Emily... April 2011
My trip to Guatemala started Saturday, April 9, 2011 around midnight. We got on a plane at 7:35 a.m. and landed in Miami, Florida. We boarded another plane there to get to Guatemala. Thankfully, we did not have any delays.
In the airport, a group of about 15 people proudly sang us a song to welcome us into Guatemala. On the bus we met our first translator, Christian.
In Guatemala City, we picked up 2 more translators, Estoban and Alfonzo. We slowly drove 3 1/2 hours to Panajachel where we stayed in our hotel. We got there around 7 p.m. We found our rooms and put our bags away and went down for dinner. It was a buffet that night. Soon after dinner was a short meeting about the next day.
Sunday we woke up around 6:30 a.m. and had some breakfast. It was about a 45 minute drive to the clinic. Dr. A. and Dr. H. looked at about 40-50 people who wanted surgery. I got to pass out tons of toys to the little kids. It was awesome to see the smiles on their faces. Their smiles surely made me joyful inside. When you make a difference in someone else, you also make a difference in you too.
That night we got to the hotel around 6:30 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. we went to have dinner. It was off the menu this time. I am not sure what I had but I know it was surprisingly good. We had another meeting that night just about how the day went. The meeting went well and the day was awesome. Monday and Tuesday kinda went the same. We did about 8 surgeries a day. Wednesday went just as well. I was able to watch the last surgery which was a breast biopsy.
Thursday, I sadly did not feel well but I felt better by the end of the day. Friday, we cleaned the clinic and drove to Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala. We picked our bags up and found our rooms. Right outside our room was a pool. Before dinner we walked around town and found a market. Dinner was a buffet again. It was absolutely wonderful. Saturday we walked some more. We found a jade shop which is the famous stone of Guatemala. After a while we found a market and walked around there for a while. We found a few things for my cousins and some other stuff.
Sunday, around 5 a.m., we left for the airport. We had no problems checking in at the airport. The first plane ride was awesome. We rode Business Class. When we got to Dallas/Fort Worth we took a sky link to our next place. We rode First Class on that flight. When we got to Chicago our bags came through first and we did not have to wait. We happily got through O'Hare in 15 minutes. Our bus to take us home was a party bus and we stopped at McDonald's for supper. Around 10 p.m. we arrived home.
I had a very great time. To everyone who supported us with prayers and gifts, thank you!
Sounds like a wonderful experience, Em! I know for myself that once you go on one missions trip, your heart is forever changed!
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