Joey Whebe

 Today, January 20^th, our group took a trip to Santiago Atitlan, a Guatemalan city by the lake. We started our day off with some pancakes for breakfast, and then we were on our way. The ride to Santiago Atitlan was very bumpy, but it was worth it when we arrived and saw the beauty of the town. Our visit began at La Iglesia de Santiago Atitlan. The church was full of rustic and modern beauty, and it was founded almost 500 yeas ago in 1547. The mass was a celebration of the anniversary of the death of Padre Francisco, who used to be the pastor of the church. The mass was crammed with locals, coming to celebrate the anniversary of one of the most influential people in the Guatemalan Civil War. Padre Francisco put his life on the line for his people during the war, and suffered the ultimate consequence. To all of the people their, Padre Francisco was a symbol of courage and love.

After the service, my friends and I walked around Santiago Atitlan, in search of some new experiences, and eventually some great food. After walking through the crowed marketplace, we found ourselves at a restaurant called El Pescador, or The Fisherman. There my friends and I sat down and were treated with some delicious fried fish, and we were able to watch some soccer. To top that all off, we decided to go to one of the small tiendas and get some chips, sweets, and other snacks.

Eventually at 2 o'clock, we were back on the road to go back to our hotel in San Lucas. Although we were sad to leave Santiago, we were all very hungry and tired. Fortunately, to contribute to our already great day, we were invited to play a game of soccer with the other groups. We had lots of fun playing, and of course my team came out victorious. In a valiant effort we managed to win the game 14-13, to add to my great day.

At 6 o'clock, we had dinner as usual, and made it back to the hotel for a reflection of the trip so far, and also a spiritual reflection. Our spiritual reflection was from a reading of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. In this reading Saint Paul talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and how we all have some of these gifts, and how we can use them for good. The reading really helped me understand our purpose of being in Guatemala, and how we can use the gifts of language and others to benefit others. Also by everyone else's feedback, I can tell that the reading was very powerful and moving to them.

We were also able to get eah others status regarding the trip. Many of the students in our group were homesick, but for the most part they were all very happy about how the trip has been going. For me, I am rather homesick, but I really love Guatemala, and am looking forward to the next few days.