Day 1: Team Arrives and Settles In

Our flight arrived in Guatemala on time and without incident. We were met at the airport by the Dirrim family and it was great to see them all together. In addition to their 15 passenger van (that they use to transport their family of nine), they rented us a mini-van to use for the week and we loaded up to head across town to the mission house in San Cristobal. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the “new” mission house, although smaller than the “old” house is a beautiful, wide-open house with plenty of room. It’s nice to be able to have everyone in one place where we can eat together and not have to find a restaurant for every meal.

Pat introduced us to some of his co-workers as they were passing through on their way to work with another team in Pacaya. After we settled in, most of us piled into the van to celebrate Jacob’s 15th birthday by going to see a movie at the local mall. The traffic was horrific and the rain came down in torrents. Once inside the mall, it was wall-to-wall people and very hot. The line to purchase tickets for the movie was about 30-40 minutes in the heat and it took its toll on our team member Kyle who passed out while waiting in the line. A seat in the food court outside the line and a smoothie later, Kyle was good to go and by then we had our tickets and made our way into the theatre where it was comfortable and cool.

After the movie, we headed back to get some sleep after a long travel day.