A day in Antigua

Today (Tuesday) the LIFT 42 students are out in their sites. I am very proud of them all. They are doing a great job, supporting one another in prayer, keeping a positive attitude, and growing in their servant's hearts. Below is a short post about our restful day on Sunday in Antigua. Antigua is a UNESCO heritage site, which means in this case that there are restrictions on how construction can happen there. If there are ruins of old buildings in the middle of a courtyard in a plot, one has to keep that open courtyard with its ruins intact and build around it, so many of the buildings have beautiful charm and an ancient feel. The streets have to be cobblestone and the buildings need to be painted in bright Spanish colors. It's a beautiful town.

-Tyler Nelson
LIFT Associate Director

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About Sunday, Nov 10

The LIFT team enjoyed a Sabbath day in Antigua after a week of work at our ministry sites. It started with a church service at Shoreline City, Guatemala, a bilingual church pastored by Earl McClellan. The message was refreshing and impactful, and it was cool to see how seamlessly they transitioned from Spanish to English in their service.

Shoreline City church, Antigua campus

After church, we split off into groups to explore the city, and there was much to see. Antigua explodes with culture, which was easy to see when we stopped to eat for lunch and dinner. From traditional cuisine to foreign fusion, Antigua had so much to try. For example, my group had Texas BBQ for lunch, French crepes in the afternoon, and traditional Guatemalan chicken and potatoes for dinner.

But the culture could also be seen in the wonderful ruins found around the city. We stopped at the famous Ruinas de Capuchinas, a 17^th century convent and got to sit in the beautiful gardens there. We also found a basement section with such great acoustics, we couldn’t help but sing a hymn of worship.

From then on, we bought handmade gifts for our families and supporters at the town markets, and even found time to visit a Mayan chocolate museum! All the while, we walked under the looming Vulcan de Agua until sunset, when we got in our bus and returned to Magdalena.

-Joel Burdette