Hola amigos! | Our Weekend in Antigua

Family and Friends,

We had the awesome experience of spending this past weekend in the city of Antigua, Guatemala! On Saturday we met at our meeting spot in Central Park and hopped on a bus to ride to Antigua! Our first stop: Chocolate and Coffee tours! We had the blessing of experiencing and learning about authentic Guatemalan coffee and chocolate. Everyone got to sign up for either the coffee or chocolate tours (or choose to just rest in the courtyard) and I took the opportunity of being a part of the chocolate tour! Our tour guide led us to make our own chocolate bon bons using a mold with different shapes. There were many toppings we could choose from such as sea salt, almonds, oreos, chili, and cinnamon. We also experienced and learned how they make chocolate, the steps of fermentation and how to roast the cocoa beans to bring out the flavor. Once we were finished with the tour, we received our customized chocolate bites, but we had to eat them fast before they melted!

We then got back on the bus and rode to downtown Antigua. Once there, we established a meeting spot at Cafe Barista then split into groups and went off to find lunch. In my group was Zach, Julia, and Attie, and myself! We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Ta'Cool alongside Caleb, Rachel, and Nivia! The food was so good! After lunch my group headed off to walk around the city. We walked past many tiny markets, shops, and vendors. We stopped into this giant artisan market where there were various pieces of clothing, toys, mugs and so much more! We stopped by the San Fransisco Ruins and walked around remnants of old school classrooms, kitchens, and a library filled with old Guatemalan history books. We walked around some more, taking photos of everything we saw, then headed back to cafe barista to regroup with the others. We all had dinner as a group back at Ta'Cool (it was too good! ) and had a wonderful time of community as a whole group, story sharing from events of the day, and fellowship with one another! After dinner, we rode back to Magdalena on our bus and dismissed back to our host homes. 

On Sunday, we headed back to Antigua for church at Shoreline church. After the service was over, we were given free time to walk around the city before lunch. Alena, Gavin, Andrew, Raquel, Jack, and I stopped back at the artisan market to buy some Hackysacks! We then walked around until meeting back at Cafe Barista for lunch. We had lunch at the delicious Luna De Piel. The menu was full of sweet and savory crepes, salads, smoothies and more! After lunch I headed with Zach, Julia, and Matt back to Cafe Barista to relax my feet! It was really rejuvenating to sit with my bible and journal and have a chance to slow down and reflect on my time here in Guatemala. There has been so much that the Lord has been teaching me about missions, community, and not taking things for granted. How blessed are we that we get to experience the amazingness of his kingdom here in Guatemala! I’m so grateful for the time I have spent and the time I get to spend with the leaders of SI and with my LIFT community! One of my favorite moments from this day was the bus ride home. You wouldn't believe how loud these bus rides have been, but this one was especially loud and filled with conversation and connection. Sharing stories from the past days, laughing with one another, and reflecting on some of the best memories!

As I wrap up this blog, I’d ask that you all would be praying for us as we continue our last week here in Guate! Some things you can be praying for:

• Connection not only between us LIFTers but also with the SI staff
• Personally, my ankle. Its been tough getting around but prayer for healing would be awesome:)
• A continued fire for the Lord and his mission for us here in Guatemala

Thank you all for your support! It means the world,

Regan