Field Trip to the Capital

On Thursday morning we left for the junior high/high school field trip at 3 am. We traveled to the capital, Guatemala City to go to the National Palace (where the president lives), to see the National Theater and the Zoo. In the photo at left is Profesor Luis, and Ronald and Mario Pivaral, participating in the changing of the Rosa de Paz (peace rose) at the National Palace. The peace rose rests in a sculpture of uplifted hands, and is changed every day at 11 am by a civilian visitor at the National Palace. This tradition was established in 1996 when the peace accords were signed, after about 30 years of civil war in Guatemala. It was especially touching to see Ronald and Mario participate in the ceremony, as their father was a government official before his assassination in April. I was glad they could have the honor of being part of this ceremony which celebrates the progress that Guatemala has made towards being a country of peace and freedom.

The next picture is Karen Ruiz, next to the peace flame, which burns to honor the anonymous heroes of peace. It is located in the inner courtyard of the national palace, behind the Rosa de Paz monument. The following picture shows the location of the monuments in the courtyard.

After visiting the National Palace, we toured the National Theater. Then we went to the Aurora Zoo. I was really impressed by the zoo- I think it's the best zoo I've ever visited- there was a wide variety of animals and the landscaping was beautiful.

The uncle of one of our staff members let us camp out at his home Friday night. They have a pavilion where we set up our tents, and we were so grateful to be under a roof because it rained all night. The kids had a great time playing some silly games before we went to bed (like Chubby Bunny- see the picture below of Prof. Carlos and others stuffing marshmallows in thier mouths).

The next morning we spents some time in Antigua, a historical city near the capital, sightseeing and shopping in the Artisan markets. Then we made our way back home. The trip was longer than usual because of heavy rains but thankfully the Lord got us safely home. All in all, the trip was a wonderful time for the students and staff not only to see the sights and learn about national history, but also to just enjoy each other's company and have a good time


I always appreciate the extra curricular activities for the opportunity that I have to get to know my students more personally and for them to know me as more than just a teacher who gives them assignments. I found that spending hours on the bus gave me opportunity to get to know some of my students a little better, and learn more about their families.

We just finished the second quarter here at the school. Yesterday I was working frantically in the afternoon to get all my exams graded before 5 so I could turn in my grades. It was a busy week! We had our once a month staff birthday party on Thursday teacher´s meeting. As one of the lucky ones who had a birthday this month, they blindfolded me along with the others and took us outside for a "surprise." I have to say I wasn´t that surprised when they dumped water all over us. They like having water fights here. And now we can have water fights, because it´s rainy season, so it rains almost every day, so the wells are filling up. We have running water almost all the time in the house now. That's pretty exciting. Now I can take a real shower instead of a bucket bath. Good times, good times. As for the well, now they say they are going to have to drill again, even deeper, because all they´re getting from this well is mud. But they have to talk with the company that was in charge of receiving the donation and contracting the well drillers. It's hard to believe they could spend a year and tens of thousands of dollars drilling a well and now it´s no good. Sigh. But the Lord knows what he´s doing. Some day we'll have a good deep well.

The picture is the eight grade class doing "Acto Civico," which is a presentation we have once a month where they say the pledge to their flag, sing the national anthem and do some kind of presentation related to Guatemala. The eighth graders each dressed up as a famous Guatemalan and gave an interview or performed. The boy in the jacket is Cristian, who was representing Ricardo Arjona, a famous singer here. He sang a song too- I was impressed, I didn´t know he'd be willing to sing in front of the whole school. In the background on the wall is a banner which says "El valor mas grande de la patria es la familia," which means the greatest value of our homeland is family. This is a theme we are emphasizing in the school this year.

Well, upcoming events include a field trip for grades 7-10, this Thursday and Friday. We are going to go to the capital, see the National Palace (where the president lives), a museum and the zoo. Then we'll camp out at a farm and go to Antigua, which is a really beautiful old city near the capital. You can pray for safety and that all have a good time. I'm looking forward to the field trip, last year it was a good chance for me to get to know some of the students better.

In other news, I am going to come home to visit on June 22nd and I'll be in the Adams/Oswego area for a couple weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and family, including my new nephew!

Well, before I sign off I would ask those of you who pray for my ministry to pray for me in this upcoming quarter as we are going to have some changes in the English department and I will be taking on more responsibility for training teachers. Our pastor has been doing a series on Proverbs and it has reminded me how much I need to seek wisdom, not only for my personal life, but especially for my work. I can't do it all on my own strength, I need the Lord's wisdom to help me plan and to help me with dealing with students and to be attentive to their needs. It's a big job and it seems like the more I learn the more I realize how much better I need to be.

I hope to see you all soon!