Antigua--The Last Day, with Guest Bloggers Sue Schultz and Sara Zarnstorff

After blessing 713 individuals with eye glasses, this week, all around the country of Guatemala our  "mountain top" experiences continues.  10 members of our team were up bright and early to drive an hour and a half, climb a volcano for two hours, enjoy a beautiful view of God's creation, climb back down and drive back another hour and a half to join the rest of the group, who had also had a "mountain top" experience.

Nury took the rest of our team to visit the small village of Santiago Zamora, just outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  In this small village there is a Lutheran Church and School.  The school has provided a Christian education for children in Santiago Zamora and surrounding villages for 17 years.  The school is raising up leaders for the Lutheran Church here in this country.

The children of the school were so excited to see our group come to visit.  Nury is a "rock star" in the village and the children all ran to hug her.  The church in Santiago Zamora is continually trying to improve the school.  Today some teachers were away from their classes attending a continuing education opportunity.  The other children were working hard on their studies.  We were blessed by three children in the first and second grades class, who wanted to share an animal report that they had prepared, in English.  What a neat part of the day.  Look for opportunities, through MOST ministries, to help children in schools like this one in Santiago Zamora learn to speak English through an ELS mission trip.

The women of the congregation also brought their hand woven textiles for us to look at and purchase.  They were very grateful that we took the time to admire and ask questions about their masterpieces.  Many of the handmade items take months to make.  The women also prepared a "light" snack for us of some very tasty tamales and some fruit drink.

One of our team members had also had a chance to check up on the agricultural ministries he helped with in the village of Santiago Zamora for the past four years.  He was happy to see that they had planted a crop in the new way that the team had recommended for better yield results.  Oh I forgot to mention that to get to the cornfield we needed to climb a very steep hillside.  When we got to the place where the field was there was a "lookout" built by some men from the church that made a great place to pray and thank God for His amazing creation.

Another team member was moved by the many improvements that the school and church had made since she and her family were there fifteen years ago.

As we re-enter the western world we had a wonderful lunch at a coffee farm of a friend of Nurys and enjoyed a few hours of shopping in the city of Antigua.

The Cathedral (left), City Hall (right), and volcano above Antigua

The altar of the Cathedral in Antigua

Our dinner back at the hotel and devotion time topped off a great last day here in Guatemala.

Paula Welsh presents Pastor Ada with a stole woven by the ladies of the congregation of the church at Santiago Zamora

One of our teenage team members led our before dinner devotion with Matthew 28, the great commission, where Jesus said to his disciples, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  How appropriate for our time here but not something to be forgotten for any of us as we live in His kingdom.  Sharing the Good News is essential so that more can come to know Jesus our Savior.

[Sue Schultz's post ends here. I continued the post below with information about the climb of the active volcano this morning, "Volcan de Pacaya", by some team members.]

The climb was a fascinating adventure for the members who went on the climb. Volcan de Pacaya is one of three active volcanoes in Guatemala. We had ten members who went on the climb, along with a tour guide. We rented walking sticks from children at the base of the volcano before starting out. Several of us wondered how difficult the trek would be. We had heard it took anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours to make the climb. I hadn't planned on climbing, so I just brought my dress shoes along for the trip, so I was worried about whether they would work. Some of our team were wondering how the altitude would affect them.

Our guide made sure that we paced ourselves well. We stopped about every 5-10 minutes going up to catch our breath and rest a little. We didn't climb all the way to the top, but we got to the lava fields where nothing was growing.

Our guide bought marshmallows at the highest store in Guatemala so that we could roast them over a heat vent in the lava field.

The views were spectacular from the top of the climb. All of us made it without having to rent a horse.

Sara Zarnstorff shares her thoughts on this week:

Shout it on the rooftops that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Each morning we woke up to see God's beautiful creation. On the rooftop of the hotel in Xela we could see out over the city of one million people. At 5:00 AM celebrations were starting with firecrackers, marimba music, church bells ringing, and a blessing to celebrate one of the saints somewhere in the city. I could see the large clouds of smoke floating over the sky. We stayed at the hotel for three days. It was our place of rest and cleansing after the poverty we saw in Chajabal.

I saw the beauty in each place we visited as families cared for each other. I saw the true meaning of service to others when the elderly man climbed the stairs again and again with bowls of soup to serve us when they have so little.