Day 1

We woke up today around 7, guys slept good while the girls not so much. After waking, we toured around the compound. First, we took a look at the basketball courts and then tried out the play structure. We had a typical Guatemalian breakfast which consisted of porridge, sausage, scrambled eggs and tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, bean mash, buns, and an iced tea. Next, we loaded up in the vans and started our trip to Tactic. Our first stop was city square in the middle of Guatemala City. Here, we had a history lesson about Guatemala and toured the outside of the government building and then the inside of the Catholic cathedral. A few things we learnt from Les (leader of impact ministries) was that Guatemala City is the fourth capital. The first was invaded by the Spanish, the second was destroyed by flooding, the third was destroyed by an earthquake, and are currently using Guatemala City . Guatemala is a country that is deeply scarred from years of civil war, dictatorship, massacre, and conquest. When the Spanish invaded the country, they forced the catholic religion on the people, so much that now everyone would consider themselves "Christian". After our tour of the cathedral, we tried some manderian oranges, which were deliscious, and then loaded up and continued our journey. Our next stop was to fill up gas, use the washroom and get some snacks, which mostly consisted of cookies, drinks, and chips. Then we loaded up again. We drove for about 1.5 hours before stopping for lunch at a roadside restraunt. There, we enjoyed chicken and fries with a dessert of ice cream. Our next stop was when we arrived in Tactic. Throughout the trip we experienced a crazy but somehow organized method of driving which was sometimes scary but very entertaining. The impact missions compound is very nice, although the weather is not great with drizzling rain and a cool temperature. For tonight, we have a hike planned, then supper, then an introduction and orientation.

Brett