Day 6: Last day in Tactic

    This morning we were all so greatful to be able to sleep in until 6:30am rather than the usual 6:00am. Our day was packed full of activities and visitations, starting with the market. There was three groups of four or five. My group being The Nerd Herd 2.0, was comprised of Seanito, Sabreeny, Heidi and last and also least the weakest link (Mrs.McCutcheon)... But we love her. Once we were in our groups we were given a list of various things we needed to buy and find such as: holding a live chicken (but Sean "killed" ours), singing 'Oh Canada' on a bridge, get a shoe shine, a picture with the police and buying apples, papaya, melon, honey, tortillas etc. We had an hour and a half to finish our list. Us gringos (white people) were set free to find our way around the Tactic market.  The prize for first place was donuts and the consultation prize was raw chicken feet... The Nerd Herd 2.0's placement in this activity is not important.

    

    After the market we were sad to find out that we could not finish the construction project because of  the lack of time. On the bright side we were happy to find out that were got the chance to have a home visit. It was very important to us that we saw how many of the people in Guatemala live on a daily basis. It amazes me how loving and happy these people are with how little they have. Coming from Canada, where we have so much is a real eye opener. We all gathered in a woman's house with her two kids (which by the way were so cute). She welcomed all 13 of us with open arms, into a home that is around the size of an average Canadian bedroom, and she felt blessed to have us in her home. We all gathered around the woman and prayed for her and her children. We then gave the kids a few toys and drove them to school for afternoon classes.

    Following lunch we drove to Coban to visit the children's ward in the hospital. We did not know how many kids would be there so we each packed five or more toys for the kids. As we waited for the other group to arrive we took a short meander to a Tienda so the Weakest Link could get her coke fix... (First one of the week McCutcheon family). The medical care at the hospital is free but inefficient. If you aren't persistent you will not get the attention you need. Doctors do not actually take time to diagnose the patient and just prescribe medicine even though most can not afford it. We went into the ward and split up to pray for kids and give them a toy. Most of the children there had pneumonia from the damp climate and smoke exposure (as we saw earlier at home visit, they cook a few feet from the bed). The Coban hospital is the main hospital for that zone, with some families having to travel a week to get care and having to leave their child there to care for others at home until they were well. It was sad to see all these kids in a place like that and not being able to do much for them. Our simple gestures of prayer and smiles went a long way.

    After supper we headed out to a cell group, kind of like mix of a house church and morning devotional, for night school for young adults ages 18-25. About half the people at the cell group were not Christians so it was a great chance for us to show God's love through us to some people around our age. Our translator Eli taught us a song in Spanish which we sang, as well as the Doxology. We all had a snack and drink then hugged them goodbye and we were on our way for our last night here. 

 

   So far this trip has been an amazing experience and worth every penny. It's a bitter sweet feeling having to leave soon but I'll be happy to take what I have learned and see everyone again.

                - Megan