Volcan de Pacaya

This morning I had the privilege of getting up at the crack of 430 am and travel about an hour away to the Pacaya Volcano. We arrived at about 6 and proceeded to climb it. Yes. That's right. We climbed a volcano. I will not lie to you I wanted to turn around and go back down about a hundred times because it was so steep. I can't even describe it. Anyway, so we got to what we thought was the top because they told us we weren't going to the very top, only part of the way. So we get to this HUGE clearing with an absolutely incredible view of Antigua and other surrounding towns and they said "Ok, from here we're going to climb about 45 more minutes to the lava flow." I will go ahead and inform you that I was not one of the people who made it to the top. I opted for the stay where you are and take pretty pictures option. And it turns out the hike is not a quick 45 minutes, but an hour up and an hour down, so the group was gone for about 2 and a half hours after seeing the lava at the top. I was a little bit jealous, but if you knew the continuous incline that we experienced you would be proud that I made it as far as I did (without water I might add since I definitely left mine in Antigua, I know, bright idea on my part). The group finally came back down complete with scrapes and covered in ash from the lava, but they all said it was incredible. From there we started our decent which definitely destroyed my already weak and awful knees. We'll see how they feel tomorrow.

I need to inform you of some occurences yesterday. Yesterday morning we got to go to the town of Alotenango, a town where they receive running water 3 days a week and all find complete joy in any child that God blesses them with, and play with 200-300 kids. They were so incredible. We were planning on going there in the morning and then not coming back, but basically just making a quick trip. Yesterday afternoon we were going to return to the girls' home I've been telling you about, but we were informed that a couple of girls tried to get out by breaking some windows and making a huge mess of their room, so they were conducting interviews to see if anyone would claim up to it so we weren't allowed to go there but instead went back to Alotenango and played with the children and gave their mothers some dried vegetables that they can cook like rice. We spent our afternoon there and then came back and ate some traditional Guatemalan food in our hotel. Then as you know came the early morning to the volcano this morning.

This afternoon again we planned to return to Manchen and work with the girls but we were told that basically as discipline for them we weren't allowed to return which is so so sad for the girls who did nothing wrong. So today we set up shop on a basketball court by the church of Jocotenango. We walked around the square where the basketball court was and handed out more of the dried vegetables to the needy people who live in the area. Tonight we are about to go eat at an old monastery that they have turned into a hotel and restaurant. I'm really excited.

As soon as we get back to the office tomorrow night I will do my best to post some pictures so you can see what we've gotten to work with here. Otherwise please continue your prayers for the girls at Manchen, that they can understand that they are living in better conditions than they could find anywhere in the streets. Also pray for the people of the church in Jocotenango and their satellite church in Alotenango. They have absolutely nothing and literally give up anything that they have for their people. It's a beautiful situation, but incredibly sad.

Alright, well I hope this message finds you well and I will update you all soon!

Con mucho amor.