Travel. It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. This particular trip
did make me speechless, it also gave me an amazing story to tell. I went on this mission trip
with my church and my mom. She was going to teach guatemalans to learn how to take care
of themselves and others, who need to be cared for. It was a really life changing trip! I learned
about the people and their culture and the kids and just the country in general. This trip
changed my life. It changed me but it also taught me how important life is and how lucky I am
to have a really nice house, a healthy family, for my health, and for how lucky I am to have
amazing friends and to be able to get an education and go to college and etc!  I don’t know
where to begin, so I will begin with the place that we stayed at. It was an amazing place. We
stayed in Guatemala City. When we arrived there on a bus, there was a lot of policeman
standing guard. The building was surrounded by a concrete wall and on top of the concrete
wall were pieces of glass so that people couldn’t get past the wall and into the building. It
looked really scary from the outside but then on the inside it made me feel warm and safe.
Like a person who looks scary on the outside but then turns out to be really nice and not scary
and they become your friend. That is what it felt like to walk into the building. 
The rooms had three sets of bunk-beds and one bathroom. The doors looked really
cool, they reminded me of jail cell doors with bars. In order to get into the room you had to
reach through the window that was in the door about eye-level. You had to reach in the
window to open the door. One night we were all asleep and there was a very tiny earthquake.
There was no damage and when my mom first told me there was an earthquake, I thought
she was crazy and losing her mind because I slept through it. But then more people that were
on the trip with us started talking about it and that is when I realized that it actually happened!
We also went to Panajachel and stayed in a really nice hotel for one night. When you go to
guatemala you have   to be careful of what you eat and drink. So  that night at the hotel I think
I ate something bad and I got sick that night. It was not very fun. On our way from Panajachel
we crossed Lake Atitlan on a boat and saw 3 volcanoes that were still active. They were really
cool.  Then we went to Santiago Atitlan and saw the site of the brutal massacre where
thousands died in the civil war in the 1980’s. It was really sad but at the same time really
interesting to learn about it. I have never heard about the part of the civil war that was in
guatemala. So it was really interesting for me. 
The people from our church that came with on the mission trip were awesome! They
were very nice and we all took care of eachother just like if we were family. There were 12 of
us total that went on the trip. Me and the pastor’s daughter were the youngest ones there. I
was 13 and she was 14. The rest of the group was adults. The adults were planning on
teaching guatemalans how to care for someone if they are sick or have a broken body or if
they need surgery, because they don’t have doctors in many parts of guatemala. So we put
together some health care bags with supplies in them for them to take home. Most of the
people that went on the trip from our church were nurses or in some part of the medical field.
The people that gave us the rooms and were taking care of us were really nice and respectful.
The bishop of the church was really nice. She spoke really good english. She is seeing this
man, who was originally from Cannon Falls and he was a teacher here a long time ago. One
day he went to Guatemala, and fell in love with the bishop and they started dating. But he had
to come back to the US because his home was here. Eventually he decided to move to
Guatemala and be with her. He brought his son and most of his belongings to Guatemala and
started living there. When the church group got to Guatemala, we knew someone from
America and even closer Cannon Falls. A few of the church members that came on the trip
with us were a couple of his students when he was still teaching here!
While on our trip we had a little vacation time and we toured around Guatemala. We
went to the poorer side of Guatemala. We noticed that they lived in more poverty and needed
more help. We saw the school and decided to go see it. It was a very small school with only 4
rooms. There were grades k-5. So they had to fit 6 grades in 4 tiny rooms. In Guatemala it is
very expensive for just one kid to go to school. For us it would be very cheap, but for them it is
expensive Even if they get to go to school for grades k-5 that is usually the only education
they get because their parent/parents can’t afford it. They sometimes don’t even get to finish
those 6 years of school. I think this is really sad, because some of the kids don’t get an
education. We get to have education and choose to go to college or not go to college. We
went to this school. I saw the most precious faces I have ever seen in my life! They were so
adorable, they had this look on their face that automatically made me feel so bad for them. At
the same time I was happy that they were able to get education! It made me so happy to see
them learn and play! 
We got to know them a little. I got to know a wonderful little girl! She was really shy but
I was able to get through that part of her. She had an adorable little smile. Infact, all the kids
did and it just lit up my day. It changed my life and my perspective on life so fast that I don’t
even remember what I thought before I went on this mission trip! All the kids were so joyful!
They loved to have us visit, play, and learn with them. I loved it too!
We played many games with them. Its really hard to remember how many I played and
learned at the same time! Its amazing how much you can learn in just a couple of hours! Its
just so amazing! I taught the little girl how to play hopscotch and she loved it! Thats all she
wanted to do all day. They also loved bubbles. They have never seen bubbles before. I
thought it was funny but I also thought that we were teaching them something new. At first
they didn’t know what to do with the bubbles, but we taught them how to see how many they
can pop with their finger. It was fun to watch them play! We also taught them how to blow the
bubbles. It was interesting to watch. But it was teaching them something new so I enjoyed it!
We also made paper plate lions that were based on the bible story of Daniel and the lions
den. We made bracelets and necklaces out of beads! The little girl I always played with made
me a bracelet and I was so proud and so happy!! I still have it. She was so happy to see me
that she never let go of my finger. Even if I tried to let go she wouldn’t let me and I thought
that was so priceless and knew I wouldn’t forget this moment ever. While we were making the
beads we were teaching them colors. It was so awesome to see them learn and absorb all of
that education! Talking about the kids and the Guatemalan people reminds me of their culture
and how they live and acted when they saw us and what they do for fun.
Some parts of Guatemala are poorer than the rest. The parts that I saw were very
poor. I was surprised how anyone could live that way! They don’t have a high economy. Alot
of women have between 3-10 children for various reasons.They can’t afford to take care of all
of those kids by themselves, especially when they don’t have husbands. I think it’s very sad.
We saw some very sad scenes in Guatemala where some of the kids were so abnormally
thin. It was just so sad. I couldn’t bare to live that way or understand how they can live like
that! I just felt so bad for them! They have some political issues, but not very many. They have
lots of people walking around with guns, but most or all of them are policemen. So you do feel
safe there because you know that they are policemen with very large guns to protect you. You
should be careful of what you say there a little bit, because the people there probably won’t
end up very happy. There are policemen everywhere and it scared me because I have never
seen that many in one area. They had really big guns and you don’t know what could happen
next. You had to be very cautious and careful.
The way they acted around us was strange because they probably thought that we
were rich. Compared to them we are. I'm not trying to be mean, it’s the truth. Which it is sad
because they should be treated better than they are. They don’t have a lot of money. I feel
really bad for them but they say money isn’t everything, it’s how much you worked to earn that
money and how hard you work every day. It’s also about the people that you worked with and
that they should always come before you put yourself. It’s also about caring about one
another.
They don't have much to do in Guatemala. I don’t know what they do for activities but
and I don’t think activities matter to them right now. I think they would rather become
healthier, smarter, and more educated in life, and go explore and learn something new
everyday like we do! I would if I were them. I wouldn’t care about activities. If I was bored or if
I was entertained. I do think that some of the other kids play with each other. Alot of them are
too sick to play. Some of them are dying and it is sad to think about but it is the truth. That is
what’s happening in the world; people are sick and suffering! But we can do something about
it! We can change the world! We can make the world a better place so that nobody has to
suffer or die in poverty.
I really enjoyed going on the mission trip. It taught me a lot about life and what life
means, how life is so precious and valuable and you can’t miss a second of it. I would love to
go back and play with those kids and see the smiles that stretch from ear-to-ear. I want to feel
proud of those kids as they are learning new things everyday. I hope they know I think of them
every single day, and not just the kids but everybody that is suffering. Even though