When we first arrived in San Pedro there was a rainbow waiting for us! This photo was taken on the roof of our hotel. Left to right: Sydney (Alberta, Canada), Logan (TX), Seth (MS), Gavin (MI), and me. Looking back on the trip, there's so many things to miss. I miss my teammates, of course. From the first night of training camp in Georgia we were noticeably the closest team (WOOOOOOOO!!!). And by the end of the trip we were undoubtedly a family. A month living together makes you close to people, sometimes closer than you'd like to be. But now I miss all the quirks of my teammates, from the idiosyncrasies to oversharing about bowel movements, and beyond. I miss the things that we did, like riding (standing up) in the back of trucks on our way to and from ministry, walking half a mile uphill just to get breakfast and dinner, and french-fry ministry (get excited for a blog on this soon!). I miss playing speed, sleeping outside in hammocks, and singing Spanish kid songs with the kids. I miss encouragement circles, prophesies, and worshiping together as a team every night. I miss always being able to see the mountains and volcanoes wherever I looked, and now I'm in Wisconsin where it is FLAT. One morning a few days after returning, I was really missing the Guatemalan way of life. The 2 1/2 weeks that we spent in San Pedro (where we practically hiked to get our food) we were served coffee at breakfast (praise the Lamb). They served the coffee with sugar, but no cream...but for the coffee connoisseurs on the team, that didn't phase them. I got used to drinking my coffee black, with an ungodly amount of sugar. I decided that I wanted to start drinking my coffee like that at home, so I ground up some of the coffee beans that I brought home, and I brewed myself a cup. I added my liberal amount of sweetness, and after one sip I decided that I didn't miss black coffee all that much after all. Cream is a luxury that I'm willing to embrace. That being said, there are some things that I don't miss. I don't miss the odd smells that linger in different parts of Guatemala. I don't miss clogged toilets, or needing to throw my toilet paper in a basket...and fishing it out of the toilet when I forgot. But there are still things that I miss, even if they aren't the most pleasant. I miss the scorpions, and the stray dogs roaming the streets, and cuddling in bed with Sydney when we both had intestine infections. I even miss the time when Maggie had to pay 3Q to use the bathroom on our way to dinner, because she was about to blow (she survived, I was a witness). It's sad, sometimes, to look back and realize that all those things are merely memories now. Yes, memories that I will hold onto for the rest of my life...but it's sad to know that I'm not living in those memories anymore. I am way beyond grateful to have had all of the experiences that I did, and it's fun to be home and to share all of my stories with my friends and family. If you'd like to see some of our crazy Guatemalan shenanigans in action, I encourage you to subscribe to Sydney Ruether on YouTube. She vlogged the entire trip, and the first two are up! I'll post more on here as they come, but for now...check them out! It's a fun way to see how our team interacted as we got closer and closer as the trip went on!
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AuthorMy name is Alyssa Guzman, and I love to write. That being said, this blog isn't only to ease the curiosity of my supporters, I created it to benefit me...and to reflect on my experiences and build on the knowledge that I gained while serving in Guatemala...and to share the deep and meaningful stories with you, as well as the silly (and embarrassing) ones! |