Pine Cove Camp

Friday morning our day started with a trip to the airport to send Fabi back to Cal Baptist.  We went along with her family and got in our last minute hugs.  After the airport the remaining "girls" made a PriceSmart (Costco) run to buy snacks for the second camp session that would start on Friday afternoon.  I'm not sure how much it cost, but we had a flatbed cart filled with chips, bottled water, cookies, juice boxes, crackers and more--enough for 4 snacks for 100 people.  The best thing for me about going to PriceSmart in Guatemala is that I find things we don't have in El Salvador.  This trip is was quinoa (2 pounds for $10) and grapefruit juice.  

The next stop was camp, where we had lunch with the Pine Cove team and then got ready for the campers to arrive at 3:00 p.m.  Dani showed me around--it was a beautiful place.  It is a Christian campground with great facilities.

 By 4:00 p.m. there were more than 75 children (ages 6-12), as well as 30 adults.  They started the afternoon getting to know each other with games and small group activities on the basketball court.  Each small group had a Pine Cove counselor and a Guatemala counselor.  

 This week's theme is "Finding the Treasurer," and all of the Bible study sessions were from Matthew 6:19-21.  After Bible study time, dinner was served.  Dinner was followed by a treasure hunt where each group had to complete a task to receive the next clue.

The treasurer hunters returned to the dining hall for a time of music/dancing, then praise and worship and a short message.  

Nelson, Rosemarie, Dani, Camila and I slipped away to enjoy dinner together and, then, after driving Rosemarie back to the camp to spend the night, we drove home.

It was a great day seeing how the Lord has been working with the church in Guatemala, seeing how faithful their members are to serve at the camp, lead the music and prepare all of the lessons.  The camp ends on Sunday afternoon, so I'm anxious to hear the stories of changed lives!  

Antigua: one of our favorite places

We made great time to Guatemala, arriving at Nelson and Rosemarie's home about 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.  Only Nelson was home because Rosemarie and the girls were wrapping up the youth camp.  By the time we got to hug Dani, Fabi and Rosemarie it was after 6:00!  After a quick trip to Walmart (found some Honey Nut Cheerios for Stephen), we had dinner and time to visit.

Thursday morning we were out of the house about 8:30 to go pick up the Pine Cove camp counselors for a free day of tourism in Antigua.  Having studied Spanish for eight weeks in Antigua in 2012, it remains one of our favorite places. 

It was lots of fun introducing the team to the cathedral, markets, arch and more.  Without contacting them, God orchestrated visits with both of our former teachers, Nanci and Corina.  Nanci and her husband live in Germany now, but were in Guatemala visiting her family for Christmas.  As I was waiting at the entrance to the market, they walked by!  Unbelievable to see them; seconds after they walked away, Corina walked by with one of her current Spanish students.  

We found a great place for lunch, visited another market and then ended our trip at the cross on the hill above the city.  Words don't do it justice, so here are some of the pictures: