// Guatemala - 01/11/2009

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going to work or school and walking-around-life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Take a deep breath, relax, and open yourself and your life to God." Romans 12:1-8

Today...

I saw homes made of thin metal and slats of wood.

I tasted jalapeno cornbread.

I rested on two different hotel beds that really weren't that bad.

I heard about a long stretch - as in miles - of homes just like the few I saw made of metal and boards.

I smelled "fresh air" that smelled more like sewage to me.

I met Juan, who is our Spanish-only-speaking bus driver. I also met Raul, who will help us communicate with Juan and other Spanish-only-speakers we work with.

The weather today was warm and sunny. Maybe 80 degrees. Something I saw today, that I think will stick with me, was the old hunched-over man walking along the side of the road, miles from any city, carrying a huge pile of sticks on his back.

[L-R: Roberto, the foreman's assistant. Raul, our translator. Miguel, the foreman. Juan, our bus driver.]