Our first meal in Guatemala was at Pollo Campero (arguably the McDonalds of Guatemala), a really popular chicken place. The chicken was absolutely delicious and it prepared us for the long and grueling four and a half hour drive up to the mountains of Quetzaltenango. We settled into our hotel at about 10.00pm (which was really midnight on the East Coast) knowing that we had a long day ahead of us at the Battered Women's Shelter.
Joey, our Community Relations Pastor, was really taken by the kids at the Battered Women's Shelter, we nicknamed him the Pied Piper, as the kids flocked to him continuously. It was such an experience as many of the kids generally spend much of the day entertaining themselves while their mothers do all the chores that keep the shelter running from day to day. With some of us doing their chores, and others playing with, entertaining, and ministering to the kids, the mothers had a chance to put their feet up for the first time in a long time. The little boy in the 'hoodie' was very aloof initially as his mother was in the hospital and so he was all alone at the shelter, where they'd only been living for about a week. He wandered around aimlessly, completely devoid of emotions and we couldn't even get him to smile. After a few hours, he was laughing and playing and telling us stories. It truly warmed my heart to be able to bring a measure of joy to his life amongst so many others. Tomorrow I will begin to talk about the story that impacted me the most and I'll have photos to go along with the story.
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