Chichicastenango

 There is a baby (bebe) underneath all of those pretty colors.

These are my new friends Angelica, Sebastian, and Veronica. They started out following us through the Catholic church attempting to sell us some Guatemala goodies. I have to admit that I gave in and bought a pretty purple purse from Sebastian...he was pretty persuasive! They were good sports about listening to my southern-style Spanish, and I am happy to say that I got their names and ages. Also, Sebastian liked to pretend he was a cat (gato), and so I challenged him to become a dog (perro), cow (vaca), pig (cerdo), and I stumped him when I asked him to sound like a fish (pescado) :) They were sweet kids, but they were so poor and so lost. They made my heart happy, but then again heavy because of their lifestyle.

Raw meat in the open market...not appetizing at all.

 These people love American clothes.

Very impressive...

Sacrifices on the Catholic church steps.

 Extremely poor old man who followed us all the way through the church asking for money.

More sacrifices on the church steps.

Chichicastenango was a change of scenery from the places I have been in the past few days. It was a very crowded place, and things were less than sanitary. I think Mrs. Sarah looked up this place on the internet and the comment was made that tourists should never eat in Chichi. I can see why...

The amount of people that were surrounding the Catholic church was large, and the entire city revolved around it. When we walked into the church, we noticed a lady on her knees slowly walking towards the alter. We continued to watch her as she offered a personal sacrifice for her sins. We lost count but the number of times she would walk on her knees to the alter and walk backwards..still on her knees...was numerous. A national told Larry that she was simply paying for her failures...how sad is that? I wanted so badly to stop her and hug her and let her know that all she has to do is call on the name of the Lord. 

1 John 1:9

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

We also met some Morman missionaries from Utah in Chichi, and it hit me that they are lost just like the people of Guatemala. The need for the Gospel is EVERYWHERE, and I cannot wait to go out with teams tomorrow! God is so GOOD, and I am so grateful to be here with all of these opportunities in front of me. 

My updates will be slower from now on because I won't be here in the capitol as much, but be patient...I promise they are coming! Thank you so much for your prayers...you have no idea how overwhelmed this 19 year old girl from Arkansas is to be serving our great God in Guatemala. I love ya'll so much!