Hey Ya'll!
Well we're packed and ready to go. It's been six months since we were in Guatemala- but it sure feels like alot longer. We'll be gone for two weeks in the sun (mid-70's there) while you all are stuck here in the dreary little town of Fort Wayne! Haha! Here's the general itenerary (wrong spelling i know) for the next two weeks:
December 31- Leave for Detroit with Grandma and the Anguaino's
January 1 (Happy New Year!)- Plane departs at 7:20 *yawn* for Houston, we head from Houston to Guatemala City, arrive that night
January 2-5- Hang out in the gorgeous town of Antigua
January 5- Head to the orphanage, meet with the Shroyer's and the Scheumann's.
January 13- Head back to the U.S.
January 14- Home!
It's not as complicated as the last trip, where we were in a different city or town every day. We have three families joining us.....oh sounds like we're ready to leave! Andrew Anguaino is doing a blog too so make sure to check it out! I dont know what it is so I'll let ya know!
Smiles!
Morgan
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
Last Day In Guatemala
!Hola!
Wow it feels like we´ve been here forever but still only a few seconds. Its gone by so fast and yet so slow at the same time. All I can say is that this has been a trip of a lifetime. We head back to Guatemala City tonight, a five hour drive. Our plane leaves tomorrow morning, and it feels horrible.
Ok so I do have to say I did a pretty darn good job of journaling EVERYTHING the first week and a half. Now I dont even know where to start or where to end. Everythings gone by in such a blur that I can barely remember what we did this morning. So just the general details are all I can give.
Lets see, today being Monday we packed, then the group split up, some going to a waterfall about an hour away and some of us horsebackriding through the rainforest. I was with the horsebackriding gang. I do havta say my stallion was a little independent and wild at times. He was cool. Lol.
Ok, yesterday, hmm....cant remember. Oh! We went over to Livingston, the boat ride was gorgeous even though it was cloudy and rainy. The town wasnt so great. Not the safest, cleanest, or enjoyable place to go but we went along for the ride.
Saturday we were at Lake Attitlan and Panahachel, and took a boat ride across the lake to a small Guatemala town, it was market day so it was a must go. Wow, think we might be having an earthquake, everything just shook. We drove up to Rio Dolce and grabbed a hotel and saw a castle built to fight the pirates coming up the river. Was actually sunny for half the day that day.
Friday we kayaked around Lake Attitlan and kinda putzed around for all I remember. Going blank here. Lol.
Hmm...Lets see, we went to Antigua and spent two days there, gosh I cant remember, ok, well I´ll figure it all out and let you know soon. K, my food is ready and my Iced Hibiscus is anxiously awaiting by the pool so talk to ya soon!!!
SMILES!
Morgan!!!
Wow it feels like we´ve been here forever but still only a few seconds. Its gone by so fast and yet so slow at the same time. All I can say is that this has been a trip of a lifetime. We head back to Guatemala City tonight, a five hour drive. Our plane leaves tomorrow morning, and it feels horrible.
Ok so I do have to say I did a pretty darn good job of journaling EVERYTHING the first week and a half. Now I dont even know where to start or where to end. Everythings gone by in such a blur that I can barely remember what we did this morning. So just the general details are all I can give.
Lets see, today being Monday we packed, then the group split up, some going to a waterfall about an hour away and some of us horsebackriding through the rainforest. I was with the horsebackriding gang. I do havta say my stallion was a little independent and wild at times. He was cool. Lol.
Ok, yesterday, hmm....cant remember. Oh! We went over to Livingston, the boat ride was gorgeous even though it was cloudy and rainy. The town wasnt so great. Not the safest, cleanest, or enjoyable place to go but we went along for the ride.
Saturday we were at Lake Attitlan and Panahachel, and took a boat ride across the lake to a small Guatemala town, it was market day so it was a must go. Wow, think we might be having an earthquake, everything just shook. We drove up to Rio Dolce and grabbed a hotel and saw a castle built to fight the pirates coming up the river. Was actually sunny for half the day that day.
Friday we kayaked around Lake Attitlan and kinda putzed around for all I remember. Going blank here. Lol.
Hmm...Lets see, we went to Antigua and spent two days there, gosh I cant remember, ok, well I´ll figure it all out and let you know soon. K, my food is ready and my Iced Hibiscus is anxiously awaiting by the pool so talk to ya soon!!!
SMILES!
Morgan!!!
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Still Alive
!Hola!
We¨re still alive here at Rio Dolce. Gotta type quick cause we gotta catch a boat to Livingston. We finally got a days worth of sun yesterday but its cloudy again. Great. Bye Bye tan. The mosquitoes here are as big as turkeys, the air is thick from all the rain, and theres signs posted on all the palm trees warning you to watch for falling coconuts. Lol.
We´ve been to castles, seen Lake Attitlan(check some pics out its gorgeious), and have ridden in hot sweaty vans for hours on end. There´s been geicos in our hotel rooms, we´ve been climbing mountains, running across teetering rope bridges, and having disaster kayaking expiriences. And we´ve been having a blast.
Okidoke, I´m gonna be on later tonight to give more details, so I wont tell all away now. Oh, by the way, the food here is amazing. Had Hibiscus juice this morning¡ was super good. Love love love!!!
SMILES!
We¨re still alive here at Rio Dolce. Gotta type quick cause we gotta catch a boat to Livingston. We finally got a days worth of sun yesterday but its cloudy again. Great. Bye Bye tan. The mosquitoes here are as big as turkeys, the air is thick from all the rain, and theres signs posted on all the palm trees warning you to watch for falling coconuts. Lol.
We´ve been to castles, seen Lake Attitlan(check some pics out its gorgeious), and have ridden in hot sweaty vans for hours on end. There´s been geicos in our hotel rooms, we´ve been climbing mountains, running across teetering rope bridges, and having disaster kayaking expiriences. And we´ve been having a blast.
Okidoke, I´m gonna be on later tonight to give more details, so I wont tell all away now. Oh, by the way, the food here is amazing. Had Hibiscus juice this morning¡ was super good. Love love love!!!
SMILES!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
We saw the sun today! Weathers clearing up! Finally
Hola from Antigua!
Yep we´re in the city still. Woke up early this morning and prepared to hike a volcano- Picaya. Of course, since the weathers been freakin crappy here (ya its rained EVERY day), the conditions were too dangerous to hike it. Ya, we even bought marshmallows to roast over the lava (seriously).
So plan B, which we concurred right on the spot, was to head to Mayan ruins about an hour and a half away. We picked up some bread, pastries, rolls, coffee cake, and who knows what else at a panedaria along the way. We fed fifteen people for three American dollars. Ya, it was really good bread too.
The Mayan ruins were amazing. We were the only people there and could climb all the old temples and stuff. Some of the temples had massive trees on top so then we climed those and you could see ruins for what seemed like miles and miles. It was so gorgeous. Everythings so green and fresh here. Its the Land of Eternal Spring. GORGEOUS!
We headed back to Antigua and stopped by a coffee plantation after lunch, but the tours were closed. Bummer- cause it would have been really cool. We did also stop at a clearinbg on the side of a mountain, and hung out at a cross, appropriately titled La Cruz. It overlooked the entire city, and was so picturesque. We got lost on the way back. I would go into detail but Im short on time.
Oh gosh, i got to go. Its Mrs Caudills birthday and we´re gonna surprise her. I dont know exactly whats going on though. Nothing new. Lol. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
SMILES!
M
Yep we´re in the city still. Woke up early this morning and prepared to hike a volcano- Picaya. Of course, since the weathers been freakin crappy here (ya its rained EVERY day), the conditions were too dangerous to hike it. Ya, we even bought marshmallows to roast over the lava (seriously).
So plan B, which we concurred right on the spot, was to head to Mayan ruins about an hour and a half away. We picked up some bread, pastries, rolls, coffee cake, and who knows what else at a panedaria along the way. We fed fifteen people for three American dollars. Ya, it was really good bread too.
The Mayan ruins were amazing. We were the only people there and could climb all the old temples and stuff. Some of the temples had massive trees on top so then we climed those and you could see ruins for what seemed like miles and miles. It was so gorgeous. Everythings so green and fresh here. Its the Land of Eternal Spring. GORGEOUS!
We headed back to Antigua and stopped by a coffee plantation after lunch, but the tours were closed. Bummer- cause it would have been really cool. We did also stop at a clearinbg on the side of a mountain, and hung out at a cross, appropriately titled La Cruz. It overlooked the entire city, and was so picturesque. We got lost on the way back. I would go into detail but Im short on time.
Oh gosh, i got to go. Its Mrs Caudills birthday and we´re gonna surprise her. I dont know exactly whats going on though. Nothing new. Lol. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
SMILES!
M
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
HAve a computer!
!Hola¡
Ok started a play by play of our journey but then got tired of typing up things that had already happened so Ill just start with today.
Leaving Casa Bernabe was so hard. Some of the toddlers started crying when we left. But we were also anxious to get on with the rest of the freak parade.
I have no idea what time we left Casa Bernabe or what time we arrived in Antigua. Swear they have like four clocks in all of Guatemala. Anyway, we arrived at the hotel and met up with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Greg. Gregs gonna spend the rest of the trip with us and Kathy leaves in a couple days. Just one more addition to the rodeo. Lol.
Moving on. We arrived in Antigua and headed out to lunch. It was a really cute restarante in the middle of Central park. The hot chocolate is amazing, was super rich and creamy. They grow the cacao beans here so it was DELICIOUSO!!!!
After lunch we walked around the town for a copule hours. This place is adorable. The streets are cobblestone and the houses and shops are clay roofed, each building is painted a separate color, filling the street with bright reds, oranges, yellows, blues-you name it. Wow, almost out of internet time. Ok, so ya, it rained all day too. Its SUPPOSED to break up by tomorrow but who knows. We visited all the old cathedrals and churches in town- or the ruins at least. There used to be a ton of major earthquakes here and they all collapsed. They were absolutely gorgeious though. The ornate details of them all were beautiful. And the ruins only made it more capturing.
Were planning to stay in Antigua tomorrow and hike a volcano. An active one. Hehe, ok, so dinner time. Talk to ya soon hopefully! And merlins beard comment!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
SMILES!
Morgan
Ok started a play by play of our journey but then got tired of typing up things that had already happened so Ill just start with today.
Leaving Casa Bernabe was so hard. Some of the toddlers started crying when we left. But we were also anxious to get on with the rest of the freak parade.
I have no idea what time we left Casa Bernabe or what time we arrived in Antigua. Swear they have like four clocks in all of Guatemala. Anyway, we arrived at the hotel and met up with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Greg. Gregs gonna spend the rest of the trip with us and Kathy leaves in a couple days. Just one more addition to the rodeo. Lol.
Moving on. We arrived in Antigua and headed out to lunch. It was a really cute restarante in the middle of Central park. The hot chocolate is amazing, was super rich and creamy. They grow the cacao beans here so it was DELICIOUSO!!!!
After lunch we walked around the town for a copule hours. This place is adorable. The streets are cobblestone and the houses and shops are clay roofed, each building is painted a separate color, filling the street with bright reds, oranges, yellows, blues-you name it. Wow, almost out of internet time. Ok, so ya, it rained all day too. Its SUPPOSED to break up by tomorrow but who knows. We visited all the old cathedrals and churches in town- or the ruins at least. There used to be a ton of major earthquakes here and they all collapsed. They were absolutely gorgeious though. The ornate details of them all were beautiful. And the ruins only made it more capturing.
Were planning to stay in Antigua tomorrow and hike a volcano. An active one. Hehe, ok, so dinner time. Talk to ya soon hopefully! And merlins beard comment!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
SMILES!
Morgan
Monday, June 02, 2008
ONe more thing...
Ok the Caudills have a blog too, at www.caudilljunglejive.com
Check it out. And comment on both please!
~M~
Check it out. And comment on both please!
~M~
Last Day at Casa Bernabe- Moments full of Miracles
Hola!
Buenos Nochas! Wow this week has been a whirlwind. I cant write everything but dont worry- one of these days I'll give you a day to day update. I've been keeping a journal so i can just type everything from there and not forget everything!
Ok, so I'm known as the "painter" here. They need alot of that done so ya, as I said before I've been covered in paint since the minute I got here. It's been extremely crappy weather here, its been raining like crazy- pouring. Its rainy season and a hurricane is lingering off Honduras and we're getting all the leftovers. So ya, the mural I started the other day is capoot- or was untill an hour ago when i repainted it (for the third time) after Dad and Mr. Caudill set up a tarp tent. Lol. It was really frusturating though because all the wet paint would just wash off with the rain. Been soaked the the bone all day because I've been trying to finish it.
To add to that when it is pouring we've been painting more murals in a house with 12 girls ranging from 8-14. We've painted like every room with some sort of mural- heck its been like extreme home makeover. So, lets see, between Mrs. Caudill, Mom, Mackenzie and I, with the help of my sisters have done six murals in the past 24 hours. ya, weve been busy
Dad and Mr.Caudill have been busy constructing bookshelves, fixing bikes for the toddlers (who are the cutest things EVER) and fixing plumbing.
Ok so the food here is AMAZING! Its like really good. Ya.
So the most amazing (been using that word alot) thing happened tonight. Sara told us that the staff wanted to pray over us before we left and to come to the staff meeting at 7. So we go upstairs and they all start clapping for us. Then, as we're standing there they stand up and thank us individually for what we did this week. You gotta understand that they have groups coming in every couple days and dont do this for each one so it's a huge privilege. They then pray for us, surrounding us. We all ended up in tears, hugging everyone we saw. It was such an indescribable feeling.
The kids here are so priveleged to be at Casa Bernabe. Since its not government funded theres no regulations that they have to fufill so the living spaces are much more comfortable and so on. Some of these kids have gone through more then any of us could possibly imagines. This place is a fortress for them.
Little miracles have happened every day here, whether its being able to witness a toddlers leg cast being taken off and watching him walk for the first time in 7 weeks or having a church youth group of over 300 people come and throw a party for the kids. Ok, need to elaborate on that because that was amazing (see theres that word again). So we have no idea why these people came to Casa Bernabe, we just happened to walk in the building and there was this huge party going on. I mean literally the place was packed.
So, after the party the pastor of the church is speaking to the crowd (it really was a crowd, like 400 people at a minimum) in spanish, and of course we have no idea what he's saying. Then he turns to us and in a thick accent says "WE thank you from the very bottom of our hearts. Without you this orphanage would not be possible. God has truly blessed Casa Bernabe with you coming here." It was flooring; we totally were'nt expecting it. He then goes on in Spanish for a while, then calls all of us up to the front of the room with some of Casa Bernabe staff. Then, after some more words that I didnt understand to the audience they all stretched out hteir hands and started praying for us.
Now its not like how we pray for a person during church in the states. They all said their own prayer- all at the same time- and aloud. Swarming us, they put our hands on us and were literally yelling at the sky. I didnt know what they were saying but it was so amazing. It cant be described but I could just feel for a moment that the spiritual warfare around the orphanage halted and a titanum wall was protecting that building. God was in the room and Kenzie agreed that you could feel Him surrounding you. Was indescribable. It was definently a miracle moment.
Wow, what was supposed to be a short blog turned into a really really long blog. Please pray that the weather shapes up here and we can continue with our original plan, that Tatum (whose been sick today) gets well, and that this place is blessed more then it already is (if it is even possible). Ok, so Kenzies lingering over my shoulder waiting to go so ya. Talk to you soon hopefully!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!
SMILES!!!!
~M~
Buenos Nochas! Wow this week has been a whirlwind. I cant write everything but dont worry- one of these days I'll give you a day to day update. I've been keeping a journal so i can just type everything from there and not forget everything!
Ok, so I'm known as the "painter" here. They need alot of that done so ya, as I said before I've been covered in paint since the minute I got here. It's been extremely crappy weather here, its been raining like crazy- pouring. Its rainy season and a hurricane is lingering off Honduras and we're getting all the leftovers. So ya, the mural I started the other day is capoot- or was untill an hour ago when i repainted it (for the third time) after Dad and Mr. Caudill set up a tarp tent. Lol. It was really frusturating though because all the wet paint would just wash off with the rain. Been soaked the the bone all day because I've been trying to finish it.
To add to that when it is pouring we've been painting more murals in a house with 12 girls ranging from 8-14. We've painted like every room with some sort of mural- heck its been like extreme home makeover. So, lets see, between Mrs. Caudill, Mom, Mackenzie and I, with the help of my sisters have done six murals in the past 24 hours. ya, weve been busy
Dad and Mr.Caudill have been busy constructing bookshelves, fixing bikes for the toddlers (who are the cutest things EVER) and fixing plumbing.
Ok so the food here is AMAZING! Its like really good. Ya.
So the most amazing (been using that word alot) thing happened tonight. Sara told us that the staff wanted to pray over us before we left and to come to the staff meeting at 7. So we go upstairs and they all start clapping for us. Then, as we're standing there they stand up and thank us individually for what we did this week. You gotta understand that they have groups coming in every couple days and dont do this for each one so it's a huge privilege. They then pray for us, surrounding us. We all ended up in tears, hugging everyone we saw. It was such an indescribable feeling.
The kids here are so priveleged to be at Casa Bernabe. Since its not government funded theres no regulations that they have to fufill so the living spaces are much more comfortable and so on. Some of these kids have gone through more then any of us could possibly imagines. This place is a fortress for them.
Little miracles have happened every day here, whether its being able to witness a toddlers leg cast being taken off and watching him walk for the first time in 7 weeks or having a church youth group of over 300 people come and throw a party for the kids. Ok, need to elaborate on that because that was amazing (see theres that word again). So we have no idea why these people came to Casa Bernabe, we just happened to walk in the building and there was this huge party going on. I mean literally the place was packed.
So, after the party the pastor of the church is speaking to the crowd (it really was a crowd, like 400 people at a minimum) in spanish, and of course we have no idea what he's saying. Then he turns to us and in a thick accent says "WE thank you from the very bottom of our hearts. Without you this orphanage would not be possible. God has truly blessed Casa Bernabe with you coming here." It was flooring; we totally were'nt expecting it. He then goes on in Spanish for a while, then calls all of us up to the front of the room with some of Casa Bernabe staff. Then, after some more words that I didnt understand to the audience they all stretched out hteir hands and started praying for us.
Now its not like how we pray for a person during church in the states. They all said their own prayer- all at the same time- and aloud. Swarming us, they put our hands on us and were literally yelling at the sky. I didnt know what they were saying but it was so amazing. It cant be described but I could just feel for a moment that the spiritual warfare around the orphanage halted and a titanum wall was protecting that building. God was in the room and Kenzie agreed that you could feel Him surrounding you. Was indescribable. It was definently a miracle moment.
Wow, what was supposed to be a short blog turned into a really really long blog. Please pray that the weather shapes up here and we can continue with our original plan, that Tatum (whose been sick today) gets well, and that this place is blessed more then it already is (if it is even possible). Ok, so Kenzies lingering over my shoulder waiting to go so ya. Talk to you soon hopefully!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!
SMILES!!!!
~M~
Friday, May 30, 2008
Quick update
hey ya'll
Ok, gotta make this quick. We're at Casa Bernabe and I have the coveted internet access for a short time. These past days have been super slow and a whirlwind all at once. Our plane was delayed on Wensday so we ended up having a four hour layover in Detroit and a six hour layover in Houston. It was a never ending day. We ended up at Casa Bernabe around 10 that night. Keep in mind that we woke up at 4 our time and went to bed at 2 our time.
We've all been busy painting (ok, so i was given the task of painting the entire kitchen and washroom, ceilings and all. Its a HUGE job, still working on it.), working with babies and toddlers, constructing bookshelves and organizing sheds. I saw several ducks get there heads chopped off and plucked today. Take a guess at what we had for dinner.
You think you know Spanish untill you arrive in a place where English is a second language and you are completely out of the circle. It's almost like your deaf here, its a totally different world. Amazing though.
Ok, so check back soon cause who knows when I'll be able to write again. Could be in two hours so ya. Lol.
SMILES!
~Morgan~
Ok, gotta make this quick. We're at Casa Bernabe and I have the coveted internet access for a short time. These past days have been super slow and a whirlwind all at once. Our plane was delayed on Wensday so we ended up having a four hour layover in Detroit and a six hour layover in Houston. It was a never ending day. We ended up at Casa Bernabe around 10 that night. Keep in mind that we woke up at 4 our time and went to bed at 2 our time.
We've all been busy painting (ok, so i was given the task of painting the entire kitchen and washroom, ceilings and all. Its a HUGE job, still working on it.), working with babies and toddlers, constructing bookshelves and organizing sheds. I saw several ducks get there heads chopped off and plucked today. Take a guess at what we had for dinner.
You think you know Spanish untill you arrive in a place where English is a second language and you are completely out of the circle. It's almost like your deaf here, its a totally different world. Amazing though.
Ok, so check back soon cause who knows when I'll be able to write again. Could be in two hours so ya. Lol.
SMILES!
~Morgan~
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