Today, we visited Seteca (a seminary) for the Transforma 2015 conference which has gathered many ministry leaders across Guatemala City together. We were able to hang out with a woman named Aury who grew up scavenging in the garbage dump with her family and hear her story (She's the woman in the pink shirt in the photo).
Aury, Silvia, Lori, and Lesbia at Seteca
Transforma 2015 at Seteca
After Seteca, we visited the Guatemalan headquarters of AMG where my friends Gary and Rachel work with youth who live in the slums. The site we visited houses a school that 800 students attend with 40 teachers along with psychologists who help students through the trauma of abuse that they have experienced in order to break the cycle and build a bridge for the youth to not fall into the pit of gang violence or drug abuse. They also offer many other cool programs like a Sew Hope work program for mothers in the community where these women are paid employees of AMG given valuable skill training to make the students' school uniforms along with work placement programs. More information about this organization is available at the link below.
Silvia, Rachel, Gary, me, and my mom at AMG
Rachel and Gary also brought my mom and I to one of the cemeteries overlooking the dump where many people work to show us a little more of the context of the communities they are working within. Many vision trip groups start by coming to the cemetery and dump when they visit.
Overlook from the cemetery to the garbage dump below
We were able to meet up with my host dad Mefi for lunch before Silvia, Andrea, my mom, and I had a girls day out in Zona 1 where there is a large underground market, shops, and government buildings. On the way out we saw one of the protests happening at the capital right now where people are camping out and have chained themselves to the door of the national palace.
Shopping at the market in Zona 1 with Andrea and Silvia
Que rico
The protests happening at the national palace
(photo taken on my phone in a moving car)
It was another great day where multiple people- Silvia, Andrea, Mefi, Aury, Lesbia, Gary, and Rachel all took time to make our time here such a full and incredible experience as Kim and the Moran family did the day before. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and for following along with what we're doing :)
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