Hola people,
Another two weeks of español clases are now under our belts, which means more words and phrases for us to memorize. My spanish may not be the best, but I’ve definitely been able to connect with my host family more now that I can easily carry on small conversation! Learning a new language is such a struggle, but it’s also muchosatisfying to be able to put it to use right outside our classes either at home or on our town rips to Antigua throughout the week.
Amongst all this spanish learning, we took a break and made a trip out to a small mountain side village, where made the journey up Volcán de Pacaya. It was a good 2 hour hike for our group so everyone was muy feliz when we finally reached the top! I on the other hand, didn’t hike up the volcano but instead took the trip up on horseback with two others! It was sooo nice to be back in the saddle after so long, but boy did it makes me miss my own fur babies at home!! At three quarters of the way up we left our horses to rest and hiked the rest of the way with our outtatown gang. Once we reached the top and got that first glimpse of the view laid out before us, my breath was taken away. Not only could we see the smoking volcano next to us but also Volcán de Fuega and Volcán de Acatenango could be seen in the distance. After roasting marshmallows and finishing our packed suppers, we watched the sun set as it disappeared from the colourful sky. By the time we got back to our bus I was exhausted, but I have to say I think that was one of my favourite afternoon excursions we’ve had so far on this trip!
The past week has been quite tiresome and I’ve had so many things lay heavily on my mind, but with these struggles always comes growth. God is stretching me in ways I didn’t know were possible and some of the roots I have in my heart really hurt to dig out, but once I get rid of them, the feeling of being free and renewed amazingly replaces the feeling of darkness with light. A verse thats been helpful to me lately is one I always find myself going back to the most because God knows it’s the one I need to hear the most. James 1:2-3 “Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Some days perseverance is hard to come by, but putting that effort in to keep going has always eventually been worth it for me in the end. This semester is about learning, and walking hand-in-hand with that is growing. I have new roots to plant and this semester is prime time to get those seeds planted!!
Adiós folks,
The next blog will be out next week so you can hear all about our time in Santiago with our indigenous host families and much more!!
Kiera & Noah
