Getting Ready for Guatemala

Hey there fellow travelers!

When I started this blog about two years ago, I had no idea just how many adventures I was going to have. From hiking to waterfalls and singing "Iesu alofa i timaiti" (Jesus loves the little children in Samoan) to being attacked by fresh pineapples in Samoa and macaws in Brazil to getting an emergency passport for a friend in Buenos Aires and trekking through Argentina and Chile, I have been so blessed by the trips that I have gotten to take. Looking back to my trips is one of my favorite things to do, but nothing will pull you into the present like a week to make preparations for your next trip combined with preparing you medical school application. Whew!

So yes, Guatemala is next. Just to bring you up to speed, I leave on Saturday morning, bright and early with one of my MET colleagues from Harding (no I don't know him yet) from Dallas Love Field. I will fly to the ever-delightful Houston and then on to Guatemala city. From there I believe we will be heading straight to our first host homes and starting language school the next day. You may be thinking, "Kate? Doesn't Kate know Spanish? Why does she need language school?" Well, Yes, I am Kate and I know a good amount of Spanish. Kate needs language school because a lot of the population she is going to be working with speaks Kiche, a Mayan language, and probably less Spanish than I know. So language school will hopefully help bridge that gap...and teach me some sign language, at least the signs for clean water and food. :)

After about a week in language school the plan is to head to one of the two clinics we will be working in for some clinical and missional training for about a week. After this point, we will be split up into two groups, one will stay at the coast and one, mine, will go up to Chichi, up in the mountains. After two weeks of clinic, the teams will switch. After two weeks on the coast, we will get back together and go to Antigua for some sight seeing and souvenir-touristy-stay-in-a-hotel-with-hot-water stuff.

I would just ask that you all be in prayer for our mission, those who we are working with, our language barrier and our health. I am so excited and passionate about this work. Truly, for me, this is living my dream. This is what I believe that God could be calling me to long term, so I am excited to see what that could look like for me.

Thanks for the support, comments, and emails as I begin this journey!

Blessings!