Guatemala Partnership

The last two and a half weeks here in Guatemala have been filled with some of the most fun, meaningful, productive, and magical days I’ve had in this country – and that is saying a lot because every trip has been an amazing experience (as many of you know!) And the response we have received from you during this trip has been inspiring – with your blog comments, your donations, and your emails asking what this year’s Advent project is going to be. (The answer is the Chicken Project and our holiday campaign will begin on Giving Tuesday, December 3, but feel free to give now if you’d like!)

This week, I am traveling to various communities that work with the Association to visit different projects, accompanied by energetic staff and board members, a driver and an interpreter. (My Spanish is decent but not quite good enough for in-depth discussions, plus most conversations in rural areas have to be interpreted from Mam to Spanish to English).

Yesterday we headed to a village called Las Barrancas, which literally means “the ravines.” Tucked away in lush and remote mountains, this gorgeous place feels somewhat forgotten. Although the roads seemed much improved from the last time I ventured out this way about four years ago, the trek still took two hours on pothole-filled, muddy surfaces that are sometimes impassible in the rainy season. We had two trusty 4x4s and great drivers, so we made it there and back without a hitch.