Yesterday was a very successful day. We met with our new partners at Casa Angelina for a great celebration in Church. Many children had been recently baptized so they shared their awesome life-changing testimonies in the service. Then, after a quick meeting with the leadership at Casa Angelina most of the team headed out to Antigua for a shopping experience.
The Extreme Shoppers had no problem finding some awesome prizes; beautiful clothes (la ropa), purses (bolsas), and much much more. The best thing of all was that this was the fourth Sunday of Lent. On this special day, a very large procession (parade) takes place where tens of thousands of people come to celebrate Jesus entry into Jerusalem. The street decorations are called “alfombras de aserrin”, carpets of sawdust, and they are decorated with flowers, colored sand, and sawdust. Floats with statues of the Crucifixion are carried through the streets on men’s shoulders.
We were not expecting this throng of people to show up. While we were shopping, David Watts and Maria Lopez (our LWftW translator) were shopping and the police cordoned off the street. This was not a problem except for one thing. We were on the other side of the blockade. People everywhere, we could not even see the people standing right next to us. We tried to “high tail it” out of there but it was too late. We were swept through streets like a river and eventually spilled out at Pollo Compero (Guatemala’s version of Kentucky Fried Chicken). But… not David and no Maria Lopez.
Fortunately, due to our excellent planning, we had Maria’s cell phone number. We called our lost party and by some miracle, they were able to “hail” a three wheeled cab and THEY BEAT US TO THE HOTEL. Well, we were just glad to have them back and everyone had a good time except those who “dropped” while shopping.
Love to see all the pictures and updates. Praying for everyone to stay healthy. Sandy and Gordie from kc