Day Six: The Mayan Ruins and The Mercado

Day Six is our final day in Guatemala.  The realization of this brings many mixed emotions.  We are not quite ready to leave....there's so much more to do.  But we are also more than ready to see our families and our homes.  God has opened our hearts to this country and its people and it's hard to say goodbye.  Before we do though, we had the opportunity to see an important piece of the history of Guatemala and its people; the Mayan Ruins in Iximche. 

We went through a small museum where Steve and Clay told us a little bit about how the ruins looked in their heyday...and how the Mayan culture was basically destroyed.  Steve also gave us some sobering background on the civil war that tore this country apart not too long ago. 

 The boys really loved the wide open spaces of the ruins!  They were able to run and stretch their legs!  Steve's son, Jackson, was along for this trip and I think the five boys had a blast running, climbing, and seeing what was left of all of these ancient buildings. 

At the back of the ruins, there is an area that has reopened to Mayan traditional services and sacrifices.  There was a large group holding a service.  It was disturbing watching people chant, bow down, and praise a god that is false.  Their hopes for life, health, and happiness are hinging upon a god that is not there.  It was heartbreaking to see so many who were being lead down this path. 

Although the Ruins were informative and beautiful, it was also a reminder of so many people who do not know the true and living Lord.  We have to pray mightily that these people will one day be saved.  This is why we are here.....to help spread the Gospel to a people who are living in the dark. 

As an end to our trip, we also went to the local Mercado (market) in Antigua to shop a little.  Now THIS was an interesting shopping experience!  The vendors (which there were literally hundreds of!) would call out to you from their booths.  Bartering and haggling ensued and we all got to walk away with some wonderful momentos from our Guatemala trip.   If you hear any of us saying "Gautever!"...we might have picked that up from here ;) 

This was our final Guatemalan experience!  It's hard to believe that our week is already over.  We feel like we just got here....yet we feel like we've been here forever.  Tomorrow morning we will board our plane and fly back home...but we will be going home as completely different people.  We have seen and experienced things that have changed our perceptions on life forever.  God is so good and He has worked in our hearts this week in a mighty way.  And we praise Him and thank Him for that!  We will see you all soon :)

In Him,
The Guatemala Team