Guatemala, continued

(I'm still playing blog-catch up.  I just keep getting further behind!  Still blogging about a trip I took LAST MONTH to Guatemala...)

Our little traveling group was in Guatemala over the weekend, so on Saturday we played tourist for a little bit and traveled to Antigua to do a little shopping.  We stopped off at a lookout point to catch a view of the beautiful city. 

The volcano in the background is usually covered in clouds, but we caught a brief glimpse of the top.  

The volcano behind us in this picture near Antigua spewed ash and dust all over the place about a week before we went, but it was clear and beautiful on our Saturday.

We spent a few hours in Antigua, shopped for soccer jerseys, scarves, purses, and just supported the local economy in general.

On Sunday we checked out the local market in the morning, a three-story parking garage that on the weekends transforms into a market place selling everything from raw organ meats to lingerie.  Sort of an open-air Guatemalan Wal-Mart, if you will.

Sunday afternoon we loaded up and headed out to church, where I realized I have even less 'clap while singing' ability than I do when the songs are in English.  It's sad how little rhythm I have.  Sad.  

During "sermon time", our little group headed outside to help with the kids' lessons.  

For the past year, the kids at our church have been raising money to help build a shelter for the kids church here in Guatemala.  We enjoyed the "open air" portion of church while the storm clouds rolled in.  

This time of year it rains many afternoons here, and children's church frequently gets rained out.  

I'm sure one particular motorcycle owner will be very happy when the kids have their own building to color in.

Monday morning we packed up and headed on home, already counting the weeks till our next trip to visit our new friends in Guatemala!