Staying in the hotel in San Lucas is a chicken-eat-chicken world, where the chicken eats other chickens and if you don’t make it to breakfast five minutes early, bread will be the only thing on your plate to start the day. Early in the day we learned the ins and outs of the mission. First up, we learned that every group staying at the mission takes turns washing the dishes. 
To put this into perspective, the dishes occupy about eight full drying racks of plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. Jeana, Hannah, and Ashley were the brave three to begin the dirty task. Then the gang packed into the back of a pickup truck and we were off onto our tour of the mission’s projects. Our new friend Jango, a black lab puppy, accompanied us on our journey and was a big player among the ladies.
The first stop was
the newly opened Women’s Center, which took nearly ten years to complete. It offers a place for women to meet, talk, learn new things, and escape from the pressure of everyday women’s work. The second stop was the health clinic that was established by the mission. 
It was surprisingly much cleaner and developed than the regional hospital and clinic we had previously seen. They were much more equipped with tools, medical equipment, and surgery materials. The last stop was the reforestation program and the coffee farm. After an unusual steak, pineapple, and tomato stew, the group headed back to the coffee farm to begin our first dose of volunteer work. A few people shoveled dirt and picked weeds among the homes of thousands of biting ants. Many new friendships were 
made with the volunteer students from Saint Mary’s College of Minnesota. A few others were assigned the task of building the infrastructure of Guatemala. Nick and Nate cut pieces of metal, Jennie and Ashley bent them into (imperfect) rectangles. Laura got to cut wire into predetermined lengths, Nick and Nate then assembled all the pieces into the final product (which they completed in half the time it took the Saint Mary’s group). However, fun was not had by all; mainly Jennie who received a blister the size of a kidney bean. After yet another interesting meal 
consisting of bread and soup, we headed to a local hotel to use their wi-fi. Random drinks and desserts were ordered in order to prolong our useful time of internet access. Hopefully none of you were worried while we were out of contact!
PS….. Nate says HI MOM!
Authors: Jennie and Jill
To put this into perspective, the dishes occupy about eight full drying racks of plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. Jeana, Hannah, and Ashley were the brave three to begin the dirty task. Then the gang packed into the back of a pickup truck and we were off onto our tour of the mission’s projects. Our new friend Jango, a black lab puppy, accompanied us on our journey and was a big player among the ladies.
The first stop was
the newly opened Women’s Center, which took nearly ten years to complete. It offers a place for women to meet, talk, learn new things, and escape from the pressure of everyday women’s work. The second stop was the health clinic that was established by the mission. 
It was surprisingly much cleaner and developed than the regional hospital and clinic we had previously seen. They were much more equipped with tools, medical equipment, and surgery materials. The last stop was the reforestation program and the coffee farm. After an unusual steak, pineapple, and tomato stew, the group headed back to the coffee farm to begin our first dose of volunteer work. A few people shoveled dirt and picked weeds among the homes of thousands of biting ants. Many new friendships were 
made with the volunteer students from Saint Mary’s College of Minnesota. A few others were assigned the task of building the infrastructure of Guatemala. Nick and Nate cut pieces of metal, Jennie and Ashley bent them into (imperfect) rectangles. Laura got to cut wire into predetermined lengths, Nick and Nate then assembled all the pieces into the final product (which they completed in half the time it took the Saint Mary’s group). However, fun was not had by all; mainly Jennie who received a blister the size of a kidney bean. After yet another interesting meal 
consisting of bread and soup, we headed to a local hotel to use their wi-fi. Random drinks and desserts were ordered in order to prolong our useful time of internet access. Hopefully none of you were worried while we were out of contact!PS….. Nate says HI MOM!
Authors: Jennie and Jill
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