Independent Service Week
By Andrea Dokter

  For my independent service week, I went to Jutiapa along with Ben, Rebecca, and Kurt. To tell you the truth, the thing excited me the most about this week was that we had to prepare our own food – this meant no more tortillas and frijoles! We were informed pre-hand that we would have basic kitchen facilities. Little did we know “basic” meant plates, cups, pots, ect. and a propane stove. Nothing else, not even a fridge. Of course we learned this after we bought food that needed to be refrigerated. Our host told us that we could use the tiend’s fridge, just up the street. At first I was less than pleased, but as the week went on we became friends of the children of the community. Getting to play with the children made the week beyond enjoyable- it was perfect. And all the wild chickens and intimidating turkey, which at first kind of scared me, ended up adding to the fun. God not only showed himself through the people of Jutiapa, but also in the beautiful sunsets, a powerful lightning storm and a blazing evening field fire, I’d have to say that this week was by far my favorite, and if I return to Guatemala, I will definitely visit Jutiapa.