Yesterday was the most adventurous and thrilling day I've ever had. After working all week to complete the stove project in Saqib, our team decided to take a day to explore another part of Guatemala about 2.5 hours north of Coban -
Semuc Champey. Many other teams use this day to travel to Antigua to do a little site seeing and relax. While Anitigua is a place I definitely would have liked to visit, our team decided to take the adventurous route. And I'm glad we did.
Semuc Champey is pretty much an all-natural extreme waterpark. Our day started with a trapeze rope swing that we all encouraged one another to try at least once. It was a great way to get our feet wet (no pun intended) for the day ahead of us. Next, our guide Carlos took us exploring through a cave where we could take nothing but a single wax candle. We walked into the dark cave not know what to expect (which was probably for the best) and here are the obstacles we encountered: climbing wet ladders, swimming with one arm while we held our candle up with the other arm, rappeling up a waterfall (I barely made it), jumping into a dark water hole, sliding down a rock while attempting to still keep our candle lit, then sliding down a shute where we were finally able to walk back out into the sun. It was intense!
And as if that wasn't enough, as we're walking away from the cave (thankful to be alive) Carlos says, "Now we're going tubing and then we'll jump off a bridge!" I guess our confidence was up and our adrenaline was still pumping, because without thinking twice we all yelled, "OK!" And that's exactly what we did. We floated down the Semuc Champey River, climbed out, hike up to a bridge and then jumped off a 30-ft bridge. I think that morning was enough adventure to last me a lifetime (or at least a few weeks).
This tour might not be for everyone, but it was an amazing experience for our team. We don't have many pictures to document it (although we each have our share of scrapes and bruises) which makes it a very special day that only we can really share together.
And it was a team-building activity to the max! Each of us had our strengths and weaknesses throughout the day. When one person needed help, someone was quickly there to hold their hand, give them a push, or talk them through it. It was incredible to see the encouragement that was passed around the group. We cheered one another through every obstacle. Congratulated each other when we made it through. And supported each other when we were hesitant or fearful. Just like a team should.
It was a beautiful picture of what our week of working side by side was all about and how we were able to accomplish all that we did with the stoves. None of us could have done it alone. But when we worked together, we were able to look back and say, "Wow, I can't believe what we accomplished. What an adventure!"
taking in the beauty of God's creation in Guatemala