Holy Mountain in Almolonga, Guatemala

We had an early start to the day for our 5-hour road trip to Holy Mountain. 

lounging in the bus for the ride

About 2 hours into the ride, we stopped at a Swiss Chalet restaurant for breakfast. 

There was a large assortment of choices on the menu.  Some opted for traditional Guatemalan breakfasts while others went for crepes, pancakes or waffles.  Mike had mentioned that the hot chocolate was good there, so a few of us tried it.  It was SUPER rich. 

 

The hot chocolate was rich--it was like squeezing the Hershey's syrup bottle in your mouth

We continued up the mountain and made another pit stop on the way for a bathroom break.

This is never a good sign...all was okay though

Upon arriving at our hotel in Xela, we dropped our bags in the office and continued on.  Another local pastor had invited Pastor Mynor and our group for lunch.  We had all had a large breakfast and were not really ready for any lunch, but...that didn't really matter.  So, we all piled into a tiny van...crazy!?  We were packed in!

 

A street in Xela

Lunch was delicious!  Of course, you know when there are teenage boys around (really, who are we kidding....when ANY age boys are around), there always seems to be a competition.  Two of the guys were trying to beat each other in the amount of chile sauce they ate.  You can ask them for yourselves to find out who did it.  In any case, there were some red faces and lots of sweating going on!  

 

The pastor invited Joshua and I into his office with Pastor Mynor and Pastor Mike.  The pastor shared with us for a bit about his dream for his church.  He also shared with us the many blessings we would receive during our time at the Holy Mountain.  He was part of the original group that had ascended the mountain for prayer when a huge revival happened in the town.  (You should really google the Holy Mountain in Almalonga.  There is a video to watch to learn more about it too.)

We piled back into TWO vans (thankfully) and made our way to Holy Mountain.

We spent a couple of hours at the mountain.  We had a time of reflection and prayer before we all started the hike.  The terrain was very rocky.  There are many shelters everywhere.  Literally, thousands of people come to pray here every day.  Some stay a few hours, some an entire day, or some for several days.  There are many memorials all over the mountain--flowers, ashes from campfires, etc.  Many years ago, a huge revival came to this town through many people praying on this mountain.  This experience was amazing!  Please pray that we all continue to process the things that God was speaking to each of us.  We plan to have a time of processing together with the teens tomorrow night, as well as a special time of prayer over each teen.

Our time of reflection before hiking the mountain

That's the top, where we were headed--over 9,000 feet in very rocky terrain 

Enjoy the views...

  

Coming down the mountain

Such an amazing day...even with all of the driving and unclear plans for the day.  The cultural differences with schedule and planning are definitely a challenge and seem to be amplified by everyone being tired.  Pray for a good nights rest (although most of you at home are already sleeping).