Goodbye to Alex

Wow, what a long day today.  We visited the school in the mountains.  The students all had an amazing time playing basketball, swimming, and talking with kids.  The kids at the school were very welcoming and they put on a program for us in the afternoon which was complete with dances from the Mayan culture.  We were presented with weavings at the end and danced with the students.  It was all very fun.

The day ended with mass with the boarding school students (about 130 of 500 total students live at the school) and then dinner.  Perhaps the most touching part of the day were the goodbyes to Alex.  It is clear he has made an impact on this place and in his service the students and teachers have come to love him.  There were several presentations of gifts and goodbyes to him and I feel very blessed to be here for it after making our first journey here together in 2007 with other Carroll students.

Tomorrow we will hike in the morning and visit a coffee co op in the afternoon, which I am very excited for.  Tomorrow also begins market day in Santo Tomas so I am sure we will be checking that out.  Many more students plan to take time to write tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

Peace,

Colleen