We had a great weekend full of activity and cultural learning. We left Saturday morning heading down to the Polochic Valley. We went to the village of San Antonio.
A few views along the way
We arrived mid-afternoon and unloaded our supplies into this house. This is where the local pastor lives & where we slept.
The Polochic Valley is normally a hot area. We took cots, sheets,and blankets, but much to our surprise it was unseasonably cold. Saturday night we dressed in most everything in our bags and still had one of the coldest nights we have felt while staying out in a village. It didn't help that it was very windy and even rained during the night.
After getting settled in, they fed us a late lunch (eggs, beans, & tortillas). We then had a Bible study time. One of the pastor's that was with us shared about salvation & baptism. There were 9 candidates for believer's baptism. We hiked to the local water source and had a baptismal service. It was soo cool to watch it and be a part of it.
I love this photo!
One thing I thought was funny was that the women took a piece of vine and tied up the bottom of their skirts so they would not come up in the water.
You can see the church and house where we slept on top of this hill.
Saturday night we had a service there. We started around 7 and didn't finish until after 11!!! We were very tired by the time it ended.
We had another service on Sunday morning. The special thing about that service was that there were 5 couples to be married in the service. We were soo excited about getting to be a part of their weddings.
Their church building
The couples getting ready to march into the church
Here is a short video of the couples entering the church-
K'ekchi' missionary, Bro. Roberto Yaxcal, doing the wedding service.
After the service everyone ate lunch together. Here are a few photos of the couples. I hate that they don't smile for pictures. It is hard to even get women to look at the camera.
This is K'ekchi' pastor Bro. Pedro, K'ekchi' missionary- Bro. Roberto, and Bro. Alfredo from the Pocola church. They all went went us on this trip.
Bro. Pedro is a lot of fun. This is him clowning around with his lunch.
This is David with the local pastor Bro. Carlos, his wife, and some of his children, and also Bro. Alfredo & Bro. Pedro.
It was a great weekend! We were able to see 9 new believers get baptized, 5 couples get married, and professions of faith in both services we had!! That is soo exciting!!!
Here are a few more misc. photos from the trip-
K'ekchi' weddings take place during the Sunday morning services. They march in at the beginning of the service and sit at the front until time to do the wedding. There is always the normal service except with a time in the middle to do the wedding. They are usually long services.
We liked how the families did this wedding. They had this arch built in the aisle. It had rope across it. The bride and her family marched in from the back and the groom and his family marched in from the front. They met in the middle, broke the chain, and all marched back together. It was very sweet and symbolized the two families coming together.
The groom's family coming in. 
The two families joining
Bro. Samuel was there to do the ceremony
After the service the families march out first and stop for a receiving line
The bride and groom with her parents
This is an avocado tree. We were able to bring some home. We never ate avocados until we moved to Guatemala. Now we love them! 
