This morning we had the opportunity to visit the Francisco Coll school, an elementary school that serves students who live in an impoverished area. We were able to speak to teachers, students, and staff who shared their love of the school. We spoke to one woman who shared her story of how she went from sifting through trash in the garbage dump to make a living, to now working at the school. Pictured below is Francisco Coll.
We also were also able to visit the CEDEPCA office today. CEDEPCA is our sponsoring organization in Guatemala, and they have been responsible for providing each of these educational opportunites, and taking good care of us while in Guatemala. Today we were able to talk to them about their Women's Ministry, which provides education and assistance to women experiencing violence. We learned a lot about women in Guatemala, and the type of assistance they need most.
Today we also toured Francisco Marroquin University. We visited a collection of Mayan artifacts within the university, as well as their library of special collection books. We got to ask a lot of questions about Latin American universities, and experience the campus first-hand. Below are some pictures from our tour.
Lastly, we got to talk to Pastor Erwin Luna, better known as Shorty, and his friend Junior. They are both former gang members, who shared their stories of finding new life in Christ. Now Shorty operates his own rehabilitation center to help people recover from drug addiction. We heard Shorty's story yesterday when we watched Reparando. Today we sat down with him and Junior to further understand their stories and ask more questions.
Our experiences today have helped us to gain a lot of perspective on life in Guatemala. We can better understand the lives of women, children, gang members, university students, and people who live in poverty. We have talked to people that have achieved greatness, despite all odds. We appreciate all of the people we have met so far and the stories that they have shared, because they help us to better understand the world around us.