Chicamán was amazing. It was so different than what our other teams experienced but it was a blessing. 

It was a mountain town and hardly no tourists other than us. Not only is there Spanish, which I speak very little of, they also speak Pokomchi. Most of the women only speak Pokomchi in the villages. There were only small tiendas and tiny stores. Most women and girls wore the traditional colorful Guatemalan skirts with the blouse. The whole town basically closes at 6pm when dinner was ready. There was only one market for food. Being here in Antigua is very different than Chicamán. 

The ministry was putting on children’s ministry, helping with conferences, helping hands in building a house, handing out food, and one Beauty for Ashes. 

Beauty for ashes is a women’s ministry digging deeper into who Christ says they are. Betty Gomez is the point person at AIM who had directed me and many other women on my squad to host these events. They can range from only one day/evening to three full days, or once a week for multiple weeks. 

Handing out food consisted of building the two bags that some pastors handed out. My team and I were doing a children’s ministry in a basketball court while they handed out food. 

Building the house was very cool but unfortunately didn't last as long as I would want it. Our team was able to help hammer in some nails and put up the walls. It was in a small village where land slides took out homes from the hurricanes about 9 months ago.

A lot of my time in Chicamán was self reflection and learning about myself. I’m still learning and slowly growing.