August 4th-14th, 2006

Friday, August 4th

Hello Mindy and SJA,

Delegate Ross Starkson surrounded by friends at Guatemala City airport.

I was delegated to write and let you know that the group arrived here safe and sound. They are all busy visiting with friends from TN2 here at the SP Center in Guatemala City. It is really raining, and the center is a bit damp, but spirits are high.

The group will be sending posts, starting tomorrow, probably, for the SJA website, and they will also post some things directly on the SP blog. That address is "sisterparish.typepad.com", so folks up in the dry north can check either site for news and updates.

The TN2 crowd send their love to all...Miriam, Eluvia, Dorita, Antonetta, Alvaro, Alba and Aura Marina are all here, as well as several children and grandchildren, so everyone is having a good time.

Peace,
Shannon, (Staff Member Sister Parish Inc.)

and...

Hola y Saludos de Guatemala!

The delegation arrived safely yesterday to an overwhelmingly warm welcome at the airport. For some it was the re-uniting of old friends from past delagations, and others only the amazing beginning. The amount of joy I felt when reuniting with Alba and Eluvia, and embracing so many new faces as well, was priceless.

Once settled into the Sister Parish center here in Guatemala City, we were welcomed to the rainy season with an afternoon thunderstorm. The SPC is a beautiful old building with a open air garden in the center. Then rain fell and fell, into the garden, and eventually into the bedroom and hallway! Most of us watched in shock as Eluvia and the other women seemlessly swept the water back into the garden. The weather also offerd the pefect oppertunity to break out the bubbles and have a LOT of fun with some of the children. Everybody, no matter what age or language they speak, enjoys the pleasure of bubbles!

We spent the rest of the day with Shannon (whom is ready to have her baby any minute!) and the Sister Parish staff here, Alajandro and Sergio. We attempted the formal "orientation", however what was supposed to take a hour roughly turned into many. This group is rich in its ability for long conversation, and we are finding that "Guatemalan" time fits it pretty well. A wonderful dinner of homemade chicken noodle soup, Sergio's "experiment", was served around 10:30.

I am overwhelmed, but already filled with the wonderful sense of hospitality and community within our group, and our short time with people from TN2. Already we have laughed, and cried, and shared stories, and pet peeves, and I could not be happier!

Claire Branigan