Quist World Tour

When I worked at World Missions, our communications guy told missionaries to avoid two cliches when creating their slide show presentations—pictures of sunsets and the words “land of contrasts.” I understand the temptation, because Guatemala is, indeed, a land of contrasts. There is a wealth of beauty and great deal of poverty. We have eaten wonderful food of all kinds; about 47% of children under 5 here are malnourished. We have seen and/or stayed in gorgeous hotels, houses and neighborhoods in awe-inspiring environments; the percentage of people in poverty is 59%. There are colorful markets filled with traditional arts and crafts, fine jewelers offering Guatemalan Jade, and sparkling modern malls that put our local mall to shame; the percentage of people in extreme poverty is around 25%. A land of contrasts. Yesterday, we visited Lake Atitlan. This stunning body of water is surrounded by volcanoes and other hills. Colorful towns and resorts are scattered around the lake, ov...

On ruins, great guides, volcanoes and horse-riding. When you last heard, Allison and I were in Antigua, Guatemala, looking forward to seeing our friends. Mom and three young adult daughters graciously drove to Antigua to pick us up, introduce us to a local jewelry store and candy store, and take us to a lovely restaurant on a hill outside Antigua before driving us to their adorable home in Guatemala City. While they have a number of gates and locks for security reasons, this house is so cozy, a home full of love. We were there for approximately 2 hours before we all went to bed, because mom was also willing to take us to the airport for our domestic flight to the other side of th country first thing in the morning—we left the house at 5am. This is only half an hour early for her, because for her job, she can either leave at 5:30, giving her time to exercise, eat her breakfast and get ready (all at her office)at the office, or she could leave any later and spend all of that time in ...