Guatemala – April 2013, Day One

We arrived in Guatemala!!!

If you’ve ever traveled internationally, then you are probably quite aware of how adventurous airport situations can be… TEAMworks has had it’s fair share of airport adventures. When you’re taking the maximum (and sometimes over) amount of luggage per person that is often a pound or two over the limit, PLUS wheelchairs that may or may not have walkers duck-taped to them, PLUS your personal carry-on… well, let’s just say we’re always crossing fingers and saying prayers and smiling really big in hopes that they airline employees will let us through will all of our items.

Well, our situation this morning seemed quite hopeful. The kind gentleman helping us at Delta waived our excess fees for the standers that we were checking onto the plane, and everything seemed to be moving right along….until we mentioned that we also each had a wheelchair to take with us. And no, the wheelchairs don’t fold up… Needless to say, they finally graciously agreed to try and squeeze all of the wheelchairs onto the “very little plane”, but that left us with about 20 minutes to get through security and to our gate. No big deal, right?

Well…. one of our team members got stopped at security. (Note to self: When you take the weights out of weighted vests, apparently they are too dense to go through the security check machine…. Also, when a certain OT **ahem-Julie** asks you to carry the weights in your bag, just say no.)  Once we finally got approval to take our little weights, we hurried off to our gate just as we heard our names being called out by the flight attendant, followed by “Last call for…..”  Yep. We were those people. BUT, it’s all a part of the adventure. And the good thing is, we all made it on the flight with all of our things.

The unfortunate thing is that one of our bags didn’t make it to Guatemala…. But we’re hopeful that it will show up at the airport tomorrow.

Today was a relaxed day – we got to have lunch at the house of Diana, a sweet friend we met during our first trip to Guatemala. The authentic Guatemalan meal was DELICIOUS, and it was topped off with a personalized “Welcome TEAMworks” cake.

We’re anxious and excited for tomorrow. We’re heading to a university to do therapy presentations for approximately 180 special education students and professionals.  Please be praying for Eric, Gregg, Paige and Julie as they try and share as much as they can in about 4 hours.   We’re so thankful for this opportunity, and we trust that the Lord will use it to continue transforming the lives of children with special needs here in Guatemala.

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