As we landed at the Guatemala City airport, the natural beauty of the country overwhelmed us, but we did not anticipate how the beauty of this place would continue to overwhelm us as we set out for a prayer walk on Tuesday morning.  We saw a beautiful lake surrounded by amazingly green volcanos and hills all set below the bluest sky with the whitest clouds you can imagine.  As we greeted the people we passed on the street, their joy and inner beauty overwhelmed us.  The children´s smiles overflowed with joy, and their eyes lit up so bright that they could blind you. 

Very soon after experiencing this overwhelming joy and beauty, we also felt overwhelmed by the poverty here--it´s worse than most of us have ever seen.  Yet, the local people still seem full of joy.  We struggle to understand this.  They say that they need nothing, but we feel that they ¨"need" much more than they have.  It´s humbling.  Overall, our introduction to Guatemala has overwhelmed us with all of the joy and beauty around us.