Contrasts

As anyone who has been on a missions trip to a third-world country can testisfy, being in safe, prosperous North America in the morning and in a needy, poverty-stricken nation that afternoon is a strange feeling. This morning, we left Florida and returned to Guatemala. We had a wonderful, relaxing trip! But being in two different worlds in the same day is disconcerting, to the say the least. Leaving the well-manicured lawns of South Florida and arriving in a city dominated by tin-and-cardboard shantytowns really made us consider what a blessed upbringing we had. We hear it so often, but this type of experience reminds us that America is a truly blessed nation. We have our poor and struggling, but by-and large, we do not experience the type of poverty that is so common here in Guatemala. Just a reminder for all of us. (Note: the first photo is of a Church of God - yellow sign)