Wyatt Good

Finding the Silver Lining

The main thing I pulled from this trip is finding the silver lining. There were many moments throughout every part of this trip when we were hungry, tired, annoyed, in pain, or frustrated. But each complaint had either a good result or a good reason that sparked it. For example, on our first full day, my birthday, we took a treacherous hike up and into a volcanic lake. And although there was a lot of complaining, the entire hike up the side of the mountain was gorgeous. We were wearing casual clothing, as we had been told to do. We did not know we would be scaling a mountain; it was all uphill and painful, but we got to see the amazing terrain and a sacred lake accompanied by a Mayan ceremony. And after we got back up the 600-700-step staircase and down to the main checkpoint, we were rewarded by having a truck ride down the mountain. No matter whether an experience was mostly positive or mostly negative, at least there was a good story to tell about it.

We also had many long car rides, all of which ended in a sigh of relief and the sight of a town we had never seen before. Mainly it was the people that were with us the entire time that made every bad part of the trip fun, enjoyable, and memorable. We could always find time to make a joke or laugh and make the best of the situation. I don’t think there was a time when any of us lost the ability to “lighten up.” And the people that went on this trip, whether they were my peers or my elders, were the reason that this trip consisted mainly of good things and why it was generally a good time, rather than a bad time.

Memories of Guatemala

Leah Spalding

Allie Grady

Samantha Pitkin

W. Edgett Hilimire

Sam Morse

Patrick Hawkins

Wyatt Good

Photo Gallery

Lasting images from the 2008 trip to the Guatemalan Highlands by St. Martin’s teen and adult parishioners.