Pictures of the Volcano

The latest news from Guatemalan Officials is the airport will be closed up until Friday June 4th.  Several other countries that are stranded as we are have decided to drive to El Salvador and try to leave from their airport.  The San Salvador Airport is about 4-5 hours away from were we are in Guatemala.  Several problems arise with this situation.  One no one in our group speaks well enough Spanish to assist in an emergency.  Sarah Robles and myself probably understand the most Spanish out of the entire group and that is not saying a lot.  Second, the Tropical Storm created many mudslides and flooding to much of Guatemala and El Salvador.  We are unsure of many of the roads outside of the city and if they are drive able.  Thirdly, in this part of the world there is always the concern with outlaws and a violent criminal element that have been know to rob and kidnap as a form of income.  We have discussed getting a security detail to escort us to and into El Salvador.  Once in El Salvador there is no guarantee that will be able to get out.  We are only speculating at this point.

Dr. Kyle Pierce the Head Men’s Coach has been working tirelessly to get everyone out of here.  He has been to Guatemala several times before and has several local contacts that have provided us with update information in order for us to best make our decisions.  I can’t say enough about how lucky this team is for having an experience veteran Coach and Team Leader such as Kyle.  The entire staff has been working together with Coach Pierce assisting him where they can and relaying all info to the athletes and the National Office.

We are entering unprecedented territory and are learning quickly on the fly.  All of our Coaches have international travel experience and all decisions are being made once the best available data is being provided to us.  No one wants to get home more than me.  But I want to make sure that the team and myself are getting home safe and sound.  We will not take any unnecessary risks in order to get home if we need to stay a little longer done here we are content with that as well.  I will update once I know more information.  Take care and say a prayer for us.