A Long Short Week

Even though Thanksgiving isn't a holiday in Guatemala, our school is generously allowing us to miss classes Thursday and Friday without having to make up the hours. So, we are meeting up with a bunch of other IMB people at a house near Lago Atitlan. (I understand this lake is beautiful but toxic, so I guess I won't be packing my swimsuit for this trip.) So, that makes this a 3-day school week. In reality, though, the week has been pretty long for me.

Sunday my friend Audra and I attended a baptism with my host family. My host dad's sister's daughter's baby was being baptized in a Catholic mass in Antigua. After the mass, well over a hundred friends and family squeezed into a rented bus for the drive up the mountain to the indigenous village of Santa Maria de Jesus for the fiesta. The family has very little, but they went to great effort to host a nice party. They had emptied out one of their 2 rooms to fill it with tables for serving dinner and had set up a bunch of plastic chairs outside for the rest of the guests. They had even fixed up walls of sagebrush to provide shade around the yard. I can't imagine the hours the women must have spent preparing the special dish of pepian and making thousands of torillas. They also served rum and Coke. Every time another round of rum was offered and Audra and I politely declined, my host mom felt the need to explain that our religion didn't allow us to drink. Of all of the party guests, I had the honor of being seated next to an elderly drunk man who kept pulling on my arm and talking to me. The fact that I couldn't understand a word he said didn't deter him from continuing to try. It was definitely an experience!

Last week ended with plans for me to take a test this Tuesday afternoon. (Our school has 2 books that they use for teaching Spanish, and to move from the first to the second you have to pass a 2 hour written test.) Imagine my surprise Monday morning when I get to school and our director Benjamin tells me that my test has been arranged for THAT afternoon! Monday morning my tutor Miguel worked hard to help me review and then encouraged me to be calm as I entered the test that afternoon. Then he read Phil. 4:13 to me and promised to pray for me at 2:00. I had to rush home after class ended at noon and tell my host mom that I couldn't wait until our normal 1 pm lunch time because I had to be in Antigua at 2 for the test. She hurried to cook and I ate quickly and ran off to catch a bus.

At that point, my stomach was beginning to feel a little upset. By the time my test ended at 4, I had cold chills and was extremely sick to my stomach. I didn't eat anything for the next 24 hours, and then my host mom kindly prepared very mild food for me (like vegetables WITHOUT fat added! and then soup for the next meal). My stomach is still unsteady but improving. Hopefully it won't be a problem on the 2-3 hour drive to the lake tomorrow morning or during our Thanksgiving dinner.

The good news is that I passed my test and officially started book 2 this morning!

Have a great Thanksgiving with family/friends, and remember to truly give thanks to the One who gave us everything!

Tikal Trip, Part Two

By the time we left Tikal (around noon), I'd had plenty of exercise and had definitely used muscles that weren't accustomed to being used. We stopped at a nearby 30 minute canopy tour of which several members of our group took advantage. On another day, I would have enjoyed that. Then we went back to our hotel for a quick lunch and refreshing minute in the pool before hitting the road to return to Rio Dulce. By the time we reached Rio Dulce, it was already dark. The only way to reach our destination for the night, a town called Livingston, is by taking a boat down the river for about an hour. There are no roads that go there. So, there we were, piling into this little motorized boat called a lancha. We were going pretty fast in spite of the dark, and a couple of times we had to swerve or slow down abruptly to avoid obstacles such as another boat, fishing nets, etc. By the time we docked at our hotel, my hair was thoroughly ratted and plastered back. Quite a site! We stayed in little cabins with mosquito nets over our beds. We had to take the boat a few more miles down and across the river to reach the main part of Livingston, where we had a less than exciting seafood dinner. We explored the town a little in the dark, and it was very interesting. It was like being in a different country because it is so remote. It is on the banks of the Caribbean Sea and was therefore settled by people from Africa. Even the language there is different. The atmosphere is very laid back, kind of like a mix of reggae and hippie environment.

Sunday morning we road the boat down the Rio Dulce and into the Caribbean to reach a place called 7 Altares. On the way, we actually got to see dolphins in the sea! Seven Altars is comprised of a series of small waterfalls leading into small pools of water. Unfortunately, our timing wasn't right to see much in the way of waterfalls as they haven't had a lot of rain lately. It was still very pretty, though.

We had to do a lot of climbing on rocks beside the water, which was a bit challenging for me, but I made it. Finally, we reached the last pool, where we swam. I think I am the only person in our group who didn't jump from the big rock down to the water, but I was convinced that I would have slid off the edge if I had tried.

After we cleaned up a bit, it was time to begin our journey home. Of course, the first leg of the journey was the hour long boat ride up the river to Fronterra. This time, though, we could actually see to enjoy the beauty of the river and all of nature surrounding it.

This is not the most flattering picture of me, but I am going out on a limb to post it because it is my only picture with our new friend, Cecilie. She is from Norway and is currently studying at the same school as us.

She was the only person outside of our group on this trip, and we all had various opportunities to discuss God and beliefs with her throughout the journey. She asked a lot of good questions and is very open to hearing from us. She told us that she wants to read the Bible because she thinks it is a good model for how to live a good life but that she doesn't believe in God. At one point, she commented that she wished she believed because she thinks it would be better. The previous weekend, she went on a trip with a group of European non-believers. She continuously tells us how much she prefers our company. We love her very much and are praying for her. She asked us if we have really every experienced God in a way that made us know that He is real, because she said she hasn't. That is my prayer for her. Please pray that God will reveal Himself to Cecilie in such a way that there can be no doubt in her mind.

Tikal Trip, Part One

This past weekend we took an incredible 3 day vacation to visit some Mayan ruins and see some other parts of Guatemala. It was all so amazing that I want to share some of it with you. First, the 9 of us plus our guide and our driver met to leave at 4 am Friday morning. We stopped once for breakfast and once to see a Chiquita banana plantation. By noon, we had made it to our first destination. We looked down at Rio Dulce from a bridge in Fronterra and then visited an old castle, called El Castillo de San Felipe.


We really enjoyed exploring this castle. It is located where Rio Dulce and Lago Izabel meet, so it is very beautiful. After we explored, we had a picnic lunch beside the lake and then some people swam a bit.

At one point I was walking through a short, narrow passageway when a friend snuck up behind me, causing me to jump just enough to hit my head on the top. Oops! It is finally not hurting anymore.

After the castle, we headed north. It was dark before we finally made it to the island city of Flores, where we looked in shops and ate dinner. We drove another half hour out of Flores before stopping for the night. We were pleasantly surprised by our hotel. It was on another lake, had a pool, and was a very pretty place in every way. The only thing it lacked was hot water, but at least it wasn't very cold. We went out on the dock to look at the stars a bit before getting some sleep. We were supposed to head out at 5;40 the following morning. As we stepped outside, we were caught off guard by the sound of fireworks exploding and a band beginning to play. Once we realized what it was, we had to laugh at ourselves for jumping back around the corner! From there, we went to visit the Tikal Mayan ruins. There are 3-4 thousand structures there, but only around 800 have been excavated. (Because they are made of limestone, moss and plants and grow over them, making them look like hills instead of the ancient structures they really are.) Here is the first one we climbed. The steps were FAR steeper than I had expected.

The whole area is jungle, and the beaut of God's creation was breathtaking. I particularly enjoyed the sun rays that managed to burst through the trees.

We also climbed the tallest temple, but for this one they built wooden stairs with handrails. I think there were a couple hundred of these steps to reach the top.

Here I am standing on the top, with some of the other temples visible in the background.

We did a lot of walking, and in places it was somewhat difficult terrain. Most of the group climbed to the top of the steepest temple, but I was one of the ones who stayed on the ground because you had to climb a series of ladders to reach the top.


This area was essentially once "downtown" Tikal. Many kings and important people were buried inside these structures.

I found it very interesting to explore inside the dwellings.

I'm going to have to stop for today, but I will add another post soon to cover the remainder of our trip.

Refreshing Sunday

Sunday we went to a curch near Guatemala City with an IMB couple who live in Antigua. On the way there, they told us the story of the pastor of this church. He grew up in El Salvador and was very active in a guerilla organization. By age 17, he had already suffered a gunshot wound. Because he was so valuable to the logistics operations of the organization, he was assigned a bodyguard. He later married that bodyguard (they assigned a tough 15 year old girl who carried a very big gun). Eventually, he was caught holding hostages and sent out of the country. He was shuffled around quite a bit, but at some point he had a coworker in a sanitation job who witnessed to him. He is now a wonderful pastor and a testimony to the power of God to change lives.

It is hard to explain, but I was captivated by this congregation. I don't know how or when, but I believe that I will return there.

The IMB couple took us to their house in Antigua after church and encouraged us to make ourselves at home. The house was very similar to a US house, so it was an oasis to us! They fed us a wonderful meal with American food (roast beef, green beans, cheesy potatoes, bread, fresh veggies, brownies, and ice cream). It was such a refreshing afternoon.

This morning we were assigned new teachers for the next 4 weeks. Mine is a man names Miguel. His style is very different from that of Rosario, and I think the change will be good for me. Miguel seems to be very devout to the traditions of his Catholic heritage. Please pray for him to recognize the need for a personal relationship with Christ.

Tuesday Afternoon

Tuesday afternoon we went to a small daycare/school in our town to do an activity with the kids there. First, let me just say that we met 18 precious children there! One of the guys in our group had planned an activity, and it went really well. He told the creation story one day at a time. After hearing about each day, the kids drew a picture to represent that day. The rest of us were spread out among the kids to help them know what to do, etc. I was helping a little girl named Kimberly and a little boy named Mario. After my experiences with kids in Manzanillo, I am not surprised by how much I enjoyed this time with the kids. Right now our plan is to return there for more activities every Tuesday afternoon. I suspect at some time in my near future I will be singing some of those great songs I learned to do with the kids in Manzanillo, like "Padre Abraham!"

Wednesday Bible Studies

Our group started holding a Bible study in the plaza in San Juan on Wednesdays. The Wednesday before last, we met at 5 pm. Parker's family and Audra's family came. Cory played guitar and we sang Spanish praise songs. Parker read from the Bible and said a few words about what he had read. We took prayer requests and prayed. Throughout the entire time, the Catholic church nearby seemed determine to interrupt by constantly ringing their bells.

The following Wednesday, this past week, we moved the meeting time a little earlier to avoid the bells. It was raining a little, so we found a small shelter. This time 3 families came. Parker's host dad came prepared to read a scripture as well this time. Three of his teenage nephews were there both times. That night, one of the nephews went home and made kites for each of us. He had Parker bring them to us the next day as a gift. This weekend is a time when everyone here traditionally flies kites, and he wanted us each to have one. He even took the time to find out our names and put our first inital on our kite. Very thoughtful for a 15 year old guy! Please pray for our Wednesday Bible studies to continue to grow. Pray that more people will come and that our time will be increasingly meaningful. Pray for the hearts and lives of those who attend.

Monterrico Beach

We went to Monterrico Beach on the Pacific coast of Guatemala for the weekend. The drive there took a little over 2 hours. The place we stayed was right on the beach, which was great. I didn't really go far into the water because the riptide was extremely powerful. Due to its proximity to volcanoes, the sand is black. Saturday night we saw a beautiful sunset and watched 300-400 baby turtles being released into the sea.

While we were eating dinner, it rained really hard. When we went back to our rom later, it was partially flooded. My duffle bag was sitting in 3 inches of water, and all of my clothes were soaked. Even my Bible got a little wet. (The room had a thatched roof, which was also home to a family of bats.) I had really been hoping to finally have a hot shower after about 16 consecutive days of cold showers. As it turned out, the shower water wasn't hot, but it was warm saltwater from the sea instead. Nothing like using saltwater to shower, to wash hands before removing contacts, etc. :)

We had arranged a tour guide to help us look for giant sea turtles at 8 pm Saturday night. They had emphasized that they could not guarantee we would be able to find any sea turtles, but since it only cost a few dollars each, we went for it. Well, you know how walking on sand is harder than walking on a solid surface? Our guide was walking very fast, in the dark, and he would not give up the search. We just kept walking for almost an hour before he finally turned around and headed back, so we had to have walked a total of 3-4 miles on the sand that night. It was crazy: for the entire group, this guy made $50-60 bucks just to give us a good workout and not see any turtles. At one point, 3 guys on 4 wheelers started circling us, and we thought we were about to be robbed.

By the time we returned to the hotel at 10:30, the party with loud music was in full swing. The music lasted until 2:30 am. Between wading through water to climb into my bed and hearing the loud music, it took quite a while to get to sleep. Then, one of my roommates had scheduled a 5 am tour, so her alarm woke me up at 4 am. After that, I never slept more than 30 minutes at a time for the rest of the night.

When we were driving back Sunday afternoon, our van had mechanical problems, so we were hanging out alongside the road in a remote area for about half an hour while our driver and guide repaired it. We also drove through a town having a crazy fiesta, and people in scary masks stood near our windows while someone on the other side of us shot off fireworks that were inches from the van.

So, it was a crazy weekend; certainly less relaxing than anticipated. Yet another adventure to remember.

This morning my teacher, Rosario, started asking me things about the Bible again. I am going to take my Bible with me tomorrow. Please continue to pray for her and for God to speak through me.

Neighbors

The house across the street from mine is a two-story concrete building. I think the first floor is some sort of chicken plant, and about a dozen guys work there. I think many of them live upstairs, as well. It seems there is always at least one of them hanging out one of the upstairs windows. Therefore, when I am in the street walking to or from the gate in front of my house, I have to endure various whistles, comments, etc. I make a point of not looking or reacting at all, but that doesn't seem to deter them. Furthermore, from their windows they can see over the wall into our yard and even in to one corner of my room when my door is open. (I like to open the door for air flow because otherwise it is pretty muggy in the room.) One day I was home along and a guy was just sitting there watching every move I made. I am trying to not let any of this bother me, and I have decided that the best thing I can do is to pray for them. So, please join me in praying for the guys who live across the street from me.

Soccer is a dangerous sport ., . . for the fans!

Sunday was another adventurous day. A member of Parker’s host family and a friend of his took 6 of us with them to Guatemala City to attend a soccer game. I know practically nothing about soccer, but since it is such a big part of the culture across Latin America, I decided it would be a great idea for me to go. The 2 teams playing were the Rojos (Red) and the Cremas (White), which are apparently big rivals. Since we know nothing about the teams, we adopted the favorite of Parker’s family: the Cremas.

We knew we were in for a little excitement when we were parking the van and saw a crowd of people wearing white on the verge of a riot on the street outside the stadium. By the time we got out of the car, rocks had been thrown into the stadium and police had come. The crowd ran, and the police pursued and shot off a couple of rounds of tear gas (at least we think that is what it was). It quickly drifted to us and we had to head in the other direction to escape it. I’m glad we weren’t any closer because it was some pretty horrible stuff to inhale!

Once we got inside the stadium, we learned that this is the home stadium of the Rojos. Their fans have the majority of the stadium, and a section at the end is reserved for the opposing team. There are separate entrances based on which team you are for and barricades inside the stadium in an attempt to keep the fans separated. The Crema fans were the ones who had been in the street, and they were pretty energetic inside the stadium as well. It wasn’t long before some of them started climbing up the fence between the stands and the field. Barbed wire was no deterrent for them. They took some red shirts with them and set them on fire as a symbol against the Rojo team. Before and during the game, fans on both sides were setting off fireworks. Rojo fans were mainly setting ones that created a red smoke. Crema fans were usually throwing loud ones over the fence onto the track around the field.

At halftime, there were several crazy fights in the stands. I am not sure what that was all about, because it was among Crema fans. No alcohol was allowed in the stadium, so that wasn’t the problem. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, which seemed a little anti-climactic to me. However, that may have been for the best since any other ending would have been likely to incite further incidents. As we were leaving the stadium amidst the crowd of Crema fans, more fights broke out (rocks were thrown, etc.) and we had to hurry away toward the van. As we were reaching the van, more tear gas was used. We saw an ambulance go toward that area. The craziest part is that all of this is very normal to them, and none of the crazy things done inside the stadium seemed to cause any concern for the police or the security guards. Seeing firsthand the effect that soccer can have on people has given me an interesting perspective on the culture.

The First Week

My room:The view from my room: The walk down hill to school (which means the walk home, of course, is uphill!)
I have already seen prayers answered. Saturday night after dinner Juan, Sandra, and I continued to converse for quite a while at the table. I thought of a few topics, and Juan was great at thinking of things to discuss. Juan asked me if I read anything in Spanish, so I shared with them that I am reading my bilingual Bible. (I read a section of verses in English, then read the same section in Spanish to help me comprehend.) Sandra said that they have a Spanish Bible and that it is a good book. She asked me if I am Catholic or Protestant. I said that I am protestant, then I commented that I follow the Bible. She told me that when my Spanish improves, she wants me to explain some things from the Bible to her. Friday she had shown me a picture of the Virgin Guadelupe and talked about how wonderful she is, so I was encouraged by this opening. I pray that God will give me opportunities and put the words in my mouth and give me the boldness to speak at the right time.

Sunday morning we visited a bilingual church in Antigua. It was interesting. Sunday night when Audra, David, and I rode the bus back from Antigua we realized that San Juan was in the dark—no power! It was very dark it seemed like everyone in town was out wandering the streets. It was a little eerie, so Audra and David decided to walk me home instead before heading back toward their houses.

Monday morning we were assigned tutors. My tutor is a woman named Rosario. She is the same age as me, and class went really well. The 4 hour morning flew by. We all went home for lunch and were to meet back at the school at 2 for the afternoon activity. (Most afternoons they offer activities either at this school or at their location in Antigua.) We were given a tour of San Juan. Then we watched a movie about the terrible war in Guatemala and people heading north to survive in the early 80’s. This is a picture of the school. We all sit at little tables around the building or in the garden with our own tutor. (Note the view of one of the volcanos in the background.)

Tuesday morning I became frustrated over all of my mistakes in language class, and that afternoon we toured the place in town that makes fireworks.

Wednesday morning class was better, and we hiked up to a place called Cerro de la Cruz that overlooks the city of Antigua. While we were there, it started pouring, and we were absolutely drenched by the time we made it back down to the APPE school building in Antigua.

Thursday morning from the school we could see that the other volcano had coughed up a little smoke.

That morning I was blessed by the opportunity to have an amazing conversation with my teacher about the Bible and about God. I was able to share a few Bible stories with her, and one of her questions led me to explain about free will. She really enjoyed the conversation. She said that we needed to spend some time on grammar for the rest of the morning, but she also said that she wanted to continue this conversation again in the future. It was so encouraging the way God helped me through the conversation! Please be praying for my teacher Rosario, for her husband and kids, and for me as I continue to develop this relationship.

Arrived!

I arrived safely in Guatemala on Thursday morning, and am now settled in with my host family in the small town of San Juan del Obispo, where the language school is located. We were driven from the airport in Guatemala City to the school in San Juan del Obispo. Once there, we were met by our host families and walked to our respective houses. It was quite an adventure getting my three suitcases to the house as it is uphill on cobblestone all the way! I felt horrible that they had to help me with such an unpleasant task, but they were very kind.

Friday morning’s activities at the school included individual interviews intended to place us each at our current level of Spanish abilities. Beginning Monday, we will each be tutored individually from 8 am until noon every weekday, then we will have a couple of hours of homework. We are also encouraged to participate in many activities and excursions offered by the school. Friday afternoon we had a walking tour of Antigua, where we can go for internet access, etc. It is just a short bus ride away.

My family provides all of my meals except on Sundays. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the meals in the home, but so far it has been a great experience. One meal was soup and rice and beans, another was rice and chicken, and another was chicken and pureed beans. There are always tortillas on the table, and sometimes there is bread as well. One meal included beets, which are okay but not my favorite. However, I really enjoyed these beets as they had been sprinkled with fresh lime juice and coarse salt. It was a great improvement.

The houses here are much different than the ones to which we are accustomed in the U.S. From the street you just see a big wall and a locked gate. Once inside the gate, we have a courtyard of sorts. Each room of the house has its own separate entrance with a metal door that can be locked. With the exception of the two bedrooms and the bathroom used by the family, none of the rooms have an interior connection. You go outside to move from room to room. It is arranged in a V-shape. First, there is my room near the front wall. Then there is another guest room. Next is a room that I believe is used for laundry, and then the bathroom that I use. (This bathroom does not have hot water. Sandra invited me to come use their bathroom so that I can have hot showers, but so far I think that having my own bathroom is worth the sacrifice of taking cold showers, especially when the alternative involves walking through the couple’s bedroom in order to use their bathroom.) There is actually a gate leading to the backyard where the two buildings meet. The first two rooms in main building are the family bedrooms. Next is the kitchen, followed by the living room. Around the house, there are many flowers, plants, fruit and vegetable trees, and they even have coffee growing in their backyard. I am pretty excited that they grow their own avocados and limes as I am a big fan of the combination. There is also a family pet dog named Clifford (even though he is small and black, not big and red!), and they raise chickens.

My goal now is to post a new entry to this blog once a week, most likely over the weekend when I have more time to go to town for internet access. I will try to include pictures next week, but that will depend on the speed of my internet access.

For now, please know that I appreciate your prayers more than ever before. It is impossible to describe the type of culture shock that goes along with an immersion experience. I’m doing okay but know there will be difficult times ahead.

Please pray for my mind to absorb, process, retain, and recall the language. My host “mother,” Sandra, is wonderful at helping me learn. She told me right away that I would have two teachers: one at school, and her at home! I have a harder time communicating with her husband and two sons, but I really want to be able to do so. I also am praying that God will help me think of things to talk about, because even in English that is very difficult for me with people I don’t know well . . . .

2 Weeks Almost Gone

My 2 weeks at home have nearly come to an end. It has been a flurry of shopping, time with family and friends, goodbyes, packing, repacking, etc. I can't believe that I will be in Guatemala by noon on Thursday! Please pray as I finish packing, as my parent drive me to the airport in the middle of the night, and as I meet my host family in Guatemala.