Guatemala 2009

Breakfast today was a lot of fun. Not only did we have some fun fruits to set out for everyone (watermelon and pitaya, specifically), but we were tickled to find the Spanish version of Coco Puffs and Lucky Charms to share with everyone. Before going to the market Tuesday, I asked the team if there were any special requests. Bill Crumbaugh asked for plantains, and the boys asked for Coco Puffs. Everyone laughed at their suggestion, but no one could miss the look of delight on their faces when they found Coco Puffs at the breakfast buffet this morning.

Pastor Dave grabbed a handful of the dry Coco Puffs and munched on them. He offered some to Abigail, but she wouldn’t touch them. No doubt they do not look like an actual food item to a little girl who is used to whole, fresh foods.

After breakfast, I wandered toward the front office, but had to stop to see what the racket was on the hillside along the path. Turns out the boys were given the opportunity to use their machetes, and they were having a blast. One of the local guys showed them how to sharpen their dull machetes, and then they were allowed to hack away at the overgrown foliage on the very steep hillside. I guess that’s the only way to “mow” around here, since it’s so steep no mower would be able to make its way along. It was so steep I had to wonder how the boys could work, but they managed and had fun doing it. When they came to lunch, they were wearing their looooong machetes and looking so much like little boys playing dress up. I really enjoy seeing them enjoy this culture in ways only boys can.

After taking a few photos of the boys, I made my way to the nursery and actually ventured in for the first time this week. What a busy place! Babies are everywhere; mamas bustle around busily; and no one seemed to take note of me. I asked one of the girls what the protocol was, and they gave me some quick tips. I wandered toward the sound of a crying baby and found a tiny one. As I held her, I immediately fell in love with this little life. But romantic thoughts quickly vanished as I smelled part of the reason she had been crying. Another trip back to the girls to ask what to do now? They directed me to the diaper-changing area, so I headed that way. The mamas were busy changing and bathing babies. They are so quick and efficient! Finally one was ready to see what I needed. She took the baby and before I knew it she had that little one all cleaned up. Then she popped the baby into the big sink, lathered her up, rinsed her off and wrapped in a towel before I hardly could blink. I guess it was bath time. Anyway, I was without a baby to hold, so I offered to take a different one from the bath area that was all ready to go. After this short time in the nursery, I was ready to take a break, so I asked the girls again for directions, this time on how to find the right bed for the baby. Whew. What an experience.

It was almost time for our order of tortillas to be delivered, so I asked Marta, the lady who runs the front office, if she would mind asking the tortilla lady if the beautiful cloth wrap she had used to deliver the tortillas was for sale. She promised she would ask, so I headed back to the apartment.

Snack time is at 10 a.m., so as the team was wandering in to take a break and have some rice crispy treats, one of the ladies from the nursery came to the door. I welcomed her in, and she very excitedly started to try to tell me what she wanted. Her Spanish was so fast, and there were words I couldn’t get, but I tried to piece it together. After she explained several times, I turned to the folks in the room to see if any of them understood. None of our Spanish speakers had come for breaktime yet, so we were really stumped. Finally I pointed and indicated that I would follow her back to the office to Marta could help us communicate. She understood that idea perfectly, so we hurried off.

Turns out, this lady, whose name is “Luky” (pronounced “Lukie”), the nursery cook, had overheard Marta asking the tortilla lady about the possibility of selling her small blanket. The tortilla lady said she wanted 250 Q for it, and right away Marta and Luky knew that was too much. Luky said that she would like to just give a small blanket to me, so she went and got the three she had there with her. When I finally understood that Luky was trying to give me a gift, I was so surprised and humbled. I carefully examined the three little blanket things (about the size of a medium towel), and then chose the blue one. I thanked Luky profusely and even gave her a little hug and kiss. She seemed happy that I was tickled with my gift, and she hurried back to the kitchen in the nursery. I did my own hurrying back to the apartment to share with the team what had just transpired. They all admired my gift and agreed it was very special indeed.

Lunch was amazing, with fresh corn tortillas on the menu. I put out some various fillings, and everyone seemed to enjoy the treat.

The afternoon brought the usual clouds and rain, but despite those delays in the work, the roof team was so happy to actually finish getting all of the metal roof put on. They looked exhausted but very much like they had accomplished a great task.

We met at the main office at 5:30 pm to go out to supper at a place called the Flower Garden. It was beautiful and exotic. What a treat!

The rain would not stay away though, and it just poured. Our drive home was a bit exciting, especially the last bit over the rutted dirt roads. But we made it home safe and sound, and hurried to the apartment for our evening worship. Shortly after we arrived, the power went out. Folks scrambled to fetch the flashlights that Audrey Johnson had sent along with us, and soon worship resumed by light of flashlights.

Thank you, Audrey, for taking care of us!

I know that some of the group stayed up quite late, but I’ll have to let them report on that, because I went to bed early.

Thursday is our last full day. Hard to believe it’s almost time to leave!