Change

I've changed my blog template. I liked the other one, except for how the pictures were framed-or, rather, were not framed. So I'm going to try this one for awhile, and see how I like it.

On another note, today is Jim's birthday, and I just made him a cake-from scratch. It's rare enough for me to even make a cake, but from scratch? Whew.. almost too much to take in.

Good things

I pulled my sweatshirt string out of its lost position in the hood.

I finally got my pictures to work at Walgreens.

Woodmans has great quality prints, for those who are interested, and able to wait more than an hour.

We had neighbors over for dinner last night.. we saw their pictures of their travels, and enjoyed getting to know new friends.

Julio and Isa, from Santa Apolonia, called.

I slept well. The temperature was perfect. I love it when that happens.

I got my hair cut. We'll actually see tomorrow if that's a good thing, but I'm writing it down in good faith.

Jim and I got a care package off to my little sister who'll be at a camp next week.

This afternoon we went to a movie with a few youth and the youth director.

I got movie popcorn. I love it when that happens, too.

We picked up our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this afternoon, and got swiss chard. Not sure why I'm excited about that, but I am.

Abby discovered a bunny nest in our backyard-right in the middle, to be exact-with six baby bunnies. Really teeny.. some don't have their eyes opened yet!

Three young adults came over tonight, two with their dog.

The other dog was trying to catch fireflies.

At the end of the night, three of us went in the hot tub.

After young adults left, we were sitting around the dining room table, laughing with our live-in students.

A friend is hopefully coming up this weekend.


Thank you, God, for these good things.

One of those days.. and I'm just going to complain.

Actually, it wasn't so horrible. The worst part is that I wasted so much time. My intentions were good.. Starting around 3 pm, I began my project to compare online photo labs: Woodmans, Walgreens, Walmart, Target... My favorite so far has been Walgreens, but I heard a rumor that other places are now cheaper, so thought I'd do a little experiment. My experiment ended up taking me until 9:00 pm... and no comparisons yet. (Granted, while photos were uploading I was working on other things around the house, since we have company coming for dinner tomorrow..) Between the 9 photos I chose taking forEVER to upload onto the Walgreens competitors' websites, and my computer giving me some photo issues.. I was very frustrated.

I gave up on Walmart, I placed an order with Target, I placed an order with Woodmans (which took an hour to place!).. I went to pick up my Target pix, they were great.. I went to pick up Woodmans pix... oops.. they had closed 7 minutes before I got there. The lady was sympathetic to my exasperated face, and offered to look anyhow. Then she asked, "when did you send them in?" I said, "a couple of hours ago." "Oh", she said.. "it takes a couple of days." A couple of days!!! What kind of modern day photo lab takes a couple of days? We'll find out what kind in a couple of days when I return to pick up my photos. Maybe they'll be good, maybe not. Regardless, I probably won't use them again, because I'm an impatient photo client. (But I like Woodmans as a grocery store!)

In the meantime, I've been trying to print photos to put in albums to send to the Ordonez family and also to Pasquala, the potter. I placed my trusty Walgreens order last night--60-something photos, which included some doubles, one for Ordonez', one for Pasquala, etc... This afternoon I went to pick them up in the midst of photo uploading exasperation... only to find out that every single one of my photos was horrible! The print quality was horrendous. So much for Walgreens being trusty. Ugh. I returned... they asked me to send the order again. I did. They called, and said it was still bad. I went in with my CD's, and showed them that in reality, the photos I submitted for printing, are quite good quality. The guy agreed. He's puzzled. I'm puzzled.. the CD's show something different than their computer.. so.. tomorrow I return to try a different tactic: printing them from their machine directly instead of from an online order.

Ugh. Have I mentioned how exasperating this day has been? It's nothing, I know, compared to poverty, homelessness, heart disease, not having food for tomorrow, etc.. I shouldn't even complain. Heck, it's nothing compared with what I have been through in life.. infertility, fibromyalgia, adoption blues, etc... maybe it's just nice for me to be frustrated about something simple for a change, instead of the big issues of life. I don't know. Regardless, I'm frustrated and exasperated.

Then, to make matters worse... my new Covenant Point sweatshirt which I still haven't worn, has stains on it that won't come out. (If you click on the photo, enlarging it, you'll see the white spots on my CPBC sweatshirt...and spots are more visible in reality than in photo. Any suggestions?) I've tried two different stain removal products... so far no success. So as I threw it in the dryer tonight, giving up on stain removal.. I noticed.. the hood string is lost in the hood. So sometime I get to work on that project. But not tonight. Now, I'm going to bed, before I touch anything else and it goes wrong today! And before I continue complaining about such petty things.

p.s... I didn't get to bed soon enough. Abby, our dog, just peed on her bed... and, Amazon.com just emailed to tell me that the order I placed earlier this evening (software for church) cannot be processed, due to incorrect payment info. Sigh.

God is like a Canopy Tour... Tikal, Day 2, Part 2... June 8th

After our "Sunrise Hike", we returned to the hotel, and ate a great breakfast served by a friendly waiter, Joel. Then we had just enough time to prepare for our Canopy Tour!! For those who don’t know, (which included me until that day), a canopy tour, at least in Tikal, involves ziplines, eight of them in our case, over the jungle treetops.

Our guide, Alberto, was wonderful. A young whippersnapper, the oldest of 9 kids who seemed to know the jungle well. Turns out he lives in the jungle. Not sure what his house is like, but he lives about 2 miles from the Canopy Tour office, which is located at the entrance to Tikal Park. Alberto gave us the option of two canopy tours… a slower, lower one.. 9 ziplines.. and a faster, higher tour, 8 ziplines.. Of course we chose fast and high! Alberto was hysterical. His friend, the other guide, Hector, (though Alberto told us his name was “The Puma”!), wasn’t quite as talkative, but friendly and comfortable enough with the ziplines, that both made me feel safe and comfortable.
At one point, Alberto took my camera, and hung from the zipline several feet away from us so he could take our picture. Another time he was going down the zipline and turned upside down.. fun.

Viewing the jungle from the treetops provides a unique and fantastic experience. As our tour’s website quotes, “The two canopys extends among trees of more than 300 years, in a millennial forest that is part of the Mayan Biosphere. Here you will forget the fatigue, the depression, the hardships or any other feeling when flying among the branches, like Tarzan's style.”
(broken English is exact, as on website) It’s true.. you forget the fact that you’re dripping with sweat, smelling as though you didn’t shower in two weeks, and you forget that life has loads of problems.. you zip through the forest among ancient trees, listening to tropical birds and seeing the occasional monkey.. it’s pretty easy to forget about your worries… it’s pretty easy to slip into vacation mentality and think that you could zip through the treetops forever. Ok, not forever, but at least for another two hours.

Maybe there should be a t-shirt made that says, “God is like a canopy tour… you forget about your worries.” At least that’s the idea… when we’re trusting in God, it should be pretty easy to forget about our worries, to give them all to God, to go with the flow and zip through life taking it as it comes. Again, that’s the idea.

After our hour of fun in the jungle treetops, with Alberto and Hector, Alberto drove us back to our lodge. Tikal Park is strict with all drivers about speed limits in the park. So strict that they stamp one’s ticket at the entrance, then again after 20 minutes of driving, when one actually arrives at the point where the lodges and restaurants are… They expect it to take at least 20 minutes of driving to get from Point A to Point B. If it’s shorter, the driver is fined. I appreciate this care and concern for the jungle, the wildlife, and the desire to preserve the park as it is.

We loved Tikal. I would go back in a heartbeat, of course.. this time with more clothes to change into three times a day, with a better flashlight, and more time. When we returned to the Jungle Lodge, we went swimming in the pool.. watched a few monkeys in the trees, returned to the room to shower and check out, and eat lunch.

That evening, after arriving back in Guatemala City, we stayed with Jo Ann’s friends Libby and Dan, Covenanters who had lived in Guate for three years. Libby and Dan were gracious to let us stay with them when they were about to move back to the States within weeks! It was interesting to hear the perspectives of Americans who had lived down there for awhile, (especially their perspectives on Guatemalan adoptions) meet new friends, and enjoy their two kids.

I was sad, leaving Guatemala. I miss it.. It’s still in my mind daily, and I find myself still scheming for how to return. I’ve loved everyplace I’ve ever been to and lived in.. I seem to fall in love with places quickly.. and yet, there’s something about Guatemala.. But for now, I am back in reality.. back in the daily mode of life in Madison, which I also deeply love. I am back in the daily struggle to trust God, like being on a Canopy Tour… giving my issues and concerns to God, and going with the flow, enjoying everyday as it comes. At least that's the idea.

p.s. one note about the photos... it appears, from the pictures, that we are only about 5 feet above the ground. Appearances are sometimes deceiving, and this is one of those times!! I promise! We were much much higher.. and, the pictures of Jim and Cathy are Jo Ann's photography.. thanks, Jo Ann!

Tikal, Day 2, Part 1...Thursday, June 8th

Early mornings seemed to be a theme for us in Guatemala. After a bad night’s sleep in our fairly nice, though extremely hot, accommodations at the Jungle Lodge, we got up around 4 am to go on a sunrise hike… We had paid a guide (Cesar) the day before, to take us through the jungle in the dark, guide us up Temple IV (or point out the stairway in the darkness) so we could view the sun rise over the temples in a distance. Fortunately, we were warned that we’d be lucky to see the sunrise. She was right. No sunrise. But back to the hike… About 19 college kids were on the same hike.. oh well. We hiked in total darkness except for flashlights. Sweat and bugspray dripped down our bodies, as it had the day before. At least there was no sunscreen this time.

We hiked quickly, and finally made it to the base of the 64 meter Temple IV, and then, the steps.. Wow. The steps were hard enough on Wednesday, but walking quickly through the jungle in the dark, feeling out of breath… it was about all the workout my 5:00 am body could take. Up we went. Climbing higher and higher on the wooden, sometimes-lopsided steps, until we made it to the top. We slowly made our way to the base of the stone steps—part of the pyramid—then felt our way to the top of those.. where we sat and waited. Waited for college kids to be quiet, waited for the sun to rise, and waited for the jungle to wake up. Most of the college kids quieted down, we never saw the sun rise but we certainly saw it get light, and the jungle did wake up. A bird here, a different bird call there… a toucan, other tropical wild birds whose names I cannot remember… one that Cesar pointed out right before 6 am, as it still sat in its nest inside the temple wall. This bird, he said, leaves its nest at 6 every morning on the dot. Sure enough… the bird flew out of its nest around 6… beautiful. It didn’t even seem to mind Cesar’s flashlight beam showing it off. We continued to listen for birds, for rain falling in the jungle, and to the howler monkeys in the distance. There weren’t as many howling monkeys as we had hoped for, but enough to get the feeling. We had heard many the day before, too. And lots of movement in tree tops… pretty cool. It’s not everyday that one gets to sit atop a temple built in the 700’s, and listen to the jungle wake up. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, now that my legs are rested!

Around 6:45 or so, we headed back down the temple, down the wooden steps, and towards the Grand Plaza, the plaza where several of the temples and ruins sit together. There we explored on our own, without guides, without other tourists… just us, a couple of guards sitting around a tree, the multitude of birds in trees and in the air. There we walked, surrounded by Mayan history. Incredible.The mist prevented a clear view of everything, but also gave a little cool mystique to the morning.

Tikal, Day 1

Tikal. I'd heard about it for years, but had little interest until last year when our friend Jen went there and brought back pictures. Then after seeing the smaller Mayan ruins at Iximche, my interest grew. Old is not even the word for the ruins at Tikal. Ancient is more like it. Incredible. Massive. Strong and powerful. Tikal is called, by our Rough Guide Guatemala book, "possibly the most magnificent of all Maya sites." The site was discovered in 1848. The Mayan civilization dates from 800 BC until 900 AD (wow) and we are told that Tikal's impressive architecture took more than 1000 years to build..

We arrived in Tikal on Wednesday, June 7th, by shuttle, after a short propeller plane ride from Guatemala City to Flores, an hour from the park. Our guide, Carlos, met us at the airport. We had signed up and pre-paid for a tour package, which included airflight, shuttle to and from Tikal, a morning guided tour of the park, lunch, overnight lodging in the park itself, and breakfast.. the other meals were on us. We soon learned what the package did not include: a map of Tikal, any free information about Tikal (pamphlets, etc..), water, (except one small bottle in the hotel room), beverages at the free lunch. Thankfully the free breakfast did come with juice and coffee. But not water. Oh well.

At the Jungle Lodge, we dropped our bags in the room, piled on the chemicals, and set out for the morning tour. We, along with a retired couple from San Francisco-Mary and David-set out walking despite blazing heat and humidity. Within the first 15 steps we were dripping a fun mixture of sweat, sunscreen, and bugspray. We walked by the crocodile pond where we saw what I think was a crocodile back... and it moved. I'm not kidding.. and we think we may have seen some baby crocodiles. Hard to make out, but it seemed like the real thing. We stepped over leaf-cutter ants our whole time in Tikal. We heard and saw the howler monkeys with their screeching in the trees... and the spider monkeys leaping from tree branch to tree branch. Incredible. I love the monkeys! We were warned about the howlers, and told that we'd be annoyed by their noises. Not at all. We're in the jungle, after all! What does one expect? The howlers to behave for the tourists?

Carlos pointed out the massive ceiba tree, the national tree of Guatemala. I have known this tree as the kaypok, and it brought me back to my Zaire childhood, where we used the cotton-like kaypok as stuffing for making dolls, and other such things. So neat to see it in its grandeur again. It's been a long time since I've seen a kaypok tree. Before too long we made it to the various ruins, and there are all sorts of facts about them which I have now forgotten but can look up at some other time. Suffice it to say the ruins are incredible. The temples, the various monuments, the masks carved in stone, the inscriptions...

Walking on pyramids which have stood since around the 800's... indescribable. Though at the time I was too sweaty and hot to truly reflect on its meaning, afterwards I was awed at what I had done... what we had done.. what many tourists do everyday: climb the wooden stairs built to the sides of the temples, stand as high as we're allowed, and be part of this Mayan world. Temple IV, the hardest one to climb (again, wooden stairs) gives the view that everyone recognizes: the Star Wars scene. Pretty cool.

After lunch, during which we had a blast getting to know Mary and David, Jo Ann and I both took naps, while Jim went to explore the possibilities for afternoon coffee, (and tried to explain in English to Spanish speakers that no, he didn't want to order coffee now, but only wanted to see if they had coffee so that when his wife woke up she could buy some coffee) I slept, despite the wretched heat. Fans are provided in the rooms, but are only on when the generator is on--which is limited, due to the park trying to conserve energy. I appreciate that effort, but wow it's hot! Jim and I went swimming for a bit in the afternoon, and true to the promises we had heard, monkeys jumped through trees within pool view. So cool..

Late afternoon brought the real adventure. The park officially closes around 6:30 or 7, so we had limited time after naps and swimming. We grabbed our cameras, raingear, and purchased map, and head out into the jungle. We decided on the Inscription Temple, which was 20 minutes walk from the entrance. It started to sprinkle, and we kept going. It started to rain, and we kept going, though we talked about the possibility of turning back. I was about to say, "If we hear thunder or see lightening, let's turn back.." but when I heard thunder and saw a flash or two of lightening in the distance, I had no desire to turn back! At this point, it was a challenge.. We booked, walking to the Inscription Temple in probably 15 minutes, and by the time we got there it was really raining. We stood under a thatched roof shelter, took some pictures, readjusted our rain gear and backpacks, and headed back.. faster, this time. I had no umbrella with me, but did have a raincoat-but wow, did I get wet.. wow, did we get wet.. The water soaked through my raincoat, left puddles in my backpack, all of our shoes squeaked with water, but it was fun! At points we ran, jumped puddles, kept shaking our heads about us actually being dumb enough to pull this off. But we did it. We pulled it off... we made it back safely.

We were such the jungle adventurers..! Smelly, perhaps not the smartest, but adventurous nonetheless!

Back to life, back to reality

I’ll blog about Tikal, Guatemala, later..

But for now, I’m facing reality. It’s Monday, and though that means a day off, I have several work items to take care of today. Normally I’d let them slide until tomorrow, but today I need to contact some people, prep for our camp speaking next week, and just get my head organized for the busy week ahead. Back to reality. I like my reality, really. I like our life, I enjoy church, camp, phone calls, etc. So it’s not so much that reality that hurts, as much as the reality of (a) not being on vacation.. I mean let’s face it. Who wouldn’t want to be on permanent vacation? And (b) infertility.

While it stared me in the face constantly in Guatemala, it somehow stares me in the face more directly back home. In Guatemala, I thought about it all the time. The injustice of all these kids we hear about in orphanages, waiting for Western parents to pay lots of money to adopt them, after they have gone through the grueling process of paperwork that most couples don't have to even think about, when they simply get pregnant. And let's not even talk about the finances of adoption. In Guatemala, many we met were one out of 7, 8, 10 children.. Not that Guatemalans don’t suffer from infertility. I suspect many do. And yet, as much as I thought about infertility in Guatemala, it hits harder back here at home.. the injustice, the reality of what I don’t have, facing pregnant bellies around me. Even on the plane from Houston to Minneapolis, there was a newborn baby in the seat in front of us and a screaming 8-or-so-month old in the seat behind us.

I know God’s in here somewhere. Do I think our struggles with this issue are for some grand reason? No, I really don’t. I think it’s the harsh reality of life. Life is harsh for most people at various times, and we have just had a hard run of things. That's life. I don't think it's God's master plan to make us suffer so we can learn something. With that reasoning.... yeah, I can't even go there. That reasoning just makes me more upset with God and the inequities of how God doles out education. Most of the world struggles, those in Guatemala struggle with poverty, corrupt and violent governments over the years.. making ends meet, illness without adequate health systems, etc.. For Jim and me, infertility has been one of our many struggles. Do I think God can work good in this? Yes, I do. I think that in our pain and daily struggles, God is working, and God will continue to work. But that does not take away the pain of today, yesterday, or tomorrow’s sadness. However, adoption is on the horizon, and I am grateful. I wish I could have brought back three kids from Guatemala, and adopt three from China... but I’m counting on our one Chinese daughter, assuming that doesn't fall through. Someday.. I’m hoping.

In the meantime, today, no daughter. Today, no pregnancy. Today, no due date to anticipate and prepare for and share with everybody. Today no specifics to hope for--except that we will have a girl from China. No known age, or timing... someday, God willing.

So, back to life, back to reality... I've fed my need to vent for a few minutes, and off I go to drink more coffee, and get ready for the week.

Antigua artist

Though we're now home, I still think about Guatemala all the time...

Volcano disappointment aside, last Tuesday ended up being a relaxing day. Antigua is one of my favorite cities. In the morning we wandered the ruins of the San Jose Cathedral, which has seen its days of falling apart. Walking through the currently existing church, we found ourselves in the back, where the ruins remain, and workers pound, roll wheelbarrows, and clean up, for the tourists, as one worker told me. The cathedral ruins were incredible, massive, opening to the sky, blocks and pieces of old church in corners, behind doors, etc. If these walls, corners, broken arches and steps could talk…. I’d love to hear what they have to say. How many people went there searching for answers, for a sign from God, for an encouragement, to offer a prayer...

After exploring and photographing the ruins, and a less-than-satisfactory lunch, we sat in the Parque Central, to sit and watch. Jim talked with a traveler from New Zealand. A little girl in a school uniform—maybe 8 or 9—came and started talking to Jo Ann. I joined the conversation, and we found out her name is Juana. She had been to school, and seemed to be done for the day, but it sounded as though she had nobody waiting for her at home, and she enjoyed hanging out in the park. We talked with her, I took a picture of her and Jo Ann, and then showed it to her.

Then Juana’s interest in photography began…
‘Take a picture of the trees…. Now the fountain… now the two of us…. Now that tourist… now that girl eating ice-cream.” The beauty of digital cameras is the review button—I showed Juana the pictures I had taken, including the ones she asked me to take, and it inspired her to look for more possible photographs. I have heard of an organization—I think in India?—that puts cameras in the hands of children who otherwise have little opportunity, and I immediately wished there was a program like that in Guatemala for Juana. I’m not sure what she has in life… but her interest in photography was touching. The photo of the “hands” in the post below is Juana’s idea. A little Antigua artist, Juana was.

Meanwhile, two other kids joined us at the bench—Walter and Jenny… Jenny initially asked us to buy jewelry, and we said no, so used to saying no to vendors. But before we left the three kids, I did buy a bracelet, a little remembrance of that day, of that touching hour or so laughing and talking with Guatemalan kids on a park bench in Antigua. My only regret about that time is that I didn’t go over and show Walter and Jenny’s moms the photos, as they watched the entire thing unfold. I waved to them often, they smiled at us, and Jo Ann thanked them, but I wish I had shown them the photos of their beautiful kids.

We left the kids, grateful for the turn in the day’s events, and returned to Lazos Fuertes, our hotel, to get ready for our shuttle taking us to Guatemala City (called “Guate” by the Guatemalans.) That shuttle showed up! After settling into Dos Lunas, our hotel in Guate, we were picked up by Jo Ann’s friends, Libby and Dan, Covenanters living in Guatemala. We went to a nice restaurant where we each had typical Guatemalan food, mmmm…good stuff. Good way to end a good day.

pictures

kids in Chichicastenango (ChiChi), the famous marketplace

beans in ChiChi, a main staple in Guatemalan diet

Cathy & Jim in Panajachel-volcano in background

Cathy & JoAnn in Panajachel

monkey in Tikal... oh, how I love the monkeys!

Tikal "sunrise"... we're glad photos don't smell, because we were sweating!

Juana, in Antigua..she came up to JoAnn and just started talking, then we all became friends

hands... photo by Cathy, but Juana's idea... "take a picture of our hands!" hands of Juana, Jim, Jo Ann, and Cathy.

"Volcano Recipes" correction

The post "Volcano Recipes" was supposed to have an introductory paragraph which would have made the title make sense.. but I had some blogging issues while in Guatemala, so here's the basic jist of what I had written but got lost in cyberspace.

While in Santa Apolonia, we were talking with the Ordonez family about climbing Pacaya Volcano. They did not understand how we could climb that volcano, leaving from Antigua.. they tried and tried to figure it out, and kept telling us we must be misinformed.. it wasn't Pacaya we would be climbing, it must be another volcano. We tried to convince them that yes, it was Pacaya, because that was the currently active volcano. No, they said, it must be another. Finally, in a last ditch effort to convince them that we knew what we were talking about, I said to them, "But I have the reciept for the volcano", meaning, of course, that I had the receipt for the hike.. we had already paid. But instead, what I actually said in Spanish, was "I have the recipe for the volcano". They looked at me as though I had said I just came from outer space, then we all started laughing, as we realized what I had said, and we laughed about the idea of having a volcano recipe. But, as it turned out by our no-show-shuttle, a volcano recipe would have been just as useful as a receipt for the volcano hike! And such is life... no-shows happen, and in a trip where anything could have gone wrong at any time, we still count our blessings that really only one big disappointment took place. I still want to hike an active volcano someday, so next time!

Volcano Recipes

So this morning we were supposed to climb Pacaya Volcano outside of Antigua. We arranged with a shuttle company (which has thus far been quite good to us), we woke up at 5:15 am, to be ready before 6:00 am for their shuttle... it never came. After more than an hour of waiting and trying to call the emergency number-which nobody answered-we finally walked to the company office, but it's not open yet. So, no volcano climbing for us. Sad, but true.. And such is life. It's too late now, because we have to catch another shuttle (same company-we'll stop by the office later and make sure they'll be ready) to Guatemala City for tomorrow's Tikal trip.

But, on our walk, we met two friendly and adorable dogs... one sat next to me while I sipped my hot latte from Cafe Condessa. While waiting this morning I talked with the hotel manager who talked about Guatemala, the president (they like him--he's doing some great things for education in Guatemala), SAfe Passage, the organization which works with street kids in the city, etc..

Yesterday, in Panajachel, we took a boat-a private boat for quite cheap-across Lake Atitlan, to visit three pueblos: Santa Catarina de Palopo, San Antonio de Palopo, and Santiago Atitlan... though the clouds hid the tops of the lake's three volcanoes the whole time, the boat ride was still incredibly beautiful, and our captain, David, was incredibly sweet and nice. Young guy who studies on the weekend, and drives his father's boat during the week. The towns were interesting, though also riddled with people trying to literally push sales into our faces.

In San Antonio, this one lady kept pestering us. It was a bother, but for some odd reason it didn't bother me as much as normal. She had something about her I liked. She asked me my name, I told her, she told me here name is Maria. We talked a bit, and I finally bought this hair piece from her, which I wanted to use for something else anyhow.. She then put it in my hair, and Jim took a picture of us.. I look fantastic! Ha.. So we kept walking around the pueblo for a bit. Later, as we descended the hill heading back to our boat, I heard a voice shouting down, "Caty!" I looked up.. it was Maria... "Si", I said.. "Adios, Caty".... "Adios, Maria!" Then she asked, "Is your mother still alive?" Yes, I answered... "Bueno, greet her for me!"

Ok, Maria. Mom, if you're reading this, Maria from San Antonio de Palopo in Guatemala says "Hi".

Si, pues!

pictures from Antigua, Guatemala:

in the central parque


from our hotel, "Lazos Fuertes" (from the rooftop)



So, it's been a long few days... good, but long. We've done and seen so much, and I can't possible tell it all here now.. I'll elaborate later. Last night and tonight we're in Panajachel, located on Lake Atitlan.. tomorrow we take a boat across the lake to see three towns.. today we went to Chichicastenango (Chi Chi for short),the famous Mayan market place, church, etc.. But, for the sake of time and quetzales (the Guatemalan currency-we're paying for this internet by the 15-minute interval), here are the highlights..

On Thursday, June 1st, we took a shuttle from Antigua which was heading for Panajachel (Pana), but dropped us off at the entrance to Tecpan, on the Pan-American highway... Julio picked us up and drove us, in his rickety Toyota, to the Ordonez home in Santa Apolonia. Seeing the entire Ordonez family was great for Jim and me... Julio, Isa, Julissa (17), Annelisse (15), and the abuelos, Julio's parents... Other highlights from Thursday: laughing with kids at the School where Isa works, seeing progress at the Belen Church where we helped out last year... church service, incredible Santa Apolonia coffee with an amount of sugar that can pay for dentist vacations, church service that night without too many expectations of us (whew!), singing hymns in Spanish, seeing some church people we met last summer, and eating dinner at 10 p.m.!

The next morning, (Friday, June 2nd) we woke up before 6 to take a "Julio", which is a walk with Julio. Someone on last year's mission trip coined this term. This one was more than 2 hours, and a reverse of last year's first walk... beautiful, informative, fun... we met people along the way, talked to them, asked questions, asked Julio questions about his experience during the recent years of violence in Guatemala. As with last year's time in Santa Apolonia, this was an experience that many tourists never get to have, so we are grateful for it, and for our education in the process. Though the scenery was initially misty and foggy, the mountains and fields and people heading to work and school in traditional and modern day clothes are images I'll never forget.

Friday morning we visited Pasquala, the pottery lady.. Pasquala makes pottery with no wheel. She brings clay from the neighboring mountain, pounds and grinds it, makes her own paints, adds water... and literally turns around while bending over, molding the clay into a pot or some other such thing that she eventually sells.



We spent a good time there, taking photos, talking and laughing. Pasquala's most commonly used phrase is, "Si, pues!" (sorry, I can't figure out this keyboard to make the appropriate Spanish markings...) Si, pues.. basically means, "Uh-huh", or "a-ha"... something like that. An agreement, a sigh, a Pasquala comment... it's used by others, too, but often by Pasquala, and I loved hearing her say it with her inflexions and animation. Pasquala's 80-something year old aunt-Pancha- showed up carrying a load of wood on her head for Pasquala. Pancha also makes pottery still.. hearing the two relatives speaking the Mayan language of Kaqchikel was a treat. Julio speaks and understands a bit of Kaqchikel, so would translate sometimes, but I didn't care.. I just liked listening.

Years ago, Pasquala walked to Tecpan to sell her pottery ... (it took about an hour to walk there) but no longer, since she ran into her husband. They are separated, though not divorced. Apparently when they were together her life was not good, and he continued to take advantage of her financially even when they separated. She is afraid of running into him again, and so no longer sells in Tecpan, only out of her house. But after telling us the story of her husband, she said, matter-of-factly, (in Spanish) "But there's a God."




Si, pues! Yes, Pasquala, there is a God. It's been an incredible journey in Guatemala so far, seeing people like Pasquala who make ends meet barely by working out of her home, and the Ordonez family (Julio and Isa) who are trying to help their girls get good educations, and people along the side of the road who live in literal tin shacks or adobe shacks... God is for them, God is for us... Si, pues!