Remembering

It is Monday, and I am remembering that Monday five years ago. It was a wonderful day, beautiful and snappy cool. I took off work so that I could go with Fouad to a new cardiologist. His early morning appointment was in the Methodist Hospital in Sugarland. The doctor examined his list of medications and advised him to be very careful concerning injuries as he was taking a lot of blood thinning medication. We made an appointment to return on Thursday for more tests. We stopped by the Sugarland Mall to do a little Christmas shopping. Lunch was at Olive Garden. Fouad ordered lasagna and said that theirs was not as good as mine. We had an appointment with the realtor to sign the papers to buy the house in Heritage Grand, the retirement community. We finished in time to make it to Betty Strauss’ retirement party. Joe Adams was there, which really pleased Fouad. Joe and Fouad really enjoy each other’s company.


That day was God’s gift to me before my world came apart. Fouad fell on Tuesday afternoon and died on Wednesday—too much bleeding. My heart still aches to remember and I cannot forget. The best I can do is temporarily suppress. Has God been with me to comfort me? The answer is definitely yes. I am comforted in the midst of the pain, but I still grieve. Paul wanted to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering.” (Philippians 3:10) Now I understand suffering. This yearning I have in my heart for what I have lost makes me contemplate the yearning and suffering God must have for the ones who are lost to Him. The greater the love, the greater the suffering when the love is lost. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Christ died for me. Can there be a greater love? What must I do in response? First, I must stay in loving relationship to Him, and second I must be about the business of reconciling the lost ones to Him.

Lake Atitlán and Guatemala Baptist Convention

November 11-13
The most beautiful area of Guatemala is around Lake Atitlán. The little village all around the lake are picturesque and seem to be from another time. It is a tourist dream. San Pedro de La Laguna, one of the lovely, little villages on the lake, hosted the Guatemala Baptist Convention. People came from all over the country to have their voices be heard and to learn about how God is working through His people. New churches and their pastors were recognized. Several groups sang for us. Just about half the people of Guatemala are indigenous and descended from the ancient Mayans. They maintain their own customs and distinctive dress. There are over 20 different languages and dialects spoken among these groups. Spanish is a second language for many Guatemalans. Most of the church services held in San Pedro are in a language other than Spanish. Many of these people came to the convention in their traditional dress giving us many photo opportunities. All was not entertainment at this convention. Even Guatemalan business meeting are a test of endurance, even more so when you have a difficult time understanding the language.
What is amazing about this little village is the high saturation of churches. There are three Baptist churches within a ten minute walking distance. As I walked the streets, I heard Christian music coming out from homes and businesses.

Day of the Dead, November 1

I had several choices to commemorate this very popular Guatemalan holiday. The first was not so appealing—attend a funeral, a cultural experience. My favorite was to go to the kite festival in Santiago Sacatepéquez. For this I needed a guide and I couldn’t find anyone willing to struggle with the traffic and crowds for this once a year spectacular event. While despondent in disappointment, my neighbor Noly called and invited me to go to the cemetery with her. What a choice! I went, not really knowing what to expect. Noly was in her exercise clothes which surprised me, because she is a very elegant lady and is usually very well dressed—high heels even. We battled traffic everywhere, but Noly is a competent driver and knows her way around this city. Her plan was to park at her friend’s house and then we would walk from there. The way into the cemetery was like a carnival with booths lining both sides of the street. Most had flowers for the visitors to buy to put on family graves, but food stands were very popular, selling typical food and pizza even. The clowns really added to the carnival atmosphere. When we arrived at the Rios family mausoleum, Noly began pulling out all the dead and old flowers and replacing them with the new. She put on her rubber gloves and cleaned all the spider webs and dust. It was all efficient business until it was finished, and then I saw it. This heavy sadness that fell over her as she gazed at her son’s stone—Carlos Enrique Rios, November 25, 1965-October 6, 1999. It wasn’t too hard to follow the ritual, but the real purpose was painful.

The Day of the Dead or All Saints Day is a time to remember loved ones who have died. In Guatemala as in most countries many traditions and pagan practices obscure the original and main purpose of the holiday. A major tourist attraction is the kite festival in Santiago Sacatepéquez. The kites are launched from the cemetery with messages to the dead or to God. The kites are flown again on November 2 so that the spirits that visited on the first may return to that place of the dead. Somehow these spirits are supposed to use the kites to transport themselves. Another tradition in Guatemala is eating fiambre with your family and friends. I googled this tradition and found several different stories to explain it.

Once upon a time, there was a convent in Antigua, Guatemala, where the nuns had been celebrating the All Saints Day. They had an uninvited, but important visitor. They were really nervous because they did not have enough food to make a proper dinner for the guest, so they collected and remixed all the leftovers from previous meals, from slices of cheese to potatoes. As a result, the Guatemalan Fiambre was born and the guest was delighted!

Fiambre is really a marinated salad of many meats, vegetables, and cheeses. Some of these dishes can have as many as 50 different ingredients. It has been said that no two are alike. I went to Noly’s sister’s home on Nov. 1 for the first fiambre. Almost the entire family gathered to share in this meal and there was no shortage of food. Now Noly has 3 sisters. Two of them had prepared this fabulous dish. In order not to hurt anyone’s feelings, we had to go to each of their homes on two different days. It was worth the effort, not so much for the food as for the ambiance. This family loves jokes and funny stories. Oh how I wish I could grasp all the innuendos and idiomatic expressions of the Spanish language.

Reflecting on the holiday, I am grateful for the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.
(1 Corinthians 15:16-20 The Message)

I am also grate that I don’t need to tie a message to a kite to communicate with God.

So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The "curtain" into God's presence is his body.
(Hebrews 10:19-20)

San Luis Jilotepeque, October 11

San Luis Jilotepeque is a little village about a four hour drive to the south and east of Guatemala City. My little church, El Aposento Alto, took two van loads of people on a pilgrimage to the inauguration of a new Baptist Church here. It was a beautiful drive especially for me as I had never seen the Guatemalan countryside. Being in very tight quarters for that long of a time also provides opportunities to get better acquainted with fellow passengers. Of course for me the challenge was to understand and follow the conversations. The pastor was in our van as was one of the adult Sunday school teachers. Both have the gift for gab and both had fascinating stories to tell about their journeys in faith. Sitting right next to me was an elderly widow woman with whom I almost immediately bonded. She has such sweetness about her. The church members in Jilotepeque fed us an interesting lunch, but I could not begin to describe it. It filled the empty place in our stomachs and those serving were gracious. We had time to walk around this quaint little village before the worship/inauguration service. I had never been to such a new church before or had any idea what was about to transpire. Several visiting pastors spoke and deacon and pastors from other churches questioned the new congregation about doctrine and beliefs and a challenge was given. Of course there was plenty of music, very loud music and singing. The tiniest of churches have huge speaker systems. They feel that others in the town will hear the music and believe. I am certain the entire town could hear the music because my stomach was vibrating and I was wishing for ear plugs. Now I know why there is a need for deaf ministry in this country or at least why there are so many deaf people.

Financial Conference, October 14

Missionaries in Guatemala are trying to reach upper class people through Bible studies centered on managing personal finances. This is the type of bible study that I hope to have in my home starting in January. One of the ladies in my neighborhood, Lolita, had heard about this study and the author of the study materials. At my party she invited all the ladies to attend a conference in which this author and two others would be speaking. Betty, one of my walking buddies, and I bought tickets for this event to be held October 14.

The Financial Conference was held at a large local hotel near our neighborhood. Betty drove and we had a marvelous time together. I really did not have the slightest idea how large a gathering it would be. The enormous ballroom was full to capacity—around 1,000 people in attendance. Everything was high quality. Even with my limited Spanish, I was animated by the speakers. Honestly, I have very little interest in finances. However these speakers emphasized having a lifestyle and attitude toward life that puts the financial side in perspective. All we have comes from God and belongs to Him. We are stewards of His benefits to us. He cares for us and withholds nothing we need from us.

The brunch during the program was excellent and efficiently served. Betty was enthusiastic about what she learned and bought one of the books so that she could pass on this knowledge to her adult daughters and to her university son. She will be a good ambassador for the neighborhood Bible study. I am hoping to have another party early in December just to keep this idea fresh in the minds of the neighbors.

As time goes on, I am gaining a deeper understanding of Matthew 9:38: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." There is no way I could have orchestrated all the events that led up to my being here or the ones that led to making friends in the neighborhood. The harvest belongs to God. He is in charge. We are only His workers to help bring it in. Please pray that I will hear His voice and be obedient to help with the harvest.

First Visitors, October 1-5

Donna and Joe Adams were my very first houseguests. I loved every minute of their stay. I had to practice driving to the airport so I would know how to do it at night. Landmarks just don’t look the same in the dark. They arrived around 9:00 on Wednesday night and were here until Sunday morning when I dropped them back at the airport The challenge for me was navigating the city well enough to give them a good tour. They brought with them some good tourist books for Guatemala with fairly accurate maps and this did help.

The first day we toured downtown, the old part of the city. On the main square are the Cathedral and the National Palace. Behind the Cathedral is the Central Market. We did a walking tour of the central area using the guide book, and then we headed back to the Central Market to do some shopping. Donna was having a fabulous time taking pictures of all the ancient architecture and she lagged behind us a bit. Joe and I were entering the market parking lot when we heard Donna screaming, “Joe, Joe.” Joe ran toward her to see a man trying to yank off Donna’s gold necklace. When the guy saw Joe, he took off running without the necklace. There were plenty of police around the area. Seeing the guy running off and several people yelling at him, gave the police officers at the end of the street notice and they were able to catch him. Two officers dragged him by the scruff of his neck to where we were standing. Joe was furious and wanted to punch his lights out, but he restrained himself. Donna was beginning to feel sorry for the poor fellow. For him to be arrested, it would have been necessary for us to go down to the police station and fill out a bunch of papers. We opted not to spend our precious time doing that. Joe was satisfied, sort of, by an apology. He apologized and offered as his explanation that he was hungry and living on the street. Donna was feeling even sorrier for the guy when she realized that he had a bloody spot on his head where she had bopped him with the camera. That incident did not deter Donna from the shopping she had planned. After giving the police the basic information, we continued to the market in search of the perfect gifts for our friends.

The next day we had planned to go to Antigua, the principle tourist spot of Guatemala, but a neighbor came by to tell me that she heard on the news that the road to Antigua was blocked because of mud slides. We did a tour of some of the best museums of Guatemala City and had a leisurely lunch and returned to the market for a few more things and back to another market that specializes in artesian goods.

Saturday, we were determined to go to Antigua even if we had to make a few detours. It was raining and part of the road was blocked and we were held up for a little while, though not long. When we arrived in Antigua, the rain had stopped and we had a glorious day. To visit Antigua is to step back in time at least 200 years. Everything is picturesque. There are thousands of shops and more stuff to buy. I know we did not see it all, but we thoroughly enjoyed what we did see. We also left a few souvenirs in the shops for other people to buy. Because of the rain and cloudy conditions, I had been driving with my lights on. I forgot to turn them off. You know what that means. We returned to a dead battery. Another incident with police all around us trying to help get the battery charged. I am certain that the Guatemalans are the nicest people in the world. Everybody wanted to help. The police did come up with some cables, but I had to call someone who lives near there to come with a vehicle to connect the cables and get the car jumped. Fortunately we had no other incidences and we returned safely from Antigua, tired but blissful.

September 21-27, Working with Medical Team

One of the missionaries, Jo Brown, asked me to help with a medical team that came down to work in Palín, a small community about 45 minutes out of the capital city. The tiny church in that community is just getting started. They have been meeting under a fragile tent while their building is being constructed. A couple of the guys on the team worked on the construction of the church walls along with the Guatemalan contractor.

They had to be really short of Spanish to use me. My Spanish is not that good. Fortunately the translating was not that difficult. The first two days I translated for one of the doctors. Most of the physical complaints were very simple. The young children seemed to have sore throats, coughs, and stomach aches. These were easily treated and the team brought plenty of antibiotics, vitamins, and parasite meds. The old people just about all had the same problems—aching muscles, knee and joint pain. There were a few cases of diabetes. Most were not taking medication because they could not afford it. The goal of the team was to demonstrate God’s love and concern for them.

The last two days they were able to get a translator who is also a nurse. I got moved outside to help the team members who were working with the children. This was no small job. There were 4 of us and about 75-100 children ages 2 to 12. In the morning, most of the school age children were in school and we mostly had the preschoolers—no parents or rarely. In the afternoons, they were as thick as bees on a honeycomb. I love working with these children. They just want to please and they are so cooperative. No one complained that they were bored. If they did, they used a different word than I know. We told a Bible story and had a little drama to go with it. We sang song accompanied by a battery operated iPod speaker system. The children played games to memorize their Bible verse. The best part for me was all the hugs. Guatemalans are loving, affectionate people. They are also grateful for any attention, and they are not stingy with their thank-yous.

On the last day, a young woman came into the clinic while we were having our lunch. She was carrying roses, and she had her little girl with her—about 5 years old. The mother said it was the little girl’s idea to bring the flowers in order to express gratitude to the doctors and others who had helped her get well. The day before, one of the doctors had gone to her home to tend to the child because the mother thought she was too ill to bring her in.

After 4 long days of clinic and Bible school, we had a play day. We went out to some ancient Mayan ruins where many still offer sacrifices to the Mayan gods. We also visited Antigua which is the ancient capital city of Guatemala. The streets of Antigua are the original cobblestones and are a challenge to drive on and not that easy for walking either. The artesian market is quite fabulous. Guatemalans are famous for their beautiful fabrics which are unique to Guatemala.

It was an exhausting week for the body, but refreshing to the soul.

Neighborhood Ladies

Meeting the Neighbors

Not long after I arrived, the drinking water dispenser ran out. To replace the water requires strength and dexterity. The water bottle is a 5 gallon container that must be lifted about eye level and turned upside down over the dispenser. I decided I would go out in the neighborhood and ask someone to help me. I saw the neighbor next door outside. She has two adult sons living with her and she told me she would send one of them over later to change out my water bottle, but right now she and another neighbor were headed walking to a free cultural event in the area. Nolly, Sarita, Sarita’s 6-year old grandson and I walked about 4 blocks to a huge Catholic church. The street next to the church had been blocked off and circus type tent had been set up for the folkloric ballet. There was a marimba group that provided the music for the dances. A concession stand was set up just outside the tent for those who didn’t have dinner before coming. Once the dances began, I was totally captivated. I had no idea that Marimba could be so beautiful or that Guatemala had so many folkloric dances. This was also the first time for me to hear the Guatemala’s national anthem.

Nolly also invited me to go walking the next morning with her and two other ladies from the neighborhood—Betty and Carmen Yolanda. Thus began a daily routine of exercise. We walk from 4:45 to 5:45 every morning. Yes, this really is too early for me, but Carmen Yolanda goes to work early.

Making Friends

These 4 women have become very good friends to me. Nolly introduced me to a hair solon where I get my color and cut. She has also taken me walking to a terrific fresh market very near the house. To celebration the National holiday on September 15, four of us went to the National Theater for a Marimba concert. There were 10 marimba groups, all playing simultaneously. Each group has nine members—7 play the xylophone looking part, one plays base fiddle, and one plays the drums. The people in the audience applauded and yelled enthusiastically after every musical number. One song was such a favorite that the people got up in the aisles and began to dance and sing along with the music. There were 3 encores.

Nolly also guided me on a trip to Antigua, the ancient capital city of Guatemala, and a major tourist attraction.

Even before arriving in Guatemala, I had prayed that I would make Guatemalan friends and that I would be able to have a Bible study in my home, and even that at some point I might be able to lead a Bible study. Of course, my Spanish does have to improve a bit before I can do it alone. With this in mind, I had a little party last Saturday night to get to know as many of the ladies in my little neighborhood (30 homes) as possible. I handed out the invitations and prepared the food, waiting expectantly to see who would show up. Thirteen ladies came, of these 5 were completely new to me. A fairly young woman and her two little girls live on one side of me. I thought she was rather unfriendly or very busy as I had only seen her in passing and she was always in her car. It turned out that her husband had died in June of this year after a long illness. She really didn’t know anyone in the neighborhood because she had been so busy caring for her husband. I had to ask one of her daughters what was her name so I could address the envelope. No one in the area even knew her name—Elida. She stayed until the very end and seemed so happy to be in the company of all these friendly ladies. Two of my missionary friends also came, one to help and one to talk about a Bible study she leads. Several of the ladies were enthusiastic about a study right here in the neighborhood. We hope to get it going in January.

I packed my 2 huge bags and 1 carry on just praying that I had not forgotten anything important. One of my bags weighed a little under 50 pounds and one weighed a little more than 50 pounds. TACA airlines was generous to me and considered it balanced and did not charge me any over weight fees. I had some tense moments when the basket carrying my laptop computer hit the floor as I was going through security. It took about 30 minutes to get the computer to come on and repair itself, but it eventually did. I was laying hands on it and praying. It really is not that far from Houston to Guatemala City--around 1300 miles, which is less than from Houston to Boston. If it had been a direct flight, it would been less than 3 hours. This plane, however, stopped in Belize and again in San Salvaldor, El Salvador. I changed planes in San Salvador for a 30 minute flight to Guatemala City.

One of the missionaries met me at the airport and took me to my new home. It was about 10:00 at night by the time we got there and I was exhausted and didn't look around much. The missionary--Penny Stamps lives in Antigua so she spend the night with me and took me to the orientation sessions the next day.