A Chance Encounter

The US Embassy had just opened for business. The Guatemalan “cowboy” and the young woman were an unlikely pair to be on the US citizen side of the Embassy. It was easy to see that they were confused, and I was bored. Maybe it was a chance encounter or maybe God ordained. Whichever, the meeting became much more than I expected. The young couple from the country had come to the city to get US passports for their two young daughters who were born in Rome, Georgia. Their challenge was 6 pages of forms written in English and needing to be completed in English. I was sitting waiting to get a document notarized. Seeing that they could not read the forms, I offered to help. They proudly showed me the pictures of their little girls and explained to me how proud they were that their children were American citizens. After completing the forms they were told to go to the embassy web site and make an appointment for interview. There are internet places all over the city, but for them to use the internet was definitely not going to be easy. I gave them my cell phone number and shook my head thinking about the obstacles ahead for this couple. I never expected to see or hear from them again.

A few weeks later I received a call on my cell phone from Alicia. At first I thought it was a wrong number and then she reminded me that we had met in the embassy. She told me that they were at the US Embassy with their children and that they had no money and no place to stay. What could I do? I am here as a missionary—one sent to help people. I called a taxi to pick them up and bring them to my house. (I don’t know the way to the embassy and back.) My missionary coworkers advised me to be cautious and not to leave them alone in the house. Therefore I was excused from work to stay with my house guests. Alicia, Lindolfo and the children had traveled on a bus for 10 hours to get to Guatemala City from their little village near the Mexican border. The children had not eaten since they left their home. Like children just about anywhere in the world given the choice of where to eat, they chose McDonald’s. They don’t have one in their little village, but they remembered from living in Georgia. The precious little girls, ages four and five, ate everything in their “Happy Meals.” It was easy to see how hungry they were.

They had appointments at the US Embassy for Wednesday morning and this was Monday afternoon. They were exhausted from their travels so they all went to bed fairly early getting us through Monday. Tuesday I decided to take them to the zoo. It is right next to the airport so I knew how to get there and back. None of them had ever been to a zoo and really didn’t know the names of many of the animals and I didn’t know all the names in Spanish, so it was a learning experience for all of us. The best attraction was seeing a squirrel with a huge avocado it its mouth. Avocado trees are more common here than any kind of nut tree. I just never thought of avocados as being food for squirrels.

Wednesday morning they gathered up all their belongings and headed back to the Embassy and then the long trip back to their country home where they live crudely, cooking over wood fires. Try to imagine how often you would cook if you had to gather wood and chop it and then build a fire to cook, and all you have to cook is rice and beans. Back in Georgia they had lived among other immigrants and managed without learning more than a few expressions in English. They worked at Tyson chicken processing plant. They had to return to Guatemala because Alicia’s mother was ill and could no longer take care of Alicia’s invalid 10 year son. Please pray for this family. Their needs are great and they do not know a loving God. I will see them again. They have to return to get the passports when they are ready. They promised to call, and I am certain that they will.

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.