A Trip to Las Vegas!

No, not Las Vegas, Nevada,… Las Vegas, Chakipur, a small village about an hour drive from the mission site.

A week earlier, some visiting friends from Arizona, Bill and Eileen Estle, and I shared the movie, Hope, in the village Las Ruinas.  I asked the pastor of the church if there were any other villages close by that he thought would be open to viewing the movie. He told me about this village about 5 minutes away, Las Vegas, and I said I would like to go.

So, the following Saturday I recharged the battery of the projection unit , loaded up my gear and headed out to pick up Pastor Roberto in Las Ruinas. This village is a 30 minute drive - about 10 minutes on pavement and 20 minutes on a rough gravel road.  Las Vegas was, supposedly, only 5 minutes further down the road. 

When I was at this village the previous week, the pastor had asked me for some medication for his wife, a Quekchi Bible, a new roof for his house and 100 plastic chairs for his growing church.  This is pretty typical.  Wherever I go there are needs!  I was able to meet the first two needs of which he and his wife were very grateful. The latter two I had to put on the long list that grows every time I go to a village to show a film. I would so like to help everyone with everything, but sometimes I help in part and leave the rest to the Lord.   

I picked up Pastor Roberto and his son and we continued down the gravel road, past his community, Las Ruinas, towards Las Vegas, deep in the beautiful Guatemalan landscape.  “Should be there soon,” I thought but I always get this strange feeling when someone here says “no esta lejos, hermano, solo 5 minutos en caro.”  The gravel road came to an end and we started working our way down a narrow dirt road. I could tell by the lack of vehicle tracks that this was definitely “the road less travelled.”  This is the dry season in Guatemala and it was obvious that the trail we were on would only passable during this time. There were all kinds of dried up mud holes, ruts, and scarey wooden creek crossings. We came to a small active creek and the pastor got out and guided me across the planks and wood that had been used to build a makeshift bridge.  I sure was glad they have an abundance of hardwoods in this area!

Some men from the village had walked to the “bridge” just in case we had any problems. I was a little afraid to ask how much farther because I already knew his response would be “just another 5 minutes.”  We arrived in Las Vegas 30 minutes later, but on Guatemala time this IS only 5 minutes. Few of the people here have watches or are able to estimate time accurately according to a clock system.

We pulled up in front of a small wooden church. It is always very humbling to see the “places of worship” in these small villages.  On one side there were a few rough-cut benches on the dirt floor and the other side was filled with gravel in hopes that one day they would be able to put a concrete floor in their church. I suggested we set up outside and they agreed.  I hung up my large sheet on the side of the building and they brought some kid sized chairs from the small thatched-roof school house down the road. It wasn’t quite dark yet so I took the opportunity to “communicate” with the men of the village.  Las Vegas has no electricity and during this time of year their well dries up. They have no work near the village but family has a small plot of land where they grow corn to sustain themselves. The two things they needed most in their village were a well for water and a larger building  to have church.  I presented the pastor with a new Quekchi Bible and the expression on his face was priceless. He was so grateful for this simple gift, he could hardly contain himself (I f you would like to provide bibles for pastors, please let me know. Less than 12 dollars a piece!)

The sun set and people were trickling in from the village on foot. The pastor gave the go ahead and I started the movie. I watched as these indigenous Mayan people engaged with the story of the bible in their own language. I marvelled and gave thanks at the wonders of technology as they listened to the love letter given to them by the Lord. Oh the riches of His grace and mercy. 

After the movie the pastor prayed with the people and we packed up.  What a joy it is to see the Lord at work in the hearts of these wonderful people.

We loaded into the Pathfinder and headed for home. “Ya, only 5 minutes to home,” I said to myself, as I put it in 4 wheel drive and turned on the headlights.

Something to Celebrate!

Today is Easter Sunday.   Rocky and I had the privilege of worshipping along side our brothers and sisters in Christ this morning here in Chisec. 
I love going to church, but especially on Easter Sunday because there is always such a sense of celebration amongst the people of God.  It is like going to a party.  (I attached a little video here of part of our morning  worship celebration so you could feel the excitement along with us). 
As we sang, clapped, and danced (sort of!), a spirit of thankfulness filled the place.  We have something to celebrate; Christ is risen!  Hallelujah! 
That God would send His Son to earth to once and for all take care of our iniquities is simply incredible.  His love for us is so outrageous and over the top that humanly it is a challenge to try and comprehend its depth.  But, I know it is true and I celebrate!
God is alive and well and His Holy Spirit is working in us and through us.  We see evidence all around us.  Praise be to God!    

Starting a Library

There are some things, that prior to moving to Guatemala, I used to take for granted.  Having access to a library is one of them.  In Guatemala, libraries are few and far between and only big centers actually have a library - at least one with books.  Here in Chisec, there is a building that is designated for a library, but there are very few books, all of which are in boxes, and no one works there.  The doors are closed and no one has access.  Not a very useful library if you ask me. 

I have thought a lot, recently, about what a privilege it is to be able to read and have access to books.  As an English teacher and avid reader it is hard to imagine a life void of books/reading.  I have learned so much through books over the years that it is just a part of my life. 
About a month ago, I started talking to my son-in-law about this and he asked if I'd like to organize a library at the Christian school in Chisec where he and our daughter work.  I jumped at the opportunity! 
Last week I started my work in earnest.  We had two big boxes of books here at the mission site, so I began by labelling/organizing them.  Then I went to the school and looked at all of the books they had, and I dug in, sorting and organizing - something I love to do!
It will be a small library at first, but I believe the school will use it and it will be a benefit to the staff and students. 
  

Swimming Lessons...Life Lessons

Here in Guatemala, drownings all too often.  In the vast majority of cases, the issue is someone is in the water and no one is able to swim.  Bill and Eileen Estle, from Arizona, have been here for the past 3 weeks, and Eileen was a swim instructor.  She wanted to offer lessons to kids and Cindy and I jumped on the idea.  Now that the pool at M2G is up and running we had the perfect environment to teach a group of kids.  We decided to focus on the sponsor kids who attend Galilea.  Because of the depth of the pool, we limited it to students in grades 5 and up.  We also divided the classes between boys and girls, so that the girls wouldn't be embarrassed and could take the greatest advantage of the classes. 

On day 1, many of the kids had a real fear of the water.  But, by the time it was their final lesson, they were all swimming (some better than others, but they were all in water over their heads keeping themselves up).

After each lesson, Cindy took the opportunity to speak to the kids and draw parallels between learning to swim and our walk with the Lord.  A theme seemed to emerge in these talks - Do not be afraid, trust in the Lord, He is with you.  

One little girl, Mirna Lizbet, really stood out.  On her first day, it was a challenge to even get her into the water.  She was so nervous - and stiff! - it was tough to teach her anything.  But, by day 3 she was jumping into the deep water and swimming.  Even though she was afraid, she didn't let her fear get the best of her.  She persevered and pushed through it and accomplished amazing things. 

That was a wonderful life lesson for us all here at M2G.  As we watched little Mirna push herself so she could learn, we were encouraged to do the same.
Life is not always easy, and when it gets tough, we are to look to the Lord for our strength and press on.  We cannot let difficulties and struggles keep us from what we are called to do. 
Who knew swim lessons were so deep!