Posts Tagged ‘Guatemala’

happy festivus… now for the feats of strength!

Monday, March 5th, 2007

ah, only Seinfeld.

Anyway, I’m back safe and sound from Guatemala. not that I wanted to leave. yet, all last week I found myself sitting at my desk, working away. That’s not depressing.

This visit was more productive, and less adventurous than the first. Wednesday I roamed around Guatemala City and discovered that my Spanish is at least passable. I successfully ordered lunch, took two taxis, and hung out in an internet café. No one tried to kidnap or kill me, so far as I know. Also, I interviewed and dropped resumes at a couple of English teaching schools. I really would like to move there, but I’m praying about it. Please pray that God will make the path obvious, and if I’m not to go, that He’ll shut the doors.

Whether I am to return or not, I had a great time with Mafer and also with the Purcells. As previously noted, Brenda makes me laugh a lot. This time around I also met the infamous Nate. I’m pretty sure we would be good friends, given the time. He’s got a good (read: similar to my) sense of humor. I had a great time visiting Mafer too. I made her watch The Muppets Take Manhattan with me in Spanish. (Props go out to my good friend Dr. Melanie Harkabus for hooking me up with that for Christmas.) Also, we went out to a really sweet restaurant in Antigua at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. You can look at the link, but the food is excellent, and the grounds are impressive. A lot of people have weddings in their outdoor chapel. There is a museum underneath the hotel which connects it to the parking. If you ever want to go somewhere fancy in Guatemala, I highly recommend it. Here’s the obligatory picture:

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Last night I went to Fort Walton Beach Church of Christ with some of the Youth Group for Ignite. It went pretty well. Afterwards, we went to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Those of you who know me also know that I almost never eat dessert and rarely crave it. It was a nice exception. Mint Chocolate Chip and Cookie Dough make a great combination, no matter what anyone says. This is how I look sometimes when I am trying to decide if the teens are actually as insane as I think (they’re more insane).

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At least my beard is coming back again. Wooo!

Thursday after work, I’m flying up to visit my brother and sister-in-law in North Carolina. I’ll be there until Sunday afternoon. It will be good to see him again. We’re going to have fun.

This blog isn’t over until you pin me!!! FESTIVUS!

los túmulos me estan mirando…

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

As most of you know, I spent some time in Guatemala back in September. I must have liked it, because I find myself now typing this out from a coffee place called Barista in a mall in Guatemala City. Don’t believe me? Here’s the undeniable proof:

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Okay, so maybe that doesn’t prove anything. But, I did really just take it as I’m sitting here from my trusty macbook. Here’s another exciting picture of me in ATL before I left:

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ok, that’s all for the iSight pictures. I promise. (maybe)

Anyway, Saturday night, Mafer’s friend July picked me up at the airport. I think I was easy to spot. She was kind enough to feed me, let me take a nap, and take me with her to a meeting at her Church. I understood a little, so it was fun. Later, we met up with Mafer and some of her friends to go see a show in Antigua. Of course, we were late and missed the whole thing, but we got something to eat at Frita’s and played some pool with some people who said they were from Tampa, but had an Australian accent.

Sunday was July’s Dad’s birthday. We went to her parents’ house and ate lunch with them. While I was there, Mafer and July took me out to ride the chicken bus. The chicken bus is Mafer’s name for the main form of bus transportation here. It involves a brightly decorated bus, usually overpacked with passengers and, if you’re lucky, small livestock. Hence why she calls it the chicken bus. She has actually had a chicken as a fellow passenger. I have not, sadly. Yet, here’s the obligatory photo:

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I also got to experience the “Tuc Tuc” (or however you spell it). Basically this is a motorized tricycle with space for 2-3 passengers in the back. Sorry, no pictures yet for that. I’ll try and take one later. And, for you picture freaks, here is one of Mafer and me waiting for the Chicken Bus:

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Yesterday I spent the morning here at the mall with Brenda (the wife in the missionary family who has been so nice to me and let me stay with them). I have rarely laughed as hard as when I’m with her. Just to give you an idea, she told me a story about giving someone (not someone she’s related to) an enima (she’s not a nurse). The afternoon I spent with Mafer’s grandma. We watched a movie on my laptop and we walked down to the tienda to get some bread and paper towels. I think we might be dating now. Last night we ate dinner with Brenda, Randy, and two of their children, Leah and Seth. During dinner Brenda made a wall out of several pieces of her cornbread. Awesome.

That’s all for now, but I’ll have more later, I’m sure. May the Lord bless you all.

these abundant skies

Wednesday, February 14th, 2007

i’m in a good mood right now, and i feel like sharing. welcome, friends.

sunday night i took the church van out to crestview with the youth group for the ignite youth rally. it was much like other events of the sort, and the spiritual boost always helps. i did realize something though. i really love working with teens, and i think i’m going to start looking for a youth ministry job somewhere. this was taken from the hood of the church van. Jarrett enjoys the gangster pose.

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These kids are basically how I stay this side of sane… whichever side that is.

What else? Friday night I went swing dancing with Sara out at American Legion. I love it there, because the dancing is not of a promiscuous nature. Smoking and drinking are not allowed, so the people who are there are basically there just to dance and have fun. I am rhythmically challenged, but I am learning, and I really enjoy it. DDR is helping me work on the whole timing thing.

About a month ago I realized I was fatter than my liking, so I started on a diet and some light workout routines. So far, I’ve lost about 8 lbs (started around 215). I’m not so much worried about what the number on the scale says, but I would like to get in shape.

My diet has revolved around trying to limit my daily calories to a maximum of 2000, and breaking up my meals into 5 or 6 per day, every 2.5 hours or so. I try to drink nothing but water, and the really important part is getting 8 hours of sleep a night if possible. Workouts have been mainly limited to about 30 min of DDR daily, some light free weights, and for a few days I got up and jogged a mile first thing in the morning. (This last week I’ve been horrible, not working out, not getting enough sleep, and generally being lazy.) I seem to have plateaued, so I think soon I’m going to start on an actual weight routine. My starting goal was to reach 180lbs before the end of May. I’ll keep you posted.

For those of you who don’t know, on Saturday I’m leaving for Guatemala again. I’ll be returning on 2/25, Lord willing. If you give me your address, I’ll send you a postcard. I’m looking forward to the visit, practicing my espanol, and hanging out with my good friend, Mafer. Que buena onda!

One other thing that is just warming the cockles of my heart is that I got my phone back today. A few months ago, my Sony Ericsson Z520a that I bought unlocked and (ostensibly) unused from ebay. It worked great for a month, and then one day just stopped picking up signal. I put my SIM card in my old Nokia (despite its age, it seems to be the only reliable phone that works no matter what). On 1/30, I finally FedEx’d it out to the good folks Sony Ericsson hired to do their repair work. I did not have high hopes. Long story short, it arrived back on my doorstep today. It works like a charm and I’m pleased as punch. I’ll cover this story in a separate blog, for the purpose of reviews and others who might have similar problems with this model phone. By the way, if you are reading this and have my phone number, give me a call. I lost all my phone numbers from my SIM when I put it in the old phone, so I am low on numbers at the moment.

God has blessed me. Please be praying for me, friends. I want to make sure that I rely on God every step of the way, even when things seem like they’re under control and i don’t “need” to pray about it. (I always need to pray about it). In closing, let me share some familiar lyrics, courtesy of Switchfoot:

I’m learning to breathe
I’m learning to crawl
I’m finding that You and You alone can break my fall
I’m living again, awake and alive
I’m dying to breathe in these abundant skies

This last couple of years, it’s like I’ve been in some sort of fog. God is faithful, and he has continued to provide light for my soul, even when it was devoid of faith and full of sin. The path is getting brighter every day, and for that I am most grateful. Thank you, Lord for your tireless mercy and forgiveness. And thank you for loving me and seeking me out when I don’t deserve it. Dust and ashes never could have hoped to have it so good… yet in Jesus, I do.

Let me take this opportunity to invite you to learn about Jesus, if you have not committed your soul to His care. I can promise that it will never be a waste, and though I will let you down, He never will.

oh, and apparently it’s Valentine’s Day. May it be a good one, and may chocolate fill your mouths. the end.

blessed be Your name

Monday, December 4th, 2006

so, I had this really long blog planned out, like I usually do. basically wait a month and then narrate my life — that’s the formula. well, not this time. i’m cutting my losses, and then i’m going to offer you some false hope that i’ll update more often. muahhahahha.

last time we chatted, i had just returned from a sweet vacation in Guatemala. since then, not much and a whole lot has happened. here is what comes to mind:

I came home and my car broke down. broke down big time. for about a week, i borrowed my parents’ cars to get to work. then i paid to have it fixed, because apparently my car was critically unsafe to drive on about five different fronts, two of which involved the steering and brakes. nice. so, $1200 poorer and feeling smug about my trusty chrysler, I went about my business. one week later I found myself stuck in the middle of the road with a dead engine. great. to make a long story short, I now am the proud owner (or GMAC is, I should say) of a 2007 Saturn Ion. It is a stick, rocks the gas milage, and is very fun to drive. where is my old chrysler now, you ask? If you guessed, “in your front yard”, you win!

my brother came home for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful. we played a lot of guitar (he’s still better than me.) we also went to a Third Day show in Mobile. of course, they rocked. They did not play “All the Heavens”, so Leslie and I had to play it ourselves when we got home. we sound okay though. my favorite for the night was “Blessed Assurance”. it was very cool to be singing that in a stadium with several thousand other people. all in all a good night. David Crowder band played too; I recommend them. So does Third Day, but then again, they own the label.

My Aunt Faye lives with my family, and has for the last couple of years. Uncle Bill has been in a nursing home, because of his health. Aunt Faye has gone every single day to visit him. every single day. last week, Uncle Bill’s health took a turn for the worse. that was not unexpected, and it landed him in the hospital. Aunt Faye has been married to Uncle Bill since she was 16 years old. I cannot fathom that. More than sixty years together. Wednesday night we were in the hospital room. My mom was there, Aunt Faye, and some other family.

It was becoming obvious that Uncle Bill was near death. Even Aunt Faye said that a few hours out, when his blood pressure became very faint. As far as I can remember, it is the first time I’ve actually watched someone die. Uncle Bill was brave. He couldn’t talk for the breathing tube in his throat, but he did not face it with fear. I hope that when my time comes, I will die well. I learned more from Aunt Faye though. She was a nurse in that very hospital for over 20 years. She knows about death, and has seen it many times. She knew her man, the one she’d loved for sixty years was going to leave so soon. She did not wail, she did not beg him to stay, and she did not try to command control over the situation. For the time Bill stayed, she told him a lot of things. She told him how she loved him with her whole heart. She told him how he was very precious to her, and how he was a wonderful man. And with Faye holding his hand, Bill passed on from this world to await the Judgement. I can only hope that I am blessed to have a wife who is so unselfish with those last moments, and who loves me, and who has such an amazingly strong faith. But even if not, if God calls me to live my life without a mate, I pray that I will die trusting God in the same way I’ve learned from Bill and Faye.

okay, enough sadness, a couple of news items and I’ll call it a night. apple, inc. makes this thing called a macbook. I have one now. In fact, I’m typing this very blog on it. I’m very happy with my expensive and irresponsible purchase, thank you very much. I love the fact that I can check my e-mail on the toilet. gross, but true.

finally, this weekend was great. Friday night, I went swing dancing for the first time. My friend Catherine Langford (we were pretty good friends in high school) invited me. I have little to no rhythm, so it’s hard for me to dance. I had so much fun though! I plan on going again soon. It’s great exercise, and its almost a family atmosphere. At the American Legion, where they do this every Friday night, there was no smoke or alcohol, just dancers of all ages and skill levels. Watch out, ladies. (really, watch out, you might get hurt while I’m flailing around the floor.)

and lastly, saturday I went up to Montgomery to see my good friend Sara Vaughn. I learned how to develop black & white prints, old school style. also, I rode some sort of Christmas train through the Montgomery Zoo. I might have permanently scarred a little kid by shouting “MUHAHHAHHHAA …. MEEEERRRRRRY CHRISTMASS…”, Halloween style. woops. I got my payback though. Sara and her friend Courtney made me watch Rocky Horror Picture Show. Disturbing, on so many levels. but Tim Curry was amazing, despite how uncomfortable it was to watch, at times.

Well, I’m done kids. I love you all. Merry Christmas.

the longest blog, ever. EVER!

Sunday, October 15th, 2006

Hola, my millions of friends and fans! Hold your breath no longer — the fabled Guatemala blog has arrived. Please, let me warn you… this is likely to be the longest blog, ever. EVER! If you’re not interested in that, and just want to see my photos, they are posted on my new experimental gallery. Any of you web gurus who know of better gallery programs (not smugmug, people), please give me some input.

Still here?

Good.

Then sit, and hold palaver with me.

Some of you have wondered, “Why Guatemala?” (No, it was not a mission trip, though that would have been nobler.) This trip has actually been in the works for years. I met my good friend Maria Fernanda (better known as Mafer) Madriz at Harding University about 7 years ago, when I was still young and in college. My sophomore year, Mafer roomed with several of my closest friends. Since this is already the longest blog ever (EVER!), it is as good a time as any for you to hear about D16. If you care enough to read all my ramblings here, you should know of D16, for it is difficult to understand me without understanding such a crucial influence in my life.

Ah, yes. Good ol’ apartment D16. To this day, it commands only the warmest and fuzziest of feelings for me. At Harding, guys are not allowed inside a girl’s apartment (yes, I know, crazy rules… get over it), and so I spent a good portion of my days and nights that year camping outside the door, until (a) the girls came out to play or (b) their R.A. kicked me out of the complex at curfew in our nightly ritual.

As far as blood siblings, my little brother, Leslie (whom I love and respect deeply), is all that I have. At that time, though, the girls of D16 were big sisters to me, and that is how I thought of them. Well, let me be honest, I did think of them as sisters — except they were kind of like the hot older step sister that you would date if you could, since you’re not technically related. My friend Anibal Tamacas and I were in this boat together, along with some other guys (we alone were the faithful two.) When the girls spent time with other guys, we were jealous, found out who they were, and ran our own background checks. Regardless of how said checks turned out, we would still scowl and look at these interlopers with disdain. I recall spending more than a few cold winter nights outside the apartment (the wind made things worse in the corridor) pretending not to be cold, just so I could be near them.

In short, I worshiped the ground they walked on, and, had I been able to find a God-pleasing way to marry all of them simultaneously, I would have. There are many great stories I could tell, but suffice it to say that I thank the Lord for the influence of each of these Godly women in my life, and for the impact that they have had and will have in the Church. Below is a picture of them all. Starting left to right, we have: Nivia, Danette, Buffy, Mafer, and Nene. Nivia didn’t actually live in D16, but I was very close to her as well, and she is as much a sister to me as any of them. I explain about D16 mostly so that you will get to know some of the people who have helped make me who I am today, but also for you to know how it came to be that I have a friend in Guatemala.

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About a week after my birthday in August, I realized that it would be possible for me to take a week off work, and that it would be relatively cheap to do this Guatemala thing (less than $670 for a round-trip flight with Delta from Pensacola). Half a dozen e-mails later, I had a plane ticket and Mafer had managed to produce an itinerary for the entire week. As many of you know, I began to spout repeatedly that I was going to Guatemala and that I was going to climb a volcano. On 9/23 around 6:30 a.m., I boarded a plane for Atlanta.

If you travel internationally much from the United States, you probably have been through concourse E in the Atlanta airport. Arriving there sent me back almost 5 years to when I left for Greece. It made me happy. The moment didn’t last long, as I needed to get on the plane for Guatemala. I was little-kid excited again, for the first time in a long time. It was a good feeling. I got on the plane, (a little small for an international flight, I was thinking at the time), and sat down next to a lady who looked to be about 55.

As I almost always do, I said hello and tried to strike up a conversation with her. She barely answered and didn’t seem interested in talking. Of course that doesn’t typically work with me, so I tried other avenues of conversation, still to no avail. I was a little baffled, especially since I am a supremely charming (and humble) individual with loads of interesting things to talk about.
About 30 minutes into the flight, I noticed she was reading something. Being my usual nosy self, I looked at her book, and noticed it was in French. I started talking to her again (this time in French) and got much better results. I found out that she was with a group of women from Quebec giving humanitarian aid in Guatemala. They were going to be there about a month, so they are probably still there now. Who says French is a useless language? We talked for a good bit of the flight, and I was happy to have salvaged a good talk out of the ordeal, thereby ignoring most of the on-flight movie (X-Men 3, which I actually like) and honing my much neglected French skills.

Surprisingly, the flight to Guatemala from Atlanta was only about 3 ½ hours long. During the final approach, it became evident that Guate is an intensely beautiful country. It only boasts the landmass of, say, Ohio (yes Lis, I know, go Buckeyes…), but it has almost every type of geographical feature you could imagine, from beaches to jungles, to volcanoes. We landed in the midst of an intense lightening storm; I knew I was going to love the place.

After I retrieved my backpack from the luggage-go-round, I made my way through the maze that is Guatemala International Airport (they are doing some major remodeling there). It ejected me through an exit on the side of the building, where I was greeted by no less than 300 Guatemalans, presumably waiting for someone(s). I have no idea who or what they were waiting for, but after a quick survey, I concluded two things: 1) they were not waiting for me (this came as somewhat of a relief). 2) none of them was Mafer. I paced back and forth in front of the doors for about 15 minutes, hoping to catch sight of Mafer. I declined several offers to purchase souvenirs and taxi rides.

Soon after my short introduction to the country, Mafer arrived in her VW Polo, which I don’t think VW manufactures in the U.S. I refrained from tackling her (I wasn’t sure how my 300 buddies would react), but it was a joy to see her again after so long. The whole ride back to her house, I chattered as any 4-year old does on the first trip to Disney world. First, we went to Mafer’s house so I could see her abuelita (grandma). I had met her at Mafer’s graduation from Harding. It was good to see her again; she is a very sweet lady. Next, we went to meet the Purcells, a very kind missionary family who let me stay in one of their rooms for the week. You can see pictures of them in my gallery, but this is their house where I stayed:

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That night, we went to my overall favorite Guatemalan city, Antigua. It is quiet, and has a very cool park in the middle with a fountain. It has cobblestone streets and reminds me a little of downtown Barcelona. We decided to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant called Tre Fratelli. Afterwards, Mafer showed me the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. It has a really nice outside garden area in the middle, some old catacombs underneath, and an outside chapel.

That first night, they were having a wedding in the chapel, and several hundred candles illuminated the entire garden. It was really beautiful. We were the only people not dressed in suits, but it was really nice to walk around quietly and appreciate all the effort that undoubtedly went into the decorations.

One thing I failed to mention is that at this point, I had not slept for nearly 2 days. The night before I left, I saw Oklahoma at the Pensacola Little Theater with my friends Sara and Courtney from Montgomery. I did not sleep at all, because I needed to finish packing, and I was too excited to catch more than maybe 2 hours of sleep during the flights. So, after a few hours in Antigua, my body was about ready to crash. We went back to Mafer’s house and I met her little cousin, Javier. He is learning to play the guitar, so we jammed a bit. When I could no longer keep my eyes open, Mafer took me back to the Purcell’s, and I finally slumbered.

The next morning, I went with Mafer and her abuelita to the market. It kind of reminded me of a flea market here because it was inside. Also, all the vegetable, fruit, and meat vendors had their own stands and you paid each one separately. There was one guy with a machete cutting up fresh pineapple with giving out pieces to taste. It was delicious. There were a lot of flies, but honestly, that didn’t bother me at all. Abuelita taught me the names of pretty much every fruit and vegetable there, and was very patient with me while I massacred Spanish.

After the market, we went to Church at the congregation Mafer attended when she was little. It was definitely different than the congregations I’ve typically attended. They had a talented worship band; I learned some new worship songs in Spanish, too. They used to have a preacher, but sadly, he died about a year ago. This led to something that I totally did not expect, which was the fact that his wife has been doing most of the preaching since then. Now I imagine those of you who read my blog may come from varied religious backgrounds, so I’m not sure whether that would come as a surprise for anyone else. Anyway, I’m not going to take a long time explaining my views on the subject, but if you care to find out why it surprised me, read 1 Timothy 2:12.

After Church, we met up with some of Mafer’s friends and her siblings, and we prepared ourselves to climb the volcano called Pacaya. Mafer and her family are in shape, I guess, because all the way up they barely drank any water and didn’t seem tired. They spent a lot of time waiting for me, and I am probably the reason it took a couple of hours to climb instead of 45 minutes. At the top of the first trail, the mountain levels out a bit. At this point, the ground turns from dirt and stone into black, brittle rock. This is actually lava that has cooled and solidified. This section is only about the width of a football field or two, and then the terrain becomes steep again as you ascend towards the crater. The day we climbed, there was a small river of lava flowing from the side of the volcano. It was about 8-9 feet wide and was incredible to behold.

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I thought we were not going to go any higher, but Mafer’s siblings wanted to climb up the side of the last peak and summit at the actual crater to look inside. To get to the last peak, you actually had to cross over the little river of lava that was flowing from the side of the mountain. At the mouth of this lava fountain, there was some caked up lava that had ostensibly solidified enough to support the weight of a human. It was still hot enough to melt your shoes if you stood on it for more than 2 seconds, though, and one of Mafer’s friends who was with us found this out personally. She could not climb up the last peak because of this, and her husband was kind enough to stay with her. I did not have confidence in this little half-cooled bridge, and so I decided to stay as well.

I was more than a little concerned that Mafer was climbing this peak for a few reasons: the sun was already setting, the crater itself was spewing smoke, and the entire (very steep) peak was composed of brittle lava rock that had disintegrated into a sort of sand, so it was difficult to climb. I waited with Mafer’s friends for about 2 hours, and I began to get a little worried. Apparently, on the way back they had lost the trail (it was pitch black) and had been headed directly towards a pool of lava that had accumulated at the bottom. They could not find a way around, and the lava-sand continued to cause them to slip downward. They ended up having to climb back up to find the path, but they did find it and make it back safely.

It took us another hour or so to climb back down, because on the way back, all of us lost the initial path. We ended up on the wrong side of the lava rocks, and we couldn’t see anything. Fortunately, we ran across some other hikers who helped guide us back, and we escaped from the volcano unharmed. One day I would like to go back and climb up the crater myself, but definitely not after nightfall. We didn’t get back to Guatemala City until very late, and we were all exhausted. Bed felt really good that night, my legs were beat.

Mafer had to work on Monday morning, so I got to hang out with her abuelita for the day. Abuelita doesn’t speak any English, and my Spanish is pretty poor, so we had a good time. We ended up going to a supermarket, and she told me about her daughter who lives in California, how she didn’t have a land-line telephone in her house, and how she believed there was no trash on the streets at all in the States.

We had to walk pretty slowly, and this poses a problem in Guatemala. There, the pedestrians have no rights and pretty much look out for themselves. On the way back from the market, we had to cross a street, and as we got to the middle, I heard this engine getting louder and louder. I turned around and realized that there was little hope for us to make it. To make matters worse, she fell down (probably because we were trying to escape the oncoming car) in the middle of the road. Fortunately, the driver of said car had mercy and did not kill us. Mafer is still making fun of me for pushing her elderly grandma down. That’s just the kind of guy I am.

That night Mafer and I went to a movie. I don’t recommend The Breakup (or Living with my Ex as it reads in Spanish) unless you like listening to Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn yell at each other for 2 hours. The company was good, though, and I like going to theaters in other countries.

Tuesday and Wednesday were great; Mafer had both days off and we had a great time. Initially I had wanted to go explore Tikal, but we were already tired and I think relaxing was the best call anyway. Tuesday we went to Panajachel, a city that hosts Lake Atitlan. It is definitely a tourist town, but it was fun, there are good places to eat, and it is very relaxed. We went to a hotel and paid them to use their parking lot (this reduces the chances of having your car stolen) and their pool.

We swam a little, but mostly we read books and slept in the sun. I started reading Blue Like Jazz, which I finished later in the trip. (I liked most of it, and am glad I read it.) There’s something I love about sleeping and doing nothing when I’m traveling overseas. It’s so decadent, like you have all the time in the world to do whatever you want. When I was backpacking in Europe, I split up from my group and spent a day alone in Paris. I slept in until noon. That was a great day.

Before we left Panajachel, Mafer needed to visit a friend, but she couldn’t leave the car unsupervised because we didn’t have any legal places to park. I sat by myself in the car, and this was the result:
[ACT]http://www.floydius.com/video/blog/20060926guatecopsmall.divx,360,240[/ACT]


Wednesday, we went out to Puerto San Jose, on Guatemala’s Pacific coast. Once again, we rented a parking spot and pool usage at a hotel. Right as we went out the back gate directly onto the beach, the attendant warned us about the riptide in the water, and said it was very strong. I’m so very glad he did. When we got to the beach, the first thing I noticed is that all the sand is completely black. This makes it much hotter than the white sand that I’m used to in Pensacola. We lay on towels for a little bit, but the heat was brutal, so we went in for a quick swim.

Usually I would swim out a few hundred feet to enjoy the water, but thanks to God, the man at the hotel warned us of the riptide. Because of the warning, I only went out to where the water reached my knees to test it. Within a minute or two, it became apparent that the under toe was vicious. With the water only up to my knees, it almost pulled me out. Mafer was actually a few yards closer to the shore than I was, and it actually knocked her down and began to drag her out. Usually I don’t have the presence of mind to act quickly in a situation like that, but I’m sure God was watching out for us, and I was able to get over to her and hold her in place until she could get up and we could get out of the water. It was a little scary for a bit, and we did not get back into the water afterwards. Once again, we are indebted to that man (and to God, of course) for warning us and keeping us out of a much worse situation.

We explored the beach for awhile (we pretty much had the whole shore to ourselves) and then headed back for home. That night, we went back to Antigua and had dinner at a really nice restaurant in the hotel there. Afterwards, we found a museum that connected underground between the parking garage we used and the hotel itself. If you ever make it to Guatemala, definitely visit Antigua.

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Thursday morning, Mafer had to work, and she took me along with her so I could see the office. She works for Compassion International. If you’ve never heard of them, their goal is to help impoverished children out of difficult situations and give them opportunities that all children should have. I met some really cool people, but mostly read the rest of my book while she went to meetings.
Next, we went to a Christian bookstore; I finally got my Spanish Bible. That afternoon, we ate Japanese for lunch, and then headed to the Purcells. Brenda had made an appointment for me to meet with one of the directors at the school where her children attend. Apparently they’re looking for teachers, so they showed me around and gave me some information about the school. That meeting went pretty well, and it seems like a good school, although if the Lord called me that route, I’d have to raise my own support to do it, since they do not have a salary.

That afternoon, we went to McDonald’s to meet Mafer’s Dad. He works a lot, so I was really thankful he took the time so that I could meet him. He is a very funny guy, and knows all the lyrics to Red Red Wine, Killing Me Softly, and several other classic songs. He also had some good tips on life, including going to bed early and putting your legs vertical for a little while each day to provide your brain with some circulation. He seemed like a nice guy, and I had fun talking with him. From there, we met up with Brenda and her daughter, Leah for dinner at Chilli’s (yes, there was one in Guatemala.)

Friday and Saturday there was a huge conference at one of the churches called El Shaddai. It was the annual global leadership summit connected with the Willow Creek Church, where Bill Hybels is the minister. I didn’t see Mafer much during those two days, as she was working pretty non-stop. Her friend from Compassion, Julie, hung out with me the whole time and was very nice to me. Julie used to work in advertising, but decided she wanted to go a different direction, and that is how she started working with Compassion. She is a remarkably caring individual, an incredible guitarist (blows me away), and a talented linguist as well. She was very patient helping me with my Spanish.

Friday nights, the youth group at Mafer’s congregation has a Bible study, and they were very kind to let me lead it. Of course, Mafer had to translate almost everything because of my poor Spanish, but I really enjoyed getting to meet the kids there. They really seemed to have hearts that were seeking the truth, and they all seemed happy to be there, not as though they were sad to sacrifice a Friday night in pursuit of the Word of God. They were in John 8, which I think God really worked out for me, since we are also in John 8 at the Sunday morning high school class that I teach at Church.

Saturday night, after the conference was over, Mafer and I went one last night back to Antigua for dinner. Most of the night, we just ambled around the city talking. I did my best to take it all in and forget that I had to leave the next day. It is hard to worry or think too much when you’re with a good friend in a city with cobblestone streets.

Sunday morning, I said my goodbyes to the Purcells and then went with Mafer and her abuelita to the airport. We stopped at a little plaza beforehand to get some souvenirs and a necklace for my Mom. Mafer bought me a really cool rope-type necklace I’d been trying to find for awhile, the ladies actually made it right there on request. They are much more talented than I. After that, we went to the airport for a sad goodbye. Lord willing, I plan to return as soon as I am able.

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The flight back was mostly uneventful, though I did meet a couple of cool people on the way. At the airport in Guatemala, I met a girl who worked for Delta who was flying to the states for a wedding, I believe she said. I think her name was Melissa, and she really helped me get through all the mazes coming back to the States through Customs. Also, on the flight to Pensacola, I met a guy named Mike from Alaska. He gave me his number and invited me to go fishing for some monstrous Salmon up there. I might very well take him up on that one day.

Well, if you’ve gone this far with me, then you’re either very bored, or probably a close friend of mine. I hope you enjoyed the recounting of my adventures, and that I’ll have more stories to tell before too long. May God give all of you the chance to climb a volcano one day.

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