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Published: September 2nd 2010
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Victory
Kiran and Leigh complete a puzzle donated by the Berger Doanes. Reflections from Las Ninas
The River When my Dad and I were driving back from Guatemala City after dropping Taylor off at the airport, our driver said that we were twenty minutes away. I was happy. Then, we went around the curve… and there was A RIVER IN THE ROAD! It was raining so hard. It had been raining for the past four hours. If you stacked two notebooks from top to bottom, that was about how deep it was, or maybe even deeper. I kept asking Dad, “Are we going to go through it?” And I kept saying, “I don’t want to go through it!”
But then, our driver said, “If all of these cars are going through it, I think we can too.” I said, “No, No, No”, but then I said, “OK.” I could hear the engine get louder and louder. The car started to move. We were halfway through it and I said, “Phew.” Then, my heart started to pound even more because we were about to go through the mud. Finally, we were through it. I said “Phew” again.
LEIGH
More Guatemala Living
We’ve settled into a
New Friends
Julianne, Jennifer, Brent, Nicolas, Christopher, and Elizabeth sharing frozen chocolate bananas (a la Jennifer) with us. nice rhythm now that it’s just the four of us. Most nights, we are in bed by 9:00. We are up and at ‘em by 6:30 and over at the Spanish school at 8:30. Class ends at 12:30 and we walk back home sharing all the funny things that we said wrong. My teacher, Maria, proclaimed that she was going to start charging 1 quetzal (the currency here) for every mistake I make. Considering that I just offered to carry HER to the school's office (as opposed to our materials), I think Ken better start working on another fund-raising letter.
That said, we continue to make important strides. Joy and Leigh have been great. Four hours of one on one instruction is a lot to ask of anyone, but especially those who are wired for climbing trees and diving into lakes. The afternoons are low-key, filled with rest, homework and for Leigh, some play time with her friend Chloe.
We’ve enjoyed getting to know some of the Gringos that live near us. Chloe’s parents are here helping various Mayan pastors and educators translate the Hebrew Scriptures into some of the Mayan languages. They have been here
Lake Fishing
Throughout the day, we watch men fishing from the traditional Mayan boats called cayukos. Because of the Black Bass, it's apparently nothing like it used to be. for 3 years and are good resources for navigating the terrain.
Last night, we had Brent and Jennifer’s family over for dinner. They are medical missionaries, both physicians, who are 5 months into a 3 year commitment to the hospital. They bring with them 4 wonderful kids, Christopher(7), Elizabeth(6), Julianne(4), and Nicolas(3). We’ve decided that they are one of the most beautiful (in the full sense of the word) families we have ever met, in part because Elizabeth was adopted from China and Nicolas from Ethiopia. Add to that big and generous hearts and you can see why we hope to spend a few more lively evenings with them before we go.
The Lake
As previous posts suggest, the US has not been the best of neighbors to Guatemala over the years. We learned of another sad example this week. For hundreds, maybe thousands, of years this lake was filled with 3 different species of fish on which the surrounding communities relied for sustenance and commerce. Sometime in the 70s, Pan Am airlines made the decision to promote tourism to Lake Atitlan as a way to fill more Guatemalan bound planes. So, they decided to
A Typical Church
One of the many Iglesias Evangelicas that are scattered around Santiago Atitlan sell the lake as an excellent fishing destination and stocked it with Black Bass.
Unfortunately, Black Bass were aggressive predators for the lake’s indigenous fish and within a few years the 3 native species were gone. While some locals do fish for the Black Bass, they apparently live very deep in the water and are much more difficult to catch. Fishing, once one of the main sources of income for those on the lake, is no longer a viable profession. Perhaps the worst part was my teacher's response to my sullen face, "It's life. Ever since the conquests, it's foreigners who have used Guatemala for themselves."
The Church
As you might expect, I (Mark) carry a particular interest in the many ways that church manifests itself in different countries and cultures. Santiago Atitlan is fascinating in this regard. Unlike most of the other communities on the lake, it is estimated that the population of Santiago Atitlan is 70%!e(MISSING)vangelical (Latin America’s term for non-Catholic). Compare this to the town of our teachers, San Juan, which is said to be 90%!C(MISSING)atholic.
Walking through the town on Sunday evening is like attending a Battle of the
Tuk-Tuks for Jesus
Most of the Tuk-Tuks and the cars have some religious proclamation inscribed on them. We welcome the extra protection. Praise Bands festival. I kid you not, blasting from every block (sometimes 2 to a block) are fully electrified vocals, drums, guitars, bass and keyboards making joyful, and loud, noises to Jesus and Dios. Most of the churches are quite small (see photo) while one in the center of town takes up a whole block.
The explanation for this unique religious culture depends on who you ask. One man raised in the community explained to me that for roughly the first half of the 20th century, Santiago Atitlan had only 2 evangelical churches. Then, they started having conflicts and do what all non-Catholic conflicted Christians do, start a new church. Then that church had conflict, then that church had conflict…and so on and so on.
A related hypothesis is that US churches started sending significant amounts of money down and churches started dividing and reforming over how the money was to be spent and who was to benefit. On the more cynical end, some believe pastors start churches to improve their personal finances via direct access to US church money and excessive tithing.
However, even the most skeptical seem to acknowledge that the evangelical church’s
A Crystal Clear Day
We know you've seen this view before, but since stunning blue skies and sparkling sunshine are rare in the rainy season, we had to show you again. This, as you may remember, is from our back porch. message of sobriety and commitment to family is valuable. Like so many indigenous communities whose way of life has been disrupted, if not destroyed, by outsiders (ie Black Bass), alcoholism is a problem here. More than once, we’ve had to make wide passes around men unable to walk a straight line in the street.
Of course, Christians of all shapes and sizes in Santiago Atitlan continue to weave ancient Mayan beliefs and practices into their Christian faith. But, that’s another story for another time.
Firsts
Joy and Leigh ventured out on their own to buy fresh tortillas from Maria, the tortilla lady.
Kiran was able to cut back to one pineapple a day.
Joy finished the last book in the Hunger Games series, in a day and a half.
Mark went a whole week without hitting his head on the archway going into the bathroom. Guatemalan houses are not designed for those on the taller end of life.
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May
non-member comment
one pineapple a day
Dear Kiran, Mark, Joy and Leigh, So glad to hear your news. I love the pictures. I also liked the list of firsts. Why did Kiran limit herself to one pineapple a day? That is a sad thought. I love you all!!