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Published: June 21st 2009
Poor Single Mom
A prayer and a picture made me feel betterYesterday, I had my first bad moment in 7 weeks. A miscommunication about rooming arrangements caused all of us a bit of stress--a feeling I’m no longer familiar with.
At home, I would chew. Chew on what everyone said. Chew on who was wrong and why I was right. Chew on chocolate. Grind my teeth at night.
Yesterday, I made a different decision. I choose not to ruminate on what went wrong, but instead, to find reasons to feel good, rather than reasons to be right.
In Antigua, that was easy. First, I went and sat in the beautiful cathedral Merced. I let the 500 years of prayers that resonate in this place run through me. I asked God, to give me peace and joy. Then I went for a walk to find my friends.
First, I chatted with with Juan Jose, the young man with epilepsy that shines shoes in the park in front of Merced. He wants to learn english and I need to practice my spanish. He is always happy to see me.
As always, an Mayan child approached me to buy something I don’t want. I offerred her 5Q for a conversation
A Surprise Visit
Julio cleared his schedule and traveled the 4 hours to visit me before Luke arrived. Magic. and a photo. In less than a minute, her mother vaulted over to tell me a sad story of a sick baby and no money. In spanish, I told her I understood. I too, was a single mother. I encouraged her to let her daughter go to school. I paid her 10Q for a picture. I gave her a hug and a blessing.
Content, I walked on. In two minutes, the child was back, asking for the 5Q for the photo. She figured Mom’s pic was worth 10Q and hers was worth 5Q. You can’t fault her salesmanship!
I walked down to Central Park and found Pedro, who guided me in January (and right to Julio, but that’s another story!). He was delighted with my very broken spanish. He will meet Luke and me at 9 on Monday to take us on a tour through Antigua.
As I wandered, I met two students from my school and my salsa teacher. They all had time to talk. I assisted a confused college student in getting her black blouse back from the laundry....in spanish.
I strolled down to the end of town into a lush plant nursery
Authentic Guatemalan
A wonderful meal, romantic music and laughter. that serves tea and treats. Jesus and I talked. Forgiveness, he said, is letting go of the other person’s throat. Release, relax, feel the relief in it for you. He showed my the wounds of the person who upset me. And I felt compassion.
Instead of having a bad afternoon, or a bad day, I had a bad 5 minutes. I love Antigua.
Relaxed and refreshed, I met Julio for another wonderful, romantic dinner. He surprised me by clearing his schedule and traveling the 4 hours to Antigua to see me before Luke arrives.
Saturday morning, I gave a Presentation Skills class to a group of missionaries. Focusing on storytelling skills, I got a chance to hear their stories. There are other people who have conversations with Jesus and are called to Guatemala. Maybe I'm NOT crazy!
Now, I can call myself an “International Speaker”. They asked me to help them start a Toastmaster’s group. And I will.
Julio took me to a small town close to Antigua called San Pedro for an authentic Guatemalan meal, complete with live music. Magic. Magic. Magic. Magic. Magic. Magic.
Luke arrives tonight. We will spend 4
Artistic Photographer
Me through Julio's eyes. days in Antigua. Then we will venture up to Lake Atitlan on Thursday where Julio will meet us for dinner in Panachel and take us to Santa Lucia to stay two nights with his family. I will meet most of his 11 brothers and sisters, see the Mayan Skills Project and show Luke the consequences of war. Future blogs should be very interesting.
See you all soon.
Adios,
Cynthia
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larrykehoe
non-member comment
great hearing from you
sorry I've been so unresponsive. Your travels sound just wonderful and I love hearing about it all. The food looks delicious and well worth a trip down there! Can't wait to hear all about it in person. Have a wonderful time with Luke. Love, Poppa and liz