Venga Conmigo

Come fly away with me para una adventura to learn Spanish in San Pedro, Guatemala.  

1. My School/ District gave me a sabbatical for a year in order to learn Spanish. 

2. Hopefully, in 2017, our district will be rolling out dual language programs (assuming this proposed program will be passed by the board.)

3. The trip feels so much different than my last world trek for many reasons: I have a signed contract in Austin, Spanish is my biggest priority, I know the village, family, & teacher I will be studying with. 



4. I plan to be in San Pedro from August - November. Then, after Kate's wedding & the holidays, I will plan to return somewhere in Central America to pursue more Spanish. I want to leave this year as open-ended as possible knowing that the open road has a way of dominating whatever "plan" we create. 

5. Some of my other personal goals: to read the bible in it's entirety, scuba diving & surfing throughout all of Central America, and dancing in Columbia - thank you for inspiration Bomba Estereo:  

I Gave You my Son

There was a moment this year in my weekly small group meetings where my friend Kirsten really conveyed to me with such heartfelt emotion this mismo passage.

I have heard it many times - I am sure most of us have. I went through wanderings where I was lost & couldn't connect, but for whatever reason when she said it this year it just touched my heart in such a profound way.

I hope you have this peace too: Our heavenly father is sovereign. He is not a God who holds back on anything - He gave us his son. 

I also like the symbolism in this picture because as convenient, untouchable, and liberated as we all may feel on a moto or at other times in our life the truth is YAWEH is still here with you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9.

 

Fiesta, Fiesta

There is always a bit of somberness in my travels because I miss most 4th of July celebrations. This year, however, I feel like my cup overfloweth after all the celebrations I have encountered here in San Pedro de la Laguna. Many of the pueblos here en Lago Atitlan are named after Jesus' disciples or other Patron Saints. Every year depending on when the Patron Saint's feast day is the whole Pueblo celebrates with one of the most overcrowded markets, fiestas, & fairs I have ever experienced.  

1. One of the beginning events was a parade that literally went right by our house. (Although my casa is a little bit of a trek, or "death march" from school & gringo-land I discovered much to my liking it was really in the center of all the action for all the festivities & real heart of the city.)

2. They also had soccer matches & motocross exhibition that I got to enjoy with the family. (During this whole week long celebration I really did not do a good job of taking fotos...)

3. Lastly one of the other highlights was being invited to almuerzamos con mi family. Momma Sandra served lunch with her mom & sisters to 38 other people either friends, family, or veccinos. It was really nice of them to include me & such a fun experience to eat with them!

Yep - there are live chickens on this float!

La Reina Del Pueblo. Every year the pueblo hosts a pageant for a queen of the sports & a separate one for the entire pueblo. And who says debutante balls are just a Southern American thing?

This is a traditional outfit for the men. (A lot of the older men only wear these cloths the younger boys do not own it as it is very expensive.)

It's a costume for all the girls in the house to get a new traje (outfit) every year for el dia del San Pedro. 

It is with great hesitancy that I post this picture because the lighting is off. Nothing could capture this festival. Nothing. I am privileged to have encounter all sorts of festivals, all over the world. But this one was like one, big HUG. I have never been so overcrowded in my life and felt so secure both for my physical body and personal belongings.

The fair consisted of tons of old school games, lots of delicious street food, all of the shopping you could ask for, and tons of rides for the kids (They literally built 2 Ferris Wheels overnight. I also feel pretty confident that they would not meet safety codes in the U.S. either.) They had tons of pop up stages with music and couples dancing & of course firecrackers all day long.

Mi Casa es Su Casa

Momma Sandra 38, Jacqueline 16, Kim 9 months, Johanna 9 years old

1. I love the way that the hermanas support their mom. 
2. I love the way the whole pueblo seems to walk y talk arm n' arm
3. I love the way the girls are safe to roam the town. They have freedom & liberty that doesn't exist anymore in most cities.
4. I love the way the tiendas (stores) are on every street corner. Someone in the family goes multiple times a day for little errands. For example one person goes everyday to buy 3 or 4 diapers for baby Kim.
5. I love the way one of momma Sandra's neighbors take Kim everyday for an hour or so to give her a break

*This year my church read a book called: The Art of Neighboring. I thought I was a bit above the book because I was already a good neighbor to all my lake friends on the commune. After digging a little deeper, I realized I was a bit judgmental of all the other wealthy Westlake people on the other side of the road. So I have made efforts to work through that & get to know people outside of my safe limestone, bungalow.

Obviously money divides classes and neighborhoods all over the world, but here it feels as if there is a more equal playing field. Maybe that is the beauty of a small pueblo, which of course, has it pitfalls since there is not much opportunity for jobs or entrepreneurship.  

As a whole the support networks are embedded in the cobblestone & bricks of the calles y casas. 

 

 

Johanna is one of the funniest people I think I have ever meet. She has excellent imitations of us all & is really helpful with acting out to ensure things are not lost in translation. She wants to be a lawyer when she grows up.

Jacqueline is the typical oldest sibling. She is super helpful, responsible, studious, & a bit more reserved. She wants to be a banker when she grows up.

Just so you know this is a loveseat that seams plenty big for practically the whole family to comfortably relax in....

 
I have not managed to snap as many fotos of Pedro (aka: Papa Luch or Dong.) At least there is an image of him but I wish it captured his sense of humor or joy he embodies. Pedro is a truck driver (just around the pueblo.)

Momma Sandra has been really open and honest with her life & what it is like to grow up in the Pueblo. She was not able to pursue any school after 6th grade because it was too expensive and she had too many siblings. She has worked since she was 13 as a house keeper or in many restaurants. She did have the opportunity to travel as a nanny to Venezuela for 2 years when she was 15. She and Pedro now have a lovely house that has taken them 9 years to build (they have been living here for 1 year.) They all share one room which is very common with this culture.



This family of 5 all share one bedroom with 2 beds. It is very traditional for families to do this even though they have plenty of other rooms.










They actually have 4 bedrooms. 2 for estudiantes who are studying at the language school (this picture is a student room.) One master where they all sleep & one that is completely vacant for now.

 

La vista on the upper deck

They hand wash all their dishes & cloths outside in their beautiful garden.

1.Sandra has 2 stoves: one for cooking & the other is a stone stove with fire wood for making corn tortillas which she & most women make 3 times a day

2. Sometimes Kim naps in this hammock when she refuses to in their bed while Sandra cooks

In all my travels & "home-stays," I have never felt so welcomed and included this quickly into a family. Mi casa es Su casa....

Iguales

Famila de Leon Cruz: La cuidad de Guatemala

It's fascinating to me how different countries have different concepts of modesty, personal space, & family living. This is a picture of an old "washroom" in a convent in Antigua, Guatemala. Christine is our lovely Guia who was born & raised mostly in Guatemala. Antigua still has community "fountains" where people go to wash their cloths.

 
Lago Atitlan

 One of my favorite cosas about Guatemala on this trip is all the street art. On every corner, there is a testimony to God or perhaps something political.




¡Cuidado! 

Typically I do not enjoy getting too political or theological in any form of "social media." Maybe because there is so much room for misinterpretation. In fact, I wasn't even going to carry on a blog on this trip, but in light of the church shootings both in America & most recently in Guatemala I feel moved to do so. 

I have heard that some families in South Carolina have already offered an opportunity for repentance and forgiveness to Dylan Roof. That to me is some form of miraculous representation of true, divine forgiveness & Christianity. This is a clip from a newspaper in Guatemala about their most recent tragedy: 

The gospel is our only hope.

Governments can grant rights to people of all races, but only the gospel can eliminate racism in your heart.

Governments can establish laws against violence, but only the gospel can turn violent heart on a compassionate heart.

Governments can bring criminals to trial, but only the gospel can lead us to forgive.

Pray for our countries and for the families of those directly affected by this violence. Today I am praying for the victims in this church of my country. And I pray as they hear so much bad news it has the same effect on the iglesia and unbelievers: they run to Christ. Every day.

Finally, No puedo juzgar, I only can find comfort in my favorite bible verse: 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:  5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Soul Shinning

Recently, when I returned home Jake, a church friend, asked me what was the best part of Africa? He specifically emphasized my ONE, favorite part. I was speechless and at the time it was too hard to pick just one thing.

I rattled off a couple of quick comments and our conversation and my summary lasted 5ish minutes. This question ran around my brain for the whole day.... 

And days later....

If I had to pick just one thing it would most definitely be all the Africans SMILE (Ncuma) pronounced with a click on the c.  

I wanted to end this chapter of blogging by saying: 

The peace, & true joy that is embedded here in Africa is raw & real. 

The African populations' soul shine through their smile.