February

Happy Leap Year! Not a day we celebrate, but special all the same. This last month has been full of weekend trips and activities with the EMU group. They've gotten settled into their routines of coming and going to CASAS, Spanish classes, afternoon lectures or field trips, etc. At the same time, they are now counting down the days to their departure from Guatemala, and entrance into Mexico. They begin free travel next Thursday, and then head to Mexico the following Friday. They've been great for me. Before they were here I was at times lonely, and missing the aspects of friendship that I had at home. While most of these students weren't my friends before January 12th, I am blessed to call most of them my friends now. They've been the laughter, the teasing, the hugs, and the conversations that had been lacking in my life. I mean don't misunderstand, I have friendships and a great Guatemalan support system, but it's not the same somehow. Added to that, during the time EMU has been at CASAS, I've become good friends with my co-workers, Andrea and Cristy.

Backing up, the second weekend in February I made a trip to Honduras to visit my good friends, Pablo and Grazia. I had visited them about 2 years ago, but this time it had the added pleasure of seeing Grazia all cute and prego! She´s an adorable pregnant lady. It was fun to be with them again, relax away from the crowdedness of my host family´s house, and catch up on the ways that God is working in their lives. They have been very dedicated in their church in Tegucigalpa and I look forward to hearing how they will be used as disciples of Christ in the future. I was inspired by their dedication to their church family and as an institution, especially in the face of not always desirable situations.

The following weekend the EMU group went to Coban area with MCC, and I tagged along to visit a friend who is located in Carcha with MCC. The group stayed at Bezeleel, the Mennonite middle and high school, while I stayed at Rachel´s apartment/house. My favourite experience of the weekend was attending church and eating lunch in a small community, Campat, just outside of San Juan Chamelco. The Kekchi Mennonite church is a strong and populous group in Coban, and although we didn´t understand most of the service, I enjoyed observing the women and children we sat near. When we walked into church, late because of transportation issues, the congregation turned around and stared at us for awhile. Several children made faces at us during the service, or were so bold as to come up and talk with us. The three hour service allowed plenty of opportunity for us to get a feel for some of their worship. After the service, we were split into groups of 6 to go to homes of the families to eat lunch. They served us delicious caldo (a soup with veggies, a piece of chicken, and the BEST tortillas I´ve eaten in Guatemala). The house I went to, unfortunately, had a very awkward experience. The brother-in-law of the mother and the pastor´s wife ate with us. Julia spoke a bit of Spanish, but the man spoke only Kekchi. Julia often didn´t understand our questions, and rarely involved the man, so much of the meal was eaten in silence, or listening to the different sounds of Kekchi being spoken between our two ¨hosts¨. Luckily afterwards we were taken to a river, beautiful, and met up with the rest of the group. The EMU group had a very meaningful experience, despite rough living situations at Bezeleel.

This last weekend we went to Santiago Atitlan for 3 days with CASAS. Our first stop was at a coffee cooperative between Patulul and San Lucas Toliman. At this cooperative they have worked to produce coffee, honey and beginning with macademian nuts. They work with campesino farmers who have suffered from natural disasters and the Guatemalan armed conflict in order to bring transformation to their lives, and their communities. They work on alternative housing options, introducing pottable water to communities, and increasing the quality of education. On Saturday we visited ANADESA, a program that works in cooperation with MCC as a cooperative that consists mainly of women who create beadwork, provide educational programs in T´zutujil and Spanish, and occasionally work in the tourist industry giving tours and providing hospitality. Sunday, after a beautiful ride across the lake to Panajachel, we had a free morning to explore the market and get lunch before riding back to Guatemala.

In these next weeks I would ask for prayers as CASAS receives a new group today for 12 days from Fresno Pacific, the EMU group as they go on free travel and then on to Mexico, for my co-worker Cristy who will have her baby within the next two weeks most likely, and for another co-worker who is struggling with a rough parent situation currently. I give praise for good health, beautiful weather, the friendships I have developed and continued development of my Spanish. Thanks for reading!