My church.

This is just a post about... can you guess? My church!!! 

A friend took me there the first time and to be honest, I wasn't immediately sold. Maybe I thought I had to make my own decision and not just go because someone else like it. I did try a few others and I painfully admit that there were a few Sundays where I didn't go and it didn't bother me that much. I missed my church in Kamloops. Obviously, I like that church. I have been attending that church since 2000 (when I have been living in Kamloops). I know the people, I know the routine, I know the language! 

But now I don't like to miss a Sunday. It takes place in a large room built onto a house. Whose house that is I have no idea. I always forget to ask. But the doors are always open and the fans are always going (thank goodness! It gets very hot and stuffy in there!). So we have had a few different times where a dog has coming trotting down the aisle to see what is going on. 

There are definitely more Guatemalans than North Americans that attend. My pastors are from the U.S. (Victor and Chici) and have been here for about 20 years I think. Sometimes though, there are visiting teams and the seats are taken up. Twice (!) I have had to sit in the second row from the front. Not my favorite!

We worship in Spanish only. It has been interesting for me to watch my language progression based on my understanding of what I am singing. I am able to "worship" again and not just sing the words. I really love my worship leader at home and the guy here is very passionate but sometimes comes in a little late on the beat. :) And everyone sings loud and doesn't worry about what they sound like. I know I am not a good singer so that has kept me lip syncing for most of my life. Unless I am alone in my car. I have started to sing a little louder now. God is looking inside, not outside. Something I am STILL learning.

We have a Bible reading in Spanish. We all stand up to read at that point. It reminds me of sword drills when I was a kid! And one day when I was in the second row from the front I found it really quick and didn't have to be too embarrassed by having everyone see me stand up last. Not that I think anyone really pays attention or cares. 

Then we have announcements in Spanish and English and prayer for the offering. The praying is my favorite part. The person at the front leads in prayer but as soon as she starts to pray out loud, so does everyone else! So no one is listening to what she is saying, everyone is focused on their own individual prayers. Sometimes I get the feeling that people pray out loud and are very aware of others listening so they modify it for their audience. Not here. 

The sermon is given in English and translated into Spanish by the most amazing woman! Victor sometimes starts talking and gets onto a point and doesn't stop for a while. I sometimes try to remember what he has said and I never remember it all. She is amazing. Very occasionally she will react to what he is saying, but not often. Yesterday I laughed as he was talking about a church here in Guatemala that solicits large amounts of money on TV. He said that people will go up and give their family dog. At this point she turns to him and says "Ay no!" It was cute. :) 

Victor is very blunt, funny and approachable. I appreciate his sermons although sometimes I think he is hitting the mark a little too often! In a good way though. I have a lot to learn. And Chici is great. I have met with her a few times and she makes me feel so comfortable. She is concerned for me and I feel like she is looking out for me.

So that is a little glimpse into my church. Someday I will write about my work at the clinic, the school (that is done now) and what is coming up for the future. But it is suppertime soon and I have leftovers from lunch yesterday (good thing too-I saw the beans cooking earlier!)

Bye!

Buses. With chickens. And people. Lots of people

Today's post is brought to you by the vehicle..... camionetta! (I watched Sesame Street as a kid. :)

(I have a great picture of a bus but my internet connection is not good enough to load it. Sorry.)

La camionetta is an old U.S. school bus. AKA the chicken bus. They paint it different colors and use it all over the country. It is the bus system within the city as well as to other towns all over. I have ridden them a LOT! They may not always be the safest (from what I hear) but that is how I get around! 

I use them mostly to get half-way to the clinic (I meet friends and they drive me the rest of the way) or to get to church on Sundays. Those are my most uneventful rides. It is usually pretty empty and it only take about 4 minutes to get there (once I walk the 15 minutes to the bus stop).

To get to San Lucas on clinic days I walk to the market (well, it is a little farther now as they recently changed the bus stops) and it is about a half hour bus ride. It is through the mountains and the roads are very twisty. And it is uphill but these drivers can fly! I would love to know our actual speed sometimes! Well, the first day I went I had a bit of a laugh at myself. I never wear skirts but to the clinic I do. So I had this skirt and it had a second lining underneath (this is relevant later). We start whipping around the corners and either someone had Armor-all'd the seats that day to make them slippery or the extra lining in my skirt was making me a little more mobile! I was sitting next to a guy and trying to stay on my side of the seat and it was literally impossible! I was holding on with all my might! I can't even adequately explain it to you. But I slid into the guy, into the aisle, into the guy, etc for the next 15 min. I was kind of embarrassed. 

Sometimes it is actually better to have more people in your seat. If there are 3 people on each side then everyone just holds each other up. The aisles are so narrow and I have to turn sideways to get up and down them. So people sitting in the aisle seats just lean up against the person next to them. One day that backfired on me. I was the third in the seat (sticking out into the aisle) and a rather large lady got on. She sat down in the next seat and somehow she was sitting on top of my hip. It really hurt! And she kept getting up to let people on so I finally realized if I leaned into the person next to me until she had settled then my hip wouldn't be so squished. But then we left Antigua and she didn't care where she was. I am sorry for this next description. My mother won't think it is very missionary of me. :) One of each of her cheeks was on each seat so she was kind of suspended in the air. When we started the whip she didn't even try to stay in one place. There was no way I could hold both of us off the guy next to me! Very awkward, that is for sure!

The other funny thing is that you look in front of you and when we turn a corner and everyone leans the other way (to counter balance). Sometimes their heads are at a 50-60 degree angle with the ground (that is my highly mathematical equation) and then when we straighten out everyone all at once will lift off their seat and re-settle in their spot. Doesn't sound as fun once I have written it down but it amuses me on my commute. :) 

One day the helper (who takes the money and throws things on top of the bus) was collecting money and he was leaning against the seat behind me (he takes the money while we are driving). I was again the third in the seat and we went around a corner and I couldn't hold on well enough. I fell into his leg/hip and literally had him pinned there! I felt him trying to move away. So embarrassing! Really. I try to especially avoid physical contact with men here but I couldn't help it. 

I went to visit some friends down south in Tecuaco. It requires three buses and takes about 3 1/2 hours. I went with some friends the first time and it was full but fairly uneventful. The next time I went solo. There were so many people on the bus! I had gone a little later in the morning on a Saturday and it was insanely full. I ended up standing the whole first hour long bus ride. I was pushed to the very back where they had taken out the back row of seats to hold more things. Or people. I was back there with 10 other men. This was the only time I have been really uncomfortable. The men tend to me shorter than me and the guy next to me was a bit creepy. We were very squished. I count things. A little weird. But anyway, I counted the people on the bus at one point. There were 82 of us (not counting the driver, helper and all of the children that I KNOW were sitting on their parents laps but I couldn't see). That is a full bus. The helper was literally hanging out of the bus holding on. Then they kept opening the door behind me to put stuff on and take it off. One time a guy jumped on the back of the bus and it started driving and he opened the door to get in but realized there was no room. So he was trying to hold onto the bus and the door. Finally they got it closed. All while driving very quickly down the road. I wish everyone could experience it. It is bizarre.

The next bus ride was equally as squishy but I was able to stay at the front of the bus this time (much better!). At one point there was a lady who had been standing and she moved forward to get off (this is something to watch too. The aisles are so full of people you almost have to jump over people to get out. There are no words for it. Then add a lot of heat, a lot of sweat, and a little bit of deodorant. Oh right, and arms up in the air to hold on. Picture that one with your nose!). As she got to the front I saw her talk to a couple of older ladies who were sitting in the front seat. She leaned over and one of the ladies reached up and handed the mother her baby! The lady had probably offered to hold her baby since she was standing! I loved it. There is a lot of helping and courtesy to be seen on these buses. Especially as you go more remote. Men get up for women, people without children will get up for people (men or women) holding children. Once, the teenager next to me offered to hold a child on her lap for a mom that had about 3 kids so they could squish more people on the bus. That was a sketchy one. I was in the front seat and could see the people. The helper was literally holding the people in the bus door (the bus doors are rarely shut). And yet they always manage to stop for more people! It is amazing. Older people are taken care of. People are willing to help put packages on the racks to help someone. There are so many things I could tell. 

I have heard the stories of robberies, earrings ripped out of ears, kidnappings, car/bus accidents, and how in general the buses are not safe. I know these things happen but there are always a few bad people that will make a people or a culture look bad. For all the pushing and apparent selfishness I have seen, there are good people out there. There is a very pervasive fear here. My teachers and other Guatemalan friends are always telling me to be careful and give me advice. Yesterday my host mother told me that Lucia, her daughter who lives here (22 years old), was robbed at gunpoint on Wed. morning. It happens to a lot of people. And one day will probably happen to me. 

So I keep my eyes open and I don't do really stupid things (although once my bag was out of my sight for a while and I did a LOT of praying that is would still be there when I got off. Thank you God that is was) I know that God has brought me here and is in control. This does not give me a free pass to ultimate security. But He is still with me wherever I am and I chose to be safe in Him. Someone could break into my house so I can't stop it. So I can't live my life in fear down here. Wow, this was supposed to be a funny post about buses. I have digressed.

Often people get on the buses for a few minutes to sell things. Jello in a cup, candies, gum, newspapers, pen's, nuts, pencils, stencil things, chips, drinks, etc. They got on and go up and down the row selling things then get off at the next stop. The Jello looks good to me but I don't think I will ever actually buy and consume one. No bathrooms on the buses. :)

To get the bus to stop at a certain place you need to go up to the front of the bus and let him know you are getting off. Once, I was in a seat with another lady and I waned to get out and she didn't move. Usually they will get up or move their legs out of the way at least. She didn't so I had to literally climb over her. Then my sandal fell off. So she kindly grabbed it for me. Then I dropped it on the floor and it rolled under the seat so I had to get it out and put it on (oh, I forgot that my backpack got caught on the window as I started the climb as well), and by then we had passed the stop. And the next stop was the market so I had to sit down in the front seat and wait. I felt really stupid! Everyone saw my spectacle and then I had to sit and get off with everyone else anyway! Wow. 

One more story. This has already gotten long. When does it ever not??!! :)

I was taking the chicken bus up to Santa Maria where I was tutoring at the school for special needs kids. It was the most infuriating thing! There seemed to be no schedule (I would get on the bus at the market and usually wait about 45 minutes before they left. If I got there at the time we had left the day before I still had to wait 45 minutes. It is crazy!), they would come out at a different street at different times, they wouldn't always yell out the bus their destination (and if the sign on the bus is wrong-which it often is- then I wouldn't know to get on), and I would always end up getting there so late. So the teachers told me about the micro-buses. They are the length and width of mini-vans but with about 15 seats. Narrow seats. So one day I went to the market and there was one right behind the bus. Lucky me! I got on and they left 5 minutes later. They leave every 20 minutes. I was amazed! I got there at an appropriate time! Not just arriving barely before recess! 

So the next day I go behind the bus to wait again. It is a bit sketchy behind the market. Not my favorite place to wait. So after a while I went and asked the driver when he was leaving. 45 minutes. The magic number. So I told him I would wait for the micro-bus. But they don't come through the market that day because it is a Monday. AHHHH! I had already asked another guy prior to that and he said that yes they would come. I went to the corner (a road where most of the buses leave to get out of the city. You just wait until yours comes by) to wait and saw a micro-bus just leaving. I have to tell you, I was so frustrated I just went home. It wasn't worth it! And the other thing is, the vans (micro-buses) don't have destinations and they don't always yell it out. You just have to know somehow. And they do! People will go get on when I haven't heard a word! Maybe one day I will really understand the bus system here.

The next time I was waiting (and it wasn't a Monday) and finally asked the bus driver again (I think he was leaving in 30 minutes that time). So I asked about the micro-bus again. He pointed me in the general direction and this man came up to be helpful. I thought he was drunk. Blood shot eyes, a little dirty, weavy walk, etc. So he (to be helpful) held up 8 and a half fingers to tell me the bus left at 8:30. I got a kick out of that. Anyway, then he offered to take me over to the bus. Not my first choice but I didn't know where I was going so I followed him. At the insistence of the bus driver as well. He actually did take me to the right place and was a  fairly nice guy. I was so very happy that I had finally figured out the most time-efficient way to get up there! I didn't have to wait at the corner and hope I wouldn't miss it and I knew they left regularly every 20 minutes. And it only costs 50 centavos more than the other bus. About 46 cents Canadian total.

Coming back down the hill we fit in a few people. Then a few more. Until I counted 26 people (and only 2 of those were children) in this van with seats that probably wouldn't fit 15 North Americans. The advantage of this was that we were so tightly squeezed in and I figured if we had an accident I would be very safe as I was NOT going to move anywhere. :) Seat belts are not worn here. I wear them if I am in the front seat on the highway though. 

So that is a small glimpse into my commuting life. You would have to ride them and see them to fully understand. 

So if you want to add an extra prayer of safety for me while riding the buses I won't ask you not to! Come to think of it, I hope my mom doesn't read the unsafe bit. :)

And there really are chickens on the buses. But I have only seen 2. One tucked up in the luggage rack, and the other tucked under the arm of a girl standing next to me on the bus. 

Just a cute story.

Today my friend Amy called. She had her twin girls there as well as her niece, 4 year old Abby. I adore all 3 of them. Being away from them and not watching them grow and change is the hardest part of being here.

So I asked Amy what they were doing tonight. She said she was meeting Elaine (her sister and my friend) at the mall to go shopping. A minute later Abby said she wanted to talk to me. Amy told me that. Then I heard Abby say "Never mind. I forgot she is in Guatemala." Amy asked what she was going to tell me. She wanted to tell me to meet them at the mall! I want to cry again right now just thinking about it! Normally I would have been all over that! Scratch that! I would have already been at Amy's house playing with them. So it is sad for me. But I am happy that she still remembers and loves me so much. She is so smart and sounds so grown up on the phone. 

The twins too. Jocelyn wanted to call me the other day to tell me she was in her "big girl panties". When they called she whipped down her pants and put the phone by her bum to "show" me. So they got on Skype and she was able to show me her panties. Then, she took those off too so I could pinch her bum! Good thing she hasn't forgotten that in the last 6 months! I love bum pinching! In a non-freaky way. Then Amy called me and we were talking on the phone so she left the room with the skype video on, and mine was on as well, and Jocelyn kept coming into the computer room to see me and talk to me. Love it! Sophia doesn't miss me as much but that doesn't matter. I am still going to hug her and squeeze her until she can't breathe when I get home! 

The end of October. Really????

I can't believe how fast time is passing. I haven't blogged in so long and feel very sad about that. This is not just for you readers, but for myself as well. To remember funny or sad or weird things that have happened to me. I often think "I should write this in my blog" but I just haven't been getting around to it. And even today I thought that it had been so long I didn't even know where to start! So I will start with the most recent and blog other stories and events from the past as I remember them.

Here in Guatemala the tourist visa is good for 3 months. After 3 months you can renew it in the City (Guatemala City) but after 6 months you are required to leave the country for 2 nights. My options were Mexico or Belize (as Honduras and El Salvador don't count. I don't know why). Mexico would have been a shorter bus ride but Belize sounded a little more exotic and fun. Beaches anyone??? My friend Ambre has been teaching down here and since the school year had just finished she was able to go with me. Yay! 

We had to be ready for the shuttle at 0345. In the morning. It was early! And I had meant to shower the night before and shave my legs but there was no water (!) so I had to get up even earlier to take care of that business. But really, at that time of the morning another 15 minutes would NOT have made that big a difference. 

The shuttle to the bus depot came at 4:10 a.m. and we arrived at 5:15, in time to catch the 5:30 bus to Puerto Barrios. It took almost 6 hours to get there. Ambre was able to sleep most of the trip but my body is betraying me in my old age. :) I used to be able to sleep anywhere, anytime, any position. No longer!  They played Fireproof as the movie and I was impressed first of all that it wasn't a scary movie (that was on the way home!) and second that it was a christian movie.

We checked into Migracion (not immigration-don't really understand the difference but we needed to check out of the country!) and got on the 1:00 p.m. boat to Punta Gorda, Belize. It was only an hour boat ride. I love water. I went fully into my happy place on that boat ride. It was sunny, muggy, windy, water smooth as glass, almost cloudless sky and that salty feeling you get on your skin. I don't have the pictures from Ambre yet but I will post some when I do. You can tell I am pretty happy. :) I was also lucky in that Ambre is a great picture taker and she got some good ones of me.

It was our intention to just stay in Punta Gorda for the two nights. We knew there were no beaches there but I had seen enough to know we would probably find something to do. We met a couple of guys who were working in Belize for the Peace Corps and they suggested we go on to Placencia. There were beaches (I was sold) and it was nicer. So we looked around in the stores while waiting for our bus. Not much there that is for sure! 

The bus to Independence was a chicken bus like they have here but the experience was totally different!!!! They are just old converted school buses. Anyway, this bus was just chugging along. No need to pass others at a high speed and fling us side to side while going around corners (I have a whole blog planned on just bus ride experiences here!). We noticed a different pace and attitude. Restful, slow, and 2 hours of Bob Marley playing through the bus speakers! Here in Guatemala you have to go to the front of the bus while it is still moving and tell them where to drop you off. In Belize, there were pre-determined stops so the bus would stop there and wait for people to get off. After a few seconds people would get up and get off. It really was weird. I kept thinking "Hurry, he will pull away from your stop if you don't".  That bus was about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Then we took a water taxi for 15 minutes to Placencia. We arrived at 6 p.m. after 14 hours of travel. It was a relief to get there! 

We found a hotel that was recommended to us. Prices were higher in Belize but I felt the price was reasonable for what we got. Then we went for dinner (the restaurant we ate in most of the time was amazing! The food made me very happy. Especially the french fries). The restaurant was right on the beach looking at the water. Our hotel was one building behind that. Close enough to the beach! It was dark by then and just as we finished eating the power went out. And it was pitch black! They found a couple of lights but it was still pretty dark. We went out onto the beach and it was clear and dark and I have NEVER seen stars like that. It was breath taking! Really. They were so bright and there were a couple of shooting stars. We sat in chairs just enjoying it. The temp. was very comfortable. 

The next day was overcast and we went for a walk. Placencia is a town of 900 according to the Lonely Planet. It is not an island but a peninsula so the width was probably less than a kilometer. And we walked from one end of the beach to the other quite easily and leisurely. It started to rain so we didn't finish our walk that day. 

We met a lady who was a native Belizean but had lived in the US for over 30 years as a nurse. She has family all over and told me to look out for her son and granddaughters when I am in Vancouver. :) She was sweet and had made cupcakes to sell to the tourists (from what I could tell, we made up at least 10-15% of the tourists that weekend). We sat and talked to her for quite a while. She was pretty funny. And blunt!

I caught up on some English TV watching. Mostly stuck to the movie channels so watched several endings of old movies. I am still ADD with my TV watching, if there was a commercial I HAD to change the channel. 

We were there 2 full days and didn't leave until 12:30 on the 3rd day. We walked, ate, sat on the beach, talked, and had a relaxing time.

One funny story! On Sunday morning (we got in Saturday night) I woke up early (not intentional) and went to the grocery store. As I was walking back a couple of guys started chatting with me. As I was leaving one guy said "And if you need a little (puts fingers to lips like a cigarette), just let me know". I said thanks and kept walking. I had to really bite my lip not to laugh out loud! 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning and I am being offered pot! I should have asked him where the nearest church was. :) 

We saw an hardware store and Ambre wanted to check it out. I am so thankful she did! It was like a hardware store, dollar store, and Wal-Mart all in one. I found my greatest treasure there. A Mickey Mouse waffle iron. Yes. That's right. It has 4 different images of Mickey that are made on the waffles. And it has the classic grid pattern on one side for those "adults" that may show up at my breakfast table.

Coming home we split the trip up into two days. Otherwise we would have arrived in Guatemala City at 9 p.m. and that is not really a safe thing to do. So we did everything in reverse but spent the night in Puerto Barrios. Our bus home was DELUXE! We paid 30Q more than on the way there (less than $4. more) and it was crazy nice! It was like sitting in a la-z-boy! Seriously! Just a little narrower. There was a leg thing that pulled down from in front so you could recline a lot and have your legs comfortably stretched out in front of you. The amount of space was phenomenal! It was leather and soft and cushy. I equate it to being hugged the whole way. I loved it. And the obligatory scary movie. My experience here has been a lot of scary movies on the Greyhound type bus lines. I had my iPod to drown it out though. 

We arrived yesterday afternoon about 3. I actually still have not cleaned up. But I did do my laundry! It was a great trip and I would love to do it again someday. Maybe next year but a little farther into November. That is when their weather starts to get consistently nicer. Bathing suit weather in other words. Although Ambre did get in the water for a while. 

I hope some of you made it to the end of this post! Sorry for my wordiness. One of my teachers in high school used to say my class had verbal diarrhea. When I told my pastor's wife that saying she laughed! She said she would use it. :) I have always paid attention to detail (as my close family and friends know. It is not OCD-it is attention to detail!) so I may as well share those details with the world. Trust me. I could have gone on a lot longer! And maybe I will another day.

I intend to blog for real one day.

Sorry guys! I am so behind. And I don't have time to do it right now. But this song was playing on my iTunes and I wanted to share the lyrics. Then maybe if you get lucky, tonight I will do a big update. Or tomorrow. Or......

There You Are

By Carolyn Arends.

I was hoping You would write to me a message in the stars

As if the stars themselves were not enough

And I awaited Your arrival here from someplace very far

As if I couldn't feel Your constant touch

Why did I think that You'd send thunder

To wake me from my slumber

When anytime I open up my eyes

There You are, loving me like crazy

There You are, I am unaware

There You are, when my heart is doubting

Even there You are

Well I was wishing for a miracle and waiting for a sign

As if each breath I take is not a gift

And I was acting just as if the way You gave your life for mine

Didn't have my foolish heart convinced

What did I think could cause this hunger

Did I ever stop to wonder

When anytime I open up my eyes

There You are, loving me like crazy

There You are, I am unaware

There You are, when my heart is doubting

Even there You are

I was hoping You would write to me a message in the stars

As if the stars themselves were not enough.