Heading back to Antigua

I spent this afternoon playing some touch football with a bunch of people from church.  It was a great time filled with some laughs, excitement, and great exercise.  To continue to write this journal is exercise for me, and lately I have been not getting enough exercise of any kind.  If you had of seen me play touch football you would know exactly what I was saying.  I haven't been taking enough time for myself lately and it is starting to take a toll. 



So here is a small leap towards starting to make some of that time.  For this day in my journal I am feeling a bit dull, and I am anxious to serve more.  We are on the road again and I notice the heavily eroded rivers with flowing garbage and become frustrated with the global ignorance and apparent lack of rightous morality.  Why can we not all have enough to live a healthy and productive life.

June 2, 2010


All rivers seemed to have changed dramatically
overnight



I had a great sleep last night thanks to the hum of the air conditioner in this seedy hotel.  We walked to Saritas for breakfast and again like every meal there is no lack of conversation and good natured ribbing.  Domingo was the brunt of most jokes as he always seems to get us "almost there."  He took the teasing with good humor though and apologized for not showing us a better time.  Of course his apologies are completely unnecessary and it made me respect him a great deal for taking our jokes and feeling he had to apologize.

After breakfast we loaded the FH Van and headed back to Antigua and Los Bucaros.  Like the day before, the drive back was sombre and I enjoyed the scenery and changing topography back into Antigua.  Again it was hard to see the eroded rivers and the destruction the mudslides and flooding caused.  I pushed Domingo to see if we can help tomorrow with some of the clean up.  He said he'd see what he could do.



The garbage and amount of mud was unbelievable

for someone coming from the stable environment

I come from.



Once back in Antigua, Chris, Jordan, and I went to the market and I think Jordan is addicted to dickering.  He was good at getting his price and I got some great gifts for family and friends.  Again the Antigua Market is a great place to gain experience and people watch.  My little spanish is improving but language is a huge barrier.



Often this is what river crossings looked like. 
Lots of mud, no pavement, and who knows
what was underneath the van.



The team met at the square again and headed for supper.  Just before we met Jordan, Chris, and I stumbled upon a sports pub that was showing the hockey game.  We checked the score and then tried to convince the team it would be a good place to eat.  Unfortunately everyone had their stomach set on Italian, so Kara led us to Los Lamos which ended up being a great spot.  The service was great and the food was incredible.  I ate way more than I needed.  



After supper we all headed back to the hotel and many of us enjoyed playing catch phrase.  Before long we were tired out and headed to bed.

Another "Almost"

Taken from a van window this was a dramatic peak as we left the mountain
region for the Pacific Coast.

Many times in our lives we are all faced with uncertainty.  Recently, here in New Brunswick everyone was uncertain as to the path of Hurricane Earl, and we did what we could to prepare for the uncertain.  Usually the hardest part about that kind of situation is the mental preparation and not the physical sort.  Another funny thing about most of the uncertainty I typically face is that it is usually brought on by Mother Nature.  In Guatemala the team was faced with great deal of uncertainty and it was strongly influenced by Mother Nature.

The best thing we can do when facing uncertainty is simply put it in God's hands.  I have found that when I do this that I do not stress out as much and that I can more readily accept the end result, even if not a favorable result.  With Mother Nature throwing many things at us, I sought God's Wisdom to determine my next steps.  I believe he guided my mind not to thing to far ahead but rather focus on the moment.  That being said, I was still feeling the uncertainty. 

I have attached the link to the "Common Hope Hostel" in this entry and I encourage you to view that site and take note of some of the Agatha pictures.  They have some great photos that illustrate the devastation caused by tropical storm Agatha.  In comparison, tropical storm Earl paled in damage created.

June 1, 2010

My first time to the Pacific Coast.  A black sand beach with most of
the sand now missing.

Our day started with some confusion as we tried to figure out where we would be spending the next couple of nights.  After some long discussion with the staff at "Los Bucaros" we decided to keep one room there for our luggage and later head towards Monterreco and what is touted as the best beach in Guatemala.

We had breakfast at a McDonald's before heading to Common Hope.  This is the hostel we were to originally stay in while in Antigua.  They had been heavily impacted by mudslides and we were going to help them out.  When we arrived I was surprised to see the place was already very clean, so instead of mopping and shovelling floors we unloaded a truck of bagged water and packed rations for delivery to displaced families in outlying communities.  This was an awesome experience and a great way for us to continue to serve while here.  I think I could almost consider this our best service to date.  The staff at "Common Hope" were glad to have our help and I could have stayed there the rest of the trip helping out there but our plans were to help for the morning and then head to Monterreco.  We left at about 12:00 noon with a heavy but rewarded heart.

These are the first coconuts I have seen up close on a tree.  I think
they make a great picture.

We checked out of all but one room at Los Bucaros and headed towards the west coast in hopes of finding a beach and hotel to stay in.  The drive out of Antigua was very scenic.  We drove past volcanic peaks, raging and new, heavily eroded, rivers, devasted homes, and then the
scenery changed as we left the mountain region.  One last dramatic peak with extreme slopes and topography that fell into lying, flat, fields filled with sugar cane.  The river was now a boulder strewn channel that was ever widening on our left.  Suddenly a large mine or mill appeared on our right, then a refinery, and a shipping yard.  Despite all this industry the people seemed to be struggling as the homes are rudimentary.  Many by this point were flooded and residents were encamped along the walls of a resort.  It frustrated me to see the money that industry had and how little the country's people had.  I question the morals of the federal government and of industry to exist in such an unbalanced manner that keeps itself so safe and stable, while those around it and those who work to keep it struggle simply to live a meager life.

Shortly after the waves knocked me off my feet, I quickly
made my way back to the shoreline.  Sometimes my
foolishness gets the best of me.
 (Picture from L. McCullum files)

The storms had flooded the river and pushed water and waves at these people from both sides.  The river on the east and the waves from the west.  We crossed the river and onto an island in hopes of reaching Monterrecco but the roads here were heavily flooded in places along with many more homes.  We crossed a couple of watery holes but had to turn back with less than 10km to go to reach the beaches.  Once again we "almost" got there.  We did find a way to the ocean but it was not a public beach so we did not stay long.  The Pacific Ocean though literally and figuratively swept me off my feet.  The beach we visited had large waves pounding it and a great deal of sand had already been lost.  This, once again, illustrated the power of nature.  After some pictures, and play time, we headed out to find a place to stay for the night.

After checking out a couple of places,one of which would have created a great horror film back drop, we laid our heads in a seedy hotel in Escuintla, a modest size city with some modern day perks.  The hotel was not one of them though but thankfully it had air conditioning.  After checking my sheets for bugs and stains I crawled in.  I had spent nights in worse places, in fact I had an apartment that might be considered worse.  In any event I spent a more comfortable night than many in Guatemala.

I had a bottom note about singing country music during the driving time.  Music is one of those things that I can always turn too, to ease my mind and relieve stress.  Thanks Denise and Lauren for sharing the head set.

After a long day cooped up in a van, you tend to get a little silly.
Sara T and I were goofing it up before eating supper in Escuintla.
(Photo from files of L.McCullum)