laj chimal y dona maria

Yesterday we went with our new friends Laura (peace corps member) and Glenn (political scientist working on dissertation about deforestation) to the aldea (village) of Laj Chimal, about one hour drive. A brief history of this place: It was a part of the civil conflict that took place from 1984-1994. It is the home of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu whose family was apart of the guerillas. The people who were stuck between the army and the guerillas, the campesinos, were most effected by the conflict because either side didn’t know where their alliance lay. The campesinos were just as confused; Not knowing what the fight was even for.
So, upon arriving we meet Dona Maria whom we will come back to later. First we went on a hike up a small knob of thick forest. In fact the forest that we were in is one of three protected in Guatemala. About ¾ of the way to our destination we stop at a rope swing that is not like the rope swing you are thinking about, that puny thing that you swung on when you were a kid. This one was made for adults and it was in the jungle of Guatemala. It was accurately named The Swing of the Screeching Monkey. (Apparently we were in screeching monkey territory, but saw none.) We spent about 30 minutes there, thinking of every possible way to swing on the rope; two at a time, upside down, hands only and so on.
Eventually we walk the rest of the way, encountering a snake, to the mirador or lookout. The view is marvelous but we are all a bit hungry rationing out one Hershey kiss, one apple, and some pumpkin seeds among 11 people. On our way back we come across an array of brilliant flowers and fruits.
We arrive at Dona Maria’s where she has prepared pasta with tortillas, Atole (masa, or corn flour, mixed with hot water to drink) as well as some hot salsa and very sweet coffee for desert.
The highlight of the trip for me, Noel, was the next hour when Dona Maria shared her experience of the civil war with us. It brought to life everything that I had learned and read about regarding this time period.
She was only 16 when the guerillas came in to her village, Laj Chimal, to tell them that they needed to fight for their land. The people of the village had no idea why this was something that they needed to do. Following this, the army came in to the town asking if the guerillas had been there. The beginning of being caught in the middle for the campesinos. Eventually the army came back with someone they had captured and had him crucified in front of the people as a scare tactic to keep them from joining the guerillas.
The people ended up fleeing to the surrounding mountains for safety from the army whom flew over with their airplanes, dropping grenades, also slashing and burning all their crops and homes. They sat in the mountains with nothing to eat and only the water from the moss quenched their thirst.
Maria and her father end up captured when they return to their home to try to get seeds to plants crops for food. The army interrogated them, asking them if they were guerillas. They find themselves in a circle, with some of the others that have been captured in the middle, the army demanding that they shoot the people in the middle. Miraculously one of the officers recognizes Maria’s father as a campesino and tells the other officers their true identity(mere farmers, not guerilla fighters). So instead they are all put in to a truck and brought to Uspantan(where we stay now) where they are imprisoned and Maria is raped by six different men, her father unable to do anything about it.
After 20 days or so they are able to go back to Laj Chimal to find the rest of their family: Mom, sister, as well as Maria’s 3 month old daughter, who at that point was no longer living. (This is the only part of the story that Dona Maria shed tears.) They all ended up back in Uspantan in prison realizing that at least they would be fed there.
Dona Maria ended up getting an offer to go to Guatemala City where she could make 30Q ($4.02) a month rather than 10Q ($1.34). She left only knowing Quiche, the local Mayan language, but came back a year or so later fluent in Spanish.
Dona Maria now is full of hope and love for everyone that she comes in to contact with. She is excited for the tourists that come to Laj Chimal (a town of once 70 families and now 14). Since the Menchu family name is forever associated with this aldea, NGO’s and other volunteers find interest in helping its people. One man, a Spaniard, after staying one frigid night there, decided to build all the people concrete homes so the wind could not get to them at night. Maria talks about her “Casa enorme”,about 400 square feet, with a huge white smile on her sun kissed face.
This ends our time in Laj Chimal. But on the bumpy ride home (11 people in a 8 seater) we make a stop at a lagoon. I did not swim, but Tyler, Michael, Jason, Aaron and Laura all jumped in despite the fact that the water was frigid. It was beautiful.

Guatemala’s Willy Wonka

We started our day earlier, arising at 6am to walk up the mountainside. I reluctantly got out of bed as Tyler whispered in my ear. Sure glad that I did. It was magnifico and gave us all the energy that we have been lacking. We also went to the hospital to meet with people about the set-up of the water system. Looks like it is going to be easier to do than we had thought.

Today, we met the man behind the golden ticket. Our first coffee farm/processing visit was very colorful. The owner of the finca was a thin, sombrero wearing, chain smoking, arm in sling for whatever reason, marimba-playing man.

We walked through the property and looked at the wee little coffee trees about 2 feet off the ground. Right now is not coffee season and so there was not much to look at. But he showed us where the fruit is separated from the skin and also where the bean is separated from the shell. Much of the equipment was very old, one piece 60 years to be exact.

The reason that I make the Willy Wonka reference is because as we walked through the property he was picking fruits off the trees: bananas, oranges, sweet limes and handing them to us as he was talking about his finca.

When we got to the end of the “tour” he asked if we wanted to hear him play music. He got behind a big wooden instrument that I found out from Felix was called a Marimba. (This is where I don’t understand why he had a sling on, he was playing with his arm just fine. ) Then I find out that he wants to dance with me right after Felix shows me how to dance the Marimba. Well I am just going to say that we didn’t dance together, which I would have done for the record. I found out that he may have been drinking a little bit and so I opted out of the dance invite.

You should also know that the man had a taper in a cage. If you know what a taper is prize for you. We now know what one is. He also had geese as guards rather than dogs. Yep.

So, we ended up going back to the apartment with two bags of beans that still needed to be shelled and chaffed. We sat around a table and did just that, somewhat desperate for a decent cup of coffee. We have been whole-heartedly enjoying instant coffee.

We leave you with the smell of stove-top roasted coffee in the air. Reminiscent of Sunergos, home and love at first sight.

(this was just one of the first coffee farmers that we will be meeting in our efforts to find and make relationships for direct trade with sunergos. bettering fair trade.)

good bye care-takers

today the ones whom have ushered us into guatemala and given us so much energy and resources have departed. felix and laura return to texas where they live half of the year. we have slowly become less dependent of their daily help, but we will certaintly miss their company. last night as an act of thankfulness we cooked felix, laura, and felix´s family dinner. we all brought our cooking skills to the table (literally) with our different influences. i made chipati(a flatbread i learned to make in sudan) and noel made dessert with marla. it felt good to return the favor of hospitality to felix´s family and also show our appreciation to felix and laura. after mamitas (felix´s mom) finished her first glass of wine, when offered more she refused saying ¨esta baracha¨. we were proud of how well everything turned out.

very soon noel will post a blog describing our recent experience with a local coffee farmer and his interesting estate. until then adios.

m0 PiX

the picture is only a taste of the exagerated clouds which roll through the surrounding mountains. the second and third pictures are of noel and i working with the group on the purifier, we are also in this process of teaching morrisio (the guy in the red shirt) how to setup and run the purifier. morrisio works in the hospital and will be the main individual responsible for operating it; he is very intellegent, michael (who is an engineer) says that morrisio atleast has a degree in engineering and wouldnt be suprised if he had more education/experience then that. the fourth picture is all of us waiting patiently outside of the hospital; which the condition of is questionable. there seems to be good administration for the most part, but there are a few questionable practices, like burning their trash and possibly dumping blood into the riverway. hopefully we can get to the bottom of some these practices and help create solutions. we are well, we sleep well, eat well, get along well, work well, and poop not so well.

To make a tortilla

Yesterday while the others were finishing up some things on the purification system, Tyler and myself made our way across the street with one intention: to learn how to make tortillas. We asked Felixs’ mom “ Podemos ayudarte con las tortillas?” (Can we help you with tortillas?) She smiled with her amazing Mayan grill (no joke folks, this lady has three gold teeth that each have a letter on them) and nodded repeatedly. Mamita, we will call her, pointed upstairs and said “ Arriba, Arriba” repeatedly.
Making our way up the steps, Tyler and I feel the warmth of grandma love in our bones. Anybody would melt in the presence of this woman.
Three staircases later we come across Menche and Candelaria, the families servants. Candelaria has been working with Felix’s family for many years. Both are smiling and excited to teach us Gringos some true Mayan cooking.
They start by kneading the masa on this beautiful stone mass with legs. Tyler and I secretly covet this piece of art but know we would have to leave all behind and than some to get it back to the states. Anyway, after the kneading we step close to a wood-fire fueled stove as they show us how to slap-slap-slap the dough between our hands rapidly. Of course it looks all easy. But Tyler and I struggle to make the magic happen: Masa stuck all on our hands, giggling from both sides, we keep trying until we are making some very mediocre tortillas. Lumpy and think compared to perfectly circular and thin, we all knew who had been doing this longer. In fact, I asked them how long they had been making tortillas and both said “Diez anos” 10 years!
I must be honest with you all and say that Tyler whooped me in the tortilla making madness. I dropped 6 on the floor. As for Tyler, he didn’t drop any.
“Mi esposo es mas mejor que yo. My husband is better than me,” I stated. This was funny to them since men are rarely found in the kitchen.
When we went to lunch about an hour later, they had separated the tortillas that we made and wrapped them in a beautiful gold towel. How sweet.

PICTURES

here are some pictures to look at. today aaron and michael went to the hospital to talk with people about the water purification process. we will all be returning together after some brainstorming to put the plans into motion.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTOS) this is a view from our terrace, the black tanks are existing water systems that we will be working with to contain clean water
the second picture is of us at mayan ruin which date back to 3000 bc. the third picture is of jason and i playing soccer with the local niños.

today is tylers birthday and the guatemalan tradition involves firecrackers, 5am, and your bedroom window. so yes it happened this morning, we all knew about it except for tyler. laura, our hostess, also bought tyler a t shirt with a wrestlenmania wrestler on it. you all should be excited to see it when we get home.

our arrival to uspantan

we have finally arrived to uspantan after 6 and half hours of driving through winding roads of intense mountains and aggressive guatemalan drivers whom are so use to the roads they make life threatening risks on a regular basis. we feel like we are home; although we appreciated the generosity of felix and laura in guatemala city, we felt distant from our purpose of this trip which is to serve the local community with the unique skills that we have obtained. pulling upto the property that we are going to stay was a breath of fresh air, we were in rural guatemala. families moving through narrow streets lined with apartements of various pastel colors, loose dogs, pigs on leashes, and a incredible view of the surrounding mountains. as we walked into the apartment complex we would be staying(which was completly designed by felix... and it is truly a work of art) we were so thankful for the way God provides. the complex is not too large and houses 8 people apart from us at the moment. it is designed in a way that every room feels far apart, but in reality is very compact so that every inch of the place is used efficently. for the next week all seven of us will be sharing one room, which is no different then how we have been staying upto this point(apart from 2 nights in fl). i know that we are all looking forward to some more privacy after this week, but God has most certaintly used this time of being so close together to bring better community among the group. after visiting the room we went to the roof, there ended up being an additional apartment atop of the roof where 3 girls were living. the girls are with the peace core and one of them is working in a school within the community which made noel very excited, because noel wants to spend time serving in schools with the childeren and now she has direct english/spanish speaking connection. these ladies from the peace core can also help us intergrate into the community in other ways... it is very benenficial to us and the community.

we start researching the area(source of water, line in which it travels, etc) and training of the water purifiers this week. one purifier goes into the local hospital, and the other in the apartment complex. i made a prayer request in my last post regarding sacrificing our comfort... this was more directed to the fact that because of our hosts upto that point we felt like we werent being challenged in this way, and in some ways felt more like tourists rather then missionaries who have come to serve. praise God because there is already a stark constrast between now and then, and we feel like our expectations of oppertunity have been exceeded at this point.

my grammar/spelling went unchecked due to the time, but i must go
we love youall

San Lucas, Guatemala

We made it safe and sound to Guatemala. Our travels were nice and easy. Two whole hours to fly from Ft. Lauderdale to Guatemala City. We were welcomed with Fried Chicken (thought we had left the south) and a few bottles of wine. We were exhausted from being up since 4 am and not arriving to our home in Guatemala city until 5 pm (eastern). Drinking wine with only 3.5 hours of sleep the night prior brings on heavy eyelids and all of our minds were pretty fried by the time we fell asleep.
Felix and Laura(our hosts) are more generous and hospitable than we had imagined, making sure we are sleeping comfortably and eating well. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of tortillas, beans, avocados, eggs and onions. There was plenty of coffee as well; I had 5 cups and I have to admit that it was Foldgers, I surprised myself.
We will start our journey to San Miguel tomorrow, making a stop in Lake Atitlan for a swim. Our first week in San Miguel will include serving in a health clinic. Immediately following we will start assembling and training for the water purifier; equipping the locals with the knowledge which will sustain clean water for years to come.

until then, pray that we continue to find ways to serve people here and sacrifice our comfort for the good of the kingdom.

florida on my mind

Here we are in the household of the Howell's. Tyler's Mission Year roommate Daniel graciously took us in last night. Here we spend our last two nights in the states. We made the 9 hour drive with 8 packed in a mini-van: dreaming about 'gettin some gator' upon our arrival to Apopka, Fl. Too bad we were not able to find a place within 30 minutes drive that serves it. Tomorrow we arise at 4:30 in the morning to catch our 8:00 flight to Ft. Lauderdale.

We spent today relaxing, sleeping in beds ( we had to sleep on hard wood floors while in NC ), swimming, chicken fighting, rounding up last minutes items for the trip, buying traveler's insurance, playing Muggins ( a card game taught to us by Daniel and his father ) and now cooking some dinner.

We are all excited to leave tomorrow and can hardly believe that the time is already here.
!Vamos a hablar con tu en Guatemala!

(We'll talk to you in Guatemala!)

now we are 8

noel and i awaited the arrival of the rest of our friends from the back porch of my brother cams place. the sun was setting and our anticipation was growing; after a few adjusted directions to the caravan of 6 they arrived in a cloud of dust. there arrival marked the beginning yet another transition that noel and i would have to go under, not with frustration but joy.

we are now with aarons(one of the other 6) grandparents in north carolina, celebrating there 50th wedding anniversary, indulging in a little hospitality and r and r before we leave for guatemala city on the 9th. i believe that God had provided this time for us to better understand the group dynamic before there is more stress and pressure involved. we are happy, content, and anticipating a wonderful experience to come.

pray for our attitudes, that they reflect the glory of God, in trial, frustration, and the good around us.

soon we will be adding more photographs!

our initial newsletter

strong coffee

last night at the exhibit opening (everything went very well) we made coffee for the attendees. As noel was walking around and talking to different people interested in Nadus, she overheard an older woman dressed in an eccentric pattern and with a scratchy soft voice say "oh my, this coffee could choke a horse" as she turned to her friend she followed with asking "is yours strong?" her friend just shrugged her shoulders. This is just more encouragement that i must get over my fear of making weak coffee.

the exhibit and the good bye

It wasn't too hard to wake up at 8 this morning, considering the night prior was nothing more then laying back and watching the early nineties disney hit "Alladin." After breakfast our friends Luke Groce and Katherine Valentine, our brother Cameron and us loaded up the car with the photographs and supplies required to hang the Nadus show. We arrived to the location of the exhibit and got straight to business. We were able to get everything up in two hours (1/20 the amount of time it took us to set up the show in Louisville.) After this we walked to lunch at West First (yummy fire-baked pizza) and enjoyed our last few emotional moments with Katherine and Luke before they drove further east to Charleston. It was hard to say good bye to good friends; Katherine and Luke were our last connection to Louisville before we leave the country(apart from the people we are going to Guatemala with)
Now we wait for the opening of the exhibit which will be tonight from 7-9.