Josh, Courtney, Althea & Baby On The Way

We are truly proud of our beautiful daughter, Courtney, who along with husband Josh, has chosen to pass up the luxury and convenience of living in the U.S. in order to serve children in the Third World. Both of them graduated summa cum laude, and Courtney later earned a masters degree. They could have been successful at almost anything they tried, but they chose a less traveled way. Maybe it’s in the genes: Jerry’s parents were homesteaders among Mormons in rural Utah (1918-1932), Gloria and Jerry started a camp for delinquent boys in remote, rural, Eastern Kentucky in 1964, and Courtney’s oldest sister, Robin, spent 21 years in Colombia. Soon Courtney will experience a new challenge—giving birth to their second child in early November in Guatemala. We pray daily that our eighth grandchild will be bright, healthy, strong, and a faithful servant of the Lord.

Josh, Courtney, Althea, and their Great Dane, Leroy reside in a small house located on the side of a mountain overlooking San Marcos. A masonry wall and strong, steel security gate help provide protection along with the big bass bark from Leroy.
No one can accuse them of “living high on the hog.” They have no car, TV, nor appliances other than a propane cook stove. The latter might be considered a luxury in Guatemala, as most people cook on wood. Because they have no refrigerator, they eat little meat, and their milk is purchased in off-the-shelf cartons. The home has two bedrooms, a multi-purpose room, a real bathroom, and a veranda with a fabulous view of Lake Atitlan. One night we were with them when a storm was brewing over the lake. What a view we had of the lighting dancing between three volcanoes in the distance. Our walks to their home were infrequent, as climbing to their house involved negotiating dozens of steep steps straight up the mountain (see Gloria resting afterward in the hammock). Since our cottage was conveniently located adjacent to their school, they came to us.

Josh and Courtney are totally focused on the school (see previous post) they have founded. If you would like to contribute to that cause in order to provide scholarships for sweet, low-income children in San Marcos, we can let you know how to do that, and you will qualify for an income tax deduction. It costs about $950 per year to educate each child. Josh’s parents are sponsoring a fund-raising event on May 15, and Josh, Courtney, and Althea will be returning to Northern Virginia for that important event. To learn more about the school, please visit: http://www.escuelacaracol.org/ or http://www.atitlaneducationproject.org/ationproject.org/

Six-year-old Althea, with her winning smile and gift of gab, gets her share of attention from her parents and nearly everyone else in San Marcos. Like her parents, she speaks fluent Spanish, but English is also taught in Escuela Caracol, her school. She loves to be a helper, and upon entering nearly every restaurant, she heads for the kitchen, where she is well known by all the employees. Soon she emerges with order form in hand; when the meal is prepared, she often helps serve. No one seems to mind. We nearly lost her last fall when a branch broke in a Jocote tree she was climbing. She fell 15-20 feet, striking her head on a rock. Although she was in critical condition with a fractured skull, she seems in great shape now. She is quite athletic and even stands on her head, but the big scar is still clearly visible. God does answer fervent prayers!

We arrived back home in Texas yesterday with wonderful memories of Guatemala. We are eager to return there in November when the new baby arrives. Beginning on April 11, we will again be on the road with our Airstream until the end of October. Stay tuned for news updates as we travel from East Coast to West Coast, including some time in Canada.

The Little Church In San Marcos

During the time we were in San Marcos, we attended a small evangelical, community church where Josh, Courtney, and Althea occasionally worship. The 55 members are warm, friendly, and dedicated to the Lord’s work. The worship service is on Sunday evening with the morning being reserved for Sunday school. Ruth, the diminutive pastor (see photo bottom right with Jerry), is an excellent presenter. She adds humor to every message and uses a big whiteboard to outline the Sunday school lesson. Participation is encouraged during the latter. Carlos, a tall man from Pennsylvania, is one of the elders and translated the Spanish for us. He has been in San Marcos for 17 years and owns a wonderful local restaurant and Internet service. His wife, Katerina is one of the cooks and also is one of the music leaders. Another pretty, young, dedicated song leader is Rebecca, whose photo is shown above as she works at Holistic Center. Other worship leaders are Drew and Tom, Virginians who sometimes go back home for a few months but are property owners of lakeside property. Twice while we were there, the members engaged in a cleanup effort after Sunday school to rid the main street near the church of trash. Jerry and Althea participated in one of these community service activities.

On Easter Sunday, instead of Sunday school, it is the church’s tradition to have a family outing at the beach. Jerry attended, as Gloria was a bit afraid to traverse the long rocky path from the main road to the beach. What a wonderful time we had! The kids played in the water and had great fun chasing Carlos’s golden lab in and out of the water. Most of the adults sat around talking and enjoyed the great view and weather. The picnic was a sumptuous feast. The women prepared the meal with Katerina using her culinary skills to cook the chicken over an open woodburning fire. Ruth led in a short devotional. She even asked Jerry to come forward so members could pass by and say goodbye. They were so grateful that we are contributing to their new building effort.

Good Friday In San Pedro

One of the nicest cities on the shores of Lake Atitlan is San Pedro. It is clearly visible from San Marcos. It is one of the few cities with a large Baptist church, and its beautiful, big, white dome looms high in the skyline even from a distance.

While all Guatemalan Roman Catholic churches have wonderful processions on Good Friday, San Pedro’s is one of the best. It is about 20 minutes from San Marcos by ferryboat; Josh and Althea accompanied us there yesterday. Courtney took the day off to rest (more about that in a later post). It was a beautiful, clear, crisp morning, but the waves of the huge lake were calm. Gloria had little trouble getting in and out of the little boat with her right arm glued to her side with her Velcro-laden sling. The smooth, scenic ride was wonderfully refreshing. Once we reached shore we sat in a lovely open café watching the boats and fishermen on the lake while we enjoyed coffee and a bite to eat.

We were humbled by what we observed in San Pedro. A huge statue of St. Peter, with the rooster alongside, dominates a public square. Some stores were open, but the primary focus was on the Christian procession that would be the biggest celebration for these wonderful people. Most are poor financially, but they seemed rich in love and spirit.

Protestant churches, ours included, hardly recognize Good Friday, choosing instead to focus on the Resurrection. But it was the shed blood of Jesus that provides for our salvation, so why NOT make a big deal of it? In Guatemala, the long city processions go down the main streets with a mammoth shoulder float bearing a likeness of a stooped Christ bearing a huge cross. Another often follows with the Virgin Mary. Sturdy young men walk under and to the sides of the solemn, moving displays. The rich smell of incense is in the air. Everyone is dressed in their best, brightly colored clothing, and the processions are led by two men with a big base drum. Other musicians follow with all kinds of instruments. Women, young and old, with special garb and candles add to the ceremony. The stages of the cross are depicted beautifully on the cobblestone streets with colored sawdust as a foundation for the flawless display of fresh flowers. Men carrying large sprayers on their backs sprinkle the latter from time to time lest the flowers should wilt in the warm sunshine. At one point, we observed a young man on the street cranking a big noisemaker. We were told that it was to awaken and recall ancestors that had passed on to Glory. After the procession had proceeded over the magnificent floral displays, young children eagerly began scraping the brightly colored sawdust and put it into plastic bags. They were taking it home to play with.

We did a little shopping, had lunch at the dock, and headed back to San Marcos. This was a special day to remember--a great prep day for Resurrection Sunday.

Panajachel and a Volcano Eruption

Wednesday morning we were picked up at our hotel and transported with others in a comfortable, new Toyota van. After a mid-morning coffee stop, we took a different route back to San Marcos. Josh had suggested that we divert to another wonderful city, Panajachel. It is located west of San Marcos on Lake Atitlan. As we traveled comfortably in the morning sunshine, we were fortunate to see Mt Fuego suddenly erupt spewing fire and probably lava. We were miles away, but it was on the Internet the next day. It seems that this volcano erupts quite often with little damage to people or farms because of its remote location. We could see huge smoke funnels as we sped along the highway.

Eventually, we reached Panajachel; a much more commercial city than San Marcos, and the people there are less traditional. It even has a high-rise hotel. Courtney, Josh and Althea did some needed shopping for supplies on their own, while we bought a few gifts and found our way to a wonderful Internet cafe combined with a used/new bookstore (see photo). After meeting up with the others, Gloria was surprised by Courtney and Althea with beautiful bouquets of calla lilies, snapdragons, deep purple glads and other exotic flowers. We may our way toward the dock for a late lunch. Finally, it was time to board a little boat and head to San Marcos,
a 45 minute trip. Getting onto the boat was not Gloria's idea of fun. Also, the best time to be on Lake Atitlan is during the morning hours. During the afternoons, the water can be quite choppy. This trip was no exception. The bow was in constant up and down motion, but Gloria handled it. Courtney dutifully carried her mom's bouquets, which beautified our little cabin for the rest of our stay. Upon our welcome arrival at San Marcos, Gloria was able to pull her way out of the little old boat with the help of Jerry, other passengers, and the captain. It was certainly more graceful than her entry.

Antigua

We began our second week with Courtney, Josh and Althea by taking a Monday morning public shuttle ride up the steep ascent out of San Marcos to visit the ancient city of Antigua located near Guatemala City. It was a three-hour drive. This was the beginning of Easter Week, so schools were closed for spring break. Easter is Guatemala’s biggest celebration of the year, and the city was full of visitors and vendors.
Antigua is probably the city with the richest history in Central America and was once the third most important Spanish colony in the Americas. Its setting is majestic, nestled between three huge volcanoes: Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. We were awed by the farming that took place straight up the mountains and across deep valleys. The farms were marked out in different geometric shapes. Men leading horses with huge packs of vegetables, wood, and other items for the market slowly trudged up the mountain road and down the steep descents. The women had large bundles of merchandise in baskets, metal tubs, and/or bamboo baskets on their heads. The houses varied from concrete, to wood, and/or stone. Many had thatched roofs, while other roofs were tiled or were flat with corrugated steel. With strikingly clear visibility we could see great distances. Many roadside markets were busy setting up booths and displaying their wares. Our driver was adept at getting through the maze of curves, buses, motorcycles and pick up trucks. He dropped us and the other passengers in the big main square, which is a restful, shady, city park surrounded by picturesque, historic buildings with majestic arches. It felt like we were back in Italy or perhaps Barcelona. Hotel Aurora was just two blocks away, so toting our luggage was without difficulty. Six-year old Althea, a travel pro, was always eager to carry or pull her share of the load. She is fun to be with.

We passed several vendors and walked through forbidding black iron gates into the quaint, luxurious old hotel. A lovely, open-air garden with colored marble inlayed walkways surrounded a quadrangle of 20 charming rooms. Huge doors with old fashioned keys and crowned with transoms opened into each room. Big, steel barred windows graced the street, but at night, heavy shutters could be closed and locked from inside. The thick wooden shutters muffled the street noise. The gigantic entrance gate to the Aurora was locked at night, and we felt quite safe. There were no phones or TV’s in the room. A tastefully decorated hotel lounge with high ceilings contained a library, TV, computer (free Wi-Fi), and elegant comfortable furniture. A lovely working fountain in the middle of the immense garden added a special splash of class. Althea and another little girl found the fountain quite inviting. A large variety of gorgeous flowering bushes and plants were everywhere. Humming birds dropped in from on high to sip the nectar and darted from flower to flower. Contrast this with the lady (see photo below) washing her clothes by hand at the public laundry.

Each morning we were formally served a sumptuous continental breakfast at tables with white cloths. The food choices in Antigua were plentiful and every meal was delicious. We had lunch in a garden one day and supper on a roof top another. One tour with only Althea found us in a carriage pulled by a gaunt, tired looking horse. Althea could talk to the friendly driver in Spanish and relayed our questions. Jerry eagerly took many pictures, and Althea loved the ride. The driver stopped for each photo; the cobblestone streets precluded photography on the go. This would be the best city for testing anti-shake cameras.

We kept in contact with Josh and Courtney via cell phones. One could easily get lost in the underground maze of vendors. The high-end retail stores contrasted with the congested city marketplace provided fabulous and unique shopping experiences. Long daily lines at all of the banks, accompanied by armed guards, made us thankful for our U.S. monetary system.

We made time the last night to play some bridge with Courtney and Josh. They were both quick learners, Josh could not get enough of the game during our two-week stay with them. Althea preferred playing 3-13.