Weekend trip to Las Casas

We drove 3 hours on Saturday to the town of Las Casas. Normally when we visit there we sleep at our "empty" mission house. This time we decided to try out one of the local motels to see what it was like. Las Casas is normally a HOT area so we were welcoming the idea of sleeping at a place that had A/C and hot water. We had found such a place on our visit their last month and had good intentions of staying there this weekend. WELL, little did we know that the first weekend in May is the annual Fair in Las Casas!!! That meant lots of activities, and LOTS of people. We were shocked to hear that the motel was completely booked!! In Las Casas! ha We then found out that there were four other motels in town. We visited each one and they were booked as well. We finally found one motel that had ONE bed left! We took it. It was our only option considering that we had no camping supplies to stay at the mission house. We think that the reason they had this one room left was because no-one else wanted it! ha It was on the very front of the building facing the main road that leads in and out of town. Needless to say, it was quite noisy! There was no air, no hot water, and very little privacy. But, like always, and with a little help from some sleep aid & earplugs, we survived.

Sunday morning came early for us- 5:45 AM. We paid our bill- a whole Q85, (about $11.00 US) and started our day. The next photo is of David drinking his Super Cola at 6:15 am. This is in honor of our last team who just couldn't seem to get enough Super Cola while here. The brother's tried really hard to keep them with an endless supply!

We picked up two national missionaries who work in the Las Casas region- Bro. Marcario & Bro. Salvador. Bro. Macario's wife, Amalia, also joined us. This was a treat for me because very seldom do their wives go and I get to be around them. We traveled to the village of Sesajhal. The believers there have been meeting since January and recently began to build a church building. We had a wonderful service with them there.

Eating our Caldo lunch

Me with Amalia
David with Bro. Macario & Bro. Salvador

When we were leaving the village, the people gave us several things to take with us. They gave us many large squash. In K'ekchi' it is called c'un. We learned that new word. Many of the girls were trying to tell me how to cook it. They also gave us a sack full of plantains. But, the greatest thing they gave us was a chicken!! You can see Bro. Marcario holding it for the picture.

Once arriving back in Las Casas late Sunday afternoon we were happy to know that our original motel we wanted to stay at had a room open. The room was not as nice as the previous nights stay but it did offer A/C, very hot water, and was actually cheaper. The price there was only Q66 (around $8.00 US). About 30 minutes after we arrived, another missionary couple that we know, the Groff's, arrived to stay there as well. We were able to join them for dinner and had a great time of fellowship with them.

motel restaurant

dinner with Phyllis & Galen
Monday we attened the Pastor's Conference at the study center in Las Casas. We set up a mini LifeWay for the Pastor's with Bibles, Hymnals, Sunday School books, Concordences, and a few other things they wanted. After eating lunch and visiting, we made the 3 hour return trip back to Coban. We stopped by Sarita's in Raxruha to get some ice cream. They have been advertising these new shakes and we wanted to try one out. We loved the cafe mocha!

We were tired and sore by the time we returned home, but as always, we had a great time. Thanks for your prayers for our trip.