Our Weekend in Coban

We did a little traveling this past weekend to one of our favorite places in Guatemala- Coban.  We spent our first three year term living and serving there among the Kekchi people group.  I think we will always miss it but are thankful to get to return from time to time to visit there again.

The purpose of this trip was to attend a memorial service for a former retired IMB missionary who spent many years serving there.  Mr. Wendall Parker passed away back in June of this year.  He was one of our mentors when we arrived on the mission field and he invested much into our lives.  We were very thankful to be able to attend this time of celebration of his life and ministry with our Kekchi brothers and sisters.  We also enjoyed getting to visit with his wife Mrs. Jane over the weekend while there.  I'll post more about the service in my next post but first I'd like to share some other photos I took of our time there.

Along the way we stopped at one of our favorite little cafes, La Granja.  It is about 30 minutes outside of Coban.  They have a large play area for kids so we knew it would be fun for the boys to run and stretch their legs. We enjoyed coffee and cake while watching them play. 

Cafe La Granja

We call it "the scarecrow place" because the whole property is decorated with scarecrows.

the boys enjoyed some ice cream

Here they are on one of the play areas.  Cruz yelled out "look mama, this is our ship.  We are on our way to New York City!"  We have read several books lately about sailing to the New World so hearing him say that made me smile.

We began Saturday with a visit to the Dieseldorff Coffee Farm.  The Baptist property in Coban where we once lived is close by.  We miss the smell of coffee roasting almost daily and getting to take our guests there for tours.  They are no longer offering tours but still have a small gift shop.

David and the boys at Dieseldorff in Coban

They have some old equipment on display there.  The boys were fascinated by this old cash register. (Notice the sign in the background that says Don't Touch.  We didn't get to stay long, ha)

Before leaving I enjoyed looking back through their guest registry.  I spotted several names that I recognized of people we had taken there.  One of those was our friends Reagan and Malinda who visited back in September 2007.  That was a fun week!

Later in the day we drove out to the Chicoj Coffee Farm.  It is located just outside of town.  We have been there numerous times and often took our teams there before traveling back to Guatemala City at the end of their week.  It was fun to go back and visit again with our boys.  In addition to the coffee tour they also have a zipline tour.  The two go together.   We didn't tell the boys ahead of time and surprised them when we arrived.  They were very excited!

Ben getting on his gear

Cruz getting on his gear

two excited brothers!

me and my boys at the coffee farm

off to tour...

We were surprised to see many improvements since our last visit.  We had not been there since 2009.  They have added three new zip line stations and a swinging bridge. 

Cruz went with one of our guides.  Ben mostly rode with David and I went by myself.

David and a brave little Ben on the zipline.  We did a zip line back in March when our friends the Browns were here to visit and Ben was a little nervous.  This time he loved it and begged for more. 

Cruz at the coffee farm

coffee plants and banana trees

our family with one of our guides

David and Ben

our family enjoying the coffee/ zip line tour at Chicoj

me and Ben crossing the pond

the new swinging bridge that goes over the pond

hiking through the coffee plants

at the end of the tour you get served a cup of coffee

Ben on the carousel at the Coban mall

Cruz on the carousel at the Coban mall

On Saturday night we joined Mrs. Jane, her daughter LeAnne, and Mr. Wendall's sister-in-law for supper at Casa D’Acuña.  This restaurant is right next door to our old property.  We have eaten many meals there over the years and we loved getting to return there again with Mrs. Jane.  We did a lot of reminiscing around the table that night.

They have done a lot of remodeling since our last visit there.  One of the things they have added is a large fish pond near the entrance.  Ben loved watching the fish swim!

The memorial service was Sunday morning and then here are a few more photos I took before we headed home.

We can never go to the McDonald's in Coban without thinking of Ms. Fran.  She was our Kekchi language teacher who ate breakfast there just about every morning. 

the boys in front of the Coban sign outside the Plaza Magdalena mall

While in town we also got to visit with a missionary family we met earlier in the year.  They have five children and our boys loved getting to play with them.  I forgot to take a photo but we had a great time together.

Our weekend was fun.  We got to revisit some favorite places, reminisce about old memories, and make a few new memories too.  It was a trip we will not soon forget