After spending the first part of last week in the village of Nearar, we ended the week with some visits to the village of Lagunetas. We drove back down the mountain in Nearar last Wednesday in time to meet Dan and his group from Honduras for lunch in our town. We met them at a little restaurant that is near where we live. We enjoyed a good meal and fellowship around the table before I headed home with the kids and David headed to Lagunetas with them. Dan wanted to see some of the farms personally to see what the people grow, and ask some more questions about how they do their crops. He had a guy with him, Jimmy Stewart, who is a doctor. Jimmy is from our home area in Mississippi. We did not know him before but really enjoyed meeting him and spending time with him here in Guatemala. Jimmy wanted to do some door to door visits with the women to ask questions about their culture, to get an idea of their general health, to find out how they cook and clean, to learn about their water supply, etc. On Wednesday David visited with Jimmy and translated for him. Dan and his guys went out to see some farms.
On Thursday the boys and I joined the group. Ben and I went with Jimmy and a lady from the village and David and Cruz joined the guys in the farms. I really enjoyed getting to be in their homes and talking with the ladies. It was a first time for me since moving to this area. I learned a lot about them and how they live. We would end each visit by praying over them and their families. It was one of my most favorite days I have had in a while. It has been raining a lot lately so the trails were very muddy and slippery. I was nervous that I would fall while holding Ben and climbing up and down the slopes. Dionicia (our main contact the village) would carry him for me on the rough spots. I was thankful for that and very comfortable knowing that he was safe in her arms. She grew up on those trails and knows how to walk them.
When our time there was done we returned to our house to meet and try to debrief all that we had seen and learned. We brainstormed some ideas for future work, talked about our return visit, and prayed over our involvement in that village. Overall we felt it was a productive two days. We are continuing to build trust and relationships with the people there, both of which are very important in starting a new work.
We drove into Chiquimula for dinner and they returned to Honduras on Friday morning. We will make another visit to the village as a group in about two weeks. Please continue to pray for the people in Lagunetas, and the work we are trying to start there.
Obando, Jimmy, Dan, David, Ben, and Mauricio
Obando and Mauricio are Dan's helpers from Honduras. We love them, especially Cruz.
visiting one of the farms
me in one of the kitchens
Dionicia is on my left. She is the first person we befriended in this village.
Cruz enjoyed playing in the mud. He would pounce on every water puddle he saw. He had a fun time.
Ben hanging out with daddy
two kids playing with Lego's
Having lunch together at Dionicia's house. It was the first time they had fed us a meal. I think that is a positive.
They served us chicken soup with vegetables, tortillas, and a kool-aid drink. What I loved most about the meal was that they put the soup in the blue container shown above and we got to dip out just what we wanted. We could choose our piece of meat, what veggies we wanted, and how much broth to add to it. In Kekchi culture they give you your bowl already fixed. You have to eat what they give you. I loved the buffet style much better!
Both boys fell asleep on the ride home. I love moments like that!
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