Indigenous Encuentro 2012

As I have already mentioned we spent most all of last week in the town of Sayaxche attending the annual Indigenous Encuentro.  It took place at the Kekchi Baptist church in Sayaxche and was attended by about eight different people groups from several different Latin countries.  It was a great meeting.  Each group got to share about their work, the good they are doing, and the struggles they are having.  It was good for them to hear what others are doing and to learn from each other.  They had morning sessions, afternoon sessions, and worship services at night.  Here are few photos I was able to take-

back row Baptists, haha

This is Bro. Nahum from Honduras sharing about the Chorti work there.  He is the pastor that David goes visiting with on Wednesdays.

This group was from Mexico

I loved the colorful dress that the Mexico ladies wore.  I also like their head wraps.  You would not have to worry about having bad hair days if you lived with them. haha

a few of the Kekchi men during a small group discussion time

We had a session on Bible storying.  One of the stories told was about the lost sheep.  A lady decided to use Cruz as the sheep to act out the story.  She put him over her shoulder and carried him into the church.  It was really cute.

This is mostly the group from Mexico.  They are from Chihuahua, Mexico.

another photo of the colorful dress the Tarahumaras ladies wear

having a prayer time

Cruz had a lot of fun running around and playing.  You would think he personally knew everyone in the building.  He never meets a stranger and let everyone love on him.  He was so sweet.  This was our first road trip since having Ben.  I must say it went very well considering we had a two year old and a six week old.  Both boys traveled well, slept well, and ate well.  It normally takes us about seven hours to get there but took eight this time.  Cruz started running fever and threw up twice in the car.  It was a nasty mess, but we survived.  He was fine by the next day and you would never know he had been sick.  I am thankful for boys that travel well!

This is the group representing our area.  Four of the men are from Honduras and one is from Guatemala.  Next years meeting will take place in Copan Ruinas, Honduras.  Bro. Nahum (on the far right) will be hosting it.  We will be looking forward to all gathering again for another good meeting next April.

Our Trip to Aguateca

On Saturday we took a day trip to visit the Mayan ruins at Aguateca.  The ruins are located about 1.5 hours from Sayaxche'.  They are only accessible by boat.  It was a very scenic boat ride and we all thought it was our favorite part of the day.  Below is a photo of our group before we headed out-

David, Cruz, me, Miss Fran, Mrs. Jane, Mr. Wendall, Dr. McGowin, and Bro. Jim

 

We boarded our taxi boat along the Passion River right next to the ferry. I cannot remember why Cruz was so unhappy here because he really enjoyed the day.

A few homemade canoes we passed

We planned the trip to leave right about naptime for Cruz.  Here he is shortly after we left- sound asleep in his daddy's arms.  He slept most all of the way going and also took his afternoon nap on the return home.  It seems most all of our trips lately are planned around morning and afternoon naps.

Most of the time the water was wide open, but sometimes it was narrow.

This is what it looked like as we got near the park entrance.  The boat driver had to cut the motor off and paddle us the rest of the way in.  It was a little snaky looking to me.

Here are a few of our group exiting the boat.

We quickly learned that there was going to be a climb to reach the top.  The guide told us a little over 100 steps.  It was actually 322 steps to reach the top level where most of the ruins were.  That's 322 wooden, steep, slippery, unstable steps.  Yes, we were a little sore the next few days. haha

We took a stroller just in case we could use it but left it at the welcome center.  We ended up carrying Cruz up those steps and all around the park.  Have I mentioned lately just how heavy he is!

I carried him to the top of one of the ruins.  He had fun running around once we got there.

Another favorite part of the day was getting to hear all of the howler monkeys.  It can be a little scary at first, but it is very cool.  We did get to see a few monkeys and even saw a tiny baby one in a tree with its mother.

They sold a few hand-carved items at the welcome center.  We bought Cruz a canoe and paddle as a souvenir from our visit there.

Heading back down to the boat

Miss Fran and I before we returned to Sayaxche'

We had taken picnic supplies but ended up eating our meal on the boat ride back.  We returned to Sayaxche in the afternoon with plenty of time to rest before we all got together again for supper.  It was a very fun day and we were glad to get to experience it with special friends. 

Anniverary Service at Las Pacayas

On Friday night David traveled to the village of Las Pacayas for an anniversary service.  The anniversary services are usually a three day event.  They really put a lot in to these services.  They invite all of their fellow leaders and pastors, as well as inviting all of the neighboring churches (from all denominations).  In addition to being their anniversary, the services are also similar to revival services we have in the States.  At the beginning of the celebration (usually on Friday night) they have a processional to kick off the event.  They march into the church all of their flags and the Bible.  They have many flags.  They have the Guatemala flag, the Christian flag, flags for the men, women, youth, and children. It is a big display.  At the end of the weekend they will have another processional to march these things out.  Here are a few photos and videos from the service-

They play a different song as each of these are coming in.  When it is time to march in the Guatemala flag they play the national anthem.  Guatemala's national anthem is very long!  Here is a short video of it. You can click on the link above to hear the entire song.

They usually receive big offerings during these services as well.  Here is a video of some of them taking their

offering down. 

We get invited to many of these special services.  They are usually very long, but we always enjoy being with the people and sharing in their excitement. 

A Little Family Fun

On a recent trip to buy groceries we made it a family day and decided to spend a few hours together having some fun.  We began by having lunch at the Burger King in Santa Elena.  Some friends had mentioned that they have a great playland that is perfect for smaller kids.  Cruz is still a little young for it, but he did have fun crawling around and going down the slide.  Once he starts walking I am sure we will be making many return trips there for him to play. 

  

We then crossed the bridge over to Flores.  We enjoyed strolling around the lake, and also cooling off a while in the water.  We took Cruz's float and let him play in it.  He and David both had a fun time!

And what outing would not be complete without a few family photos to remember it by- 

I think he had a fun time!  I know we did.