Hanging with the Martinez clan

   Two weeks after Tikal I spent a lot of time with the extended family of my host family, going to beaches and hanging out at Orfa`s sister`s house in Santa Elena, the neighboring city. The house is very large and hosts what I believe is Orfa`s sister, her husband and children, and Orfa`s mother, but I am not sure. One night during holy week we all went over there to eat dinner and hang out. There were about 7 or 8 kids ranging from infancy to about 8 years old and many aunts and uncles. We all greeted eachother and I figured it was time to move on from the handshake to the kiss on the cheek greeting. I was bad at it. I tried too many times to just go in quick and get it out of the way, but that ended up in my crashing my cheek into the sides of many of the women there. I was usually embarrassed and I am sure that they could tell. I have been going softer and trying to find the line between the full on headbutt and the awkward staying too long too close to the face.

   After a classic guatemalan dinner of soup and hen we hung out and watched some television. I saw the kids playing outside on the large front porch and decided to go see what they were up to. They were all playing a very organized game of school. The older girls were pretending to be the teachers while the younger boys were making drawing and colorings. When the boys would finish they would hand them in for their teacher to sign and grade. This went on for a while and I was getting bored so I decided to fake punch one of the kids. The next couple of hours were filled with fake fights, pretending to be robots, and screaching little children. It was a blast and I was very content.When night had fallen the Martinez`and I piled back into the Tourismo for the twenty minute ride back home.

   The next night I had made plans to hang out with Ovi`s brother from Guatemala City because he was in town for holy week. I got to Flores at about five o`clock and just hung out playing tourist around town. He called me at about 7 and we went to a restaurant called Terrazzo. We entered the establishment and walked up the stairs to the balcony over looking the lake. Juancho said hi to everyone that was working there and we sat down with our menus. It would become clear to me in a matter of hours that Juancho knew everybody in Flores. After one of the chefs and his brother came over and sat at our table to chat for a bit we ordered. The chef left and the brother stayed and it was fun listening to the conversation of the two. They were both really nice and had the ability to speak in English but instead spoke in Spanish so that I could practice. When they would notice my eyes locked and mouth slightly open they would restate what they had just said so that I would understand it. I thoroughly enjoyed my excellently seasoned and moist steak sandwhich served on a torpedo roll and felt very sluggish afterwards. Juancho and I left the brother in the restaurant and went over to a different restaurant to meet Juanchos chino friends. We arrived at los raices where there was a large table of  people about to get up and go for the night. These were Juanchos friends and after a bit of talking they decided that they were just going to go to bed for the night. It was around 9 o`clock and I wanted to go to bed too. 

   I had rented out a hammock at Los Amigos and was eager to go back and sleep as I had promised the Martinez` that I would be back by  five thirty in the morning to go to the river at six. Instead Juancho and I went back to Terrazzo to find out the place had already closed. Juancho shouted up for the Chef`s sister to come open the door and she did so. We went upstairs and hung out for a bit with the chef, his mother, his sister, and a couple of other girls that Juancho had hollered down to the street to come up. We had a couple of beers on the house and by this time I was supremely tired. I got up and said goodnight to the gang and headed back to Los Amigos. I laid down in my hammock and was wide awake. Hammocks are not comfortable. And on top of their blatant uncomfortableness there was absolutely no breeze where I was. I very much regretted the whole situation and decided to walk around for a bit. I got up and walked outside to the shady streets of Flores and felt less than safe. I walked over to the Ochaeta`s place hoping to see a light on in their living room. I saw nothing and contemplated spending the night curled up under some bench. I thought how anything would be more comfortable that the hammock. I looked at the buildings lining the street and thought how easy it would be to climb them and sleep on the roofs. I then thought about the potentioal danger of things crawling on my face and the police finding me and sending me to prison for things I didn´t do. It was late and my imagination was running full force.

   I finally went back to the hostel and slept in the fetal position after a couple of minutes figuring out the best position to try to sleep in a hammock. I ended up sleeping a couple of hours and when my alarm went off at 4:45 in the morning I quickly got up, made sure I had all of my things, and went to walk around the island to look for coffee. Unfortunately, if the sun is not up, the stores are not open. I then began to look for a Tuk Tuk but remembered that they also do not run as long as the sun is down. I said a quick prayer worried that I would not be able to get to the Martinez´in time when just then a taxi pulled up and asked if I needed a lift. I said for shizzle and hopped in. I arrived at the house at around 5:20 and saw that no lights were on and the house was completely quiet. The tourismo was still there so I knew that they had not left and decided not to wake them up. I waited until I heard movement about thirty minutes later and then knocked on the front door. When Ismael opened the door he told me that they had decided to leave at 7 rather than 6. I imagined how wonderful it would have been to have slept another hour in the hammock and then started getting ready for the day.
   I contemplated whether or not I should look like a complete tourist and bring my goofy vibram toe shoes and thought that the benefits of not having to feel the rock, muk, and dead fish of the river absolutely outweighed the costs of being made fun of and looked at differently. I put them on, got my towel and some other things and then waited on the couch for the rest of the crew to get ready. We drove to the sister´s house in Santa Elena where I was greeted with being punched and demands to do the robot. I told them that it was way to early for any of that said I would do it at the river. We picked up the kids and aunts and uncles and who knows what else and all headed up to Poptun for the day. After about two hours of mostly sleeping on my part we arrived to the town where we stocked up on goodies and stretched our legs out. A man stuck his head through the back window and asked what our plans were for the afternoon. Ismael told him that we had planned on going to the river and he informed us of an excellent spot called "profe". The man gave us directions and after little discussion we were off to "profe".  After another 45 minutes of unpaved dirt roads we arrived at a little house with a homemade sign that said profe with an arrow pointing to the right. We pulled up and paid the lady who lived at the house as the man who told us about it pulled in behind us. He showed us the way from the house and after a couple of farms we were overlooking a small river, about 15 yards wide. Surrounding the lake were places to cook, a suspension bridge and a small field where people could play soccer and volleyball.

   We enjoyed a full day of rope swinging, climbing vines of large trees, soccer, and delicious meat and vegetables until the rain started to come. We hurredly packed up and were about to head back. Hansel and a bunch of the cousins and I piled on top of the tourismo and rode the forty-five minutes back into town being pelted my rain but enjoying the view.

   I went back to the Ochaeta´s to spend the weekend. On Saturday I went to a park with Albana and Juancho called Ixpanpajul. It is very close to Flores and I had heard it was a good place to do a canopy tour. It was a relatively low canopy and was a little disappointed when I realised that if I fell I would probably just shatter a leg and not die. I think the whole thrill of those things is the thought in the back of your head that if one of the zip-lines snapped your life would be over before you even knew it.  I did however get to see a butt-ton of howler monkeys that were in one of the trees next to me. They are cute and I was happy I got to see them so close. I had forgotten to bring my camera and was bummed when I saw all of the monkeys. It was a fun day though and I was glad that I went. The next day was Easter which was undoubtedly the best Easter service I had attended.

   It was held at the Ochaeta´s house and the attendees included two other missionary couples and an older womam all from the United States who did work in the Petén. We started out by singing some worship sons along with a cd while looking at cue cards that Derida had made which held the lyrics. It was nice and was good to be able to sing with other people in English to God. I hadn´t done it in a while and it was good for me to feel that fellowship. The man that Derida had asked to give the message started out by saying it was going to be a little different than a classic Easter message since the families were all full time missionaries and I was excited about this. There were a couple of things that really stuck out about the message and these are they:
1. He started out by saying that when the Bible was formed we were the ones who had numbered it and back in Jesus´ times the scriptures were not numbered. He said that when people wanted to referance scripture they would say the first couple of lines to the scripture that they wanted to quote or bring to attention. He then read the scripture of when Jesus said "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" He told us to imagen Jesus Christ on the cross shouting this out and I had always wondered why Jesus had said this. Jesus was not simply crying out to God, but he was in his dying breaths referencing prophecy about himself. Isaiah 22 starts out with these same words and it is a prophecy about Jesus´ bones being out of place and his hands and feet being pierced among other things. For the knowledgeable Jewish person to hear this in His day must have been absolutely eye-opening.
   The second was John 20:11-18


 ¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.  ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
   “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
 ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
   Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
 ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
   She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
 ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
 ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

These verses show just how much Jesus cares about us and  wants to comfort us. He described how Jesus was in the process of ascending to the Father to claim His seat in glory when He heard the cries of one of his beloved. Jesus stopped in the middle of His greatest achievement to go be with His father to comfort her. This absolutely blew me away and was a crying a good amount at this point. His words were beautifully chosen and I was honored to be able to hear him talk. 

   After this, we all prayed for eachothers missions and that felt very good too. We had a large lunch which was excellent and returned to the living room to share stories of what it was like to mission in the Petén. It was really good for one of the couples as they had not had a lot of contact with the other two. I could see how wonderfully therapeutic it was for the couples to share stories and be able to comfort one another. A lot of the stories had to do with how gossip would tear apart their missions every couple of months and how it was difficult to restart after this gossip had died down. Another reoccuring theme was the inability to help people when they saw violence. One man recanted how he had seen a man gunned down in a semi truck and when he ran to help, was horse collared back and held down so that he would not be involved. If there is a gringo on site at an accident they are assumed guilty and they would spend either a long time in prison or a lot of money to get out. It really was beautiful to see just how wonderfully the couples interacted together and had listening ears and good suggestions towards everyones problems and st backs. It was a wonderful example of community and what church out of a building looks like. I thought of how many missions probably break down because they have nobody to comfort them in times of trouble. The last thing that caught my attention was how the missionaries yearned to be viewed as just another Christian. It seemed they hated the stigma that comes with being a full time missionary and they wished that other Christians would understand that it is just another calling that would be equivalent to the calling to be a buisnissman living devoted to Christ. They truly were wonderful down to earth people that didn´t stayed away from "Christian-ese" and acted like everyday Christians. 


   One last story that the man giving the lesson told was about a man who was in prison for preaching Christianity in Soviet Russia. He said how the man would give up his food and blankets for the prisoner next to him when it was cold. The man had been preaching the word of God to him for a while and when it was immenent that he would soon die, the preacher begged him to accept Christ into his life. The man said that he would accept it if only he knew and could see the type of person that Jesus Christ was. The preacher through tears told the man that Jesus acted like himself. I thought what an awesome way to live as an example of Christ to the world to say that Christ acted like you did.
   
   On Monday I went back to school at 10:00 ready to sit in on Victors natural science class. He started talking about people with epilepsy and asked if I knew what caused the seizures. I said I did and spent the next 45 minutes talking about neurons, sodium-pottassium pumps, neurotransmittors and the corpus collosum to a bunch of half interested fifth graders. It was awesome practice for my Spanish and thanked Victor afterwards. We then went into the sixth grade where he asked me to talk about anorexia and proper diet and I was delighted to do so. I spent the next hour or so talking about the power behind words and was grateful for my extensive learning in these subjects. I spent too long talking and there was about four minutes left of school when we got to the fourth grade. I left happy and Victor said that I could talk in his classes the rest of the week if I would like. I said that I would love too and was excited for the next day.

  Tuesday arrived and when I walked in to Victors class ready to knowledge vomit all over the children and was a bit bummed when he started teaching math. I asked the kids what was going on and they told me that it was testing week which meant they were not going to have science class until Friday. I asked Victor about it and he said he forgot and that he was sorry. I was bummed, and went back to Flores to hang out for a bit because I was bored at home. I went to Rauls travel agency and had an excellent opportunity to talk more with him. He asked me if I was a Christian and told him that I was and was happy when I told him that I was didn´t belong to a denomination. He told me that he was baptized on venice beach more than 20 years ago through a church in California. He said that he had fallen off his walk and was trying to get back and be right with God. He told me some problems that his family was having and I told him that I would pray for him and his walk and everything that was going on. He thanked me and I began to walk away when I felt like I should pray for him there. I told him I was going to pray for him now and I got to lay hands on Raul and pray with him. It felt good and I am feeling hopeful for Rauls return to his all loving all knowing heavenly Father. 

   On Wednesday, yesterday, I had an great opportunity to talk to Nelson which was really given to me by God. I went to the center to hang out for the day since testing was still going on at the school. At around 10:30 I was asked if I wanted to help the guys cut down some branches and palm fronds in the forest to help build some shade for the papapya trees. I said I would and got into the back of the pick up truck with Nelson. It was just Nelson and I in the back, with another kid and Angel in the cab. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that this was my time to challenge Nelson and spent the whole ride to the forest praying that God would give me the right words for the return trip. After loading all of the Triangle Palm fronds into the bed of the truck It was time to talk. I told Nelson that I had been watching the guys for a while and had seen that he was a natural born leader. I told him that when I saw the kids in the neighborhood on the soccer field they looked to Nelson to see how to act. I asked him if he believed what the Bible said about Jesus and he said he did. I told him he had an awesome opportunity to show these guys what it means to live like Christ and said that because he was a leader he had a responsibility to show what it meant. I asked if he had a Bible and he said yea and said that he understood what I was saying. I think I may have come off a little strong and put some pressure on him, but I know that he can really affect his community. 

   Nelson later asked me if I wanted to go swimming with him and two other guys in the afternoon and I said that I would love to. I went to his house at 2:30 and five guys rode on three bikes to the lake front in San Benito. There was a pier where a bunch of locals were jumping off of and we had a good time skipping rocks and just hanging out. I saw a series of two islands that led to Flores and asked if I swam to Flores if they would take a Tuk-Tuk to come pick me up. They said that they would and after a bit of contemplating and figuring plans out, I told them to meet me in Flores in an hour and a half. This is a map of the swim http://tinyurl.com/66g2822 I got pretty scared halfway between the first and second island and prayed a bunch that I would make it. I had no idea how far it was but told God that I would give him glory if I survived. I had plenty of energy, but the sun was going down and I had not swam for distance in a while. He got me through and thanked Him when I got out of the water. It was a lot of fun and was grateful when I finally made it to Flores. The worst part about the whole thing was walking through the half-calf deep much surrounding the two small islands. I made it in an hour and twenty minutes and waited for the guys to come in the Tuk Tuk. They came about 20 minutes later and I was ready to go home and eat. I thanked them for an awesome day and told them I wasn´t going to play soccer today.

   When I got back to the Martinez´ house I rested for a bit and took a shower. When I got out I was reminded by Franklin that it was wednesday and we were going to the church to pray for the community. It was a really uplifting time and a handful of youth showed up and I was happy to see that. There was a youth leader and was happy to see him hanging out with the kids afterwards. It was encouraging to see that there was a youth group and prayed a lot that the kids in it would be a good light in their communities.

    After the Bible study at the center today I came to Flores to write and reflect. After writing for awhile I went back to cool beans for a coffee and Nachos and reflection time. The Purpose Driven Life outlines five parts on your life to look into to see what you should do with your future. They are spiritual gifts, heart, activities, personality, and experience. I am going to write what I wrote down for these and would absolutely love insight from whoever reads this to tell me what they think my strengths and weaknesses are. I am in an honest search of what makes me me and need the input of fellow Christians.

 Gifts: Gentleness, compassionate, patient, funny, good listener, meeting new people.

Heart: Youth/Young Adults/High Schoolers, acting, physical activity, the Truth of Christ

Abilities: Leading, encouraging, physical sports, music, making people smile, swimming, soccer, teaching swim lessons, acting, climbing, writing, taling, spanish?, organizing events, making decisions, trusting God, having a good attitude, mimicking, and lying...which I think good can be brought from that one.

Personality- Outgoing and unreserved.

Weaknesses: Selfish, vain, and bad at following up were the three big ones I thought of. 

I haven´t gone through experience, but I will. If you would like to tell me if I am not good at some of the things I said or if you think there are other things I missed I would love to hear. Thanks a bunch!

Dear God, Thank you for the opportunities You give me to be Your worker. I pray that I can constantly keep in mind that every interaction with anyone is to show what kind of a person You were. I pray for Raul and his family and that You can heal pain that is going on there as well as Raul´s personal walk with You. I pray that He sees You waiting with arms wide open waiting to accept Your lost son. God, I pray that You can give me a specific dirrection with my life and that I can walk faithfully next to You. I pray for Nelson and ask that You can work in His life and build him into a leader for his people. Thank You for this time and opportunity You have given me in Guatemala and I pray that my time here was not wasted. I love you God and I thank You profusely for having grace on me, a rebellious and sinful being. Thank You for all of the people who are praying and supporting me and I pray that you reward their diligence to You. 


Amen.

The second, longer, part of stories.

   So, a few short days later I went back to Flores on a friday afternoon and got some info on Tikal. I was told there would be a bus leaving at 4:30 in the morning to go to Tikal. I had read that watching the sunrise is the best part and assumed that this bus would get me there before sunrise. It was early in the afternoon and I figured I had time to get a cup of coffee befrore I needed to find a place to sleep. I went to a beautiful cafe overlooking the lake. The first thing I saw as I walked in was the box of free condoms sitting on the bar counter and I knew imediately that I was clearly at a large tourist spot. I walked down the steps to a palm frond covered patio. Music was playing over speakers encased in fishing nets and I took a seat at a second bar where I had a great view of palms, the lake, and an island behind that. It was beautiful and breezy and I couldn´t help but smile. I felt like a tourist and it was a good feeling. I ordered a coffee and sat there looking at the lake while enjoying a chapter of Purpose Driven Life. I felt very at peace and was content.
   After I finished I decided that it was time to find a place to sleep. I had read about a hostel called Los Amigos and the prices and atmosphere sounded right. I eventually found the place after asking a couple of people where it was and finally arrived at its bright yellow gates. I rang the doorbell and the gate clicked open for me an instant after the woman at the front desk pulled on a thick cord of rope hanging above her head. I entered and asked if I could have a hammock for the night. She obliged and asked if I wanted to see where I would be sleeping before I paid. We walked down 2 steps and walked into a covered courtyard filled with people of all races mostly speaking English. There was an Isreali talking on his iphone, a group of americans sitting at tables that were raised and next to the hammocks and a group of europeans smoking and talking over a firepit that was sunken and shaded. Behind them was a bar and large tables filled with travelors reading, drinking and eating. It was all very busy and very open to the hammock area. I had a bag with clothes, money, and my phones and decided that a room would be better. The hammocks were three dollars a night and the private rooms with a key and lock were twelve. I decided on the private room and was relieved when I walked in and saw a fan and a double bed. I dropped my stuff off, hid my money, cell phone, and camera under my mattress and slid my credit card behind a picture frame to ensure that I would still have money if everything else was stolen. I walked into the courtyard area ordered a glass of wine and a coffee and journaled a bit.


   I felt a pain in my stomach and realized that a lunch of two coffees and wine was insufficient and it was time for an early dinner. I got up and walked around the main streets until I found a sushi restaurant. I thought it was a gamble but decided to go in anyways. I was brought up to the balcony overlooking the water and walked past some locals and offered a "buen provecho." I sat down at a table one away from another white traveler on her ipad. When she put it down I asked if she wanted company and she said sure. I was happy because eating alone is never something I enjoy. I ordered shrimp tempura thinking that it was at least fried and would take out whatever nastiness was found in dirty lake fish. She was from France and had been studying Spanish in Mexico City. She was traveling through Flores waiting to catch a bus to Antigua to meet her parents. I asked if we could speak in Spanish and she obliged. We quickly reverted back to English, finished our meals and went to the bus stop. I wished her happy travels and went back to Los Amigos.
I had read that I needed to try Guatemala´s award winning rum, Ron Zacapo, and asked if they had it at the bar. They did not and I felt like a snob when I said never mind then and left. I walked past a restaurant across the street and was drawn in by the live spanish guitar and vocals that were diffusing into the street. I walked in and ordered a glass of Ron Zacapo and took a seat on the couch. Carlos had a very soothing voice and guitar skills that comes with 45 years of practice and a ponytail. I sat there and thoroughly enjoyed my glass of Ron while listening to Carlos. I asked Carlos if he wanted anything to drink and he said that he was fine. He played a beautiful version of "Something" by the Beatles and I felt like I could have died with happiness right there. When he finished we chatted for a bit and I went back into Los Amigos where I sat down to journal a bit more. After I put my things in the room I went to the Los Amigos mingling area and was asked by Sarah, a medical student from San Francisco, if I was coming to the bar. I was confused for a bit since it was obvious that I was standing not 10 feet from a bar and said yes with a confused tone.
   We left Los Amigos with her three other doctor friends and two hippies from the states. We were led to a small bar filled with Americans who were boisterous already and I offered that we should go to Las Puertas, the bar I had been to. We stayed and talked for a while and I got to know them fairly well. They were volunteering in Antigua doing medical work and learning Spanish. We talked about everything from politics to religion and they were genuinly interesting and comfortable people. Sarah has started a non profit in Cuba and asked if I wanted to teach English there. I said I would think about it and we all left to go to Las Puertas. I talked to Carlos for a bit and saw some pictures of him on the wall playing from years back. I asked him how long he had been playing here and he told me that I didn´t want to know. He was a tri-athlete and there were pictures of him competing in that as well. I left the bar early to get to bed so I could get an early start the next morning.

   My room was terribly hot as the fan had four settings, off, half-off, half-on, and low. I was sweating bullets and stressed out because I wanted a good sleep so that I could enjoy the next day. I got about two hours of sleep after three hours of worrying and woke up promptly at 4:00 I was ready at 4:15 and waited eagerly with the other half-awake travelers. I walked outside when I heard the other travelers and got on my bus leaving the other travelers behind. I forgot that the company would be running on Guatemala time and it arrived at 5:10. I was worried that I wouldn´t get to see the sunset and after my bus made 5 more stops around Flores I knew I would not see it. We arrived at around 7:30 and were offered a breakfast of coffee and peanuts. I enjoyed them as best as I could and then got up to meet the tour guide.
   As we started our journey through the vine-ridden jungle the group was enchanted by the voice of Luis Oliveros, a native to the Tikal area. His English was a mixture of South-African, British, American, and Australian dialects mixed into a wonderfully entertaining man. He was amazingly knowledgeable about the area and went as far as refrencing National Geographics from the 70s and 80s. He is a wild life photographer and studied biology at the local University. He is finishing a book on the wildlife of the Peten and was excited this morning because his motion covered cameras "covered in jaguar piss" had gotten about thirty pictures of a female "shaking her ass all around." He outlined the wildlife, architecture, and history of the Mayan people beautifully and painted a wonderful picture of life in the Mayan period. We learned all about all of the trees, and spices that grew in the area. He bent down and plucked a small leaf from the ground and handed it to us to smell. It was natural cilantro and was absolutely wonderful smelling. After looking left Luis noticed a trail of ants and stomped the ground four times. We walked over to the ant hill where the warrior ants were coming out. He picked one up and it proceeded to bite him as we looked in awe at the size of the insect. After a few apologies for coarse language he let the ants down and sucked the blood off of his finger. He took us to all of the pyramids and said that they were all aligned with the solstices and equinoxes and faced away from the rising sun. We were allowed to walk to the top of nearly all of them which was tiring after a bit because of the forty five degree angle of the steep steps. He showed us how the servants would carry the king to the top of the pyramids in a zig zag pattern that resembled a snake crawling up. Luis told about the feathers that the king would wear so that when he was at the top and the sun was rising his shadow would reach out to the people. He told us to picture the completely cleared out forest (by fire) and the colors of the temples and pyramids bouncing off of each other to create an ancient Las Vegas.

   As we walked farther into the Jungle we would see the tops of other temples that we would soon visit. Temple IV was the largest at 230 feet and towered above the jungle. From here, three other temples were visible peaking over the trees. The last stop on our tour was the major acropolis of Tikal. The area where the rich and famous of the ancient world would dine, play games, and be entertained. It was absolutely huge and as I walked through the buildings I felt like I was seven years old again exploring Tonto Creek with Patrick. That is the one thing that I miss the most while eating, drinking, and exploring this country. All of the interesting stories from travelers and strangers can´t amount to the love and fun that I would have with Pat. Whoo! Had to get that out. I ran out of space on my memory card and bout a spare from a man in the park. I paid a little too much in hindsight but am glad I bought it. I was tired and decided to head back to the Jaguar Inn where I would spend the night. It was just one oclock in the afternoon but needed to rest. I paid for a tent for the night as the rooms ran at something like 100 dollars and that was much to pricey. I enjoyed a pasta carbonera dinner and a gatorade and inquired about the sunrise tours. Luis had told me to just wait outside at 4:30 in the morning and a tour guide would meet me. I wanted to be safe though and asked at the front desk. They said it would cost me 45 dollars for the tour guide plus the cost of an extra ticket. I asked if there was any other way and they said in lowered voices that I could pay the guards 100 quetzales (12 bucks) and they would let me through. I decided that I wanted to do this until I thought about it for a while. I remembered reading in proverbs or psalms how God hates bribery and it was apparent that it was indeed bribery. I remembered reading it a while back and thinking who from the upper middle class bribes? Does that even happen today? I figured it wouldn´t apply to me and laughed to myself while recollecting these thoughts. I wanted to justify it but figured it wasn´t worth it.
   I was just waking up from an outside seated nap charging my camera battery when a girl walked up and asked me if I wanted to accompany her into the park later. I said of course but was weary of the details because it was in Spanish. I told her I was going to go for a swim and that I would be ready when I came back. I walked to the Inn next door and paid the front desk lady for a towel and entrance to the pool. Remember that every place I go there are jungle trees surrounding the area and every building is covered in palm fronds. The pool was beautiful and I quickly bathed and went back to the Jaguar. Sonia had been working on the east coast of Guatemala for the past month at an orphanage. She was from Spain and her accent was fun to listen to. We walked throught the Jungle and chatted about what we were doing and sat down in the middle of the acropolis to rest. The shadows were beautiful at this time and there were very few tourists. The atmosphere was wonderful and I was again very happy to be there seeing the impossible seeming architecture and forest, smelling the dirt mixed with perfume, feeling the grass underneath me and hearing the sounds of a hundred different birds and mammals. I closed my eyes to focus on my other senses in hopes of remembering them all. We stood and walked to temple IV to watch to sun be devoured my the lush forest. There was nobody else at the top of Temple IV and we sat there in silence staring at the beauty.


When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee; How great Thou art!
How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
-How Great Thou art, second stanza
   The sun was setting on the other side of the Temple, but it was blocked by scaffolding and do not cross signs. We decided to ignore all of that and went to the other side where we saw two Americans watching howler monkeys have a verbal territorial battle from a top the trees. One guard was next to them so we figured it was okay. This species is deafeningly loud. When I first heard them I thought it was Jaguars until Luis told us the truth and informed us that they can be heard clearly for up to 3 miles. The sun was just turning colors when a different guard told my and the Spaniard that we had to go to the other side. He happily informed us that the others had paid Q20 and unless we wanted to pay we had to go. We had talked earlier about the blatant corruption and we knew that the other wasn´t going to pay. We went back and got kicked out 2 more times until the guard said if we went back he would kick us out of the park. We got to see the sun lay itself down and it was a very stunning sight. We left and I was thankful I was with her because I had no idea how to get back. We both had flashlights which was helpful as the only other light was reflecting off of Orions belt and the occasional glow of a firefly. We got back to the Jaguar Inn and I saw my doctor friends eating and watched the Spaniard go back to her room.
   I sat down with the doctors and wanted to tell them all about Tikal but they were going on the sunrise tour. I decided that I would talk to the concierge and ask if there was a legitimate but cheaper way to do it. I asked if I could take the tour but only go to the top of the Temple to watch it. They said that I would have to leave the park after the sunrise at 6:30 and I said that was fine. I knew that it was fishy sounding since I ended up only paying Q200. I later found out from my host Dad that the whole sunrise tour is one big bribe and the park doesen´t even open until 7. I feigned suprise but knew that night there was something telling that night not to do it and that it wasn´t right. I told the doctors that I would be joining them and they were happy. They had an extra bed in their room so I spent the night there. We got up early and walked to the top of Temple IV. It was very misty and the fog permitted no visibility of the sunrise.
Okay, I need to go on a little tangent right now. After I wrote that last paragraph I was told that the internet café was closing in 10 minutes. I left and walked around for a bit to get change for a tuk tuk because I only had a 100 quetzal bill. I got some change at Los Amigos and went to where the tuk tuks usually hang out. I didn´t see any and figured that since it was night I might as well just pay 20q extra and take a taxi. I walked up to two men standing in front of a taxi figuring that one of them was the taxi driver and I was right. When I got close I saw that the other man was the old guy from the travel agency who told me all about Tikal and El Mirador. He greeted me with a big smile and we chatted for a bit. I told him I was going home to Colonia Tikal and he said that he would share the taxi with me because he was going to a house on the way. He asked me how Tikal was and I told him that it was marvelous and that I loved every second of it. He told me that he had gotten back from one of the mirador trips today and that he had guided two Australians. He was really excited and opened up his little bag and showed me a letter that one of the girls wrote about him. She wrote it to the agency saying that he was the most knowledgeable tour guide and that they would absolutely recommend him to everyone. He showed me his favorite part which said that he was a great cook. I told him about Luis Oliveras and he smiled big and said ¨Not that I want to sound like I am the guy, but he was one of my students, I taught him English.¨ He told me about how Luis used to serve cold drinks as a boy at one of the inns. When we were almost at where Raul was staying he told me that he actually lives in Santa Ana and is giving a talk at a house for a sort of alcoholics anonymous. He told me about how he used to be a drunk but eventually got out of it. I commended him on his work and thanked him. I plan on going back to the travel agency soon to talk more with him as he is very interesting. He told me that if I wanted to ever go to el mirador to tell him and he would give me an excellent deal. I will pray about it.
Back to Tikal: I was a little upset about the mist, but not really because I sort of knew that it was still illegal no matter how many people were there and I felt like I should not have done it. I am still week when it comes to obeying God, but I am working at it and strive to pass each test he allows. I spent some time with a kid named Kevin from New York who was studying Spanish in Antigua. I walked around the acropolis or metropolis, whatever I called it before and found so many more buildings. I just kept walking more and more and it was almost overwhelming how much there was to look at. I loved every bit of it and would love to return with family and friends some day. As long as our guide is Luis.

   I saw the Spaniard come back and we chatted for a bit. She was spending the afternoon in Flores then flying back to Spain. I said I would call her when I got back to show her around and she was happy about that. I ate lunch with Kevin and a couple from the states. The guy used to be a chef in Las Vegas and told us some neat stories about that. He was a soft spoken white haired man in his 40s and reminded me a lot of Jim Gaffigan. I didn´t tell him that tho. He told us how the high rollers in Vegas were usually just members of the Japanese mafia and other groups that wanted to launder money through a legit and easy operation. Vegas was the perfect place because the organizations would lose millions to the casinos and the mobsters would get clean money out in the process. Me and Kevin were going to go bathe when we saw Luis in the bar area. It was a Sunday morning and he was excited because he wasn´t giving tours that day. I went up and talked to him a little bit more and he asked for my email address so that he could send me a copy of his book when he finishes it and publishes it in May. I said of course and hope that he does indeed send it. It would be a nice birthday gift. He told us that there was a big soccer match between the two rival teams of the area and that we should come and watch it. We said we absolutely would and watched him fill his water bottle with Ron Zacapo and headed towards the match.

   After talking for a bit, Kevin and I decided to go to the game. We walked past a no authorized personnel sign and into a small neighborhood of local homes. We walked past a basketball court and onto a small road walled by large trees and vines. When we got halfway down the road we were relieved when we heard the Fox 40 Classic. He smiled at my reference towards the type of whistle and asked if I was a lifeguard as well. We got to the match and sat on a cliff of about 3 meters overlooking the game. There were trees all around the field and the ball kept getting lost in the forest. When the players would kick the ball into the trees, the spectators would sneer, “Los monos no juegan hoy!” We watched the first half and went back to the inn to take a dip in the pool and rest for a bit.

   Our bus was coming at 2 o´clock and I had remembered that I lost my ticket to get back on the bus. I told the driver my situation and he hesitantly let me on the bus. He said that we would have to go back to the agency where I bought my ticket and make sure that I had actually done so. On the bus we talked to two Australians. They were really nice and I learned a lot about kangaroos. There used to be a show in Australia that was pretty much Lassie but with a kangaroo. I also learned about Australian Football and they say it is boring. They had traveled Europe for the past 6 months and were now touring all of the Americas. They started in Argentina and were working their way up. They said that by the time they finish it will end up being a year long trip. They were talking about how there are groups of different travelers in different places. For example, they told us about how Columbia is a huge tourist spot for Israelis and that a lot of the signs are in Hebrew or Arabic and a lot of the people there speak the same. I asked what their favorite part of Europe was and they said hands down it was a week expedition called Sail Croatia. You can speculate about the details and will probably be correct.

   After dropping everyone off, the bus driver drove with me around Flores looking for the agency I used. I saw the Spaniard and told her I would call her in a bit. We found the agency and it was closed. I remember Raul telling me that the agency is closed on the weekends because he and his partner go to a University to sit in on classes of biology to learn as much as they can. The bus driver took me to the main travel agency and I talked to the receptionist about the situation. They thought I was lying at first because I told them I had spent the night and they asked where all of my luggage was. I just had a backpack with a swimsuit, an extra shirt and some books and explained that I was living in colonial Tikal. I eventually convinced them and took a tuk tuk back to Flores. When I got there I had promised Kevin that we would go swimming so I found him lounging at Los Amigos.

   I remembered that I had left my credit card behind a picture frame and asked the lady at the front desk if I could get into the room. She told me no at first because it had been rented out to someone else. I asked what the kids name was and proceeded to ask around if anyone knew where he was. I was told he had left not 30 minutes ago. I was bummed and said that I would return. The second time I came back he still wasn´t there and I described to the receptionist that I lived in Colonia Tikal and needed my credit card. She was surprised and said that she lives not two blocks away from me. We made plans for me to teach her English on Wednesday and she then let me into the room and let me get my credit card. It feels good living here and having privileges for living in the country and speaking Spanish. I catch myself being proud at times and it is work to stay humble. I´m praying that I stay humble and that I don´t feel better than other travelers, but it is one of many things that I struggle with.

   Kevin and I went for a swim off of a pier and it was good to cool off. I ate some Mexican tacos, without lettuce, and we went back to Los Amigos. He disappeared for a bit and I knew that he was going to be eating there so I went off and called the Sonia. She never ended up answering so I decided to use the internet in a café for a bit. I went back to Los Amigos and saw Kevin chatting up some Germans. I said that I was going to head back and wished him happy travels.

Fútbol:
   I went back to the Colonia and since it was dark I knew that my family would be in church. I waited outside because I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts and was told that I shouldn´t enter a church like that down here. I think it is ridiculous but I need to respect the social laws that exist. I remember Romans 14 and it opened my eyes a lot to how to treat different customs. I was sitting there enjoying the singing when one of the elders of the church came out and told me to come inside. I asked him if he was sure and he insisted. I was really blessed by this and appreciated it a lot. I looked around and realized how there was nobody between the ages of 15 and probably 25 and my heart broke. Not because they weren´t attending church, but because it seemed like there was no mission for them. I love Young Life and thought how much good something like that would do down here. I felt really pushed to start hanging out with the youth down here and wanted to start doing a sort of “contact work” with them. I was really convinced that I should start doing this and was excited to start.
  
   The next day I went to the center and ran some errands with Ovi and some of the guys. In the back of the pick-up truck I was talking with Nelson. He is twenty and very mature. He is a genuinely nice guy and I can tell the other kids at the center respect him. He asked me I if played soccer and I told him that I had played for a while. I told him that I wanted to start playing down here and he invited me to play with them that day. I thought back to last night and was so happy to see God putting pieces together like this. I met Nelson at the field at around 5:15 and we went back to his house. He lives in the poorer neighborhood south of Colonia Tikal and it was apparent through his living conditions. There were a lot of chickens and hens running around and much of the yard was made into a tortilla making factory. His mother talked a lot about how there is little opportunity to make money down here without an education. She has four or five kids from 7 years old to about 26 years old and Nelson is in the middle at age 20. The 7 year old is wheel chair bound from some physical deformity but was all smiles. They were playing a betting card game that the mom said the evangelicals thought was bad. They tried to explain the rules but I didn´t understand. It was time for me and Nelson to go and with a series of Whistles Nelson had the neighborhood running to the field from all directions. It was neat to see and it is apparent that he is a leader. I want to talk to him next week about being a good Christian leader to the younger kids here. So please pray for that.

   We started playing and God gave me awesome ability in the game. I am really not that good in reality but I would say I was the best one out there that day. I had to tone it down after scoring a couple of goals because I did not want to be a jerk about being good, but I think God gave me that ability to win respect from the kids, as I am a gringo and we are supposed to be laughed at, not admired. I had a good time and had fun being out with the guys. I have played since then, but want to play more. It was a good time and I felt like it was really blessed by God. I look forward to the talk with Nelson and will let you know how it goes.

There is more to write, but I am now tired and want to get to bed.

   Jesus Christ, I want to love You to the best of my ability. I want to respect our Father and make Him happy. Thank you for coming to this Earth to show how to live a Godly and righteous life. I pray that I can fully understand what is written about You in order to please our creator. Holy spirit, fill me with the Love of Christ and the humbleness of a beggar. Remind me that this life I have is burrowed time meant to lead people to God and the truth in Christ Jesus. My heavenly Father, thank You for Your beautiful handiwork that is visible to all. The beauty of this Universe is unbeatable and the creativity You employ is unfathomable. I pray for the kids in the neighborhoods where I live. I pray that they can find You and that they actively search for the truth. I pray for men like Raul who want to make a difference and help people through their struggles and teach people from their own mistakes. I pray for Nelson and ask that he can recognize the gift of leadership You have given him and use it for Your Glory. Thank You for the time You have given me in Guatemala and I pray that You open my eyes to the gifts You have given me and the parts of my life I need to work on. I want to have knowledge in my faith, self-control in my knowledge, perseverance in my self-control, godliness in my perseverance, brotherly kindness in my godliness, and love in my brotherly kindness. Help me to understand how I can die to self so that I may live in You and for You alone.


I need you Jesus more than I need anything else on this Earth. Allow me, please Father, to never forget this one absolute truth.


Amen

Stories

Well I finally decided that I had time to write a couple of posts on what I have been up to the past couple of weeks. It has been hard to use the computer at my host families house because the boys are home for holy week and they cant use a computer at their school that they go to, so they enjoy the opportunity to use a computer. And on top of that, I just feel uncomfortable using the computer for hours at a time while they are home. I feel rushed and like I should be spending time with them. I decided that I would come into Flores and use a computer at an internet cafe. It is pretty nice and the connection is very fast. The downside of it is that their is a lady sitting next to me speaking in some other dialect of english, I don´t know if it is British or Australian,  and the only thing I want to do is listen to her.

   I am going to start writing stories mostly not in Chronological order so that I can just get them out of my head and onto virtual paper. Then, when I get bored or hungry, I can leave, eat some food and come back if I fancy to write more. Here we go:

Dirt:

I have been hanging out with the boys at the center a lot recently because they like to speak to me and it is fun to hang out with them. One of them has a motorcycle so I have been sticking around and riding that around. It is a little suzuki kcik starter with a bench seat riding on a lawn mower motor but is a blast and a half.The speedomoter does not work, nor the rpm-meter, nor does it tell me which gear I am in. When I firs started riding it I would engine brake when I wanted to stop, but I quickly learned that that usually just causes me to stall as first gear is a son of a gun to get into. I have since figured out how to ride it much better and have become a champ at starting it and going into first gear. Some would call me a professional rider, but they would be terribly, terribly wrong. Back to the story- I have also been going on excursions with the guys and Ovi to do random errands around town. One of these errands involved taking the pick-up truck out of town to dig up some dirt and bring it back to the center. Oh boy, just realized how boring this story is. Well, not gonna erase it. There really isn´t a lot to this story. We shoveled the dirt into the pick up truck and took it to the center where we filled holes and planted papaya trees. I guess it just stuck out because it was a good opportunity to work with the guys and get to know them a little bit. The papayas come from a friend of Ovi´s who is a papaya farmer and is the main distributor for the Guatemalan super grocery store called La Torre. Which means the tower. Not the bull.

Tikal:

Alright, I need to redeem myself with this one. It was brought to my attention a couple of weeks ago that I had been in Guatemala for around four or five weeks and had not seen any of the sightseeing places in Guatemala. I had hear about Tikal which I knew was THE place to see in Guatemala, but I had also heard about a place called "El Mirador" which sounded ohhh so much better than Tikal. First, the name "El Mirador" simply slides out of the mouth of spanish speakers. The "R" in spanish is very smooth and pronounced by putting the tip of the tounge where your front top teeth meet the gums. Much like the "L" in english. So mirador sounds suave and mysterious while Tikal has a fat glottal stop right in the middle of it that makes it sound rough and a little slow. Like a henchman to a villain. So I decided that I would one day soon go to one of the many "Travel agencies" around Flores to get some more information.

   On Wednesday I met Wendy outside of the school at around 4 oclock to run some errands with her. She needed to meet with her partner from school to figure out a day that they could go do some social work project out in the boonies with some disadvantaged family. We got to the parter´s house and I thought that it was the house that they were going to be working in. I quickly found out that I was wrong and was quickly humbled at how a person with so little is going to school to help others who have so much less. They finally got their assignment figured out and Wendy and I got back into a tuk-tuk to go to Flores so that she could talk to social work agencies there and find something to do.

    I love riding in tuk tuks. They are small, uncomfortable, and a gamble to get into, but there is just something so foreign about them that I am terribly attracted to. I say they are a gamble to get into because I never know if the driver is going to drive me to a remote street and strip search me for everything that is of value or if he is going to take me to my destination in a safe manner. The first time I was in a tuk tuk by myself the driver abruptly pulled over to the side of the road and got out. He flagged down another driver and at this point I decided that I was going to run from the tuk tuk in 30 seconds if I didn´t figure out a reason for pulling over. About fifteen seconds later my driver came back and looked at me while I simutaneously stuck my hand into the back of my pants to simulate that I had a handgun on me. He said some words that made me realize that he just need gas and I said okay. The other driver gave him a water bottle filled with gasoline and he poured it into his tank. We then stopped at a gas station and filled the tank and extra water bottle. I was relieved but quite on edge. We got to where I was going and now, after that scenario has happened on multiple occasions, I expect it. Tuk Tuk drivers also like to pick up as many passangers as will fit in their automobile. This mean that a ten minute ride from my house to Flores can quickly turn into a 25 minute ride to who knows where. I use to wait for the old and decrepid drivers to get in their tuk tuks because I figured old people don´t do bad things to young people. I now just look for people that don´t look sleazy. One driver I had was a super sleazeball and I was uncomfortable every second of the ride. He was in his thirties and skinny and I could tell he was a druggy and was relieved when I got out.

   So we got to Flores and after going to a couple of agencies Wendy gave up and we got some Sarita ice cream. Sarita owns the ice cream business in Guatemala and for good reason. It is very rich and darn cheap. A dollar for a scoop and a waffle cone? I think so! Vanilla is bomb.com and I like mango as well. While we were sitting in the open air ice creamery one of Wendy´s friends drove up on her motorcycle. Wendy flagged her down and we talked for a bit. I was really greatful for all of this time because it was awesome practice for Spanish. My comfortability in speaking the language comes in waves and it is easy to get discouraged. I already have a short attention span and having to concentrate and think about every word that is said is like training something that has a short attention span to learn a new language. Boom, assimile. After a while we decided to meet again at the school in a week and would travel to a place called "el mirador" that overlooks the island of Flores. It is a different mirador than the one that had previously sparked interest.

   I told Wendy that I wanted to ask about the other "El Mirador" so off we went to learn. We walked the streets of Flores until we found a store front that had a list of places they traveled handwritten on pieces of wood. One of them was el mirador, I am done putting that in quotes. We walked in and the agency was a small room with a computer, a couch, and behind a curtain was a laundramat. Yes, it did remind me of that episode of Tabatha takes over. So I sat down on the couch and an old, excited man sat down next to me and asked where I wanted to go. I told him El mirador and he smiled big and began to tell me all about how badly he wanted me to go. It is a five day and four night journy on foot through the jungle to what is believed to be the largest Mayan site known to man today. Excavation has just begun. This sounded like it was made for me and ended up being about 230 usd all in all. He told me all about the mayan writing that littered the temple and how on the third day I could sleep on the highest temple and watch the sunrise from it. I thought it sounded like the most amazing trip I had ever heard of and told him that if he had a group to go to give me a call. I was excited and thrilled to go to el mirador. On the way back to the house I prayed if I should go and felt a really strong no. I asked like 20 more times hoping for a change, but the answer was no. I was pretty upset and thought how badly I wanted to go and how fun it would be. I then figured that it was the price and decided that if I could get an awesome deal than I would still go. I felt wrong in that decision too and figured God just had other plans and I needed to accept it. I got home and decided that I would find information on Tikal in the next couple of days.

Getting hungry, will finish this story and others later.

God, you are bigger and better than me, Your knowledge exceeds everything and everyone else. You work in ways that I could never hope to understand and the pieces of my life will work out to glorify You. Thank you for giving me this life and for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for the freedom that comes from Your grace and I pray to always live in accordance to Your will. 


Amen