Guatemala, Part 1

On July 30th, Audrey and I boarded a plane headed to Guatemala City to visit our friends, Michael and Melissa Chapman and their two girls, Ellie and Hazel.  We got to know the Chapmans years ago when they attended North Fresno Church and were working for MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) here on the West Coast.  Randy and I love the work that MCC does around the globe, and help our church be connected in different ways to the work of MCC.  So...our families' paths crossed often over their years here in Fresno, and we got to know each other over family dinners as well as many "mommy" walks and playdates as the Chapmans welcomed one, then two girls into their family.  Last April the Chapmans left to work for MCC as the country representatives in Guatemala, overseeing the projects in both Guatemala and El Salvador.  Our family immediately began setting aside money to "someday" come and visit them.  I, personally, was very hopeful to make the trip, re-connect with our friends, see the work of MCC in those countries, and hopefully take Audrey (giving her a chance to practice her Spanish and be exposed to a land and culture outside of the U.S)!  Being a Spanish major in college, I spent a semester abroad to increase my fluency.  Guatemala was one of the three countries I visited during that time, and I was excited at the prospect of sharing just a bit of my university experience with Audrey. The list of people I need to thank for making this trip a reality is enormous!  My mom and husband both took time off of work to be with the kids.  Many people "sponsored" Audrey to come with me when it seemed as if, financially, we could not afford to send more than one member of our family.  So many of you prayed for safety over us as we traveled over the past two weeks, as well as health for both of us.  The Chapmans graciously worked us into their schedule, hosted us, and showed us around while we were there!

As I stepped onto the plane in Houston, headed for Guatemala, the sound of Spanish washed over me, as if stepping into an ocean of Latin culture, flooding my head with precious memories, and filling my eyes with tears.  Over the coming days, I often found myself in awe of the fact that I was actually there, and thanked God silently that He had allowed this all to happen! The part of me that is truly Latin felt like I was "home".

I have lots of pictures, many of them with length stories behind them, but you'll have to connect with me and Audrey some other time for all the explanations.  Enjoy the pictures!

Travel day!  Waiting to board in the San Jose airport.  We had smooth flights, no delays.  Made it into the GC airport by 10 p.m. Audrey as immediately given a taste of Latin America on the drive home.  The road was backed up with bumper-to-bumper traffic, at a complete standstill, but the opposite direction was completely clear.  What to do?  Just drive your 4-wheel-drive truck straight up and over the median and head the other way to find another round-about way home.  Audrey giggled the rest of the way home that Michael had done that!  

Day 2 included a drive into Zone 1, the oldest portion of the city that included the National Cathedral,

the Presidential Palace (this photo taken from inside the courtyard of the Cathedral),

the downtown marketplace (trying to name all these interesting fruits), as well as an excellent lunch of caldo de res (beef soup), vegetables, rice, tortillas and jamaica (hibiscus punch) at a downtown restaurant, Café de Imerí.

We also stopped by the MCC offices where Michael and Melissa work.  

Their storeroom where they keep all the blankets, relief and/or school kits as they come in and wait to be distributed.  

This is one of the photos that comes with a story...taken on our drive into Zone 1 (the reason for the traffic the night before).  This rubble used to be community, a squatter community.  The residents of this community came to settle here over 5 years ago when they were displaced from their homes because of a mudslide (Guatemala City, with over 15 million inhabitants, has seven ravines running through the city, making housing at the "edges" a precarious undertaking)  At that time this land was empty, but now the city is enacting "eminent domain" on the area.  There had been protests for days prior, people literally standing in the way of bulldozers and police vehicles.  But on that Thursday, the bulldozers finally made their way through.  Dust rose from the recently-plowed rubble as we drove past at a snails' pace.  Belongings were strewn about, piled at the curb, with residents having nowhere to go.  Power lines were in the process of being cut down to prevent resettlement.  How does one take all this in?  And further more, explain this to their 13-yr old daughter sitting beside?  And yet, does this not happen in my own community?  Maybe not as frequently, or at the same magnitude.  But it does...in Fresno...with our tent city.  I need not look across the globe, I need God to open my eyes to the injustices happening in my own town and pray that apathy does not settle in my soul, but a desire to give, and share, and see, and to explain to my children is kindled in my being.  

Day 3 we stayed closer to home, visited the nearby mall (yes, mall...huge mall...Guatemala City is a place of great contrast, poverty and "old" culture mix daily with the rich and "new" parts and people of the city), had time to rest, play, and sing.  What songs?  Why, anything from Frozen, of course!  

Day 4 was full of fun and food!  In the morning, one of Melissa's friends, Chinita, came over to show us how to cook a common Guatemalan dish, pepián de pollo (chicken in a pumpkin/sesame seed sauce). 

Since Melissa and I were busy in the kitchen, Audrey "cooked" with Hazel and Ellie in their play kitchen.  

A yummy finished product!  Later in the day we were able to join Melissa and many of her friends from church at a baby shower.  It was another great chance for Audrey to practice her Spanish, introducing herself and interacting with other women, and enjoy more fantastic food!  

We finished our evening with one more fun food...popcorn...made the old-fashioned way on the stove, while watching a movie together after the little girls were in bed!