First of all, we apologize for the long stretch of time that has ensued since we last updated this blog! I need to fill you all in on our events of last weekend. It feels like so long ago, but really it was just over a week I suppose. Last weekend we had the opportunity to travel to Coban, which is about 4 hours away from here in Guatemala City. We loaded up in a minibus and hit the road at around 8:30 Saturday morning, and before long we arrived in the markets of Coban. After eating lunch in a lovely little restaurant, we were told that we would now be switching to a different van to travel the rest of the way to our destination. Little did we know what that would entail.... As we laid eyes on our small minibus that was made to hold 15 people, we realized that this was going to be quite an interesting adventure cramming all 24 of us into this little vehicle with all our luggage. Lets just say that Taylor was on top of my lap in the backseat with her head smashed into the ceiling. I have never been claustrophobic before, but in this moment I think I came pretty close. You will have to see some of the pictures and videos then of how up close and personal we all were. So we began our trek through the mountains, heading for Bezaleel Kekchi school where we would be staying, and all was well. That is until we started to go up a steep incline...we made it about half way up this mountain slope when all of a sudden we stopped. Black smoke was pouring from our exhaust as we struggled to make it up with our heavy bus load. Then all of a sudden we started to go backwards!!! Me, Taylor, and Laura saw our lives flash before our eyes as we thought we were about to head back down that mountain in reverse. Okay thats a slight exaggeration, but it it was really scary. About ten people from our group had to get out of the bus and walk the rest of the way up, just so we could make it to the top.
After almost peeing our pants in fright, we reached the Kekchi Mennonite School and settled into our large room above the boys chapel. We were warned before we came that the living conditions of the weekend were going to be very meager, and they werent lying when they said this. However, I think I speak for all of us when I say it was one of our highlights of our experience here in Guatemala, despite not having the luxuries and conveniences were were used to. To give you a better idea: we ate beans and tortillas with the boys for basically every meal, the bathroom had about an inch of water on the floor at all times (mixed with urine and somtimes spiders), and there were cold showers with only a few shower curtains. But we reminded ourselves that this is what the school students are used to everyday, so why not just embrace it and step into their lifestyle for the next couple of days.
Over the course of our time in Coban we visited a missionary family who helped us understand more about the Kekchi culture, and we also enjoyed eating pizza at their home. The next morning we attended a Kekchi church service and were invited to eat with families of the church after the service. It was a very humbling experience to enter into their small hut homes and be served a meal of soup with chicken in it. In most cases these families would only eat chicken maybe once in two weeks or once a month, but they had killed the chicken especially for us as their guests. The hospitality we experienced was truly amazing. Another one of our highlights from Coban was singing with the boys of the school. They loved one of our gruop members, Michael, and would always imitate him singing whenever they got the chance. It was awesome to be able to sing for them and then have them sing for us in Spanish as well. Their faces would light up whenever we had the opportunity to interact with them and sing with them. It was strange to think that we will never see these boys and girls again in our lifetime, and I did my best to embrace each moment that I was there. They left an impression on each of us that I know we will never forget. There is so much more I could add about our trip, but I will leave the rest to tell you all in person. Until next time... adios!
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