Subject: Last Full Day in Guatemala

 

Today is our last full day in Guatemala. We will have our last Reflection time together as a group in about an hour. We will be leaving the hotel in Antigua at 4 am tomorrow morning. We will drive about an hour to the airport in Guatemala City. We will be in Dallas for lunch and landing in Columbus at 5:40 tomorrow evening.

 

It has been an interesting Cross Cultural experience. I have learned a lot about the history of Latin America and Guatemala specifically and the indigenous Mayan people who live here.

 

We have travelled over a large part of the country and visited with many different people. We have met with a wide range of people; from government officials in three piece suits to village people living in dirt floor shacks. We have spent time in a range of different places from a well developed city to small villages and tourist trap towns.

 

We have learned the details of the Spanish conquest of Guatemala in the thirteenth and fourteenth century and the continuing struggle of the poor and indigenous Mayan people. Guatemala is a relatively young country with many struggles and barriers to overcome. The protestant and catholic churches are alive and well here. We were told the Methodist church in Guatemala is a leader in ecumenical circles and leads in many aspects of liberation theology and outreach to the poor and marginalized in Guatemala. The Methodist church here designs ministries that give a hand up instead of a hand out. Two of the greatest threats to Guatemala today are International's looking for natural resources and drug cartels. Internationals want to take advantage of cheap resources and the drug cartels have moved from Columbia to Guatemala. Gang activity/warfare is a major problem in Guatemala City. The government here is so corrupt that it is hard to get anything done even though it is a "democracy."

 

I now know how foreigners feel in the States. I have been learning some Spanish but am largely incapable of communicating with people here (we are travelling with a guide/translator who is an absolute life saver). I have attended two church services while here, both were in Spanish and I couldn't understand what was happening. Now I know what our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters feel like in our community. It is difficult to really connect with a language barrier.
 

The weather here is amazing! I love it! It is almost always in upper 60's to lower 70's.  Connie has told me about the (Ohio) snow we have had. I wish I could bring this weather home with me. But, I think I have something much better and precious to bring back. See you soon.

         Blessings,  Pastor Sam