When we first got here the Guatemalans all looked the same. We are finally starting to tell one apart from the other. They do not all look the same!! They are such great people - many of them have very little & live day to day but they are such happy people. You can walk down the street & every one of them will greet you - so unlike Canada.
It has been raining a lot here the last couple of days. The team from Ontario left here on Saturday morning for Antigua. Next team from Kamloops arrives this afternoon. Therefore we have had some down time. We have been doing laundry and waiting for it to dry up on the roof. The roof is covered so even in the rain the laundry does dry after a few hours. This morning Al and the cleaning lady caught a mouse and did away with it. Al used the cleaning lady's broom but he broke the broom handle in the process but he got it!!! Now he has to find her a new one. We are becoming very fond of this lady and her 12 year old daughter.
Before we arrived here a team noticed some little unwanted guests (bed bugs) in the bedrooms of the Guest House. Unfortunately some of them hitched a ride back home to Canada with them & caused problems back at home. We have sprayed with Raid and have not been bothered by anything. But today just to make sure, the bedrooms were fumigated. All in a day's work.We needed to leave for a while so we went for coffee in a little cafe up the street and then went for lunch to a little restaruant a few minutes drive from here. It was fun reading the Spanish Menu and ordering in Spanish. Later we walked to the market to get some hamburger meat for our supper.
Everyone just takes an umbrella here. Life doesn't stop because of the rain. Women carry goods on their heads and tie babies behind their backs. They wear a traditional skirt and lace top on warm days. On cooler days they wrap a shawl around.
I have been watching the people in the market behind our house. Produce is brought here by some big trucks and then unloaded. Men and boys push carts loaded with onions, carrots, lettuce, cabbages, potatoes and tomatoes up the street, up a hill in front of our house to the market in the town square where we walk each day to purchase our fresh fruits and vegetables. You never know what you are going to see next. Last week I saw a man riding a motorcycle wearing a cowboy hat, with a large bag of red peppers on the seat behind him. Many people ride bicycles. Today Al and I saw a pack of six dogs trotting down the street. Two of them had only three legs. One had lost the use of its front leg and one had lost the back leg. Going to the market is very interesting. I stepped into a hole in the street filled with water when I was watching the people instead of looking out where I was stepping. I took some pictures of some ladies selling vegetables and then showed them the pictures. They remember me now and greet me with a smile when they see me coming. They seem to put up with my little bit of Spanish. I also saw some men fixing a hole in the street. They are hard workers and they do the work by hand. They also let me take their picture and enjoyed seeing the picture.
It is never quiet here. There are always motorcycles and trucks roaring by. Dogs bark and roosters crow. When someone celebrates a birthday, firecrackers are set off. Today someone is celebrating very close by!
Al enjoys driving his little truck to pick up groceries, pastries from the bakery and the food that the cook makes for our meals. He now drives like a Guatemalan. You can drive right down the middle of the street here. Pedestrians have to get out of your way. The bigger trucks have the right-of-way. You have to watch for cows and dogs in the street.
We have heard some great stories of what God is doing in the lives of some of the Guatemalan families. God is at work here & we are grateful to be serving Him here in Guatemala for this short time.
Bendiciones, Judy
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