The Room with a View--Panajachel, Guatemala

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Monday (7/9)

We started walking shortly after breakfast. At one point we walked by a store that had a lot of dogs out front. They started barking at us and wouldn't let us pass. An older gentleman was waiting for the bus...he said "hold on a second." Then he took his cane and threw it at the dogs!! I almost burst out laughing! We thanked the man for his help, and continued on! (with a smile on our faces.) God uses everyone who is willing! At our second water break, we met Gloria...she is a supervisor for the road construction on the way out of Xela. We chatted with her a bit and continued walking. We'd walked 8-9 miles by the time we arrived in Cuatro Caminos (4 Roads...you can go to 4 major cities from this intersection), so we decided to eat lunch.

When we were almost done eating, we asked the guy at the next table (Elmer) how far the next towns were from where we were right then. (Our map isn't very detailed...plus we aren't using it for a guide anyway...the Holy Spirit leads us and we just color the trail at the end of the day.) Elmer responded that they were 22 and 37 miles away. Chris and I just looked at each other, thanked the guy and finished eating. When Elmer was ready to leave, he said, "I'm headed that way today. I can take us as far as Guatemala City if you'd like." We couldn't believe it!! Praise God!!

We rode with Elmer and José for about 1 an hour...our walk so far today had been on flat ground. We immediately started climbing when we got into his truck...completely up hill the whole way! Then we got to this really long line of cars...more road construction...Elmer just pulled out a sign and drove straight through the construction zone. He's a civil engineer for the company that was working on the road! Praise God for knowing the terrain even when we don't have a clue. I'm pretty sure that neither of the men were Christians, but we were able to plant some seeds. We encouraged them to read the Bible and told them that God had a purpose for their lives too!

They dropped us out at a place called Los Encuentros, and we kept walking...mostly downhill but there were a few spots we had to climb. We even made a few little friends along the way at a store were we stopped to get a drink! The road we were on led down to Lake Atitlán. Everyone we've talked to has told us that it's the most beautiful lake in the world. Hno Noé's (from San Rafael) sister (Marta) and her husband (Marcos) work for CAM International (a missions sending organization), and they live in Panajachel...right on the lake! They have a retreat center for missionaries who are working in Latin America called Las Buenas Nuevas (The Good News). (one of the cottages is pictured here) They have been working here for 31 years, but the retreat center has been open since 1928!! What an awesome ministry of the Lord!! Hno Noé and Hna Suly both told us about them...that we should met them if we went that way.

Well, Hno Yuri (also a relative) called to find out where we were. I missed his call, so I called him back to let him know we had made it to Sololá (the town before Panajachel). We weren't sure if we were going to continue on or not. We were pretty tired...we'd already walked 14 miles. That phone call got the ball rolling. Before we knew it, Hna Suly had already called her Uncle Marcos. They would be waiting for our arrival! I couldn't believe it... 5 more miles but it was mostly downhill (steep downhill) and we had food and a bed waiting for us. We started the trek, but after about 3.5-4 miles, it was pitch black. Wouldn't you know, the police saw us and stopped! They asked if we wanted a ride into town. We were overjoyed! Their kindness didn't stop there. When we got into town, they asked where we were staying. We told them, but we didn't know how to get there. They asked around and delivered us right to the door!! Our God is right on time!

We had supper and shared a little with Hno Marcos and Hna Marta. Hna Marta told us that God knew we were coming. This morning she received an offering that she was going to send to Hno Noé. When she called him to tell her that she was sending him some money, he said "save it because Chris and Rachel are going to visit you...you'll need it to buy food." (At that point he didn't know we were going to arrive today! Isn't God incredible?) A group that left this morning also left fruit, milk, and pancake mix for Hna Marta to use!! God's timing leaves me in awe of Him!

Hna Marta asked us to pray with her before we went to sleep. Their church is struggling a bit and her husband is struggling a little bit as well. Please pray for spiritual renewal and revival!! Oh, can I tell you how soft the sheets are and how comfortable the bed is?!!

Tuesday (7/10) Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We woke up this morning to a beautiful view of the lake!! It's awesome! God's creation is overwhelming at times! Wow!

After breakfast we met, Diana Thompson. She and her husband, Niel, are American missionaries who are working here at the retreat center as well. They've been here 2 weeks, so they are still getting adjusted! We were able to share testimony with Diana this morning over a cup of coffee. Then we met Fran Schmidt and his son, Jonathan. Fran is a professor at a Seminary in Guatemala City. They are here resting a bit while his wife, Judy, and daughter, Cristina are in the US. Judy is their for a training session, and Cristina is getting to spend some girl time with her mom. (Judy's a teacher at school for Missionaries' kids in Guatemala...she works with students who have special needs.) We've spoken to more people in English today than we have in about 4 months!

Here's the view of the lake that we had when we woke up this morning...3 volcanoes and the mountains surround it! There are waterfalls everywhere! As we walked around we experienced the only downside--all the people selling stuff think that we are tourist, so they've been constantly bombarding us. Oh well, it's so beautiful that it's worth it!

This afternoon we met the group that's staying here right now...they are from Alfa y Omega Colegio (a Christian k-12 school) in Chimaltenengo. We met Tito, the music teacher first, and he introduced us to Ashley, their English teacher, who is from Raleigh, NC! We chatted with Ashley a little before she had to leave, but Tito stayed around and shared testimony with us. He retired from being a public school teacher (they make a good living) to teach at the private Christian school (where he doesn't earn as much), but he shared several stories of how God has provided for their needs...always right on time! Then he share testimony of his wife and his son...about 6 years ago a drunk driver drove up onto the sidewalk and hit Tito's wife and son. They were in critical condition in hospitals in 2 different towns. It was one of the hardest times in Tito's life. He didn't have a car, so he had to take buses back and forth over an hour each way to check on his family. One day he said that he just lay down in the grass outside of the hospital because he was so exhausted. He cried out to the Lord for strength and surrendered both his wife and his son to God's care...he wasn't going to worry about it anymore. From that time on, both began to make improvements...after 17 days, his son was released from the hospital where he was so that they could move him to the same hospital where his mom was. They recovered together 2 months in the same hospital room. Both are almost completely healed now! They have a little residual pain, but they are trusting that God is going to completely heal them!

They guys started playing soccer, so Chris went to join them. I sat and watched and chatted with some of the other teachers. Cesia (on right) and Zulma (on left) were especially interested in hearing testimony of the journey. After we talked and prayed together, Cesia and Zulma shared that they had been praying for the Lord to show them what to do about decisions that they had to make. There biggest concern with taking that next step of faith was lack of financial resources...after hearing how God has cared for us, they felt like they could trust Him to provide! I was pumped up!!

We at supper with Niel and Diana. We had American food...even dessert!! It's been so long...I guess 4 months since we've had a home-cooked "American" meal! We really enjoyed chatting with them and hearing their story...how God brought them to this point. They are ministers to missionaries! What an awesome job!!

It's Wednesday (7/11), and it looks like we are staying at least through today...Please pray for Chris and his family right now. We just learned that his Uncle John has only been given a few days to live. We are praying for God to be glorified even in this! We'll be in touch again soon! May God bless you and keep you! Keep walking for Jesus! We love you!

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