As with the previous day, night time of Day two brought us over night guests. My best friend, Karin, came with her two children to spend a few days with us.
We hadn’t seen each other in four (?) years, I think. The last time we saw each other was when she and her (now late) husband, Rogelio, had come to visit when their oldest son was only 7 months old. In the course of the last two years, she suddenly lost her husband and has since been finding her feet afresh. There are many things that make living away from family —the family you grew up with— hard. While certainly the hardest are losing some of the people you love, one of the most difficult processes I have experienced away has continued to be the loss of her husband. I can’t explain to you how crushing the inability to be there to support and help such a dearest one in such a dark and difficult time can be. I had been there when she lost her dad. I served her, I cared for her, I tried to be a help. I couldn’t do all those things this time and her grief was so great! Since that horrible day when he died, I have made myself available over the phone. I have never not picked up her call to at least offer a listening ear to her pain, to her process of learning to leave with his absence. But even that feels so little, so lame, in the face of such grief and need. But God… I have trusted Him for her care and for the little glimmers of help I have been able to bring in the way of silently listening, crying with her, and some times sharing some encouragement. Seeing her was one of the most important things for me on this trip.
In the middle of unloading sleepy boys and all her things out of the car, we paused, embraced each other on the street, and sobbed. For a few seconds the world paused. As life with children goes, very quickly we were both pulled by our charges and we moved on to the next thing. Life does go on. In that brief moment we communicated more than can some times be said with words, and then gave ourselves to the life —to the lives— around us.
The next morning we went out to breakfast to “El Tenedor del Cerro”, a place of breathtaking beauty. We had visited this place six years before with her husband, it was till under construction, but it promised to be spectacular. The views are stunning, the food is delectable, and there is magnificent art displayed all around this natural compound. Sadly, we forgot our camera that morning!! And, with the traffic situation and the beginning of a Holiday weekend (Guatemala’s Independence is on the 15th of September), we knew we needed to get moving to get to church on time that evening. So we didn’t finish exploring the place and we left with the hope to return on another day.
Karin to the rescue! We forgot our camera, but she did have her phone and just sent me all the pictures she took that day!
Breakfast was just amazing!!
This canopy was so pretty with the dangling flowers, and my dad carrying Sebastian on his shoulders was just a moment worth capturing.
We stopped at the house for a quick change of clothes and promptly loaded up the vehicle afresh to head to the city and church. It took us about an hour and a half to get to church. We parked our vehicle and then someone from church drove us to a nearby mall for the afternoon. I was scheduled to share with the Youth that night. We window shopped, we ate dinner, and then we were picked up to be brought back to church for the meeting.
All the little children were directed to their age appropriate programs. Leo and Victoria stayed together with Chris and Iker (Karin’s sons), Giselle and Benny went together too, and Elena and Adriana would be in Youth with us. We kept Sebastian with us, of course.
The Youth —JUVELIM— gathers at a building separate from the church but within the same compound.
The church I grew up in is a large church. The main auditorium seats maybe close to 3,000 (?) people. There are services on Tuesday nights, Friday nights, and three on Sundays, at 8:00, and 10:30 in the morning and 6:00 in the evening. The church also runs a school and a home for the elderly among other outreach ministries.
Some of the youth in attendance were children of my friends from my days of youth!! How crazy is that!!
When it all was said and done, the kids who had been so reluctant to go to their programs had had a wonderful time and Benny and Giselle, especially, were looking forward to reconnect with their most favorite teacher, Ana Lucía. More so after they found out that her parents are my friends and that I baby sat her for a weekend while her parents ministered at a marriage retreat when she was less than a year old. Never mind that she is now a 24 year old woman!!
It was an honor to be there and share with this great group of young people, I was very thankful for the opportunity!
Late after service, we drove home and had a late but restful night.