Day Seven (Goodbye, Chichi)

Friday, October 5, 2012

It's our last day in Chichicastenango. I'm up at the prayer chapel at Monte Flor. Most of the others are hiking.

Dustin is feeling much better, thank God. He woke up this morning a new man. Darren is all better, too. We have a little more time here, and then it's back downtown to treat our favorite kitchen ladies to some ice cream.

*****

Dustin and I started talking to Mark inside the chapel, so I stopped writing. Mark has a lot of wisdom to offer. We haven't even left Chichi yet, and Dustin and I are worried about returning to work in Charlotte. We've both struggled at times to find meaning in our jobs. We both work for large media corporations and spend our days riding around the streets of the Queen City shooting video of car wrecks, fires, political conventions and E. coli outbreaks. Some days we actually get to help people; many days we just wish we could do more.

I told Mark I was worried about finding a balance between work and life outside of it. I want to succeed and stand out at my job, but my priorities have shifted over the last couple of years. Before I'm a reporter, I'm Dustin's wife. Mark had some great advice. He suggested pouring everything we have into work when we're there. For those eight hours, we need to stand out by being totally focused on the task at hand. But once we walk out that door at the end of the day, the work has to stop. That's hard to do when we're both tethered to station-owned iPhones, but it's the only way we'll find true balance.

After some much-needed time at the chapel, our group headed back down the hill into the center of Chichi to finish packing and say goodbye to Gloria, Manuela, and Juanita. It's customary for each visiting group to treat the ladies before heading home. Buying them some ice cream was the least we could do after the way they fed and took care of us. The ice cream shop is conveniently located directly across the street from the mission house, so it only took a few minutes. I had the Guatemalan equivalent of cookies and cream, and it was delicious.

We dispersed a few minutes later to pack our bags. The van to Guatemala City was arriving shortly to take us away.

I had a really sweet moment with Gloria (she's the one on the far left) a few minutes before we left.

She came into our room to exchange contact information and gave me a big hug. She said "I'll miss you. I love you," in her thickly accented English. She said Dustin and I were a beautiful family. I think that's about when Dustin walked in and told Gloria she was our favorite. Just as sweet as can be, she smiled and blushed and said, "I'm everybody's favorite. I don't understand it. Only God knows why."

We tried not to crack up laughing, because she was so sincere when she said it. We proceeded to tell her exactly why everyone loves her so much: she's joyful, affectionate, and funny. She's the ring-leader of all kinds of singing that can be heard coming from the kitchen each day, and she takes a genuine interest in the crazy Gringos who come and go every other week.

We left behind quite a few items in Chichi. Don't worry, it was on purpose. Manos de Jesus will take just about anything...clothes, books, suitcases, you name it. I left some clothing and toiletries behind, and so did Dustin. He also gave his old sneakers to one of the local guys who couldn't believe they were "real Pumas."

After saying our goodbyes to Tammy and Ron and all of our new friends, we boarded a van to our hotel in Guatemala City. I was disappointed we couldn't ride there via pickup truck bed, but I suppose all good things must come to an end.


*****
(continued Saturday morning)

I'm out on the balcony of our hotel in Guatemala City. It's like a different world. This is a luxury hotel. I think we stay here because it's one of the safer places for us to be. Plus, Manos has sent groups here so often that I hear the room rate is less than $65 a night. Good luck getting that kind of price in the U.S. for a place as nice as this. We have large, clean rooms, a huge outdoor pool and hot tub, and all kinds of other amenities. It feels so weird to be here.

Chichi is so remote; it's like going back in time. Here in Guatemala City, the people wear jeans and business suits, and everything is built up. I guess it looks about the same as any other big Central American city. Chichi is like a hidden gem that hasn't been corrupted by the global culture.

Last night we checked into the hotel around 5pm. I shaved my legs for the first time in a week. I didn't trust the water  in Chichi. Drinking it was forbidden. We couldn't even brush our teeth with it, so shaving and potentially getting a little cut didn't seem like a smart plan. This hotel supposedly has its own water filtration system to suit our delicate American bodies.

We ate dinner at Pizza Hut at 6 and then came back for our daily debrief. For the last week, our evening meetings always took place in the living room at the house. This time, we sat in the dark by the pool.

We talked a little about re-entry. Then we changed and met back up at the outdoor hot tub. Darren was a vision in his shower cap and bath robe.

(First of all, the date on the photo is wrong. Secondly, be glad you don't see the full length view. Darren's swim trunks were positioned so that it looked like there was nothing under that little robe. Boy, did our group get some stares. But after a week with Darren, we were used to it :)

This morning I've got a city view with a volcano looming in the distance. It's cloudy. I'm not sure how much is fog and how much is pollution, but the air smells like exhaust. We're doing breakfast at 8 and devotion with Rob at 9. He's going to ask us for our "elevator answers" to the inevitable question, "How was your trip?" I don't know yet what I'm going to say. How do you describe this life-changing experience in twenty seconds or less?


*****

October 23, 2012 

It's been 16 days since Dustin and I arrived back in the U.S. from our first mission trip. I'm still working on that "elevator answer." If you've read even just one entry in this blog, you managed to go beyond the canned, twenty second response and delve deeper into our experience. I sincerely thank you for that.

Short-term missions are tricky. We go because we want to have an adventure and change lives for the better, but our motivations can lead us down a slippery slope. It's not okay to show up in another culture for seven days and think you have an instant cure.

It's easy to think we know it all. Two weeks ago I learned that isn't true. The people of Chichicastenango do a lot of things right. I saw big brothers protecting their little sisters. I saw families getting together over a meal and actually talking with each other...no TV or computer in sight. Most of all, I saw hope spreading slowly but surely, and the name of that hope is Jesus.

I still can't believe we got to be part of what's happening in Chichi, a place I had never even heard of this time last year. If you're in a tough season of life, don't overlook that last line. One year ago today, a city where I can now say I left part of my heart...wasn't even on my radar. It's amazing what can happen in a year if we just get out of God's way.

This trip has given me hope for the future--not just my future, not just Chichi's future, but the future of Jesus's Kingdom. He is on the move. All we have to do is open our eyes.


¹¹ “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” -Jeremiah, chapter 29