It's about 6:30 a.m. The power went out last night. I got up a little while ago just to see what time it was, because our clock was blinking. It's a very good thing I'm not a light sleeper. Last night a loud security alarm went off across the street for quite some time. The dog on the roof was barking up a storm, and the rooster was his typical ornery self.
Have I mentioned yet that there's a dog on the roof? Not our roof, but it might as well be. He's a big, gruff mut of a dog, and he never leaves the roof of the building next door, which shares a wall with us. We can see him from our courtyard. He stands at the very edge of the roof, up on the second or third story, looking out over the city and barking at everyone and everything that passes him by. His bark is more like a deep rumble, and it's loud. Like the rooster next store (see "Day One" for my thoughts on him), the dog on the roof has no concept of time. Or sleep. No one knows how he got up on the roof or why he's never taken inside. We just know that someone cares about him enough to feed him, which is rare in Chichi. 90% of the dogs we've seen running around are stray, and they are certainly not the picture of health.
Today is a market day again. I can hear it bustling just on the other side of our front gate. I want to grab a few more postcards and some bookmarks. We're doing our devotion at 7:30, breakfast at 8, and then we're off to visit Lake Atitlan.
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(continued Thursday evening)
Lake Atitlan was even more beautiful than I expected. We wound way, way down a mountain, past a huge, rushing waterfall to get to it.
As you can see, we took advantage of a perfect photo op before we made our way down to the shore. That last photo, by the way, is our group leader, Don. With Tupac in charge, how could we go wrong??
Once we reached the shore, we all climbed onto a boat to cross to the other side where the market is located. You know I love a good boat ride. We had the boat to ourselves, with the exception of the Frenchman who hopped on board at the last minute. Apparently he was having trouble getting a ride because he was by himself, and the boat captains knew carrying one person across wasn't worth their time. Kevin told him he could join us under one condition: he had to share his story. Thus began story hour with the random Frenchman. He said he was traveling the globe for a year with his wife and daughter, who were in another village at the moment. They had already been to Australia, the U.S., and a host of other places. (He's the one all the way at the front with a floppy tourist hat.)
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Ok, everybody's covered. It's just been such a cool experience to get to know all of these incredible people who were practically strangers one week ago. Of course, we don't know all the details of each others' lives, but we know enough to spread a little wisdom back and forth (I know I've been on the receiving end of that wisdom). We definitely know enough to send up some specific prayers for one another.
I'm out on the hammock again--my favorite spot at the house. The clouds are moving in though. I think it's about to pour.
Most of the group is back at Monte Flor now. Dustin hasn't been feeling well all day, so we stayed behind. He's sleeping, thank goodness. I'm praying he feels good again when he wakes up. He has been such a good sport today, even though he's felt like crap. Think about some of the worst possible things you could do when you're feeling sick, and Dustin probably did them all. We took a long, winding bus ride to the lake. Then we spent a half hour on a boat. Then we climbed up a steep hill to visit the market. Then we got back on the boat, ate a big dinner that he couldn't possibly enjoy, and boarded the bus for another long, nausea-inducing drive. Poor guy.
It actually started last night. He was feeling queasy and sick to his stomach. He was like that for most of today. He also woke up aching all over and feeling feverish with a nasty headache. I really hope he gets better soon so he can enjoy our last full day in Guatemala. Darren has almost identical symptoms. We just don't know what's causing all of this.
Today we spent a couple hours in the market on the far side of the lake. It was much less overwhelming than the Chichi market, but there were still women and children constantly following us and being very, very persistent. Good news! This time I didn't get angry and stressed out! I bought some bracelets--some for myself and some for friends and family who helped make our trip possible.
My favorite is a golden-brown one with flowers made of beads. It's really beautiful. I bought it from a friend of Manos de Jesus named Michelle. Her real name is actually Michaela, but Ron can't pronounce (or remember) anything in Spanish, so he started calling her Michelle and it stuck. Manos supports her and helps her out. She takes care of her mom and she's putting her younger siblings through school, even though she's never had to chance to go herself.
I also bought a black and white bracelet from a young woman who seemed irked that Michelle was getting all the good Gringo business. This girl really had a bad attitude, but I felt sorry for her and finally caved in.
[Author's note added after the fact: I actually lost that black and white bracelet after one day of wearing it. It fell off my wrist and we never found it. Maybe it was better that way...]
There was also a very cute little boy selling some pretty bracelets of his own. I didn't need any more, but I did need to track down some postcards. At that point, Dustin was feeling pretty sick. While he sat at a coffee shop with Tammy and Kevin keeping an eye on him, I ventured out on my own for a few minutes. The boy followed me, trying persistently to sell me a bracelet. It felt kind of ridiculous to have him trailing me, so I slowed down and we walked down the hill side by side. I asked him a little about himself. His name was Israel. I told him my name and that I was trying to find some postcards. He brightened up and told me to follow him. The little guy led me straight to a store full of postcards. Now that's a good salesman for you. Since he had done me a favor (and he was adorable) I caved and bought five bracelets from him. I definitely want Jane to have one. She helped us so much to get here, and we're forever grateful. I want Casey to have one too. She was the first to jump on board and do a fundraiser for us without ever being asked.
Raindrops are falling and it's getting chilly out here. Time to head inside and check on my sweet husband.
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(continued Thursday night)
Dustin slept through dinner. His stomach is better, but he's still aching all over and his head is pounding. Darren is still showing the same symptoms and also slept through most of the evening. Darren was in our stove-building group yesterday when we came across a sick girl and also ate some local food. We're still not sure if it's a virus or something food borne.
Tonight the ladies made fried chicken, french fries, and a delicious fruit salad for dinner. Then they made some indescribable pineapple pie for dessert. Dang, it was yummy. Those ladies are so incredibly sweet. They are cheerful when they work, and they're so loving. Yesterday was laundry day for the team, and Dustin did a load of our clothes early in the morning. They weren't quite dry by the time we had to leave for the stove builds. Dustin made a point of telling the ladies to just ignore our clothes or toss them in a basket if they needed to use the dryer. We wanted to be sure they didn't get stuck doing any of our laundry. Well, we came home to two perfectly folded piles of clothing on our bed. That's just the way they are. They are so kind, and they love Jesus too. We can learn so much for them. They truly do everything for the glory of God. They are cheerful and not grumblers. And they certainly make a joyful noise to the Lord. I just love them.
Dustin finally woke up around midnight, and he was ravenous. I knew that was a good sign. I had made him a fried chicken plate and put it in the 'fridge. He downed it in record time. He still wasn't 100% though, because he headed straight back to bed.
We'll see what tomorrow holds. I can't believe it's our last day in Chichi.
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