¡Hola! Guatemala is fantastic. For several reasons: It’s beautiful, the people are extremely friendly, God is present, and God is truly teaching me a lot here, if not something new, emphasizing things I already knew.

My travel to Guatemala was smooth and painless, and I got situated at the hostel I was staying at my first night pretty easily. The language shock was tempered a bit by the fact that one of my hosts knew English fairly well (the one who picked me up from the airport), and the owners of the Hostel (Luis and Loly de Sosa) were very patient with my rough Spanish and we were able to have a conversation of sorts.

Guatemala City is not very pretty (just your regular city sprawl), but it was definitely an example of how friendly Guatemalans are. The day after my arrival I travelled to Nebaj, a small town in the Northern portion of Guatemala where I am taking a week of Spanish classes. The De Sosa’s were very kind to go out of their way to help me find a bus to Nebaj, even driving me to the appropriate spot to hop on the bus and go…something I as a Gringo would have had a bit more trouble with.

The bus ride was something quite different. I took the local form of travel, a chicken bus. Take an old school bus, paint it in bright colors, pack it as full as it can get (6 to a row), and drive it at top speed over twisting mountain roads, swerving around whatever gets in your way and you have yourself a chicken bus. The ride took 4 or 5 hours and was slightly dangerous, but it taught me that prayer is powerful. As I rode the bus, I prayed for safe travel for all of us on the bus that day. And it worked. In Quiché, a connecting city for me, I found the proper bus and got on, but after I found out from the only other Americano getting on the bus that the driver seemed unfit to drive and was possibly drunk, we decided to get off and find another bus. After I grabbed my bag off of the roof rack and found a microbus (12 passenger minivan) that went to Nebaj, I felt a lot better about my own safety, but said a prayer for the folks on the bus I had gotten off of. I also ‘lost’ my fellow traveller somewhere in between getting off the bus and grabbing my bag, and I said a prayer for her too. But as I said, my prayers proved fruitful, because as I arrived in Nebaj (after a sane and gorgeous ride through the mountains) I saw that the bus I had gotten off of had arrived safely after all.

Nebaj is a fantastic little town situated in a high valley nestled between some awesome mountains. It’s very welcoming to tourists, but at the same time it is not dressed up or fancified to our tastes…rather, the entire city is in an honest ‘as is’ state. I’ve experienced the fantastic friendliness of the local population, from the people in the market to the people at the language school and most obviously the family with whom I have a ‘homestay’ who have invited me into their home to live as if I was one of their own. I’ve also been able to experience the glory of God’s creation through a few runs and a hike this morning to some fantastic waterfalls.

In Guatemala, and especially in Nebaj, you see a lot of evidence of people’s faith. Most of the bus drivers have some sort of Christian motto emblazoned on their vehicles, some examples: ‘Dios el Rey’ or ‘Dios es Amor’ or ‘Dios es mi Guia’. God the King; God is Love; God is my Guide. Despite my poor Spanish skills, I can still understand the important stuff. That’s reassuring. Most people are either catholic or evangelical, and you see a lot of churches scattered through the town and I constantly hear Christian music, either blaring from a car or off in the distance from a church gathering. On Sunday, when I arrived, I got a chance to go to church. I had some time to kill before I could get a room in the hostel, and as I stepped out of the office I heard some music, a guitar, keyboard, drums etc. 'Let's check this out.' I thought, and it turned out to be coming from a church. The music was lively and the people worshiping were lively as well, so I decided 'Ok, let's go to church.' Even though I understood very little of the service, I enjoyed it thoroughly. In the music, I picked up some of the words: Dios, El SEÑOR, Jesus, Espiritu Sanctus, hosanna, alleluja, amor...all the important words in praising God. Amen. Then came the sermon...most of which I did not understand...but I did get 2 statements that the pastor made: 1. Dios es la Dios de todo y todos- God is the God of everything and everything; and 2. La Biblia es la Biblia y hay es nada mas- The Bible is the Bible and there is nothing more. Amen. Can't argue with those points.

As I mentioned before, I really love the Guatemalans for their warm and open hearts and their immediate friendliness. What I love even more is that the kids are even more so. In the church, and throughout the town, most of the kids greet me with a bright beaming smile and again, immediate friendship.

My Spanish is improving rapidly and gets a little easier each day. Speaking about religion or science in Spanish is definitely a challenge, but is satisfying at the same time. Spanish isn’t so bad after all.

I read some of Luke this morning (chapter 10) where Jesus sends out 72 disciples to spread his word to every town and place he was about to go. I take comfort in this, because it does not say that Jesus sent out the 72 best folks in town, or the 72 richest people he knew, or the 72 best athletes. All Luke tells us is that ‘…the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them…’ (Luke 10:1). Jesus sent out whom he chose, and to us this means that any of us can be out spreading the gospel in some manner, whether we’re rich or poor, average Joe or ‘well off’. With that, I know I’m on the right track.

Luke 10:21-23 is very reassuring at this point, as in verse 21, Jesus praises God for revealing his word to the simple (myself included), in verse 22 Jesus tells us that He is in control and through him we have access to God, so that we may be saved, and in verse 23 tells his disciples that they are blessed for having been witnesses to Jesus, and we are even more blessed because we too are witnesses, able to read of God’s works in the Bible.

I praise God for watching over and keeping me safe, guiding me to this amazing chapter of my life, and for all of his creation. I pray that as I prepare for and begin my works for God, that my work can be fruitful and guided by God.

Dios es asombroso,

Koos