It started just as a friend from CCUM, Scott Irick, came down to visit us again after being captured by the spirit of Pinalito when he visited with the CCUM team in November. I picked him up from the airport and we traveled towards Pinalito in true Guatemalan fashion…a reasonable bus ride on an antiquated greyhound bus to Zacapa, then up the mountain to Matasano with a flete, which Scott found to be very bumpy…and then a hike over to Pinalito after spending a fun night with the Ortiz family. So when we got to Pinalito, we had done a fair bit of traveling, and were ready for a little bit of rest before we traveled some more, we were getting ready to go on a 5 day field trip with a group of 7 youth of Pinalito, all of whom recently graduated from 6th grade. As luck, or Murphy, or fate…would have it, the water had gone out that afternoon. We could have done without water for the night and fix it the next day, but after chatting with our neighbor David and finding that most of the regular guys who like to go up and fix the water were not going to be available in the morning, we were ready to go and fix it that night. “Por que No?- Why Not?” we said. Scott and I were fairly tired, but I when I asked him if he wanted to go, he was ready for the adventure. Scott, Ron, Nathan and I suited up and got ready to head up the mountain with David and a couple others we might be able to recruit on the way up….
Just as we left the mission gates, it started to rain…but we were too far in to our ‘mission’ to turn back to the comfort of a bed…we did however run back to the apartments and grab our rain jackets. That’s what changed the whole night. We hiked up to the house of Goyo, and chatted with him trying to get him to come along up the mountain. He was in his boxers and had already been snoozing a little bit, so it took some persuasion…but eventually he agreed to come along. Just as he turned into the house to grab his clothes, a lady named Raphaela came up to us in tears, distraught and rightfully worried about her husband, Alfonso. A stream of words behind tears came out, of which I did not understand all of, but got the gist. Her husband had gotten into a conflict that left him full of machete chops and he was going to die from loss of blood if we didn’t act. This was a real, serious, situation and we needed to act. With the rain, taking him down in one of our own vehicles was not an option, it would only result in more injuries, or at least unnecessary risk. Our plan of action was to have Alfonso brought to the clinic so we could stop bleeding and prepare him for the hike out to meet up with the ambulance. Dylan (Ron’s oldest son) and I waited out by the church for the group who was bringing him up to the clinic...and I’ll tell you, playing the waiting game in a situation like this was not so fun. Eventually Dylan and I saw some faint flashlights bobbing out in the darkness, and met up with the group of men carrying him up. We also got a look at what we were dealing with. On his head, Alfonso had a large gash...you couldn’t really see it, just a bright red 4 inch circle right on top...kind of like a bulls eye. He also had some smaller gashes on his neck and elbow, but the head was the main concern. Good thing was it had already coagulated, so although he had lost a bunch of blood, he wouldn’t loose too much more. David and Goyo had called the Bomberos-firemen/ambulance with 4-wheel drive who could meet us halfway. They can’t make it to Pinalito but the 2 other options are Matasano and Sompopero. Initially, the Bomberos opted for Sompopero, which meant a long, slippery hike of at least 4 miles to the rendezvous point. None of the locals liked that idea, it was already ‘muy noche’ and had been raining on and off. But, we (the missionaries) were prepared to do anything to keep this guy alive. After we got Alfonso bandaged up and ready for the hike (not that he had to walk, he’d be in a hammock stretcher) and had waited around for a little bit to see if we could find a couple more men to come along and help carry, we headed out in the dark of a cloudy night with headlamps and a quiet determination. Thankfully, with another phone call to the Bomberos telling them we were on our way, they agreed to meet us at the top of Matasano...a steeper, but shorter hike. It was good to get moving...Alfonso had been going in and out of shock while he was at the clinic... it was all we could do to keep him from slipping...calling out his name and telling him to hold on and keep fighting. Interestingly enough, the hammock stretcher, with its comfy supportive hold and gentle rocking, lulled Alfonso into a restful sleep as we hiked through the night. Again, I was thankful, the road was slippery and full of ruts, but we never slipped or stumbled as we tromped down to the river and all the way up. I don’t think it would have been good to drop him. We know, and witnessed, that:
Psalm 18:32-33 “32 It is God who arms me [us] with strength and makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me [us] to stand on the heights.” and:
Psalm 121:3 “3 He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber;”
We all took turns at the ends of the pole that the hammock was tied to...quietly working under the burden, an equal effort by all who came along...despite the slight unwillingness of the locals before we set out, all came along. At the rendezvous point, we waited in the fog for about 5 minutes, and then saw the glow of headlights far off. We’d made it, Alfonso was in good hands. Of course he was...we’d made several prayers throughout the night, and they proved fruitful. Once he was loaded up in the ambulance and we had a final sending prayer, we hiked back home in good spirits, and eventually hit the hay around 2 AM.
The next day, as we were on our way to the city, Michael, Scott, and I stopped by the hospital to visit Alfonso. His smaller cuts were stitched up neatly, and on his head, now clean and with a little bald spot, there was a beautiful 5-inch stitching job that probably won’t be growing any more hair again. A surprise to us was the policeman guarding Alfonso by his hospital bed. Apparently, Alfonso was a wanted man, having killed several people in the past. Michael knew his history, but we who had taken him out of the mountains on our shoulders had not known that until that visit in the hospital. Obviously, in an emergency situation, it’s “ask questions later”. Anyways, Alfonso is now in jail. Ironically, we had saved his life, and served justice at the same time without knowing it. The lesson I’ve pulled from this experience is that we ought to apply the “ask questions later-let’s save this guy” approach to the way we handle the gospel and how we tell it. As we spread the gospel, we need to do so with the same impartiality and drive one has when taking care of an emergency situation. Afterwards we can work on discipleship and fostering up healthy Christians. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Jesus’ great commission (which, as someone related to me, is the great commission, not the ‘great suggestion’) says it all:
Matthew 28 “18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The field trip!
After the night of playing human powered ambulance, it was time to take the kids on a field trip…7 kids who had graduated from 6th grade and are ready to head down to Zacapa to further their education. We set out for another hike to Matasano, Scott and I leaving Pinalito a little bit late (as would be the norm for any missionary) but caught up to the group as we neared the river. We stopped by The Ortiz’s in Matasano for a couple of seconds… “Oh yeah, long time no see”…We’d been through Matasano four times in a period of 12 hrs. Definitely getting our exercise up here. Michael and Rocky Beene met us at the top of the mountain, just as the ambulance had the night before, and we piled in the cars and relaxed for a couple hours as we headed to Guatemala City. The plan was to show the kids the world they don’t know, the world of opportunities that is available to them if the follow through with their education. And of course, we were going to have fun.
In the city, over a couple of days, we took the group to a big screen movie, the mall, the mega-grocery store, a learning oriented museum, the Zoo, a handicraft Market (which was full of Christmas paraphernalia). We also did fun new things like riding escalators, glass elevators up to the top floor, take goofy group photos in front of anything Christmas related, and watched planes at the airport.
It was interesting to see the different reactions in the different kids. All of the kids started out slightly apprehensively, but then we saw them settle in to ‘city life’, some sooner than others. One part of ‘city life’ these kids got down is cell phones…about half of the kids had phones, and were adept at using them, to call their parents, boyfriends or girlfriends (well, at least that’s what we teased), and to play with the ringtones late into each night. It’s an odd sight to see these kids with the phones, coming from one of the poorest spots in the country. In reality, it shows a reflection of their future prospects, and also helps us realize that the people of Pinalito are not necessarily poor, just severely disadvantaged.
We watched a matinee showing of ‘Fred Claus’, which the kids liked. A couple fell asleep though…oh well. In the mall and shops, I figure it was like watching a movie for the kids, or maybe it was like going to the Zoo…which we also did one nice sunny day. We saw
elephant, giraffe, lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), snakes, all sorts of birds, monkeys, pumas, leopards, hippos, the whole gamut. It was great to see the kids get excited about the animals that they had never seen, only heard about.
After all our fun in the city, we went out to Lake Amatitlan, had a picnic complete with hotdogs, took a sunset boat ride, which was an exciting venture for the group, the biggest water they had known up to that point was the Pinalito river, which only takes a hop skip and a jump to cross over. Lake Amatitlan is formed in an enormous crater of an old volcano, and is surrounded by remnants of the old peak…it was a chance for the kids to see another one of the beautiful spots of Guatemala, Pinalito being the beautiful spot they have claim to.
We took a day to the Pacific Ocean, which I thought was the highlight of the trip. Scurrying over the hot black sand beach, the group saw the ocean for what was for most of them the first time. Even I am always impressed by the vastness of the ocean, for the kids it was probably mind blowing. Of course, Pinalitans don’t swim…so we cautiously all held hands and waded in up to out ankles (well, actually, I had already dove into the waves, the water was the perfect temperature and the waves were great). On previous trips similar to this one, the kids had found ‘ankles’ to be far enough. Not this group though, they were adventurous. After building their confidence by taking them out one by one to where the waves were a little higher and where they could feel the strength and pull of the water, most of the group was playing in the waves like any seasoned beach bum would.
After swimming they walked out to the end of a pier to watch fishermen at work, and then it was back to the city for a good night’s rest before our trip back towards the mountain. Most of the week though, the group had been staying up late, sometimes up till midnight. In Pinalito they’re asleep by 8 or maybe 9…but electricity, being on a field trip, and having fun kept us up. We’d play cards, or watch cars out on the main road, or just ‘hang out’. We ate our meals together, and the group was great at washing dishes and cleaning up. We had devotionals, encouraged the kids to pray at meals, and built each other up with faith.
Then, before we knew it, it was time to go back to the mountains. As luck would have it, we didn’t make it up to Pinalito in one day, and stayed a night in Zacapa. This was fine, because the next morning we went out the Dormitory building site, to show the kids what was waiting for them when they went down to study. They were quite impressed, as was I, because the building –their home- has come a long way…the cement roof is just about ready to be poured.
We made it back to Pinalito Saturday, for a bit of refreshment (which the mountains are always good for) and a couple days to tie things up before returning to the States for the holidays. Our trip up to the city was just as exciting as the first, catching a bus on the side of the highway at 6:30 pm, in part due to (again) a late departure from Pinalito…but, we made it up to the city without a hitch and only slightly late.
Today I’ve been traveling a bit…but it’s weird. All of a sudden, instead of being surrounded by people who only speak Spanish, I’m surrounded by Americans and English as I sit here in the terminal. After serving as translator with all our visitors and really speaking primarily Spanish for several months, English seems a little out of the norm…and I enjoy the challenge of learning the language. Oh well, I’ll get used to it soon enough. It will be good to be home, to spend Christmas with Church and Family, and to get a little work to support my ministry. Rest, regroup, and keep going!
Merry Christmas to all! Let’s not forget to show the world what Christmas is all about. Let’s spread our testimony with the impartiality and drive of an emergency, and also show people, in the same way we did with the kids, what’s available if they ‘follow through’.
Merry Christmas! Immanuel- God is with us.
1 comment:
GREAT blog Koos! Thankyou so much for sharing the trip w/ us.
Melanie
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