Charlas y Caminatas

Hi everyone!
Charlas y Caminatas (Talks and Hikes) have been a big part of things for me lately. I´m now doing little talks in the schools, going from kindergarten up to 4th grade. It keeps me hopping, It´s getting easier...at least I´m not as nervous about it... I just jump right in...with both feet into my mouth.I´m doing some talks to mothers, those who are recieving food aid and those recieving scholarships for their kids. Latest topics The right way to wash your hands, Preventing infection to cuts and scrapes, Keeping Skin Healthy...I´m also leading a couple of groups of hikers into the countryside on Saturdays. I talk with them about Nature and Taking care of our world. There were 11 kids in the 10 to 12 year old group. ´We had all been to the dump the day before, kind of a nightmare scene with garbage trucks rolling in every minute, hundreds of people picking through the trash for usable and recyclable stuff, vultures flopping around, and buzzing flies. We talked about what it was like and who was responsible and what we could do to keep the world from becoming like that. Then we scampered up a nearby mountain. I felt like I was herding wild goats. The younger kids about 20 of them went a little slower. We caught a lot of crickets. Besides talking about caring for the earth, we talked about the pine that grow here and Nance, another fire resistant evergreen(broadleaf) that puts out sweet little yellow fruits. I picked up an old scout book and hope to use some of the ideas as we get out into the wilds each week. It looks like I´ll be doing some talks for the staff on health issues, too.

We´re moved into our place now. Nice and quiet in the morning. The rains have come and things are greeening up beautifully. We´ve got some chorchas (orioles), bright orange and black birds that make hanging nests. A brilliant accent to this bucolic scene. We´re getting around OK on the busses, although it´s a challenge ( packed in, 3 to a seat and standing jammed together) to see out of the bus to know where to get off. Getting off is a something you have to start working on 5 minutes ahead.

We get thunder and lightning daily along with the rains and at night afterwards there are hundreds of lightning bugs shining everywhere we go. My mom would love it, having grown up in Arkansas.

I´ll sign off before the power goes off.

Getting Busy

Hola Hermanos y Hermanas, We're into the thick of it , this week. Jane has been meeting with staff of the school and children's home. The Children's home has been needing a psychologist since January and the School's psychologist is going on maternity leave in June. Jane's working to set up groups for kids that really need help. I'm getting our place together- some safety and plumbing issues mostly. I'm doing my first health talk to a mothers group, on skin care- preventing infection, dealing with problems like rashes and sunburn, etc. They want me to do a talk to the kids on respect for animals. I've been thinking about working with some of the older kids (8-12) taking them on nature hikes, a chance to teach respect for the earth, so this fits right in. I was on the bus hitting the hardware stores. Haven't gotten too lost or missed many stops, people have been really helpful getting me pointed in the right direction. Jane and I celebrated our 13th anniversary Sunday. What an adventure! Thanks so much for your prayers. We're looking to find a church close by, where we can build friendships. We learned just yesterday of Maxine's going home. When she let her light shine, it went off like a roman candle. What energy. What warmth. What sparks. I think God used her in a major way to link Bethany to our African brothers and sisters. We'll miss her terribly... still... I can just see her, in bright colors, "marching in the light of God". Til later, Gil.

one last look at Guatemala

Hola Amigos. We just got back from visiting Coban and Semuc Champey. We invited our Korean friend Carmela along. She´s been in Guatemala several months and hasn´t had much opportunity to travel around much ( a Catholic sister and a nurse, so she´s a worker). The area around Coban is wet and cool, ¨cloud forest¨country ( think of the Olympic rain forest, just a little warmer. Semuc Champey is really out in the sticks, miles and miles of dirt roads in 4 wheel drive to get there. Hot springs meeting a cold rushing stream over eons have created a fascinating sculpture of stairsteping pools over caverns that the river has dived underneath. We swam and jumped from pool to pool, climbed down a rock cliff, swam under a waterfall, and climbed up into a cavern. A strange place of wet, glistening, fantastic shapes. We finished with a 15 foot leap into the stream. Wow! All this barefoot so as not to damage the fragile limestone. To top off this jungle experience Howler Monkeys sang us their version of ¨Good Night Irene¨. After 2 days we caught one of the very efficient minibuses they use to get from town to town here and went to Biotopo Quetzal. This is a park set aside to protect cloud forest habitat, a place where the increasingly rare bird, The Quetzal, lives. This is the national bird of Guatemala, with the feathers of a showgirl, but terribly shy. We never saw one but we did see a green toucan, a heliconus charitonus (sp?) butterfly ( black wings with yellow lightning bolt and red heart markings), and some really great trees. I love this stuff. It´s amazing nature´s variety. We´re packing up now to leave for Honduras at 4 AM tomorrow morning. We met a friend, Mike, from our last time down here. From my last post you know how dark the future looks for Guatemala. Mike encouraged me, pointing out a couple of things. One is that we modern Americans have gotten away from looking at things from the long view. Our forefathers , like many recent immigrants, worked and sacrificed, living through really hard times, keeping hope for their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Think how heavy are snowflakes? How heavy is the last one that breaks the branch? The other thing was the candle in the dark, Amnesty International´s symbol. Each little light makes it a little harder for the dark powers to have their way. The moment will come when they will have no place to hide. Today I read Psalm 103:4-6. God will come to the defense of those who suffer violence. Til later, Gilberto

Back to Honduras

Hello all. We will be finishing our language study today and heading back to Honduras next week. We're hoping to swing by the mountainous area of Coban on our way. It's one place we've not seen and famed for waterfalls, grottos, and cloud forest. I attended a lecture recently about the present state of things in Guatemala.To sum up it looks pretty dismal. There's a big chasm between the indigenous and ladino population, the government's weak and overly centralized (little local control), corruption is rife, legacies of a 36 year civil war persist (many of the peace accords have yet to be implemented), and population growth is the highest in Central America ( 4.4 kids per child bearing woman). Right now the drug traffickers control 40% of the country and and the murder rate is 6 times that of the US. The lecturer, an American woman who has lived here for 20 years, says she's more pessimisstic than ever. There are positives They have a free press and good reporting, many grass roots leaders are emerging, there are no political prisoners, there is freedom of religion, and women can own and inherit property. Big needs are education, especially of young women. So, lots to do. Lots to pray about. Jane and I both feel like we've made breakthroughs in Spanish. She's hoping to keep up studying with her professor using Skype. I know we'll be getting lots of practice over at the children's home and elementary schools. I read psalm 100 today. What a privilege we have. God is inviting us into His presence. He loves us! Think about it. Thank you all for your emails and prayers. You help keep us going. Hasta luego, Gilberto.

Easter 2009, Antigua, Guatemala

Hola, The last couple days, I´ve been focused on the reality of Jesus´resurrection. The world is changed. Whether we see it or not God´s kingdom has come.We´ve got Good News! I had another chance to glimpse, to feel it this weekend. Easter morning I climbed up Cerro de la Cruz to sing and pray with other Christians. We are a grand family united by his indestructible love. The cross couldn´t kill it. The grave couldn´t hold it down. Jesus is alive! The nails are rust, the thorns are dust, Jesus lives and loves in these hearts and in this world. Afterwards we got together with our house-mates to share breakfast together, our landlady is on vacation so we took care of each other. I feel like we have a privelege in sharing fellowship with others who are in the middle of big changes, a life adventure going who knows where? Later we went to El Camino Church where they focus on communicating in both English and Spanish. We got to sing everything twice, in both languages. I was very happy afterwards when April, the song leader gave me copies of the words with the guitar chords. Hope to carry the songs with me. We´re doing OK so far eating what the street venders are selling. I´m mostly staying away from anything not cooked, and things that are hard to wash like salads. Lots of beans, rice, tortillas, plantain, etc. Hope you´re all pushing up through the cold ground and blooming in new colors. I hear the tulips are coming up in Seattle. If you see my flower bed let me know how it looks. If you can send me a picture that would be great.

Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala

Hi again, Just back down from the Volcano. Thinking ahead I borrowed a couple of broomsticks from my landlady, and used them as hiking sticks. They came in handy as it was a steep trail with plenty of jagged bits of broken lava at the top. Having 2 was good, I had one to share with a woman who was needing a little extra help. Guess what do you know that alder grows up here on the high mountains? Many of the local folk accompanied us on horseback. They we're expecting some of us to poop out and hire a 4 legged taxi. I've got some pictures of lots of lava pouring out of the mountain and sliding down the slopes. Forgot to bring the marshmallows. The last couple of days we've witnessed many reenactments of Jesus last week before the crucifixion. I've been reading the account in John along with the Psalms 87,88, & 89. God has been opening up to me a picture of the power of God in the face a darkness that denies His existence. I think of some of his last words: Buck up, guys. I've beaten the powers that run this world" John 16:33 (my paraphrase). I'm working on another health talk, "Dealing with Depression". If any of you come across any good stuff I can use for my talks, send me an e-mail and include a link, if you've got one. Here are some of the titles: Dealing with Back Pain, Protecting Your Skin, Keeping Your Heart Healthy, Keeping your Lungs Healthy, Dealing with Joint Pain, Maintaining a healthy Weight, Balancing your Diet, Staying Fit for Busy People, Dealing with Stress, Dealing with Depression, Exercising Your Brain,...We appreciate your prayers too for Jane as she forges ahead in Spanish.

With Jane in Antigua, Guatemala

Hola Amigos, It´s been great being back with Jane. We are staying with the same family we stayed with 2 years ago. In some ways I feel right at home. We´ve been learning about a ministry here called God´s Child PROJECT. A Korean nurse, Carmela, who is at the same house works there. The are working with kids facing some of the same challenges our work in Honduras is confronting. They are further along so we´re getting some good ideas. Right now it´s Holy Week in Antigua which is a religious center in Guatemala. They go all out, with flower murals in the streets, processions carrying representations of the events of Christ´s last week leading up to the Crucifixion. Yesterday, Palm Sunday, I thought how Jesus´ entry into Jerusalem reflected ahead to that day coming in the future when He will return as King. I read Psalm 84, which talks about the joy of living where God lives, where God is King: the Temple. Then I thought of how I can make this place, this corner where I find myself, God´s Temple. How do I claim ground for God´s Kingdom ? The psalm makes it sound like bringing justice, especially to the poor, is a good place to start. Hope you´re all well. I´m planning to hike up a volcano tomorrow. Hasta lluego. Gilberto.