After a monster round of goodbyes in TN, OK, and KS, we didnt figure Guatemala would be rough at all. We were wrong.
Here's Maria, our Senora and house mother. She is about four foot six and likes to beep beep her way through intersections instead of stopping, while she tells us that no one obeys the traffice laws except for her. She also had the E.T. comment (See earlier post), and loves any excuse for our other German bartender housemate to make her a "mojito". She is also the lady who weeps while she tells Holly and I about how much her church family means to her as she watches her husband slowly die from cancer, and gives us a tortilla maker, windchimes, a garish wallet that I will cherish forever, and a ragged, well loved book of spanish Catholic hymns for me to learn. Hard to leave Maria.
Here's my teacher for the six weeks- Carmen. We spent 168 hours face to face, speaking spanish and chatting about our different lives- she loves to keep a neat table, and is a little OCD about it. She and Holly really got along (for more reasons than just the neatness) and now that we are gone- I find that will miss having her as a teacher and friend.
Hollys teacher was named Lucia- which, in spanish, roughly can mean "looking good". She was a stylish, fast talking girl from Guat city, who was well liked by all the male teachers and had immaculate manicures every week- ( if TJ notices your nails- they must be pretty interesting...) She and Holly got along, especially when Holly threw out the last book of Grammar and started translating and talking about the parables of Jesus instead.
There were so many others- our group of friends who went to the Copan trip- Blair- a Dallas headhunter who threw away a high power career to work in a Guatemalan orpanage. Mike, a husband and father who quit his stable insurance job and is sacrificing months with his family to fulfill a lifelong dream to learn spanish and work in public health. Chad and Shelley- a couple from down the road in Franklin who gave up preaching to run childrens homes in Honduras. The "tres chicas", from Nashville (and Otter Creek strangely enough!) who were studying and working every day(at least when they werent salsa dancing) to teach poor kids english at the school near our building.
We learned a lot of Spanish, but more so- we learned about the Lord and how he works- how he is calling his people to crazy things all over the world if we just listen. Holly and I were so encouraged- as we wonder if we can accomplish what we feel like has been set out for us- seeing these people jump into Gods call for thier lives made us so much more excited to get our hands dirty in our own calling.
Goodbye Guatemala. Thanks. Hello Dominican Republic.
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