After being out of the country for over a week, I am settling back into my home-comforts nicely. I had an adventure worth telling over and over again, but when all is said and done, there's no place like home.In Guatemala, you can't flush toilet paper or even depend on soap in restrooms, roads are free of nuisances like traffic signals, and communication with the outside world is extremely limited. At least where we were, in a remote village in the mountains.
I still hesitate when refilling my water bottle or brushing my teeth (don't drink the water!) Almost all of our team suffered a bout with Montezuma's revenge. And yet I have come from my experience feeling like I've been to rehab. Letting go of the things that felt so crucial, and embracing what definitely matters most. Intangible things that can be ignored if you're not careful.
Here are some photos that stand out to me. First, the one and only weaver I saw in a country whose main export is probably fiber.
A small hank of yarn or thread was only about a quarter.
Here are some shots of our accommodations and our hangouts.Dining room where we ate breakfast and dinner every day.
Patio where we had morning prayer (and coffee) before breakfast.
My room.
It took hours to get anywhere and we usually rode in this bus. Affectionately known as the chicken bus!
Breezeway where we played with the local children.
I will surely post more soon, but it begs to be mentioned that I never once knitted a stitch. Not once. We were busy all the time and when we had free time, it was spent resting and trying to gather news from home.I live in Tennessee where the worst disaster since the Civil War occurred in my absence! And we barely heard about the car bomb in Times Square. It's hard to believe how disconnected I was from "civilized society" but those things just didn't seem important where we were.
We gave medical care and comfort to people who live with dirt floors in houses equivalent to our lawn mower sheds. Those Central Americans really didn't care that music stars lost their precious guitar collections. The concerns seemed more to center around hoeing their garden; their single source of food, period.
We Are A Blessed Nation.