This is a special request for prayer from all our supporters and prayer partners. As I write this, I am currently in San Pedro Laguna with Dick Rutgers and Pat Duff, and these two are exhausting! It is difficult to be the only mature person in the group. It is like being responsible for toddlers!
Our group left this afternoon after church. As already stated, the team includes Dick, Pat, and myself along with my daughter Brittney and Kathlyn Beyer. The plan was to drive out to the region of Lake Atitlan and stay in a motel for the next two evenings, using it as a base while we deliver a wheelchair, repair another, and make a couple of deliveries in the area. It didn’t take long for me to determine that I was in trouble.
My fear began when Dick informed our group that he had driven carefully on our trip last week. But after reading my blog in which I complained about his heart-stopping driving technique he would no longer “hold back.” I immediately began to pray.
We stopped for a break at a gas station where Pat promptly fell out of Dick’s Land Cruiser. Dick immediately expressed his concern by asking, “You didn’t get any blood on my car, did you?” (Note: Dick asked me to clarify this story by letting you know that he did ask her if she was okay a split second before expressing his concerns about blood stains, although his concern for the car was expressed more loudly and with much greater emotion.) Dick was greatly relieved to learn that no skin was broken and, therefore, there was no blood.
Our journey through the mountains was an adventure in itself. The descent to the lake takes us through a section of road that Dick and Pat have dubbed “The Lower Intestines” because that is what the road looks like on the GPS. We traveled down the side of the mountain through a series of switchbacks involving sharp corners that left you wondering if we would meet a bus head-on.
We arrived in town and checked into our motel which is quite nice and only set us back by 100 Q (about $12.50) a night per room. We were hungry, so we walked to a local restaurant that overlooks the lake. The view was gorgeous, but the food was lousy. Dick and I both got the shrimp (at least that is what it was called on the menu). After trying it, we both decided that they must have been composed of crawdads from the lake combined with rubber from old tires. So, I ate the bread on the plate and ordered a cheeseburger. Dick chose to finish Pat’s spaghetti for her. (There was still a little left that she hadn’t managed to spew at me or splatter on me from across the table. Never sit across from Pat when she eats!)
Today was mainly just for fun as we traveled over and settle in, but there will be some actual ministry done. To be honest, life and ministry here can be difficult and draining, and sometimes we just need to laugh and have some fun. It is good to have friends with whom we all can do just that. My respect and love for these two have grown exponentially in the last few months, and I am privileged to call them my friends.
We are all getting ready to settle down and get some shut-eye. Another day awaits us and will arrive soon, and I will need to be ready to keep these two toddlers in line. Please pray for me!
Goodnight from Lake Atitlan!
Daryl
