Over the almost two weeks we have lived in Guatemala, we have learned some lessons. At first glance these lessons may seem negative, but keep reading. God has shown us so much already.
- You can’t get there from here!
Okay, you can, but there are no good roads. Last week Wanda and I drove to Guatemala City for the first time. We had some much needed shopping to do, and our landlord graciously offered to let us borrow his truck. In Troy, OH, where we lived for the last 11 years, we had a Wal-Mart, Lowes, Staples, and numerous retails stores within 1.5 miles of our home. Here the nearest large store is 75 minutes away in Guatemala City. This journey takes us through several towns, some with cobblestone streets, all with narrow roads that are often bottlenecked with vehicles parked in the street. This, combined with both human and animal foot traffic, causes the trip to be a slow one.
Once you get to the city you are confronted by divided roads and one-way streets. You can find yourself right across the road from your destination but still face a three mile trip through congested traffic.
Lesson Learned #1: We don’t really need as much as we think we do. Since it is such an ordeal to shop retail we keep a shopping list posted. Once we are settled we plan to only go into the city once a month. As a result, much of what seemed so important when the trip to Wal-Mart was only three minutes doesn’t seem worth it when the journey is over an hour. This is freeing us from impulse buying and the accumulation of junk that fills the home and drains the budget.
- Hurry up and wait!
Life in Guatemala consists of a series of long lines. At the Bodegoña in Antigua you can spend an hour weaving through crowds and narrow aisles shopping for groceries only to face lines eight to ten people deep at the cash registers. A five minute trip to the bank can quickly become a forty-five minute ordeal as you are confronted by a line of 20 people. Even small towns have traffic jams that can leave you sitting in your car for long periods. A part of living in this culture is learning to wait.
Lesson Learned #2: Slow down! In the fast food, microwave, customer service oriented culture of America we can find ourselves becoming impatient with a three minute wait. We can honestly begin to think that the world should revolve around us because we have a schedule that is too full and we are so important. That mindset creates an environment of everything from rudeness to road rage. I have been repeatedly struck by how kind and deferring the Guatemalan people are. You very seldom hear angry car horns or angry words. They are quick to yield their place in line. Most are quick with a smile and kind word and are very slow to complain. They are content to wait patiently in line with their own thoughts or a pleasant conversation. I have so much that I want to learn from them, but at the top of that list is how to slow down.
- Walk, walk, and walk some more!
Because of the above mentioned road conditions, it is much easier to walk than drive if your journey is less than a mile or two. Why bother pulling your vehicle through the courtyard gate, negotiating narrow, crowded streets, and then doing it all in reverse when you could walk it easier? This is a huge change of pace from the US where I have been guilty of getting in my car to drive to another store in the same strip mall!
Lesson Learned #3: Enjoy the journey and get some exercise! In the last two weeks I have met more people than I had in the last six months because I walked past them instead of driving past. I have noticed more details about my neighborhood and enjoyed more of the outdoors than I did in my last five years in Troy. And I have gotten more exercise and seen my clothing already begin to fit more loosely. I am rediscovering the joy of walking instead of driving.
- Learn to throw a party!
Every day is a party in Guatemala. Just ask some of our team members who have been on one of our trips. In the middle of the day you will hear a loud burst of firecrackers or a boomer (a huge firecracker that rattles your chest) because someone is celebrating a birthday. It seems like every other weekend is another festival that is celebrated with a parade of some sort. And every Sunday morning we are awoken at 5:00 am by music from a local church that is celebrating Jesus. (I think it is also intended as an outreach of some sort as they play the music through external loudspeakers. I would not recommend this kind of outreach in the states!) It seems there is always some reason to celebrate and throw a party.
Lesson Learned #4: Don’t forget to have fun! In the midst of much need, suffering and serious work, there is still so much to celebrate. I can become so focused on work and “ministry” that I forget that one of my greatest ministries is to reflect the joy of the Lord to those around me. So, I am trying to remember to enjoy life and throw regular parties!
So, those are a few of the lessons I am learning here in Guatemala. Now here are some recent pictures of life and ministry. Have a great day!
