I leave the house through the courtyard and the big, heavy metal door. If I’m not careful it makes a resounding bang as it slams. Down the road and through the bigger gate I come to the street.
As I walk into town, Dani is the first friend I meet. He works at the tienda closest to our house. We have been frequent, often daily visitors to this tiny store that sells snacks, drinks, and other basic essentials. Dani is a very quiet young man, but over the last few months we have gotten him to open up a bit more. Now he even teases us occasionally.
Down the street. A right and then a left.
I come to Gillman. He is ten or twelve years old and sits on the curb selling flowers. A large white bucket contains bunches of roses in all different colors. Twenty quetzales, or about $2.50, will get you a dozen. Every time I see him I ask how he is and his response is always the same. “Muy bien, gracias!” Very well, thank you.
Another right and then I head down 6th street.
A few blocks down, right on the corner is Guate Java. Kaci and I are very familiar with this place and have come to know and love the staff here. When I get to the counter most of them already know what I’m going to get. An iced hazelnut latte. Whether it’s Cesia, Julio, Javier, William, or Jorge making it, it’s always delicious. We chat about life and how things are going. I learn about the coffee trade. My coffee shop moments are wonderful.
Continuing on down 6th street for two blocks I come to San Martin. This is a restaurant, but also a bakery and where I get empanadas for breakfast. A small, half circle shaped pastry with filling inside. The spinach and cheese ones are my favorite and are marked as such with sesame seeds on top. The ladies always laugh at me when I’m relieved to find the right ones hidden up front.
A left will take you to the square. Off the square and down a hallway is an artisan market tucked away. Through all the winding booths and stalls we’ve made a few friends.
The first was Rudy. He was a persistent salesman at first, but then we got to talking. He spoke English well and asked where we were all from and what we are doing here in Guatemala. We learned about his wife, his daughter, and all the work that the whole family puts into running a small business like this.
Then there is Maggie and Raul. They are an incredibly sweet, wise, and generous couple. Maggie actually approached us that first day and started asking us questions. By the end of the conversation she was praying blessings over us and tying bracelets around our wrists as a gesture of thanks for leaving our country and coming to serve hers. It was incredibly humbling. One of my favorite days here has been when we sat on the floor of the market at her booth and had hot chocolate and bread and talked about what the Lord is doing. She’s adopted us as her kids while we’re away from home.
A few blocks away and across the boulevard there is another market place. About halfway through the maze is Linda’s vegetable stand. This is where we come for most of our produce and some fruit. The staff here has had a relationship with her for a while now, and it’s been great to be able to be a part of that. She and her nephew Marcos are very patient and try to teach us the words we don’t know for the vegetables.
The ladies selling corn tortillas out of baskets wrapped in colorful cloth sit outside the market. They’re still hot when they wrap them in paper for me.
A right will bring me back to 6th street. Three more blocks and I’m back to the house.
It has been a privilege getting to know these people. They are beautiful, hardworking and persevering. They’ve touched my heart in so many different ways and I’ve learned so much from them. I’ve never spent this much time overseas in the same place before. One of the things that has resulted from that is a much more intentional approach in relationships knowing that I’m here for hour months. And these relationships, the people I see all the time around town, are important to me. It’s not specific “ministry”. It’s just life – with a missional mindset. That’s something I want to take and run with for the rest of my life, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.
I am only $600 away from being fully funded for my time in Guatemala and my deadline is coming up this week. I still have five weeks to go here and would very much appreciate any support you would consider giving me. Especially prayer! To donate financially, just click on the “Support Me” link at the top of this page. Thank you!
