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We arrived at the Grande Tikal Hotel around 2, rested for about 15 minutes & then took off to shop for things only available here and/or at bulk prices. Imagine after driving over 6 hours of difficult roads...Energizer Bunny Annie was ready to shop!  Back at the hotel before dark for pizza...our last supper  together.  Sister Liz's & Annie's eyes sparkled as they talked about how much they've relished traveling the world (they've been to Africa, England, Italy, Egypt, Mexico & probably more) and especially being able to help the poor people with the basic of needs...their health.  They have been together for over 40 years and built 5 missions that are all still flourishing & healed untold numbers of the most needy.  I have had but a taste of their rich lives...just enough to feel their joy and understand the satisfying glow it brings.  Just before they left at 7 a.m., Sister Annie took our picture with Sister Liz who grinned and said, "This has been the best two weeks in the last 5 years."  Not sure who was saying Thank you more...us or them.

My Final Thoughts

Grateful for another amazing & enriching adventure.  Sorry I lost my camera but lucky that was the only problem.  Confused by how much I have and how little so many have.  Blessed to have spent quality time with Paula, Sister Ada, Sister Annie & Sister Liz...and Rog.  Glad to have enjoyed 2 months in warm vs. freezing weather.  And ever so anxious to get my arms around my grandkids and kids again!

Roger's Final Thoughts

It was good that we visited Belize before coming to Guatemala because we anticipated worse conditions and more danger than we found in Guatemala.  Several people in Belize were concerned for our safety as we left there but fortunately, we had no problems.  It was good to be able to speak English to everyone in Belize & Tobacco Caye was a tropical treat.  Hopkins (drumming center) was very friendly and we enjoyed daily bike rides to the bakery & internet cafe.  A pleasant stop in a country with great potential for future tourism as it is close, tropical and English speaking.  At San Jose Clinica, finally a mission project that challenged me to use my skills with tools!  Sisters Annie & Liz had a list of jobs that they needed us to accomplish and they had quality tools & the necessary parts to complete the work.  Working just 5 to 6 hours each day, we completed the work and added many more...like soaping the drawer bottoms to make them slide easily.  The Sisters appreciation for our work felt good and we marveled at their endurance and commitment to the indigenous people.  Guatemala was a pleasant country to visit with mild temps during the day (even at the Clinica which is 9000 ft above sea level), interesting land forms (volcanoes, lakes, hot waterfalls, jungles, and high plains), cool nights at the Clinica made us grateful for warm electric blankets and....helpful, pleasant people!

Home

We had a uneventful flight home, Ben was there to pick us up in his warm car & we spent the night in his warm house....thankful we had just missed 2 month of the worst winter in Michigan since 1950!

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The last couple days at Clinica Jose were filled with touch up jobs, putting away tools & cleaning up the messes we'd made.  We seemed to linger longer at the kitchen table savoring our time together...and munching on the 10 doz cookies I'd made...most put in the freezer as a sweet reminder of us.  By 7 a.m Fri morning, we were on the road heading toward Guatemala City.  As usual, the Sisters...who have been in this country over 20 years now...explained much about what we saw out the jeep window: 

-mostly new cars because several years ago, Guat gov't passed a law not allowing used cars older than 5 years to be imported (those all went to Belize probably)

-wood is still the main cooking fuel and no fuel is used for heating in most the country

-soil on mtn side needs lots of fertilizer provided by the gov't for low cost

-gov't clinics provide minimum care...but are run by many money hogs that overcharge and mostly prescribe vitamens

-many evangelical churches are springing up led by more money hogs

-but the worst money hogs are the gov't officials who care little about the indigenous people (80% of population) so very little $$ trickles down to most of the people & their villages

-most babies are potty trained before 1 year old.  Bare bottomed baby is propped between mom's legs & she sways back & forth (while she works) until baby goes.

-if you see a nice new house, most likely someone has been or is in the USA working

-education outside the large cities is very poor--teachers can call off school for any reason they can think of including protesting about low pay or recent law requiring them to get 2 years of college to be a teacher.

-young people are getting tired of putting all their income into the family food pot...instead are buying cell phones instead

-no jobs is the biggest problem outside the big cities and crime is the biggest inside the big cities

-change is slow as the 80% indigenous stick firmly to their old traditions...vs. USA whose rich diversity spawns new ideas

-very few couples actually get married officially so no paper work...girl just moves in with boy's family...makes it real easy for boy to be unfaithful and/or desert girl & children

-field work is mostly done by hand (only saw 2 tractors & it's planting season

-most small stores don't have change for 20Q ($15 USA)...which we experienced many times

-NGO & foreign aid pour into Guat but of often used for projects that are poorly planned and don't take into consideration the culture.  Ex:  500 2 hole outhouses were built up on a platform with lower doors where waste could be removed once dried & used as fertilizer.  Problems:  waste doesn't dry as too much ground water and rain,  people don't believe in handling human waste (just like in China), elders can't climb steps up, often built too far from house to use during their often very cold nights and finally, since maintenance is not routine to most, once bottom board rots...it is useless...except for storage unit which many are used for.

-biggest & usually only birthday party is their 1st...celebrating the fact they they are still alive 

-malnutrition, burns, machete cuts & diabetics account for most of Sister Liz's patients while Sister Annie does all OB work

-banana/palm leaves & paper have been replaced by styrofoam & plastic so tossing them out windows isn't seen as a problem yet...except by a few like the Sisters:  Since I was trying to take pictures of the gorgeous view of the volcanoes & valleys ( with Sister Annies's camera)..Annie was looking for a place to pull over and said she didn't want to stop by a garbage dump to which Sister Liz frankly responded, "Can't stop along the road anywhere then." 

Can you see why we love being with these two????

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The Sister want Hermocillo (their hired hand) how to use their tools and fix things so he usually works with Rog who tries to teach him and give him some practice.  He catches on quickly.  He is 19, married with 1 child & another on the way & since his Dad has not been around for a long time, he also supports his Mom & several young siblings.  At the end of the day...he goes home to work on the addition he is building on to his house...which will still have a dirt floor & no heat source (and there is often frost in the a.m.)....while we get to crawl into comfy beds with our heated blankets.  Whoever said life was fair...didn't look around much!

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Our Job List started out with about ten things but when the Sister saw how capable & hard working Rog is...the list more than doubled.  Tomorrow is Wednesday and we have everything done & then some.  Both Sisters are trying hard to think of more.  Our jobs have included:
installing baseboards in 3 rooms;  painting shutters, fence, front gate, two showers & trim on the clinic; mounting hooks, towel racks, toilet paper dispensers, shower curtains, mirrors, lots of wall decorations, a shelf, & rain glutters; builing a fence with wheels to keep their dogs out of their flowers; caulking two toilets; stabilizing the washing machine; assembling 2 bunk beds, 2 twin beds & 3 bedside cabinets; taking pictures of the Sister with patients for a grant report; repairing two toilets, sanding & varnishing 2 doors; cooking the main meal Tues - Fri when the clinic is open; putting 4 meals in the freezer; frying 2 lbs of bacon for freezer; browning hamb with onions for freezer; and baking about 10 doz cookies...about 6 made it to the freezer.  So we have been kept busy and the SIster have lavished praise & gratitude on us.   

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We took a tuk tuk to a small village nearby, San Juan...a very quiet and interesting place.  We shopped for a few last gifts and Rog gave some merchants juggling lessons....since they sold crocheted balls...he told them it would increase their business.  There is a Women's Weaving Co-op there and we watched a demonstration of how they dye the yarn and weave it.  The next day we took the ferry to Santiago on the lake...always a treat to be on a lake.    It was crammed with stands of handicrafts and  art galleries filled with truly gorgeous paintings.   So many times I reached for my camera and then had to just soak it in.  I am adjusting.  

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Dios is the Spanish word for God so it hit me today that Adios must refer to God.  Duh!  All the times I said that and I never thought about what I am saying.  This whole country is plastered with signs referring to Jesus, God & bible verses...but is intermixed with Maya religion as well. Maximon who is smoking a cigar, is considered Jesus' side kick and honored.  The church here in San Pedro is the most beautiful one in town and by far has the best view of the entire lake.  It seems in every town, the church shines even if the town doesn't.

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San Pedro sits on Lake Atitlan, a volcanic crater that is about 20 km E to W and about 900' deep and with steep mountains all around it.  Spectacular natural beauty.  San Pedro is a quirky little town with lots of young and old Caucasian hippies staying in make shift hostels or hotels many taking or teaching Spanish classes, making jewelry, or working in one of the many bars or restaurants for $1.20 per hour to pay their bills.  We are in a nicer hotel with a third floor balcony & a view of the lake...once you look over the rusty corrugated roofs.  The ride here was through many large and small villages where mountain sides were being cropped.  We were surprised to see how many people live in these mountains.  It was an exhausting ride as their were lots of hair´pinned turns and crowded buses...where the seats had been made longer to accomodate more people but left a very small aisle....and mostly, I was exhausted from kicking myself!  We rested a bit and then checked out the town.  Channon had hoped to join us here to celebrate her birthday but she couldn't make it...so we ate a Thai dinner in her honor.  The restaurant offered a hot fudge sundae but we were too full....but we will do it tomorrow...only because it is Chan's birthday!

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A sad day...I ran out of M & M's...and worst, I lost our camera...somewhere on the last of the 4 chicken buses that it took to get us to San Pedro.  I kick myself for not keeping it in my zipped bag...while Rog patiently tried to console me...it was only pictures...probably a hundred just like them on the internet.  True.  And I won't spend a tedious week putting together a book & no one will have to be bored looking at our pictures.  I still have my journals writings.  True.  But it is a bummmmmmer!

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After working on projects for about 5 hours, we devoured a BBQ rib dinner with mashed potatoes & corn prepared by Sister Liz & then Sister Annie took us on a tour of the area...and lent me her camera so I was snapping photos as fast as a clock ticks.  We drove down main street & a few side streets.  Many locals recognized the Sisters' jeep & they smiled & waved & let me take their picture.  We went to the home of a family that the Sisters are helping.  The alcoholic father threw out his wife & their 7 kids.  They had been living in the woods for almost 2 year.  The Sisters helped by hiring 3 of the kids and giving them a no interest loan so they could build a simple home.  Before we left the USA, we had asked if there were any needs here.  The Sisters asked for $ for school tuition for these kids as they had not been able to attend school for 2 years.  The DUMC Women's Group & WOW generously donated the full amount.  As you might imagine, we were warmly welcomed into their home & thanked over and over.  I loved having a chance to play games with the 3 little ones.  We toured their neat, dirt floor, adobe, tin roofed home with no electricity and one window.  They proudly showed us their garden & outside pila with running water for washing clothes where the drain water was used by their pig.  Before we left, Sister Annie told them about Claire's upcoming operation and they promised to pray for her.  Then we held hands and said the Our Father together...3 languages...Mam, Spanish & English...all in perfect harmony.

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Our long drive to and from town gave us a chance to learn more about many things...including the current nun situation in USA:  very few are joining and many have left the convent...in other words, nuns are almost "nun-" existence.  The average age of the Presentation sisters is 80.  Many of the current nuns are working in the private sector to support their fellow sisters.  Nuns have played a major role in the USA starting many hospitals, schools & social programs for the needy.  In the past many young girls entered the convent because it was the only way for poor girls to get the education to become a nurse, teacher or social worker...and/or it provided a warm place to live & meals...and/or they felt the calling from God.  In our travels we have met communities of nuns we have met in India (Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity) and here in Guatemala (Marte y Maria).  We see them doing just what the USA nuns did earlier in our history:  seeing a need and reaching out to help...being God's hands.

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Since we had finished all the jobs we could do, we took off for Quetzaltenango...3 hours drive one way...to get more supplies.  Sister Liz stayed home as the drive is over horrid, steep & curvy roads which is tough on her.  We had terrific views of Volcano Tujumulco...the tallest mountain in Central America...and all the villages nestled in the valleys & on the mountain sides.  We also saw slivers of the daily lives:  girl with 3 grazing sheep on ropes; men working on leveling land with hoes; women scrubbing clothes in the pilas (washing sinks); young kids using a forehead strap to carry loads of split woods as big as they were; women walking with baby on her back, baskets on her head & holding the hand of a small toddler; man making adobe bricks; pickup with 5 or 6 in front seat & mound of corn stalks in back; man leading horses laden with logs; young man studying next to tethered cow on the side of the road; odd assortment of jugs filled with gas or diesel usually diluted with water for sale on the side of the road; many Auto Hotels where men drive their cars into a hidden garage & then pay for a room & girl in the hotel above the garage; kids rolling tires; Grandma wearing traditional clothing walking arm and arm with granddaughter dressed in tight jeans & Tshirt with American wording; piles of branches in the middle of the road which was a warning that something was in the road right around the switchback.  As we got close to town, the scenery changes quickly:  nicer & bigger homes, gas stations & stores; wider & better roads; parking lots & sidewalks; playgrounds; American chain restaurants like McD built to look like a Happy Meal complete with a McD delivery motorcycle; lots of security guards with shotguns.  We shopped at Walmart (one year old) & Ace Hardware and then got a delicious steak meal...after 5 years & many trips here, the Sisters have located the best places to shop & eat!  As we traveled, we of course passed and were passed by many overloaded chicken buses that put out huge clouds of black smoke every time they shifted gears.  We have heard that the reason they crowd so many on and drive so fast is because the drivers get a percent of the fare.  We felt very safe with our seat belts on & Sister Annie driving...and because we had a clean windshield that was washed for just a few quetzels while we waited at a red light.  We called Sister Liz from Concepcion Tutuapa around 5 pm and asked her to open the gate.  We were glad to get back to our little village of Llano Grande and Clinica San Jose!
 

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Being around Sister Liz is such a treat!  Since she is my Mom's first cousin, so many of her mannerisms remind me of my mom...even the way she laughs....and her grin.  She is 85...Mom would have been 88 today.  We were talking about when my Mom died at 86 and Sister Annie & I agreed that she had lived a good life...but Sister Liz piped up,  "Wait a minute here, I think 86 isn't THAT good!"  Another thing I catch her doing is exaggerating & she is always early.  She also doesn't mince words...when Annie politely said, "In winter here, it is a damp cold", she shook her head and said, "It is just a DAMN cold!"  All traits of my Mom.  Her choice of patron saint takes the cake, Saint Dismus...the Good Thief who was on the cross next to Jesus...he asked Jesus to remember him and Jesus promised him he would see paradise that day.  Sister Liz boasted that if Jesus or Mary doesn't answer her prayers...she pray to Dismus because he will steal it for her!!  She claims she has never gone without what she has truly needed.  Dismus is a clever thief.  She had a Italian carpenter carve a cross with Dismus on it and it sits on her table...probably the only one in existence.  I feel like I am spending a bonus two weeks with my Mom.  In honor of my Mom's birthday, we worked on finishing the chapel:  hanging the cross, putting up a shelf for the tabernacle (a cigar box beautifully painted by Annie), moving in the altar, chairs & other special pictures.  When it was done, we said a prayer for God's blessing on this simple chapel...and wished Mom a Happy Birthday.

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Before I Sleep is the book about Dr. Tom Dooley's last two years.   Ironic that it is the book I happen to pick out in San Pedro to replace one that I had just finished.  Sister Liz & Annie both felt Dr. Dooley's life spurred them to become nurses in a third world.   There are many remarkable traits shared by him and Sister Liz and Sister Annie.. his boundless energy....his unquestionable love of the poor...his expert skill in treating the suffering in remote areas...his unquenchable desire to learn everything that would advance their good health...his ability to focus on individual needs...his belief and practice of teaching the locals the skills so that they could continue in his footsteps...his charismatic personality that drew many to support his cause with their time, talents & money...his times of loneliness having given up closeness to family & friends...his joy in making children in pain, smile....his determination to do as much as possible until his last breath....and his deep love of God.  It makes my heart swell to think of all the heroes (saints) that I have had been so privileged to spend time with:  Rosemary & Yeenlan (Kenya), Missionaries of Charity Sisters (India & Thailand), Tassanee (Thailand), Juan & Renee (China), Sister Ada, Sister Annie & Sister Liz (Guatemala) and my Mom...all such dedicated and admirable people....all who's examples have awed, inspired & humbled me.  

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I asked Sister Liz if they would be sending someone to the USA to be trained as a doctor and then return to work here...without hesitation she said, "NO, they would never return.  Instead I need to find doctors who will come here and train using the equipment and medicine available here.  IF I can find a Guatemalan doctor willing to do it.  Doctors here get little training and nothing once they graduate...few other read another word...diagnostic testing is rare...instead there is lots of guessing & useless drugs are prescribed.  Unfortunately most are in it only for the money. "  Example:  Yesterday a young lady hobbled in...she had been to a Guat doctor three months ago because she had hurt her foot.  He gave her a shot (not sure what) in her calf and sent her home with vitamins.  She now has a bone infection in her broken foot and her calf is almost more painful than her foot.  

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I asked Sister Liz if they would be sending someone to the USA to be trained as a doctor and then return to work here...without hesitation she said, "NO, they would never return.  Instead I need to find doctors who will come here and train using the equipment and medicine available here.  IF I can find a Guatemalan doctor willing to do it.  Doctors here get little training and nothing once they graduate...few other read another word...diagnostic testing is rare...instead there is lots of guessing & useless drugs are prescribed.  Unfortunately most are in it only for the money. "  Example:  Yesterday a young lady hobbled in...she had been to a Guat doctor three months ago because she had hurt her foot.  He gave her a shot (not sure what) in her calf and sent her home with vitamins.  She now has a bone infection in her broken foot and her calf is almost more painful than her foot.