Today was our off first off day in Guatemala, so we decided to take a took took as far as it would go up the mountain outside of Chichi and then hike the rest of the way up. Along the way, we met two kids that came running up the mountain from their house to see us. They were so excited to see us and talk to us, and they told us that their family owned an apple farm on the side of the mountain.
We kept tracking up the mountain and were about at the top, but we weren’t sure exactly which road led to the top. We met another girl named Elsa. She talked with Andrea for a little while and pointed out the way up the mountain. We finally made it to the top. We rested, took pictures and were trying to catch our breathe from the extremely high altitude. There was a man with his son’s that pointed out another path for us to take up. We hiked to the end of that trail where we found Elsa, who had ran up a little trail up the mountain from her house.
She invited us to her house and led us down a little steep path down the mountain to her house. She brought us to her house and introduced us to her family. They brought us chairs to sit in and talk with us for about an hour. She told us about another missionary that had visited her family before from the United States and asked us if we knew her, but we said no.
She was interested in learning English so she brought out her school notebook and we each wrote an English word and helped her learn it. They were interested in where we lived, why we were here, how long we are here for, and even said they wanted us to come back and visit them. We jumped rope, sang “head, shoulders, knees and toes,” held the baby, and had many laughs from the language barrier. Charades become a big part in everyday life communication, but it usually gets the point across.
The girls led us back to the main road that goes down the mountain. They waved and yelled, “Adios!” until we were out of sight.
This brings joy to my heart. Even when we aren’t doing “ministry” God is still using us to bring love to the people around us! We didn’t seek out Elsa, God brought her to us.
The hike ended up being over 6 miles and we climbed about an equivalent of 60 flights of stairs! But it was so worth it!
Elsa and her family. (Elsa is in the pink jacket)
