La Lluvia

The rain has arrived. It was only a matter of time. Iglesia Emanuel is in a kind of valley and all the water seems to gravitate to the church patio...into the sanctuary...and into the home of Maribel and her family. Thus far the rain has only made it to the patio.
The mornings on the other hand have been beautiful and sunny. Once the sun burns off the fog the view of the mountains is incredible. Yesterday Dina and Sara from the youth group accompanied me to La Democracia market to buy food. Fruits and vegetables...everything I could have hoped to find. We returned to the church weighed down with oranges, broccolli, avocadoes, bananas, plantains, tomatoes, papaya, cucumber, and limes. I will be extremely well fed.
This week begins the bible study with the women of the church and the theology classes with the youth, both of which I will be leading. I met with Rafael Par, the coordinator of CERE seminary yesterday to go over details. I will also be teaching a writing seminar (a 1 hour class) for students in Xela and Huehuetenango. Thank you to all my teachers who drilled the 5-point essay into my head for years on end....
The idea of a blog is still strange to me and I feel odd publishing my more intimate thoughts on the nebulous internet but here is a taste: Loneliness - it is strange to live alone in a new country. I was locked out of my apartment one of the first nights and felt completely lost (for about five minutes). I feel extremely dependent on others - something that is true in the US as well but which I sometimes fail to recognize because I am busy being "independent." Fear - When I arrived in the capital I picked up the newspaper and the first article I read was about a governmental forum on the increasing violence in Guatemala. When I arrived in Xela I had dinner with a friend who told me he had watched a student of his bleed to death after being stabbed for his cell phone. In truth, it is probably no worse here than in parts of NYC but since this kind of random violence is relatively new to Guatemala there is great concern. Poverty is undoubtably one of the root causes. Peace - There is violence but the strength of community overwhelms fear and alleviates violence. Today I will attend cooking classes with the women of the church. This afternoon another volunteer is giving voice lessons to the youth group. The church is full of activity. Improvement is accomplished by communal efforts, time to talk and listen, and faith....great faith.