Guatemala or Bust, chapter 6: Lessons Learned

I’ll probably spend the rest of my life in Guatemala. It’s all so good – the work, the friends, the community, the growth, the adventure, the beauty, the way it all came together so unexpectedly and easily. Surely this is God’s doing. Surely God brought me here. Surely he must want me to stay here indefinitely.

That’s what I was thinking.  Hey, I was 24.

Guatemala or Bust, chapter 5: The Play

All work and no play make Jack and Jill a dull boy and girl, so on a Friday evening we came up with a plan – more of an idea, really – to go for a hike. On Saturday morning four of us drove into the mountains west of Guatemala City to find a hiking trail that looked interesting. No need to worry about or plan for ice, snow, or any of that stuff – this is the tropics, man. Tennis shoes, check. Water, check. Sunglasses, check. Hat, check. We’re good to go.

Guatemala or Bust, chapter 4: The Work

Roads into some villages were so rutted and full of chuckholes – more like craters – that we could barely coax our trucks into the sites. But even in remote little hamlets, a Coca Cola truck often arrived before we did. It was astounding to see Coca Cola’s commitment and determination to bring their products to people with so few of the necessities. On those days when I didn’t feel like building houses, realizing that the Coca Cola truck would be there helped to get me going.

Guatemala or Bust, chapter 3: Arrival

Someone handed me a pillow and showed me where to sleep shortly after we arrived at a home in Guatemala City. It was late in the evening, but the house was still a beehive of activity. Look forward to meeting … must sleep … lots of questions … eyelids so heavy … in the morning … zzzzz.

Guatemala or Bust, chapter 2: Mexico

Our route cut across just a corner of the Land of Enchantment. New Mexico is one of the states I look forward to exploring, but not in an old ambulance. We were on a mission. Next stop: Dallas.

The main thing I recall about being on the road in Texas was how many “Drive friendly” signs were posted along the flat highways. Oh – and the heat. A lot of the extra equipment you’d normally find in an ambulance had been removed. So there we were, driving a Cadillac in Texas in July, with the windows down because we didn’t have air conditioning.

Guatemala or Bust, chapter 1: An Unlikely Beginning

On February 4 1976 a devastating 7.5Mw earthquake struck Guatemala in the wee hours of the morning. Nearly 23,000 died in their sleep as adobe walls collapsed under the weight of heavy tile roofs. One million people – about one sixth of Guatemala’s population – were left homeless.

A few months later, my friend The Very Reverend Markus Labbertonius invited me to volunteer with him at World Concern, a relief and development agency based here in Seattle. Our job for that day: clean up the interior and exterior of a 1967 Cadillac ambulance that had been donated for ongoing relief work in Guatemala.