In the past few weeks, we have traveled over some of the area where we will be working. It is harvest time here, as in the States, and we have seen much broccoli, potatoes, carrots, and soon, corn. At present, land is precious, and the corn is planted right up to the houses. You can see the roofs in among the corn plants. Very soon, the corn will be harvested and the plants cut. Then the houses will be exposed until the next planting season.
Since Panajachel is in a valley and the Camp is on a mountain, no matter where we travel, we always go either up or down. And the beauty of the volcanos and the lake never fail to make me want to take "one more picture"!
A recent trip was across the lake to Santiago with Beth and Steve Kennedy. They are currently the host/hostess at Las Buenas Nuevas (LBN) and hail from Apple's Chapel (church) in North Carolina. They are also great friends with Jess and Janet Montegudo of First Bible in Decatur!
A recent trip to Sta. Lucia, not far from the Camp, included a stop at Morada de Dios and its school El Mesias. This is the CAM church there and one of "our" churches. As you can see, kids are kids everywhere and love to have their pictures taken. The little girl with the pink shirt and hat grabbed my hand and escorted me through the school. She only let go to get her picture taken!
Below is Ana, who lives in Santiago. She is displaying some of the work her family has for sale. She said she did not stitch this herself, her mother did, but she is learning to do the embroidery also.
While I attended the Women's Retreat in Antigua recently, there were several ladies there doing their weaving, which, of course, we had the opportunity to buy! This is just one picture of several that I took showing the involved work of weaving cloth. The majority of the textiles you see from here are hand-woven and hand-stitched. It is amazing the work that is put into these "works of art"! But the old ways are beginning to die out. The newer generations are not being taught to do the weaving and stitching. They are also losing the Mayan languages, since the children are taught Spanish in school. I have talked to several young ladies in their late teens and early twenties who cannot speak the "old " languages of their families, even though their parents speak it, Spanish is used in the homes.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing a little of our recent wanderings! Many of you have asked for pictures, so I will continue to post them until you get tired of them!
Maria
jcoker@email.caminternational.org
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