Just getting there...

27 Septiembre 2004... a day of travel of many different sorts for a delegation of six from Oregon and two Guatemalans and myself. Our goal was San Rabinac, nestled into the mountains to the southwest of Coban... forgotten by most. We left Guatamala City at 5am in our microbus and made our way northwest to Coban where we met Tomas Chumpa and I bought some rubber boots (very stylish but would have been even more so if they were pink!) because with all the rain it would be very muddy in the village. We all got back in our microbus with Pastor David Knapp behind the wheel and made our way to the Chocsoy (spelling?) hydroelectric plant, the same plant that had been occupied by 400-800 compensino workers only 2 weeks prior in protest for not being compensated for being displaced by the dam and not having electricity despite there being a dam. We left our microbus and walked to the river... sounds harmless but in the middle was a wood and rope suspension bridge 80m over the river. With more than one person on it at a time it would rock back and forth... with my backpack on I was a bit frightened. I know that at least one person repeated the 23rd Psalm throughout his crossing... smart man!

On the other side we all boarded a small boat along with our backpacks and the village members that had come to help us carry our belongings into the community. The boat was very low in the water and I know that at least Horacio is not a fan of boats but when you throw in some rapids it makes things even more interesting. The mountains rose out of the river and waterfalls cascaded into the river spraying us with mist. Breathtaking. Lush, remote, absolutely beautiful... I did not like finding out that this area has a lot of snakes, tigers, and lions, but really what can I expect!

After 30 minutes in the boat, we arrived downstream and began our hike. It usually takes the community members an hour to get to the village... but they are used to it, in better shape and know the terrain... It was a hard hike for each of us, but together we made it. Whether by holding eachother hands and at times dragging one another forward, or telling stories, or simply allowing eachother to take the pace we needed to take... we all made it. Well... and the fact that half way to the village a hand full of youth came to releave us of the rest of our backpacks... some believed that to be a true gift from God. It took us three hours to arrive... so we did not beat the rain. Unfortunately, most of the group had left their rainjackets and panchos in their backpacks so ended up not only muddy but very wet as well.

Just getting there was a challenge of our resolve to meet the people of this community. At times I am sure all of us were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into... but it also showed us just how remote these people were and how important a relationship would be with them... just to know that someone (both them for us and us for them) were holding you in their prayers. We were greeted in the dark, in the rain by many of the children of the village singing a welcome to us. They had waited for a couple of hours for us... and sang such a beautiful welcome that many of us had tears and none of us remember the difficulty of the hike only the joy of the welcome.

The children had to be sent home shortly thereafter due to the rain. It was getting dangerous for them with the rivers rising... as they scattered we were lead in the dark to the dormitory next to the church. After a brief greeting and some of us getting into dry clothes, we were fed beans, tortillas and coffee and then sent off to our beds. 6 members of the delegation slept in the dormitory on wood beds with blankets... three of us (Horacio, myself and David Knapp) pushed together wooden church benches in the church and slept there. Firm beds... and coffee make it a bit hard to sleep. But we had arrived and were warmly welcomed by a community whose trust had been damaged with the Catholic church... but more about that next time.