Awoke this morning around 4:30 a.m. -- the roosters started crowing around 2. Maria and Antonio were already up and busily getting read to catch the 5:30 a.m. truck to Pochuta.
Jose got up as well... and carried Dad's bags up the hill to the truck. It was raining as we loaded the truck and rode down the mountain with 18 people in the back. I wanted a pic, but didn't want to take one that was obvious, so as the truck pulled away with a few people still on it, I snapped the pic. Once we got to Pochuta, about a 45 minute drive down the mountain, we put a large blue tarp over the back and that meant that we had to duck down... which for me made riding very uncomfortable.
Once in Potelul, another 30 minutes, we got on a chicken bus and rode to San Lucas, arriving in time for breakfast at the mission. The bus was real crowded... 3 people to each seat!
Breakfast at the mission was pancakes and fried eggs with re fried beans and REAL GOOD coffee. The scene at the mission was odd for us as most of the 100 or so people there were USAmericans from a sister church in Minnesota that had come to work a week or so at the mission.
Met a couple of Becky and Aaron's friends and then went to the house where they would stay. They showered and we talked about lots of ideas for the community and called our family, visited the market and basically had a sabbath day! It was good to talk to both Sharon and Emma!
Dad and I got a room in a beautiful hotel not far from the mission for about $13 a night. It was a nice room with comfortable beds and a hot shower! Boy did that feel good! It was near the lake and from the roof top we could look out over the lake and the mission. It also had a beautiful garden. For lunch today, we had pizza! and ice cream!
While it has been a hard trip with living conditions unlike any I have ever experienced and poverty and struggle like none I've seen... at least on the grand scale!, I've been glad to be here and am anxious to see the lasting impact of this trip. There are so many ways that our lifestyle in USAmerica is so unjust compared to the rest of the world!
The next few days should be a slow transition from the harshness we've experienced and seen to our home. As we will stay 2 nights and parts of 3 days here in San Lucas and 2 nights in Antigua.
We ate supper last night in a fancy restaurant with Becky and Aaron... I had chicken and french fries, tortillas and water all for $4.
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