Central America Revisited – Day Nine

The sun was not even beginning to think about shedding any light on an unusually quiet city. On the streets, the only sound to be heard was that of the wheels striking the edge of each cobblestone as I broke the silence with my labored attempt to arrive at the school on time. I am not one to get concerned about getting up early, but walking to the school at 4:20 a.m. is not something that I had planned or cherished. I arose this morning at 4:00 and completed a modified morning routine only to find myself ready to leave well before I needed to depart. I decided that I should get an early start since I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to walk a mile pulling my suitcase, carry-on bag, and computer. I encountered a few people on the way and found myself surprised that they were out so early. I arrived at the school around 4:40 and realized that I was much too early.

We departed around 5:15 and took the western route back to Guatemala City. Our driver, Adolpho, was the driver from the Methodist Church. He took a detour because he needed to exchange buses. We went through Mazatenango. There, he had a school bus and so we transferred all of the luggage to the other bus. He was staying overnight in the city so that he could bring a medical mission group back tomorrow. After exchanging buses, we stopped a little later to have breakfast. These two things put us behind in our schedule and we arrived at the airport around 45 minutes behind schedule. Hopefully, Janice and Anna were able to make their flights without any problem.

(Posted after my return since I didn't have internet in El Salvador)

The other members of our team were there and Juan de Dios Peña arrived a few minutes later. We quickly loaded everything into the bus and after a brief stop at Dos Lunas, we began the second phase of the journey. Since everyone was hungry, we stopped at Pizza Hut for lunch. We arrived in Ahuachapan around 4:00. After unloading all of our luggage and placing it in the church, New Jerusalem, we grabbed our luggage and headed for our homes.

I am staying with the same family as last year. Rosarita, welcomed me with her usual greeting and immediately called her granddaughter, Natalie out to greet me as well. Rosarita’s daughter, Rosa, also came out to greet me. My gecko friend is still here and greeted me as well. I settled in and then waited for my ride to dinner. We returned to the papusaria, only this time I knew what to order and had a great dinner. Three papusas with cheese and jalepeño peppers. After dinner, we returned to our homes. I didn’t chat with my family because it had been a long day. I read for a few minutes and then off to bed. Tomorrow should be a good day! I love worship here.