Welcome to Ixcan!

Michelle writes:

We finally arrived in Santiago Ixcan, a village of 250 families.  Francisco, another man of the village, awaited our arrival equipped with a small, frail horse. This feeble-looking animal, to our astonishment, packed our four suitcases (which weighed approximately 160 lbs.) the remainder of the journey, 20 minutes away to Kathy’s mission house.   

The Welcoming Committee

Tired, sticky with sweat, and dirty, we were elated to arrive. The neighbors who watched the home and cared for Kathy’s cat were there to greet us. They had cleaned the house and had made lemonade, which was offered as we entered the house, exhausted.

     The word was out that Kathy had returned. Josefa, the president of the women’s committee of  jewelers arrived with her teenage granddaughter to present Kathy with a large bouquet of flowers--bromeliads and bougainvilleas--from her yard. 

     Next came Petrona, the president of the women’s committee of weavers, along with her 10-year-old daughter.  Petrona  and Josefa had come to plan celebration meals with Kathy and me and the women jewelers and weavers who Ixcan Ministries is working with. What a welcome to be embraced by these lovely women, who were so excited to have Kathy back in their village. Kathy has lived in Santiago Ixcan for 10 years and is very much a part of the community.
     After a short rest, we went to the nearby river to bathe in the refreshing water. Two neighbor women were already there doing their laundry by hand while another young woman cleared thick vegetation on one side of the river using a machete for snake deterrence. 

A young mother with her son tied to her back arrived with the day’s laundry. We bathed in the cool water, bare-breasted and wearing a black half-slip for modesty.

We all had a good laugh as the women told us of the earlier gossip. On our initial arrival, I had gotten to Kathy’s house before her, walking with Chus, while Kathy stopped to visit a neighbor along the way. The women saw me--a tall white woman--and mistook me for Kathy. They started commenting, “Look at poor Kathy! She is so thin! She must have been sick while she was in the United States to have lost so much weight!” Minutes later, Kathy walked up the path. “Oh there’s Kathy, bigger than before. No worries, she’s  alright!” Much laughter was shared.

     Javier and Rosa, close friends of Kathy’s, invited us for dinner that evening. They have 7 children: Sandra, who is married and out of the home, teenagers Silvia and Benjamin, 11-year-old Ermelinda, 5-year-old Pedro, and 10-month-old twin boys, Mosais and Rigoberto.   

     Rosa and Javier’s simple home has a big kitchen in a separate wooden building with a hard packed dirt floor, wooden table, and benches, and the cutest high chair combo built by Javier for the twins. 

A hammock hangs in the center of the room--perfect for rocking the babies. The cinderblock wood stove is vented to the outside and is supplemented by a small table-top four-burner propane stove. All families cook mainly with wood. Electricity only came to this village two years ago.
     Kathy brought along an electric hand blender, a gift from a friend in the U.S. to give to the family. Food preparation for the twins takes so much time! 

While we waited for supper, we blended potatoes and frijoles/beans in less than a minute for the babies’ dinner. They loved it and ate it all!

We thoroughly enjoyed the excellent chicken soup Rosa had made with potatoes, cilantro, tomatoes, and who knows what else. They were very generous, and I had a second helping of the delicious broth. Little Pedro said they killed the white rooster for this special meal. You could tell that was a very big deal, as this is a poor family. 

Remember to give thanks as you enjoy the abundance of your next meal!

Journey to Ixcan

Michelle writes: 

Ixcan isn’t easily found on the map as it is one of the least developed areas in Guatemala, developed in the 1960s rather than the 1500s as were most other parts of the country. Ixcan is just south of Mexico in the northern part of the state of Quiche, bordering the state of Huehuetenango.   

Kathy and I traveled north to Coban on a tourist shuttle bus from Antigua. We took the (supposedly) 8 a.m. bus. I left the house at 7:45 a.m., as they sometimes arrive early to pick you up. So I waited…..  

While waiting, I had the delightful opportunity to have a glass of warm, freshly squeezed goat milk! I had heard about the goat herders who go around town delivering fresh milk, but only in Jocotenango where I volunteer at The Scheel Center with the God’s Child Project. I had plans while in Jocotenango to one day ask my tuk-tuk driver to find one of these herders so I could fill an empty Gatorade bottle, as I miss drinking milk. (The milk from the store tastes like reconstituted powder milk. Ugh.) So, to have goat herders in Antigua passing me as I waited was a special treat. I received it as an omen of the good to come for this excursion to Ixcan.

A man, his son, and 10 goats stopped. The father selected a goat, pulled on its hind leg to secure its stance, whipped out a styrofoam cup, and proceeded to fill it up with a perfect head of foam, sweet and tasty as could be. No foul odor or taste. Delicious! I paid the 5Q (60 cents) and started my morning with a smile at the unexpected delights of this country.

When we arrived in Coban at 3 p.m., I was glad to stretch my legs, since I'd ridden on the hump between the two front seats. The van, with its driver and 14 passengers, had wound its way over several mountain passes and through a desert to the northern mountains.   

In Coban, we stayed at a Benedictine monastery for two nights, embraced by the generosity and love of the sisters there.

With four suitcases, two backpacks, and a large bag containing cat food and dry goods, we took a taxi to the bus terminal at 5:30 a.m. and left Coban at 6:00 a.m.  Kathy had been in the States for the past two months and was returning with supplies. We were fortunate to sit in the front, as Kathy had made arrangements the night before with the driver. I’m not sure how many were crowded in the van with us for the 5-hour ride in 90-plus degree temperatures. The ayudante (assistant to the driver), after several attempts, finally closed the sliding door, mashing the bodies even closer together. 

Everyone piled off when we reached Playa Grande. Playa Grande is noisy, dirty, and crowded--an old wild west sort of town. Here, we were met by Chus, a man of  Santiago Ixcan, the village where Kathy lives. He came to help with the luggage and bring Kathy’s electric bill, which was past due. Lucky for us, the minibus we were riding in from Coban pulled up next to the minibus heading for Santiago Ixcan, and our luggage was shuffled from one van rooftop to the other. 

We set off on our errands: going to the bank, paying the light bill, and writing a check to Santos, who is part of a group of natural healers who combine Eastern medicine they studied through a healer from China along with local traditional medicine. Ixcan Ministries provided them with a grant to purchase natural medicine supplies.

Lastly, we bought a few vegetables while the minibus impatiently tooted its horn. For the next two hours, we traveled crunched in with 25 others, sweating as the dust billowed in every open window.