Wow. This finale has been a wonderful time. From Placencia (see Tori’s last blog entry) we drove for Honduras, stopping for a night at Rio Dulce again. Thank God for two more trouble-free border crossings in as many days. In Honduras we went to Loma de Luz Hospital, where I worked for a couple weeks last November. Our family got to see the hospital and meet the missionaries there. They’re a wonderful bunch of people doing a great work. Pray for them (and for their water supply during this dry time).
The following day, driving in Central America finally demanded a (small) price. Or at least, a beefy, hot-headed cop in La Ceiba did. My driving was fine, at least right then. But we figure he noticed our Guatemala plates and caught a glimpse of the extranjeros inside, and couldn’t resist. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my Spanish was good enough to communicate with him... so after I emptied my wallet of all its Limpiras (175 of them, or about $10) to get my license back, we were on our way to the ferry.
We made it to one of those incredible beaches you see in travel magazines, on the island of Roatan. It’s an amazing paradise, but some of us are still wondering if it was worth the ferry ride, which made Hell’s Gate at the PNE feel like a see-saw at a child’s playground. It was funny at first, especially when the attendants handed out barf bags. But after 30 minutes, with the ups and downs becoming more dramatic and some people on the ferry starting to use the bags, it wasn’t so funny. After 60 minutes, we were all very green and very quiet. After 90 minutes, stomachs miraculously unemptied, we were so thankful to see land that even Annacis Island would have seemed like paradise.
Any earthly paradise has its limitations. Like sand flea bites. Or worse, the sting of a spotted scorpion fish. This was definitely a case of Jeff’s curiosity outperforming his common sense. I had to touch the thing... How was I to know it might have venom in the spines of the dorsal fin that suddenly sprang up? But oohhh, the intense pain—not to mention bleeding, swelling, redness, and even numbness—taught me that he deserved much more respect than I gave him. (For those of you who are wondering, hot water helps, as it does for the sting of jellyfish or stingrays.) Snorkelling just off the beach was like swimming amidst a million unbelievable, colorful things in God’s massive clear blue aquarium.
So we're on our way home. Of course, we’ve picked up a few curios, some coffee, and a few other things to bring along. As we were driving away from Antigua two weeks ago, Hannah had a great idea: “I think we should bring home some time from Guatemala.” I laughed, and the thought has not left me.
Why is there more time here? Truthfully, I’m not sure. Partly, we left our usual busy-ness and expectations at home. But there’s more.
While I was chatting with Fernando (the director of SI Guatemala) one day, he remarked at hearing something about us North Americans: We have a “good day” when we accomplish much. Of course, being so task-oriented has helped us make wonderful advances. But I’m afraid that there are too many times when I’ve allowed relationship to take a back seat while I serve the task. And what do I have, if not relationship?
Well, I have gotten a bit reflective at the end here, what did you expect?
We thank you all once again, for your prayers, encouragement and support, your donations, and above all, for your friendship. We hope to bring home some time for all of you.
What other pearls will we bring home? I’ll speak at least for myself:
Relationship outranks accomplishment.
“Look but don’t touch” applies to scorpion fish.
Life is about generous Love, and little else.
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