Monestario Lavra Mambre...6 months later

May God grant my baby sister Jacqueline many many years! Happy Birthday Bean!!!! I love you and all the kids say feliz cumple to the pretty sister too!

When Father Nick, my dad and I came to the hogar in December, we were blessed with the opportunity to visit the Lavra Mambre monestary. I feel doubly blessed to have had the chance to return to the beautiful grounds yesterday.

The OCMC team of 10 piled into the Hogar van, Jorge at wheel. It was interesting to see the reactions of the missionaries in regards to the Guatemalan traffic, and Jorge's swift thinking at every turn. The driving in Latin America has taught be a lot about the people of this part of the world. You would notice fairly quickly that it isn't uncommon to disobey stop signs, semaforos (traffic lights), sometimes even a cop controlling traffic. This is because to the people of Latin America (I experienced this in Ecuador just as much and in Mexico when I had to drive...yikes!) find laws to be more like guidelines. They are more people-oriented than we are in the north. They make eye contact with someone before they cut them off. There is a communication there that is foreign to Estadounidenses. Plus authority is not very well respected (it is also corrupted as you may have guessed) so no one receives tickets or fines or anything of the sort. The other major thing I have noticed is the type of cars people are driving. You don't see many hummers or mercedes, or any make newer than 2000 if even that. People here seem to value the fact that even if their car is 20 years old, doesn't have a rear window, and perhaps stalls sometimes, at least it gets them from point A to point B most of the time. In the states, people get rid of their cars because they can afford to, or they want to have a nicer car than their neighbor..astetic reasons. Mechanically the car can be running perfectly, but it doesn't have automatic windows, or the air conditioning is faulty. Time to go to the Chrystler dealer! It is a lesson that I keep relearning from the people of Latin America that goes farther than just cars. Its all possessions. My computer is older now, and it doesn't run as well as it used to, but thank God I even have one. It goes back to patience, and prayer, and when the time is right to get something new, it'll happen when it is supposed to.

After passing through the narrow streets of Guatemala City, we finally reach our destination of the Lavra Mambre Monestary. The gunman greets us at the door, along with their big dog, Rex (he is still around!). We meet up with Father John and Madre Ines and begin our tour.

Not much has changed in the past 6 months. Only the volcano Pacaya errupted and threw stones and pebbles and ash onto the once white path leading up to the new orphanage (or as the govt knows it "boarding school"). The new site of the orphanage is on the edge of Lake Atitlan. It is about a half hour from the city, and it is so peaceful. The view is beautiful. There is no noise pollution or any type of pollution for that matter. The construction is a slow process. The only difference I saw in progress was the installation of screen windows for the individual dorm rooms and doors for each suite. Money is a huge issue. They do what they can with what they have and then there are long periods of stagnant time where nothing gets done.

The big change was in the church. When Father Nick, my dad, and I were there in December, the iconographers were in the process of sketching the icons on the wall with a projector. 6 months later, all the iconography is complete and the newly wed couple (they met here in Guatemala while working on this church) has moved to New York. The iconography is indescribable. Larger than life saints cover the interior in all directions on the first floor. On the second floor, there are icons written of the story of creation, and the last judgement, amongst other stories from the new and old testament. All the arches have images of the prophets and apostles. Lead by Father John, we sang a few hymns with unrehearsed harmonies. It is really beyond words. Just another little slice of heaven.

We had a 5 star lunch at this authentic restaurant called Kacao. A lot of us had jamaica juice to drink. We had some tapas (appetizers) which consisted of Guatemalan tacos, tomales and doblados. My main course was this fantastic steak smothered in these special delicacy mushrooms and cheese sauce. Others had 3 cheese lasagna, tacos, one even tried rooster stew! Only a few had desserts of flan, tres leches, and apples covered in a rum sauce. While the meal was delicious, the company was the best part. Less than a week ago, 10 strangers met at the OCMC headquarters in Florida. A few days later, people are sharing life stories, laughter and their faith over the table. They have treated me like one of their own. I have met people that I think will be in my life for a long time.When we got back to the hogar, it was time for vespers. During vespers, the men cut a 14 ft pvc pipe in half to prepare for the 27 foot (we lost a foot when we overlapped the halves) banana split party. As the kids were guessing what the special treat was, the team was cutting bananas, scooping neopolitan icecream, pouring syrup on top, spreading sprinkles, and topping it all off with 100 maraschino cherries. We filed the children into the comedor with the lights off. When we put the lights on, spoons in hand, the children didn't just dig in. They waited until after we sang "Happy Banana Split to you" and received permission. The ice cream was gone in minutes. It was great to see the team so happy that they were able to do this for the children.

Of course, after the ice cream party, there was another dance party (again with the 4 approved songs). It was Madre's idea to wear them out after all that sugar. She has a reason for everything.