Chontolá and Chichicastenango

It doesn't seem possible that our time in Guatemala is nearly over. We have just returned to the Sister Parish center in the heart of Guatemala City after a couple of days on the road. Marta Roja, one of the UPAVIMas, drove us through stunning scenery to Chichicastenango, a famous market town in the Quiché region, about 90 miles northwest of the capital. This is one of the centers of Mayan culture in Guatemala, so the visit gave us a chance to witness the resilience of the indigenous people in spite of the attempts to wipe it out during the civil war. Ellen, our Sister Parish coordinator, introduced us to Pastor Diego, who described how he established the Ruth and Naomi cooperative to help women devastated by the conflict to support themselves. We were taken to meet some of those women, who live on steep hillsides close to the small village of Chontolá, and whose houses could only be reached by narrow footpaths through fruit orchards and corn fields. After days amidst the diesel fumes of a crowded city, this simple walk with breathtaking views across cloud-capped mountains, was truly restorative. Once there, they showed us age-old hand-weaving skills used to produce a range of colorful crafts with designs typical of the region. Since they mostly only speak their native Quiché language, Ellen and Diego combined to provide two-stage translations of their inspiring story.

Chichicastenango itself is a bustling town of narrow streets surrounding the central market square, one of the largest in Guatemala, and the 400 year-old church of Santo Tomás. After a night in a charming family-run hotel, whose manager had a three-month old daughter named Louise, we visited a small gallery, run by Juan and Miguel, who were dedicated to preserving much of the wisdom and insights of the Mayan culture. They described to each one of us our Nawal, representing our mission or destiny in life, an insight into how we would achieve greatest fulfillment. Afterwards, we climbed up one of the surrounding hills to a sacred Mayan site, where they felt particularly close to their creator and communicated through fire and prayers. 

Although we had a couple of stomach upsets along the way, we have made it back to Guatemala City safe and sound, and are now preparing to pack for our journey home tomorrow. I'm sorry that our access to the internet was too intermittent to keep you updated about our trip on a daily basis and that we haven't posted any photos for a while. As soon as we are home, we will upload the many hundred we all took onto the church Flickr site. Please stay tuned, because we will have more reflections on our experiences here and the inspiring faith of those we have met after we return.