A return to Mayalandia

After nearly five years away, I'm back in the land of the Maya. Once again, I wake up within a short bus ride of one of the world’s most beautiful lakes, surrounded by three stunning volacanoes, ringed by small towns inhabited by colorfully dressed Mayans.

The house I’m living in sits just two blocks down a sloping hill from Sololá’s town square, which gets busy early as buses begin transporting people down the hill to tourist town, Panajachel, or up the road to a transfer point on the main highway. From there, people can travel southeast to Guatemala City or the other direction to Quetzaltenango, named after the country’s brilliant, green, elusive national bird, the quetzal.

It's wonderful to be back, and it's yet it's strange. The town hasn't changed too much. Kakchiquel women and men still sell delicious tropical fruits, vegetables, colorful hand-woven blouses and skirts, pirated CDs, tortillas and cheap fried foods. When I walk through the market which crowds two sides of the town square, I still have to duck endless ropes and tarps. I stand out like a sore thumb here. I must be a full foot taller than the average Mayan.

I had been thinking of returning to Guatemala for the better part of a year, and finally the timing seemed good. After discussions with my friend, Rick McArthur, I bought a plane ticket for February 10. It was great to see his smiling face at the airport. I spent several days at Rick and Carol’s house in the city. We went over plans and projects for the two months that I’ll be here.

It’s a bit overwhelming to see all the work that needs done and that could be done. I will be working with Viña Studios, here in Sololá, where I worked in 2003. At that time, my task was simply to write stories related to Viña for the website. This time, I’ll be looking for stories to write, but I’ll also be preparing reports on projects to extend Viña’s work of bringing the good news of God’s grace through the cross to Guatemalan’s in the language they understand best. (See Wikipedia's entry for more on Mayan languages.)

Feel free to navigate around Viña’s website and learn about its work and ministry. One of Viña’s biggest efforts involves “Deditos,” its finger puppet videos which tell Bible stories for children.

One of my favorite stories explains how most Mayans learn best through oral story transmission. It involves the late Jim Butler and his wife, Judy, who worked across Lake Atitlán with the Tzutujíl Mayans of San Pedro La Laguna, and it illustrates the need for audio and video media to communicate the Gospel.

Another of my favorite people is Obispo Tumax, a Kiché Mayan, who has a glowing testimony of God’s grace in his life, and who was one of the first Mayans to record original worship songs to Jesus Christ in his native tongue.