Flavio returns to Viña aboard new bike, debts

Flavio, Viña’s videographer, returned to work today with a smile on his face, aboard a new motorcycle and a pile of debt. He hasn’t gotten his money back from being robbed aboard a bus last week, but there’s a chance he might.

He spent the last couple of days trying to straighten things out with his bank and to buy a new motorcycle. I asked him jokingly whether he sold his troublesome cat to buy the bike. Flavio’s affection for his cat, after all, is what the thieves used as a conversation piece to distract him and pilfer his backpack on the bus. He smiled and said, “Nunca!” (Never!) Well, no surprise there. Today, I was shocked to find out that he didn’t pack Baudelaire here from Guatemala City in his kitty backpack. Instead, the cat “went to work” with his girlfriend, Linda.

Bank authorities promised Flavio they would investigate his case. One curiosity is that the individuals (and probably other members of their gang) who stole from him attempted to cash four of his checks at four different banks within 30 minutes of each other. They succeeded in three cases. The fourth failed because by then, there were not sufficient funds to cover the check. Unfortunately, the failed attempt resulted in a fine of 100 quetzales ($13) for insufficient funds.

Flavio had planned on taking on some debt to buy the new motorbike. Now, the $2,100 debt is double what it would have been. We’re happy to have Flavio back and praise God he’s safe. Please pray for his bank situation. It’s possible they will agree the check signatures are not his and return the money.

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At the time I published this blog entry, I didn’t have any photos of his kitty backpack or his motorcycle. But Flavio & Linda have obviously made a trip down to Lake Atitlán recently. He provided these photos for me today (July 1). So here they are. As you can see when he’s wearing his kitty backpack, it draws quite a crowd.