Awakatekos attend Viña ethnomusic training

Awakateko worship leaders and musicians attended a two-day ethnomusicology seminar this past weekend, sponsored by Viña Studios.

José Abel, Viña’s creative director, led the seminar, joined by Viña volunteer and musician, Sarah Agee, and Jose’s youngest son, who provided me with some photos. I talked with Sarah this morning, and she filled me in on the event.

About 30 men and boys attended the seminar, joined by former Viña technician Manuel Chavez and pastors and church leaders. The musicians brought their instruments, and during the seminar they wrote 11 original worship songs, based on Peter and John’s healing of the paralytic in Acts 3 and on the Prodigal Son from Luke 15.

The seminar covered song-writing principles, encouraging Awakatek believers to write original songs using their own musical style, not copying or translating existing worship songs. The seminar ran about eight hours on Friday and four hours on Saturday.

A council of Aguacatán* churches there offers Bible training, and the council saw the need to offer musical training for its worship leaders as well. Viña encourages Mayans across Guatemala and Garifunas on the Caribbean coast to write original worship songs in their own languages because these songs come from the heart and help people worship God more intimately.

At this seminar, the Awakatako men wrote just one song in their language because except for one or two of them, they don’t know how to write in their own language. The rest, they wrote in Spanish, the national language.

“I thought it was really cool how (José) empowered them,” Sarah said, noting the José allowed the group to craft their own songs, not forcing his ideas on them. “They were super enthusiastic.”

* Note: Aguacatán is the town's official spelling, although the new orthography adopted by the Mayan Academy uses a "w" for the "gu" and a "k" for the "c."

Mayor's father, kidnapped musicians released

Five kidnapped marimba band members, including the mayor’s father, were freed Tuesday in Sololá, thanks to an intense manhunt organized by zealous community leaders.

The men’s release quieted nerves, prompting demonstrators to unblock roads, allowing me to get out of town in time to catch my Tuesday evening plane home here to Oregon.

(This photo above, from the Prensa Libre’s account, shows the marimba band telling about their experience.)

Late Monday evening, the air had an electric feel as police drove about town in a pickup announcing over loudspeaker a town meeting for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. I walked home late wondering what the day would hold.

Tuesday morning heralded good news: The five kidnapped men, including Pedro Saloj Quisquiná, the mayor’s father, had been freed, according to the Prensa Libre. Some 5,000 townspeople gathered Tuesday morning at El Tablón, between Los Encuentros and Sololá. They were dispersing when we passed through there at about noon as I headed to the airport.

The marimba band — all men in their 50s and 60s — had been contracted to play at Santa Clara La Laguna, a small town along beautiful Lake Atitlán, according to the Prensa Libre. (Santa Clara is seen in the center foreground of the photo below. Click the map below to enlarge it.)

Marimba is Guatemala’s traditional music, and Mayans often contract a marimba band for important festivals or parties.

But the men who came to pick up the band last Thursday, turned out to be kidnappers, who produced firearms and took the musicians to a rural area, tying their hands and placing them down in a dry well, just about 2 meters wide. The men were there several days, having to take turns standing while others lay down to rest.

Kidnappers initially demanded 1 million quetzales ($133,000) for the men’s freedom. Mayans’ ability to organize and respond to emergencies is remarkable. The area’s 59 community mayors, the Indigenous Municipality, Indigenous Defense, the Anti-kidnapping Command and the National Civil Police surrounded the area where the kidnapping occurred and began combing the hills.

They searched mountains and cliffs for the prisoners, continuing even as late a 9 p.m. Monday. A friend who was working and could not join the search party will have to pay a fine equal to three days’ pay. (Mayans seem to use such fines to great success, obligating participation in construction projects and search parties, among other things.)

On Sunday, the kidnappers removed their prisoners from the well and led them to a nearby river where they spent the day. But Monday morning, the kidnappers realized the community had organized a search and they grew nervous. So they moved them again.

The men were moved to a brushy area near Santa Lucía Utatlán, where they were fed and released. They were found along the highway Tuesday morning, dehydrated and exhausted.

It’s great to hear a happy ending to this story, and I hope Guatemalans will continue to tackle their problems united without resorting to violence. Please pray for the country’s authorities to stand and act for justice and peace.

Thanks be to God, my friends and co-workers at Viña Studios helped me put together a video to help tell the story of my past nine months in Guatemala, finishing it about an hour before I boarded a bus for Guatemala City. Awesome work, guys! It’s already gotten good reviews from friends here.

I enjoyed a nice lunch with my friends Jose and Carlos at a restaurant they had recommended for months. Then I caught a bus to Guatemala City, where I enjoyed a last visit and meal with Viña’s Rick & Carol McArthur before my flight home. Lord willing, I’ll return and see them again soon.

It’s great to be home again and see my brothers, my parents and good friends. I thought I had been “retired” or “fired” from working with my brothers’ and dad’s construction business, but it turns out that was short-lived. I’m supposed to be working at 8 a.m. tomorrow ... so good-night for now.

Filming, packing, editing and soon flying off

SOLOLÁ — In a little more than 24 hours, I’ll be flying north and leaving behind the Land of the Maya.

My hope and prayer is that this parting lasts only a while, but only God knows how the next months will unfold.

The past few days have been a whirlwind, saying good-bye to friends and working with Viña Studios staff here to knit together a video about my trip here. I had no idea it was so complicated to produce a video, but I’ve gotten great help with a script, filming, piecing together photos, video, music and audio recordings.

Until now, I hadn’t been involved in making a video. This process, done under stress and time pressures, has been incredibly enlightening and educational. We’ve gone to the market, to my favorite tortilla shop, to the cobbler shop, the slaughterhouse, my apartment and around town to film.

I’ve gained an entirely new appreciation for the work these brothers do every day, deftly running audio and video editing computer programs (Final Cut Pro and Pro Tools) and other complicated computer programs.

It’s humbling and a little uncomfortable to receive so much help from my brothers and sisters on my project. It would have been impossible without them. It’s one thing to edit or critique a project, but entirely different to produce it from the ground up.

In all the rush, I haven’t had much time to process my thoughts, and I know I’ve not been able to properly “despedirme” (say good-bye) to many friends. Sometime this evening, I’ll finish packing and sweep my apartment, come to work tomorrow for one last morning devotional lesson, and then catch a bus to Guatemala City for my flight home.

Town disturbed as mayor's father kidnapped

SOLOLÁ — We just received a phone call that may portend change ahead for the area. It appears the mayor’s father has been kidnapped, and people are milling around beginning a protest.

We are saddened to hear this news, if it proves true, and we hope and pray for his safe release. But as a friend pointed out, perhaps this will move the authorities to act more decisively against kidnappings that have continued quietly in the background. Until it happens to somebody “important” the authorities don’t pay much attention, he said.

In recent weeks, we have continued to hear reports of kidnappings or threatening phone calls to extort money — at least one or two a week — in the Sololá and Panajachel area. This doesn’t usually affect very many people beyond the immediate family. The crimes continue quietly, flaring into the open occasionally as they did last month.

As I prepare to leave Guatemala tomorrow, I’m saddened to see this kind of news continuing — very similar to the town’s story when I arrived here in February.

We would appreciate your prayers for God’s grace and peace on Sololá, on Guatemala City — where violence is more common — and the country in general. Please also pray for Viña Studios and other ministries serving the Guatemalan church. May God redeem and transform this land for His glory.

Friend's wife graduates, qualifies as teacher

SOLOLÁ — My friend Chepe’s wife graduated today from Solola’s bilingual teacher’s college, and I got to attend the ceremony along with about 1,000 Mayans and one “gringa.”

Chepe’s wife was one of 51 students to complete her teacher’s education this year at the school, Centro Educativo Comunitario Maya Tijob’äl Tz’olojyá Tijoxelá Paka’i’ Chab’al. (I would get worn out just trying to remember the school’s name.) The school sits about a 5-minute bus ride above Sololá. Graduating was a great accomplishment for Isabel and for Chepe, who sacrificially supported his wife in every way he could.

Chepe and Isabel and their four children live on a very modest income, barely enough to scrape by here. Paying for books, tuition and emergency medical care or pills for their kids all require sacrifice. Along the way, some family members reportedly helped them out.

One day, I hope to tell more of Chepe’s story here. He is a gentle warrior who learned gracefully through a school of incredibly hard knocks to overcome ... and to trust God with his life.

Part-way through her schooling this year, Isabel gave birth to their fourth child, who has medical challenges. Many times, they have had to take their baby to the local hospital or to one in Guatemala City for examinations because of his heart condition.

Chepe was so happy a couple of weeks ago, when he told me his wife had passed all her tests. He said his friends kept asking him, “How did you guys manage?” “How did you afford it?” He always said, “God helped us.”

The graduation ceremony lasted about two or three hours with many, many speeches and congratulations. At least one pastor spoke, invoking God’s blessing on the newly trained teachers. One professor referred to the Mayan religious book, “Popul Vuh.” It was interesting to see the students dressed in their traditional finery. The men wore intriciately designed jackets, and the women wore large, bright ribbons woven into their braids and brilliantly colored huipiles, the patterns indicating their hometown (some from as far away as Tecpán or Chimaltenango — an hour or more away).

Later, at a special luncheon attended by Isabel’s large family at her parents’ home, an uncle, also mentioned the Bible and the Popul Vuh’s teaching, saying that their ancestors were present but invisible at our luncheon.

Afterward, Sarah, my Viña co-worker (the “gringa”), immersed herself in some intense Kaqchikel language learning with Isabel’s uncle and other family members. I didn’t catch much of that, but I spoke with a few of Isabel’s brothers and other relatives. One of her brothers is director over a group of literacy teachers. I think he said he oversees about 25 groups of 15 to 20 students, meeting in homes. Most of the students are Kaqchikel women who are learning to read and write their own language and Spanish.

Isabel’s mother has a beautiful flower garden, where we snapped lots of photos of Isabel and her family members. Sarah wrapped up the day, receiving a lesson on how to use the backstrap loom. Isabel’s family seemed to enjoy watching the lesson almost as much as Sarah enjoyed learning.

Setback delays Viña employee's return to work

We had expected to see our friend and co-worker, Renzo, back at Viña by today, but he has apparently suffered a setback in recovery from his head injury.

A government doctor examined him earlier this week and determined Renzo should continue with therapy and rest for another month. I don't know what the setback involved, but doctors will continue working with Renzo and examine his fitness for work again in early December.

Renzo was badly injured April 19 when his bus collided with heavy machinery in a construction zone, hitting his head.

Sarah, a co-worker here at Viña, and I visited with Renzo about a week or two ago over lunch, enjoying Salvadorean pupusas in Panajachel. At that time, Renzo's condition appeared dramatically improved.

We're grateful that doctors are giving him good care and would appreciate your prayers for his continued recuperation.