Destination Paradise Week Five: Guate!!!

This week was full of new adventures for us all, jungle escapades, jumping off waterfalls, street vendors, Hispanic church, fried plantains and a new perspective on relationships, all in all, it’s been a great week. We sailed down to Guatemala early Sunday morning hoping to get there with enough daylight to explore the little town of Rio Dulce upon arrival. But I guess God had other plans. While exiting the country in Punta Gorda. Belize, some of the guys thought it would be a good idea to jump off the peer. It started out harmless but one dare to led to another and Ty found himself sprinting of the peer penguin diving head first into some coral. So 4hrs and one long trip to the ER we were on our way again! We got to Livingston, Guatemala at sunset and decided to sail at dusk up the river to anchor at a small bay, appropriately named Gringo Bay. The ride up river was probably one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever experienced. Just imagine a blue-green river, thick 40ft high walls of jungle, shrieks and humming noises ringing out in every direction and me sitting on the bow of Imagine singing Latin love songs at the top of my lungs, praising God for every moment. I loved Guate and the Rio Dulce. They people we so welcoming and kind, the food was delicious and the drinks ice cold. We were able to explore the town and the surrounding area in the afternoons after lecture and during the first afternoon I was stopped on the street by a guy named Cesar. He wanted to welcome us to the Rio Dulce and tell us about the tours he organizes. We or rather I (no one else in our group spoke Spanish), told him what our purpose was in being there and he asked us if we were Christians. I said we were and he insisted that we join him for church that Wednesday. A few of us ended up going and it was totally a blast. I ended translating most of the service and giving my testimony, it was such a blessing to be there and share an evening with them. It also felt really good to speak Spanish for a while.
Yes, we had lectures this week! Our focus was relationship and John Murphy who is the director of the Boarders DTS in Denver, CO. John is rad. probably one of the most loving, ruthlessly passionate and caring people I have ever met. He was so much fun to be around and so easy to talk to. He shared with us on the first day his life story and testimony, from heartbreak to deathly illnesses, love and betrayal, he is a walking testament of a solid rock faith and the joy of the redeemed. He and his wife Bethany have three kids (and one due in just a few weeks!) and John blessed us by inviting us to share life with them in a new and brutally honest way about our understanding of relationship. He really didn’t say anything I hadn’t heard before, but to his credit, he presented every aspect of relationships in a way that held our attention and inspired us to be the change we want to see in the world. Basically Christianity is a reconciliation of relationship, between us and God. Loving God and loving people, the two greatest commandments are basically what it all comes down to. If we love God we will not help but be able to love people in a real and genuine way that will not let us settle for anything less than the best in all of our relationships. John put it this way, and maybe you will agree or disagree but it’s interesting to think about nonetheless, that the root of every problem in the world is a problem of relationship. Relationships are the most important thing we have and I came out of the week simply grateful and so thankful for all the relationships God has blessed me with.
This weekend we are back in Placencia for one last weekend here and hopefully (weather permitting) we will be in San Pedro, which is an island in the north of Belize.