Day Three: Free Ranging Antigua

It is the third day in country and a day without missions work as we honor the Sabbath as God ordains. I accompanied a mom and daughter team from Madison Wisconsin to the center of Antigua and the markets to take in some of the culture. As is common in the markets of developing countries, the motion and rhythm of the people in these places is spellbinding. It as much about the social interactions as the economic piece. I bought a lot of Mayan wove animal dolls for our granddaughter-to-be and wondered how old she would have to be before she could ask questions about and understand our adventures. Not sure why I have thought about her so often this trip. Perhaps it is the situation of the children here.

I allowed myself to be “lost” in the middle of the market stalls and loved the experience. It is a mixture of carnival, circus, and survival all happening at once in a multitude of languages. I never felt threatened at all, in fact, I felt someone at ease just moving along the crowd. I watched elderly woman weaving on the kind of looms the Mayans used while stalls next door blared music and disco lights. It tell you, this city is a series of very interesting dichotomies.

The ladies were finishing some shopping and I sat down on the edge of the dirt street to people watch. Individuals become streams all moving together but in different directions if that makes sense. I greeted an elderly woman who was curiously watching me (you know, the big white guy in the tie dyed blue bandana) and she began speaking. Of course I know about ten words and so I listened. She knew I didn’t understand but spoke to me anyway. I finally realized she was mentioning that the sun was warm today and that I appeared to be enjoying just sitting in it. That is how the people are here. Understanding is not as important as listening. It is, most of all, about being present to each other. I ended the conversation with “Vios con Dios” (Go with God) and she placed her hand on my right shoulder and saying, “Si, con Dios” (yes, with God) In the final analysis, we are all human aren’t we.

I know many people struggle with believing as I believe but I tell you, Jesus speaks in the lives of so many people and in this woman, He was clear and present. I just sat there awhile after she disappeared into the market and watched the mothers and fathers with their children, hustling them across the street between chicken buses, tuc tucs, pronounced “tuke tuke” and apparently insane motorcyclists. There is a rhythm to this place that is beautiful and uplifting. It is humanity in an unencumbered form.

By the way, the tuc tuc as they are called here exists throughout the world in varied forms. Here, it is basically a three wheeled affair with a canopy made of rebar and old fabric. The vehicle, like all vehicles of this type everywhere, including the taxis in major U.S. cities, are driven by folks who appear to have both no fear of death nor concern for the lives of pedestrians. This however is tempered by the fact that I never actually witnessed anyone hit by one. If you have ever traveled to any developing country, you have no doubt experienced the tuc tuc experience. I rode in one today with the mother and daughter team. We all agreed it was better than most of the fare our theme parks offer with none of the pesky safety rules and lawyers.

We ate at a local restaurant this evening and listened to a local band playing Peruvian style music. Awesome! Like the lunch we ate in town today, we probably risked a bit of gastric consequence but the flavors were new and interesting. It is a common experience for me in places such as this to remind myself that I have plenty of medications in my bag should my wager on food safety fail me. At this writing…..all is calm.

A new team arrives tommorrow, some 40+ people. Shawn and Damaris have gone to the capital to retrieve their gear and bring it back to the center. It is going to get really busy around here as the group grows from 11 to 47 overnight. I am going to accompany Shawn on a Chicken Bus in the morning to bring the team to our location. I am stoked about filming at the airport, it is quite a scene.