Other old friends

Presbyterian mission worker Roger Marriott (pictured above) played a critical role in helping us plan the mission trip, helped pick us up Saturday, and accompanied us on several excusions. He also helped persuade the Guatemalans to go to Semuc Champey and then mediated between us when the Guatemalans went over to Gloria and his house Tuesday to talk about the partnership. Several Crescent Hill folks had met Roger at an Amigos de K'ekchi' meeting in Nashville, and I saw him at a similar event in Cincinnati last year. Stephanie had first met Gloria at the Guatemala Mission Network Gathering at lake Amatitlan in the fall of 2008. Stephanie and I had had dinner with Roger and Gloria (pictured below) here in Louisville a couple of years ago: Gloria joined us a couple of times and helped keep track of trip finances. Roger and Gloria may return to Tennessee in a couple of years. She is finishing a graduate degree

Delia Leal (pictured below), a Nazarene pastor in Coban, participated in Coban, participated in last year's International Peacemakers program, speaking across the country, including at Crescent Hill church. A good speaker, she got straight down to business, talking about the status of women in that part of Guatemala and the threat the drug traffickers, who now control much of the city. A couple of the Guatemalan men fidgeted during the discussion, and I had a slightly different attitude as I walked across the city subsequently. During a discussion that followed, Pastor Gerardo said Leal's description of Coban did not sound like El Estor. But Pastor Fidel admitted that a couple of people had turned up dead near his town of Boqueron, and no one seemed to know what had happened (or done anything?).

One of the Marriotts' peers, Karla Koll (pictured below), a professor involved in a theological education program in Guatemala City (in which Delia Leal is also involved), joined us in Antigua for Thursday dinner and Friday breakfast. Karla had spoken with a Crescent Hill dinner audience this past spring and had been at the Guatemala Mission Network Gathering with Stephanie and Gloria. Friday Karla updated us a little about changes in the Guatemalan evangelical Presbyterian church. Another education program colleague, Dennis Smith, who spoked at Crescent hill last fall, is headed to South America, where he will serve as a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) regional liaison, working under Maria.

Another PC(USA) mission worker, Amanda Craft (pictured below), lives in Antigua with her son, Ethan Alejandro. She helped us arrange lodging and transportation in Antigua. She met us for dinner Thursday and stopped by Friday afternoon. Pictured with Amanda is Ellen Dozier, a former mission worker colleague of most of those picture above and Amanda's predecessor. Although Ellen worshiped with Crescent Hill for a year and we considered her part of our team, she actually lives in North Carolina now. Ellen helped plan the trip and translated and facilitated most of the group discussions. She said that, like the rest of us, she's been excited to be part of the trip and partnership and told the Guatemalans that, as someone who lived in Guatemala for about a decade, she feels torn between her U.S. and Guatemalan identity.

-- Perry