Old friends: Alfredo

One of the other old friends Crescent Hill visit team members spend time with on this visit was Alfredo, an employee of the Guatemalan national Presbyterian church's visit unit, who served as driver and guide for the 2012 visit.  Alfredo did the same for this year's visit.  Alfredo is a great driver who has historically gotten along great with CHPC youth and has stayed in touch with a lot of 2012 team members by Facebook.  Alfredo is a non-Presbyterian Protestant whose cheerful and calm demeanor, subtle guidance, solid liaison-ing with Guatemalans on the team's behalf, and assertive but skillful driving, really made for a big part of the success of both the 2012 and 2016 visits.

Even though Alfredo has driven North American church teams all over the country, CHPCers - and Alfredo - went for the for the first time to two new places.  Driving over a hill on the way to La Guitarra, Ramiro - and the team - came across such a beautiful, lush, green, mountain vista that even Alfredo stopped the van in the middle of a narrow road to take a picture himself (and to let team members take pictures).  Early in the morning, Friday morning, Ben and Alfredo went down to the wharfs in Puerto Barrios and Alfredo helped take the lead with founding and negotiating with Martin, captain of what became the team's 26-hour home away from home on the water.  Alfredo had never visited Livingston also, and so all of it was new to him.  On the crazy launcha ride from White Beach back to Livingston, Alfredo sat towards the front of boat and hammed it up as much as ahyone about the fear and discomfort from the ride.

-Perry