Office of Alumni Relations

April 7, 2005

Guatemala City, Guatemala

When we last wrote, we had been staying in the home of Ron and Margie Caruthers, missionaries in Guatemala City, for a few days awaiting the arrival of our friend Jesse Boyd. Jesse decided to join us for a week of adventure and ministry throughout Guatemala.

His presence here this last week has greatly encouraged us in fulfilling one of our main goals on this ride: sharing the Gospel. We had a feeling God would use him to spark a flame under us to be more bold with our faith, but we didn't know what a big fire it would eventually become.

I think there are a lot of preconceived notions as to what "sharing the Gospel" means, so allow me to briefly explain what that means to us. We tell people who Jesus Christ is and what He did for them. It's a simple message of the free gift of salvation offered to all mankind, and it comes through faith in Jesus alone. It's a message told in love and compassion, not something forced upon a person. Everyone we share with has the choice whether to listen or not. When we share the Gospel with people, it usually means we tell them what Jesus has done in our lives, and show them how He can do the same in theirs. Sharing the Gospel can be as easy as asking someone to read a pamphlet or as lengthy as a four-hour theological discussion like the one I had last night. We feel very strongly about sharing this message whenever we can because it has literally changed our lives. With that said, let's move on to the Guatemalan adventures of Dylan, Cheri, and Jesse.

Ron dropped us off in downtown Guatemala City where we found a bus headed to northern Guatemala. Thankfully, when the bus pulled out of the station, its rear tire blew up and we spent 45 minutes fixing it. I say thankfully because it could have happened on the highway and been much worse. It wasn't the most comfortable ride, and certainly not the shortest (10 hours), but we did get to spend 3 hours talking to Freddy about Jesus. In the end, he asked us if he could have the Spanish Bible we were reading.

The interesting thing we've discovered about many of the people we have met is that they have actually never read the Bible. They often think they know what it says, but when they finally read it for themselves as Freddy did, a hunger for the truth consumes them. The bus dropped us off at 9 p.m. and we bargained for a taxi to take us to the jungle ruins of Tikal.

Tikal is an ancient Mayan city that reached its peak around 700 A.D. and was covered in jungle vegetation by the time Columbus set foot in America. No one is sure what happened to the people, but they did leave behind some amazing works of architecture. There are about six main pyramids made out of limestone that rise high above the treetops. Down below are the ruins of an ancient city that once housed many thousands of people. We wanted to watch the sun rise the following morning on the temples so we asked the guard if we could sleep on top of Temple IV, the highest of all. He kindly agreed and escorted us to the temple through the dark as the howler monkeys growled and snored all around. They sound like monsters, and honestly we didn't sleep too well that night. I guess it didn't help that we also slept on a place where people once out cut the hearts of their prisoners of war and offered them up to gods in hope of earning favor.

The next morning, we checked out the whole of Tikal in daylight. It was cool to watch monkeys, toucans, and parrots playing in the trees above us. From there, we started hitchhiking dirt roads back toward Guatemala City. In Guatemala, it's very normal and safe to hitchhike. People do it here because there often aren't any buses for hours. We enjoyed it immensely because it allowed us room to move, air in our faces, a spectacular open view, and interesting people to talk to. We got to talking to one lady who was having troubles with her health. She hardly knew us but felt comfortable enough to ask us to pray for her in the back of a pickup. People here are much more open and willing to talk about religion and politics than most North Americans. It turns out there are quite a few Marxists and Communists roaming around these parts, and they love to talk about current world affairs.

Our hitching took us through some of the most beautiful landscapes we had ever seen. We were blessed with many great rides in corn trucks, electrical vans, spice trucks, and collectivos that carry about 20 people in the back of one small pickup. Virtually every ride we had allowed us to share the Gospel with people who really desired to hear about Jesus. They asked for Bibles and pamphlets, sought our prayers, and genuinely cared about the message of salvation. What a stark difference to what we experience at home!

The next destination on our route was the town of Lanquin. It's a small village nestled in a green valley with a refreshing river running by. There are two things that make Lanquin famous. First, there's a huge bat cave full of stalactites and creepy spiders. The river rushes out of the mouth of this cave from an underwater aquifer. One afternoon, we inner-tubed from the mouth of the cave down to our bungalow at El Retiro. Jesse was able to practice his Spanish with the locals who swam out to greet us. Secondly, Lanquin is known for the area known as Semuc Champey. Semuc is a series of tranquil emerald green pools set like stairs that flow through the jungle. We went swimming and cliff jumping there on our second day. Between Semuc and Lanquin is a huge hill and a six-mile walk through scattered coffee farms and houses. We used this hike back to meet many of the locals and talk to them about Jesus. Once again, we were amazed at how many people, at least 300, gladly accepted Gospel literature or wanted to hear about Jesus. Sometimes whole groups of kids would rush out to greet us as we walked by. They didn't beg for candy or pencils as some kids do, but rather the word of God! That night I guess word had gotten around that we were missionaries because the other tourists staying at El Retiro were curious about our trip as well. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Lanquin.

From there, we hopped on a truck carrying cardamom seeds up the hill. For the next hour we got to talk with Jose about spiritual matters. He said he'd been thinking about salvation and becoming a Christian for a while but was scared to make the commitment. Jose told us that if he became a Christian, his Catholic family would likely disown him. As plainly as we could, and mostly Cheri in her excellent Spanish, we explained to him how Jesus loves him and is offering him salvation without good works. If only he would accept it.

Our next ride was truly a Godsend. We thought we'd have to spend a miserable five hours on a bus getting back to Guatemala City, but instead Fernando picked us up. He drove a nice new truck and simply wanted company and someone to talk to. Cheri mostly talked, and I was really impressed with her command of the Spanish language. Fernando educated us more on the history of Guatemala, politics, and the religious beliefs. He even dropped us off right at the Caruthers doorstep when it was all said and done.

The following day, we went to Antigua again. That night in the central park, we set out to talk to as many people as would hear the Gospel. The one encounter that stands out above all else happened with David. He wandered up to me and asked for a quetzal (15 cents). I asked him if he'd like something of even greater worth. In my feeble Spanish, I told him about the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. In five minutes, I had used up my vocabulary and Cheri stepped in. A half our later, David was saying a prayer of repentance and asking Christ to come into his heart. It was really cool to watch it all happen. As David walked away, part of me wondered if it was for real. I think God wanted to show us that it was because a few minutes later David returned with tears streaming down his cheeks, smiling and thanking us for showing him to Jesus.

For a final adventure, we booked a tour/hike up Volcan Pacaya. It's an active volcano that I saw when I was here last time. Three years ago, I looked down into a crater from the top of Pacaya and saw the faint glow of lava and the smell of sulfur and gases. This time, however, Pacaya was spitting forth chunks of hot molten lava into the air. The crater that I once knew was now filled in with a new rock that formed a cone and towered above us. This cone belched smoke and burped up lava every few seconds. It was a scary thing to stand 150 feet from something as lethal as an active volcano. Truly one of the coolest things any of us has every seen.

This hike also allowed us to meet some interesting people. Hal was a religious studies major in college and I've studied most every religion in the world so we had a lot to talk about over the course of four hours. I really don't remember much of the hike or bus ride because of that. Another interesting conversation was with Keith. He and I had a lot in common because he is in the same place in life that I was about four years ago. By that I mean we both are Christians, but were seriously questioning and wondering about the truth of it all. I've since come to the conclusion that Jesus really is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that the Bible is the true word of God. The things contained in it aren't just manmade religion, but amazing life changing words given from God to us. We were able to encourage him this day and I hope my testimony of searching and finding answers helps him in his quest.

Now we're back in Guatemala City. Jesse and I had the privilege of visiting the local jail in Antigua this morning. The guards allowed us to openly preach to a group of inmates who came over to hear us speak. I don't know if they listened for entertainment's sake or because they really cared what we had to say, but I know at least one man was moved by the words of God. His name was also David. Before we left, he accepted our last Spanish Bible and thanked us for being bold enough to come to prison. Something in the way he listened and asked questions told me God was doing something in him. I wish we could have spent more time with the inmates. It seems when a person ends up where they are, what's most important in life really stands out past the distractions that the rest of us have.

Well, it's 1:30 in the morning as I type this email and if I'm going to ride to El Salvador tomorrow I should get some sleep. If you have any questions at all or comments, we'd love to hear back from you. Don't forget to visit our website to see the latest pictures of all the things I've described above.

Take care and God bless,

Dylan and Cheri (Hacker '98) Harris