My first week in Coban has been exciting! getting to know the area, the people and now as Hermana Leader I also have the responsibility to watch for other sister Missionaries.
There are 10 sisters that we are in charge of, some sisters are having some problems and we are having divisions with them this Friday to see what's going on and to fix it. I'm so grateful for this opportunity, it will help me grow even more.
I know you have been asking me to take pictures with the members and on the week prior to my transfer I finally was able to do that, I usually don't carry my camera with me mostly on p-days (we are not tourist you know) hahahaha but don't worry I will be sendind them to you soon. I haven't had the chance to send all my fotos from tikal, I'm working on it! haha I wasn't able to take fotos with all whom I wanted to because I didn't have time, this is what happened, presidente called me saturday night to tell me my change, had church on sunday and said goodbye to all that I could, thinking that I would have time monday to say goodbye to the rest, set up an appointment to have family home evening with Jorge and Amanda, but sunday night the ZL´s called me and told me that I had to leave monday morning, I was so sad it ruined all my plans, So I packed the entire time and didn't get the chance to call anyone.
Okay My new area! Im here with Hermana Hernandez, she was in my District in Peten previously so I already know her, which is nice, she is great, and we get along well! Thats just how I am, you know me easy going (haha)
In Coban, there are A LOT of hills! I get a leg workout every day, when one is on top of the hill the view is SO pretty!!! It's green and foresty here, I LOVE IT!, it hasn't been too cold, the summertime is starting here so it has been pretty warm, only at night and in the mornings it gets a bit cold, the best part is that I HAVE HOT WATER! so I get to enjoy taking warm showers every day!!! grin emoticon It makes me so happy, I love it!! I live in Barrio 1 in Coban , and we are definitely a lot closer to the mission offices, which is also nice, I still have the umbrella and my shoes are holding up just fine, just my toms are starting to wear down a teensy bit but nothing really.
Here there are a lot of q'éqchi people, which is also really neat, they wear their traditional clothing, here are called "Cortes (skirts) y wipil (blouses)" The entire clothing are hand embroidered , so pretty! I really want to learn q'éqchi', which is one o the Mayan dialects and we have investigators that is their primary language (they don't even speak Spanish), so we have to bring someone to interpret for us.
We have a member that feeds us, the food is a little more simpler, but still tasty, her name is hna lucia, her husband speaks q'eqchi', they have a fun personality, the other day they came with us to visit Isabel a q'eqchi woman, and at the end she gave us a drink of cacao and a root called yuka or malanga, I ate a little bit, it was alright tasting not terrible, but it looked so funky I couldn't eat more of it, so I brought it home with me then I gave it to hermana lucia, becuase i wasnt going to eat more of it.
Here in coban is not as a clean as Peten, especially the water, the people are so generous and kind, they always offer you a drink wherever you go and of course most of time the drink is not prepared from purified water so that's how the missionaries end up having stomach problems (including parasites) It is hard to avoid it even if we are careful in drinking from filtered water, everywhere we go they offer us a drink and it is so sweet of them that it is hard to say no (how can we?) a woman gave us lemonade and im pretty sure it wasn't made from purified water haha, I will always remember what you said before I left "you are bound to drink the water sooner or later" "just drink it and get it over with" hahaha, I know as missionaries we really can't be picky while out here. There is also A LOT of dust that gets in my eyes, which is no fun, but hey living the life here!
y ha recibido mis cartas?? estoy mandando un post card este semana de coban smile emoticon
Ok, I think I answered all your questions hahaha, everything is well with me, I am enjoying my mission A TON, and I am loving Guatemala more and more everyday.
take care, love you guys sooo much!!!!!
Hermana riley.
(editors note: no pictures from Hna. Riley, but this are some google images to demonstrate the beautiful traditional clothing original of Coban, every city has their own traditional regalia)
THE TUPUY
a braid that measures 9 meters long and
the color red symbolizes the blood spilled by
their ancestors.
The White Wipil represents beauty and virtue
all hand embroidered (including the skirt)
The skirt represents the 4 cardinal points.
Coban is know for their silver jewelry.
Rarely do they remove their traditional outfits for
other activities.
Even the men have their own traditional clothing.
Some very famous steps in Coban.
It shows how hilly it is.
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