Two More Days in Livingston

We spent Thursday and Friday in Livingston as David prepared the boat for the journey down the Rio Dulce. We enjoyed two full days of meeting people who enlightened us about the town and it’s culture. We were able to spend more time with Olga, the girl that prayed to receive Christ at the hotel, and to give her resources to take home to her family. We took Spanish Gospel’s of John and tracts on our journey and handed them out to each person that we were able to hold a conversation with. Most people were very appreciative and took to reading right away. It amazed us to encounter people who hadn’t even heard of Jesus, which heightened our urgency and the necessity of our visit. We used every opportunity possible to at least hand out a tract, but made sure not to force anything on anyone. As we were doing some shopping we were pleased to meet a lady named Anna Maria who owns her own craft shop. She identified herself as a Christian and told us about her church and how she sings in the choir. We told her about the people that we were able to witness to and she promised us to find them and take them to her Evangelical Church in Livingston. This connection is so important! We were able to leave a little surer that our new friends would find a community of faith in which they can grow.
On Thursday we were also able to experience a different side of Livingston, the Garifuna community. As we were eating Lunch a seemingly bitter Garifuna named Polo yelled at us “You gringos? Alright.... das cool.” We started laughing and he asked us where we were from. We told him North Carolina- United States. He came and sat with us at our table and first haggled with the waitress as he didn’t want to put his shirt on. We convinced him to give in, but could sense that he harbored an intense bitterness toward the Latin community (as they owned the restaurant where we were eating). We talked with him and learned that years earlier an American took him to the US to go to college in Chicago. Upon his return to Guatemala, he began to have a concern for the education of the Garifuna children. He said that the Garifunas have been run out of town and largely forgotten about. We showed an interest in his culture and asked him to teach us more, all the while remaining skeptical of his glassy eyes and somewhat slurred speech. (He obviously lives a very tired life). Our friend took us on a tour of the Garifuna’s housing area and trashed beaches. We walked through small impoverished homes and met many sad faces along the way. Polo shared with us his desire for educating children, wanting to know if we had any books to donate to his library. He said that he always asks tourists if they have books- any kind- because he is desperate for educational tools. His small organization schools 160 children and provides people with one meal a day- all that they can provide on meager donations. (Check out the picture of the building on the photos page). He was very interested in us donating money to his organization, but we felt better about assessing the need and taking his address. (We plan on sending him books and supplies, rather than handing over a check.) When we asked what he most needed he let out a big sigh and said... books, like biology and science, internet, new technology. He seemed overwhelmed with the desire for so many new things. Sadly, our conversation came to an abrupt ending when we began to share our hearts with him and our reason for being here. He quickly got up and rolled his eyes at the mention of the name Jesus... walked away and yelled back at us “I’ve heard it all my life.... but people are starving. Don’t send me anything.”
How incredibly heartbreaking... this man has suffered so much in his life, and is blind to the truth of the gospel because he hasn’t seen it in action. We are called to feed the poor and provide help for people all over the world. There are so many physical needs that need to be met, so that people can see their need for the spiritual. Pray for Polo and his organization. We hope to gather books and materials upon our return to the US and send them to him. He probably thinks that he will never hear from us again. Let us know if you have anything (as lightweight as possible for mailing purposes) that we could send him... English and Spanish.
We returned to the boat and loaded up more food and water before beginning our journey down the Rio Dulce river. We are on our way to see Brian and Riechelle Buchanan, the Jungle Medic Missionaries. We feel confident that we were able to leave an impact in Livingston... but please pray for the people that we came in contact with- especially Polo. The Lord has much more in store and we are so excited about continuing our journey.