The Ministry of "Hanging Out"

I started out this morning planning on doing laundry and hanging around the house.  That changed about 9 a.m. when my friend Dick called to invite me to see Toy Story 3 with him and 7 of his neighborhood kids.  Dick lives in Chimaltenango, about 30 min. from Antigua, and opens his home and his heart to any and all kids in his neighborhood.  They are great kids, and seem to have accepted me as part of the group without too much difficulty.  Fernando, my favorite, keeps asking when I'm going to come to Dick's house to cook for them!

We were a bit surprised when we walked out of the movie theater and saw it was pouring.  Though this is rainy season, it was rather early in the day for such a heavy rain.  We found the group's usual restaurants were full, since most have TV and the World Cup game (which Spain won) was on.  It's amazing to me the popularity of  "futball" (soccer) here.  It makes Husker Mania seem like a mild infatuation. 

Anyway, Dick and the kids brought me back to Antigua.  I was once again grateful for Dick's expert navigation of the roads in Guatemala, even when they become more like rivers than highways.  I sure wouldn't have wanted to be driving in this storm.  And, no, this is not a hurricane, or even a tropical storm.  Just normal rainy season!

We decided to eat lunch at (where else) Pollo Camperos in Antigua.  This too was crowded, though there was no TV. We managed to find enough seats in the outside play area. (Thankfully it had stopped raining.) Added to my list of  "only in Guatemala" events, is that only in Guatemala would kids consider a guy cleaning out a storm drain trap a spectator sport.  Most of them seemed to enjoy watching the guy at Camperos who was doing just that.

Dick is teaching me more and more the value of the "ministry of hanging out" with folks, especially kids.  One young lady, Olga, has no mother in the home, and has become quite special to me already.  She was the only girl with us today, but holds her own with the boys quite well.  I noticed, though, that she would hang close to me, and sometimes make comments like, "Boys! What do you expect!"  I think she appreciated having another female along for the trip, and I hope to get to know her better in the days to come.  And the only way to do this is by "hanging out," so hang out I will.