On the Road to San Pedro (Traveling with Dick and Daryl, but not his other brother Daryl)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Again I’m borrowing from Dick, and Daryl Fulp, who was with us on this trip, along with his daughter Brittney, and a friend Kathlyn Beier.  We had a great time serving and laughing together.~~Pat

Dick writes:

On the way to church this morning the boys and I parked the car at Pat's house and then walked in to Church. Each weekend starting several weeks before Easter the streets of Antigua get so crowded with people that come to see the processions that even if you do manage to find a parking place in town it can often take you forever to get out of town so we thought that it would be wise to walk in to church.

A few of my Boys with Pat's puppies

After church we headed in to Chimaltenango and had lunch. After lunch Pat and I joined up with Daryl Fulp, his daughter Britney and her friend Kathlyn and headed off to Lake Atitlan.

Any one that read my last journal entry (March 27, in my blog~~Pat)  no doubt read the portion that Daryl wrote. You are then no doubt aware that that Daryl's recollection of what actually took place was far different than mine or anyone eases but being the kind person that I am I printed it anyway. Well once again Daryl has asked me to publish what he wrote about today. Although most of what he writes about Pat is completely true, what he wrote about me and especially my driving could not be further from the truth.

Dick

Road trips, Blood Stains, and Spewed Spaghetti.

Mostly fiction, (Dick)
Written by Daryl Fulp

This is a special request for prayer from all our supporters and prayer partners. As I write this, I am currently in San Pedro Laguna with Dick Rutgers and Pat Duff, and these two are exhausting! It is difficult to be the only mature person in the group. It is like being responsible for toddlers! I’m a little confused here.  I thought we brought Brittney along to be the adult with the group.~~Pat

Our group left this afternoon after church. As already stated, the team includes Dick, Pat, and myself along with my daughter Brittney and Kathlyn Beyer. The plan was to drive out to the region of Lake Atitlan and stay in a motel for the next two evenings, using it as a base while we deliver a wheelchair, repair another, and make a couple of deliveries in the area. It didn’t take long for me to determine that I was in trouble. Daryl is usually in trouble~~Pat

My fear began when Dick informed our group that he had driven carefully on our trip last week. But after reading my blog in which I complained about his heart-stopping driving technique he would no longer “hold back.” I immediately began to pray.

We stopped for a break at a gas station where Pat promptly fell out of Dick’s Land Cruiser. (With as high as Dick’s Land Cruiser sits, and as short as my legs are, it’s a miracle that I haven’t broken my neck before now. ~~Pat) Dick immediately expressed his concern by asking, “You didn’t get any blood on my car, did you?” (Note: Dick asked me to clarify this story by letting you know that he did ask her if she was okay a split second before expressing his concerns about blood stains, although his concern for the car was expressed more loudly and with much greater emotion.) Dick was greatly relieved to learn that no skin was broken and, therefore, there was no blood.

Our journey through the mountains was an adventure in itself. The descent to the lake takes us through a section of road that Dick and Pat have dubbed “The small Intestines” because that is what the road looks like on the GPS. We traveled down the side of the mountain through a series of switchbacks involving sharp corners that left you wondering if we would meet a bus head-on.

  We arrived in town and
  checked into our motel which
  is quite nice and only set us
  back by 100 Q (about $12.50)
  a night per room. We were
  hungry, so we walked to a
  local restaurant that
  overlooks the lake. The view
  was gorgeous, but the food 
  was lousy. Dick and I both
  got the shrimp (at least that is what it was called on the menu). (I tried to warn them.  Lake Atitlan is highly polluted, and I really think these were crawdads, not shrimp.  I’m waiting for the two of them to start glowing in the dark!~~Pat) After trying it, we both decided that they must have been composed of crawdads from the lake combined with rubber from old tires. So, I ate the bread on the plate and ordered a cheeseburger. Dick chose to finish Pat’s spaghetti for her. (There was still a little left that she hadn’t managed to spew at me or splatter on me from across the table. Never sit across from Pat when she eats!) (Is it my fault these two guys made me laugh so hard I thought I’d choke to death?  Then again, maybe that was their plan. . .~~Pat)

Today was mainly just for fun as we traveled over and settle in, but there will be some actual ministry done. To be honest, life and ministry here can be difficult and draining, and sometimes we just need to laugh and have some fun. It is good to have friends with whom we all can do just that. My respect and love for these two have grown exponentially in the last few months, and I am privileged to call them my friends. (We love you, too, Daryl.~~Pat)

We are all getting ready to settle down and get some shut-eye. Another day awaits us and will arrive soon, and I will need to be ready to keep these two toddlers in line. Please pray for me!

Goodnight from Lake Atitlan!

Daryl