Guatemala Update
October 24, 2006
Allen Rainey & Lance Brown opened a new mission field for SonLight Power by traveling to Sayaxche (pronounced sigh-ess-chay), Peten Guatemala Oct. 7–14 to install the first solar power system in the village school of Sepens, Sayaxche. The team learned more about installing pole mounts (a lot safer than roof mounts) — this is only the second SLP pole mount system. Sunday we visited the first of 11 schools for future projects, La Felicidad, and also stopped at the local Mayan ruins at nearby El Ceibal.
After spending Monday buying necessary items and getting welding done for the pole mount, we shipped the pole on a micro bus and assembled the solar array. The SLP team, assisted by resident missionary Virgil Stoltzfus, finished the installation on schedule Tuesday without any problems and spent most of the rest of the week visiting other villages Virgil had nominated for systems. Virgil's family, wife Dara and seven kids, hosted our stay.
As the attached map shows, Peten is the northernmost department of Guatemala. Sayaxche is an hour's drive from the airport at Flores, a popular tourist town due to nearby Tikal and extensive Mayan ruins. Getting to Sayaxche requires taking a ferry, as did many of our visits to villages. We frequently traveled roads Virgil had carved out of the jungle over the past seven years. Before Virgil traded his Cessna in for a bulldozer, emergencies were handled by air.
After the install on Tuesday, we checked out the nearby villages of Nuevo Guatemala and Los Veremos. Wednesday we took the ferry across the Rio de Passion to visit Seragosa and La Ancura — a school near Virgil's childhood home. Each housed over 50 students in grades 1–6 between the two classrooms. Along the way, Virgil picked up various passengers in the back of the pick-up truck and kept up a running commentary of the area and our companions.
More than once, I cringed as we approached a bridge made with wooden slats. Virgil mostly laughed and said something like, "Don't worry about this one. We've taken the low-rider with the bulldozer on over it numerous times." Several people he picked up and many he spoke with in the villages used to be guerrillas who participated in the communist-backed revolution in the early 90's (peace accord signed 1996). Now we're putting solar into their schools . . . there's no doubt this is The Kingdom of God in action!
Thursday we left town going in the other direction, dropping in on schools in Santo Thomas, Santa Amelia, Ucanal, Las Arenas, El Jordan and El Nacimeiento. Like many of the children we met, we found the students at Santa Amelia alert, attentive and very shy. To avoid overcrowding, Las Arenas holds night classes for teenage students with a volunteer teacher using candlelight to study.
Friday we visited the Mayan ruins at Tikal before returning home Saturday.