Going to the Chapel...

We got to attend our first Guatemalan wedding recently and it was quite the marathon fiesta. An hour and a half civil ceremony was followed by an hour and a half religious ceremony which was followed by many, many hours of eating, speeches, dancing, and more eating.
The happy couple: Edwin (who works in the Salud y Paz clinic lab) and his beautiful bride Fabiola. The religious ceremony was actually pretty similar to the ones we're accustomed to in the States except they do this cool thing where they wrap the groom in the bride's veil.
Of 250+ people there were only 3 of us gringos. For the first time in my life I was the tallest person in the room (actually, our friend Heather is a little taller than me - OH, the injustice!)
Carey and I received a great honor from Edwin & Fabiola: they asked us to be the Padrinos del Pastel, meaning we bought the cake for the wedding. I told the Priest to refer to me as the Sugar Daddy, but he wouldn't go for it. Geez, talk about uptight. To any extent, it was a bigger deal than we expected b/c we processed in with the bride and groom and then sat by them throughout the ceremony. Here's one tradition I know most couples wish would fail to translate across cultures.
As Sugar Daddy & Mama we got to serve everyone cake. I saved a 1/2 pound piece for us then proceeded to go into a sugar-induced coma.
Congratulations Edwin & Fabiola!!
Peace,
Jay

If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy

Like most non-profits in Guatemala and around the world, Project Salud y Paz has discovered that if you want to ensure the future success and development of a nation, you invest heavily in one group of people: the women. Sociologists and others could explain why this is better than I, but from what I've seen over the past two years its the women who are the most serious about growing healthy families, building solid economies, and establishing peaceful relationships with others. When loaned money, they pay back the loans with interest. When they learn new things, they pass this knowledge on to their children and families. When they're given big responsibilities, they know it is a rare opportunity that they must take advantage of.
Towards those ends, Salud y Paz has formed the Amigas group. The Amigas is an ever-growing group of local Mayan women who meet regularly to learn about health care, economic sustainability, education, and personal empowerment.
The Amigas are led by a Methodist pastor named Juan Ixtan (he's wearing the hat). Here he is teaching the women how to make basic home health care remedies with things they already use everyday. There is one man who is in the Amigas program, but we all know he's just there to pick up chicks.

The best thing about the Amigas is the confidence it gives those who participate. It has been amazing to me to see super-shy Mayan women join only to become vocal and confident leaders within the year. For the first time in their lives they are learning about the opportunities and rights they have within their families and their world.

This is Maria Xirom. She joined the Amigas over a year ago and has really come into her own. When I first met Maria she barely looked at me in the eyes and now she likes to joke around with us and even got a job with Salud y Paz working in the pharmacy. She wakes up at 4 a.m. every morning to take almost a 2-hour bus ride to get to work. It's her drive to give her children and herself a better life that motivate her. You go girl!

"Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes."

-Clare Boothe Luce

Peace,

Jay