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‘It was a joy to be there’: through mud and rain to Jakaltek dedication
By Ron Ross, Translation Consultant, UBS Americas Area GUATEMALA — It was supposed to be another standard Scripture dedication. Those of us who were to participate were to depart from Guatemala City on August 19 in a convoy of five vehicles. We would spend that night in the pre-colonial city of Huehuetenango and the next day press on to San Marcos Huista, high up in the Cuchumatanes Mountains, where the revised Jakaltek New Testament was to be dedicated. The second leg of the trip would not be too long. By leaving Huehuetenango at 4.30 a.m. we should arrive in San Marcos in time for the beginning of the ceremony at about 9.00 a.m. LandslideFor two hours we travelled at a good pace on well-paved highways. Then suddenly the car at the front ground to a halt. It was difficult to see from the back of the convoy why we had stopped, but it became clear that there was a long line of trucks ahead, most of which were loaded with cattle. A walk up to the head of the queue revealed a huge landslide that was blocking the road and it was obvious that it would not be cleared at least until some time the next day. August is the middle of the Central American rainy season and landslides in mountainous areas are common. The only option seemed to be to turn around, return to Huehuetenango and approach our destination by back mountain roads. But this route would take hours longer. We would miss both the breakfast and the lunch prepared by the church in San Marcos. Many of those who had come to the dedication from other towns might return home to avoid the afternoon rain. Then there was the road itself. In the mountains, it was treacherous, unpaved and barely wide enough for a single vehicle. Two-hour tripWe turned the vehicles around and started the two-hour trip back toward Huehuetenango. Once there, we began our trek up to San Marcos Huista. This route was spectacular, with expansive vistas of intensely green mountains separated by broad valleys. For the first few miles the road was paved. Then it turned to dirt and the ascent became steeper. The dirt road quickly became mud and the driver of the minibus pulled over and stopped. It was clear to him that his vehicle would never make it to San Marcos. This was obviously going to require four-wheel drive. Those of us who were travelling in the minibus were redistributed among the other four vehicles. We continued our journey. Often there was a deep precipice on one side of the road and a granite wall on the other. Many parts of the road were so narrow that when encountering vehicles approaching from the opposite direction, it was necessary to back up to a wider place for the other vehicle to pass. StruggleThis has been Guatemala’s wettest rainy season in 20 years, so the road was very wet and muddy. Many times the vehicles would slide down one hill only to have to struggle back up the next and on more than one occasion the occupants of one of the vehicles were called upon to jump out and push.
We eventually arrived in San Marcos at 2.30 p.m., far too late for either breakfast or lunch. But most of the people were still there, and once the New Testaments were unloaded from the trucks, the church was filled with Jakaltek people of all ages. There was music (of the northern Mexican type so popular in Guatemala but with Christian words) and some pertinent words by the pastor, by project co-ordinator David Ekstrom from CAM International and by the Rev Cornelio Midence, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Guatemala. The Jakaltek people who had made the trip to the dedication were genuinely excited about their newly-revised New Testament. Many of them bought copies: one man bought five so he could pass them out among his neighbours. It was a joy to be there and to participate in their celebration. The Jakaltek people are among the most literate Mayas in their own language, so there is little doubt they will take full advantage of their new revision. (WR 399/22 - 01/02.06) [2 photos] |
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