30 minutes in Cajixay

From the small town of Cotzal, down a windy dirt road through the mountains, is the little village of Cajixay.  When my family first started coming down to Guatemala, it was to visit the people from this village.  My parents church, Westminster Chapel, partnered with Agros to help sponsor the village.  We sent teams about twice per year to spend a week building relationships with the village while helping them in labor.  It was a period in my life that I will always remember because of the love that bound us to them.  We were so different but yet when it came to the human spirit, we had so much in common.  I know all the people that went on those short term trips came back home completely changed.  WIND of God was founded because of these trips.  Cajixay graduated from the Agros program recently and no more Westminster Chapel teams will likely come, but this does not permanently end relations.  Last month, my parents visited Cajixay to see a family we have become close to.  I left Saturday with the same goal, but it is significantly harder without a car.

There is a Saturday morning market in Cotzal and a bus brings many villagers to the area to sell their produce.  I heard from Jacinto, the director of the Bible Institute, that the bus left at 11 from Cotzal to go back to Cajixay and a truck came back at 3.  In my mind, I was thinking I would have 3 hours in Cajixay.  But things in Guatemala don´t always go that smoothly.  I mircobused it to Nebaj in the morning and visited the Bible Institute.  I then arrived to the bus for Cajixay at 11.  Several villagers were already on the bus and they stared at me and talked about me in Ixil.  I don´t think it´s too often gringos ride a chicken bus to Cajixay, I´m not sure if any recognized me since it had been 6 years since I had been there with Agros.  It then became obvious the bus wasn´t supposed to leave at 11.  At 12 the bus was completely full.  To all of you who have never ridden a chicken bus, you can´t possibly understand the meaning of a full bus.  All sitting room, all standing room, all breathing room, was completely filled.  I was scrunched at the window, not being able to put my legs down because the seat was too small.  Getting out was an impossibility because I would not only have to climb over two old ladies, but the whole aisle would have to clear out (and there were probably around 30 people standing in the aisle of the bus alone).  This was at 12:00.  But the bus didn´t leave until 1:30.  There were mechanical problems and every time it looked like we were about to go, the driver got out and started hammering on the bus.  I was about to give up and clear everybody out so I could get out, but right at the moment we left.  I arrived to Cajixay around 2:45.  There was no truck that left at 3:00, just the same bus.  I got out and found Benjamin´s family, our family friends.  To my delight, they remembered my name right away.  I got to meet their new daughter Cecilia, visited briefly, and snapped a few photos.  But as soon as I arrived, it was time for me to go.  I figured I would miss the bus back and was prepared to walk back.  This would take 3 hours, or 2 hours if I walked really fast.  Luckily after I left, the bus was still leaving.  I chased down the bus and luckily they saw me running after them and stopped.  So that was my 30 minutes in Cajixay.  Ever since I have been planning my return to the village in which I will have more time.