Right after meeting Josue Rodriguez, he opened up his life to me. He insisted I come over for lunch. Then his wife fed me until I could not eat anymore. He insisted I come over for dinner and kept probing me to eat more. He insisted I spend the night. I have never felt more genuine hospitality in my life. At first, I have to admit, I was a little suspicous. Nobody can be this be friendly without an ulterior motive right? This is a horrible thought to have of people but after spending time in a country where it seems everybody sees dollar signs when they see the color of your skin, you can begin to be a little bit skeptical.
Josue walks his faith. He is the only local here who paid for a tuc-tuc for me to make sure I got to my next destination. Today, after hearing I had yet to get a phone, he offered to loan me his phone. Of course I said no, but this may be the first time in history that an Ixil man offered to give his phone to a Gringo. My dad affectionally called him "skinny Joshua" and the nickname stuck. His family has taken to calling me "Lankin Jordan" meaning "tall Jordan."
Skinny Joshua is an evangelical leader in the region. He is the son of a pastor and teaches the Bible to upcoming Evangelists and Pastors for the Prince of Peace Extension Program. He also plays a significant role in a radio ministry called Radio Ixil. He teaches the Bible over the radio.
I spent the night with his family last week. He has 7 children: 17, 15, and 13 year old girls and 11, 9, 7, and 4 year old boys. As you can expect his home is pretty crazy with those little boys running about and beating up on each other. It is a very humble home. It is hard to explain what homes are like here to people in the United States. Meals happen around the fire in the kitchen where it is warm and where the food is cooked. Ana Toma makes corn tortillas for every meal. Rice and beans are the most common meals, sometimes there is chicken, and sometimes there are chuchitos (corn meal rapped around a tomato like sauce). While I was there, they all slept on two beds in the "living room" while they gave me my own bed upstairs. There are not too many houses in the region with two levels like Josue's family has. They are still very much culturized though and it was a little shocking in my USA brain to watch them throw their trash in the river that is beside their house. Throwing trash in the rivers is a way of life here. Here are some pictures I took inside his home. You can get a taste for the living conditions by looking at these photos. They would not let me post the picture I took of them in their bed. Such a cute and loving family (with some crazy little boys!).
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| Ana Toma and Dinah |
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| Ana Toma, Elmer, and Edgar |
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| Edwin |
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| Ermelinda and Elmer |
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