Bus to Casa Angelina

Each morning at 7:30 AM the bus to Casa Angelina departs. 30 excited travellers sit aboard,wondering what lay ahead in the day.  We skirt Antigua, take the old highway up to CA-9 through majestic scenery. It’s not uncommon to see a family of four on a motorcycle, a small pickup carrying twice what it should possibly be able to hold, various livestock inside and outside vehicles, and ‘carloads’ of people on their way to work.

When we get to Chimaltenango, the scenery changes. Now we are witness in passing, to store fronts of various function and repute, curbside vendors, squealing ambulances, honking chicken busses, and the whistles of traffic control officers.  Surrounded by the sights, smells and sounds of a mid-size central American city, we may get stuck in traffic for 15 minutes or two hours, depending on the day.

Once past Chimaltenango, we eventually turn up the Cobblestone Road to the Orphanage, which passes through the local Village of Taluche. We pass more motorcycles, houses, churches, a sugar shack or two (junk food stores), farm workers,  families, and residents. Eventually, the familiar red roofs of the orphanage come into view – we have arrived!

The mission partners we have in Guatemala are amazing. The children are beautiful. The scenery is amazing. The work is hard, taxing, exhausting, and rewarding. But the bus rides are special. It’s when we decompress, share, laugh, plan, and dream. It’s where we read, write, pray, and sleep.  It’s one more place where this group of friends, slowly becomes a family.

 

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