Read Part 1

Day 8. Saturday we were up at 4 and off by 5. There was nowhere to eat, so we made do with oranges. Forty miles from the border we hit a rough stretch of road that took 2 hours. Thankfully we arrived before the noon closing. Paul looked up his friend, who expedited our crossing in less than two hours. Not one suitcase inspected! As we drove away, we saw others unloading EVERYTHING for inspection! We had hoped to eat lunch in Huehuetenango but landslides on the dirt road made that plan impossible. Halfway up a steep incline, we didn’t have enough speed to make the top. As we backed down, thankfully the trailer jackknifed into the bank and not down into the river. A truckload of men drove up right then and helped us!

Further along the road we were making good speed to crest the hill when a dip in the road nearly ripped the trailer loose! Again, the Lord sent men who pulled us up that hill. That evening we stopped near San Sebastian with missionaries — Gutes and Sywulkas for our first meal of the day. They wanted us to stay the night, but we were anxious to get home! The kids were asleep and all was going well, until we had to cross another river and couldn’t make it up the opposite bank. We waited in the cold and dark until another truckload of men finally came and pushed us up. And so, on through the night. Twice more we were rescued climbing up hills, the muffler broke, the brakes went out and bolts on the trailer broke again. At 4 a.m. we stopped and slept for two hours.

Day 9. Sunday. Ten miles outside Guatemala City the fan belt broke again. Paul hopped a bus to buy a replacement, and at last we limped into the Bible Institute at 12:30, noon.  From there, it was an easy road to Antigua, and we were home by dark. Thank you Lord for a safe trip!

Epilogue
That first week was busy with unpacking. We were out late Saturday night I didn’t get the dishes done!  Sunday morning we went up to Santa Maria, but first I dashed over to see Doña Chusita because it was her birthday.

We had a nice welcome from the Indians in Santa Maria. How we love them. So wonderful to see how they have been going forward in the Lord. We got home by one, ate a quick lunch and dashed off to Sunday School in Antigua. Afterwards we went to visit Doña Martha, returning, there were guests from the capital waiting for us. And not a clean dish in the house! I washed some dishes and started to make grilled cheese sandwiches, only to find we didn’t have enough bread. They left five minutes before church, so I went and Paul stayed with the kids. When I came home, I finished those dishes!

Ruth has been washing dishes and feeding guests in Antigua, Guatemala for 56 years. “Perseverance brings about proven character.”