Ready, set, go!

A group of us met down the street at Heine Brothers cafe in mid-October, in advance of Stephanei's Election week trip to meet Ellen for the Presbyterian Guatemalan mission network gathering in Guatemala (see "Amatitlan, Guatemala"). There was Carlos, our current student pastor and teacher of the bilingual Spanish-English Sunday school class in which I participate.



Also there were our pastor, Jane; and Soni, who went with us to Guatemala in summer 2007 and is helping spearhead a fund-raiser that will generate scholarship money for the March-April 2008 trip.

Here am I with the colorful Heine Brothers backdrop. Meeting at Heine Brothers is apropos - besides being very convenient for Soni, Ben, Stephanie, and me. They buy fair trade coffee from Guatemala and their staff and supporters have gone on several trips down there.

That Sunday in our church's busy worship service, Stephanie and I played big roles. Besides me speaking twice (see ), Jane also took time out of our prayer time to pray Stephanie (who would leave in eight days) for her trip (and which served to remind the congregation and involve them more in her conversations down there).

Monday morning at 3:30 arrived (hours before Vincent and I headed to Granny's funeral), and Stephanie, Frisco, and I got up, packed the car, and headed off for the airport. Frisco stayed in the car.

Stephanie had on a blouse that her mother had sewed out of the Scottish-type pattern material that Soni and Stephanie had bought in El Estor. We got to the airport about five minutes after we should have (at 5 a.m. for a 5:55 a.m. flight) and then got very nervous as progress in our line and in checking in ground to a halt.

Just ahead of us in line - but then far ahead in the security line - was Presbyterian world mission Central America head honcho Stan DeVoogd - who was helping organize the gathering - and so - assuming Stephanie made it on the plane - we knew she wouldn't really be traveling alone all the way to Guatemala city (and in fact they picked up more Presbyterians bound for the gathering in Houston). Finally, Stephanie got checked in and was in the security line.

And, then, heading through security.

Frisco and I went for a walk out on the top of the parking garage - almost always mainly deserted - and then headed back to the car and looked back over the runways around the time Stephanie and Stan's flight was to leave. Bon voyage!

-- Perry