The Life Cycle...

This is another difficult blog to note. On Wednesday of this week two of our staff members - Maria Dolores (Childrens' Ministry Coordinator) and her mother Ana Maria (the cook for our cafe) suffered a loss. Felipe - Father and Husband. He was riding home from work on his motorcycle, carrying a passenger. A vehicle was making a u-turn on a blind curve. It was a head on collision. Both were killed. Felipe instantly - his passenger a day later. I do not know the condition of the vehicle driver.

Services were held in Cuidad Vieja - a community 7 miles or so from Antigua. This was the capitol of Central America before Antigua. Once again I find myself experiencing many surreal emotions regarding life as a Pastor in Guatemala. While I did not have any responsibilities during these services there were several things to note.

1 - I was standing in a Cathedral built in 1534. Many generations have been attending this Catholic church.

2 - The service for many attending appeared to be more from habit and tradition.

3 - To see Felipe's children and family carrying his casket the 2-3 kilometers to the cemetery was more than I was ready for.

Felipe Graves was 43 years old. With the exception of color and year, his motorcycle was the same as mine. 2 of his three children are the same ages as Nancy and I's. He loved family and life.

More times than not we as humans have far more in common than we take note of.