We’ll call her Analia, and yesterday she served as our guide across some of the mountain community she calls home.

Analia is about 7 years old, thought when I asked her how old she was, she said she wasn’t sure. I think it was the Spanish that I asked her in. She and her family speak K’iche’ like most families in the mountians.

Analia’s mom, we’ll call Maria, is one of our patients and is in her final month of pregnancy. She lives in one of the remote mountian villages surrounding the town of San Andres. San Andres is by no means big, but for these villages, it marks a different wold.

We have recently enjoyed coming to find our moms at home in their final month to save them the trip into town. See, it’s quite the hike to the pass, and trucks heading to town are not always plentiful. Some of our moms spend an hour and a half coming for an appointment. Quite the task when you’re 8 months pregnant.

Yesterday we drove pretty far before we could drive no further. Over the phone, our expecting mama explained how to get to her through local landmarks and phrases in K’iche’ that made no sense to me! Luckily we have ourselves an experienced navigator who is fluent in K’iche’, and can make sense of what I cannot!

Peniel will stop and chat amiably with whoever who we find to point us in the right direction.

A few weeks ago, he asked the group of workmen working on a bridge. Come to find the man who answered him first was our patient’s husband!

God guided us to just the right man who could lead us all the way in by moto, and allow him to be present for the ultrasound!

Other times, we find ladies working along the way who know that family lives “a little ways further on”- leading us closer to our mystery destination.

Some directions boggle my mind like our friend who gave us as reference “the house where the trucks park” as a notable waypoint.

…And she was right!

It was uniquely useful as no other trucks could park like the trucks at that house had parked! After seeing it, I would know “the house where the trucks park” as a distinct feature in this mountain road landscape- even if the trucks were not currently parked there!

So on our way to find our friend Maria yesterday, we asked a few ladies on the way in where our 4 patients might be. The resounding answer was “oh, waaaay back”. Also– I love how many former patients we run into who help us find our newer families!

As we drove, a little Guatemalan taxi (a rundown pickup into the back of which up to a dozen people will press) passed by. Peniel chatted with the driver- because of corse, he knew him too! He shared with us that 3 of our ladies might have gone to a church service and would not be home.

We went on to find Maria and chatted about what to do. Mountain life is flexible. All plans are subject to change based on weather, construction, illness, frankly, the myriad of unpredictable factors that govern life this remote.

We thank God again that His hands are on this- the only patient who was certainly home and answered the call was our one mama who was most essential to find! Maria was due very soon, and her baby was breech in the last appointment- a dangerous position necessitating her to travel and deliver at the health center if not the hospital an hour farther on that the town.

We got some guidance from how to find her after the truck could go no further, and we left the vehicle behind. We evaluated the footpaths before us trying to piece out which led where, and started climbing.

After a while we felt we should have seen the next landmark. We stopped to call again, and realized we were not in the right place at all.

Our friend was sending her daughter to lead us along the right paths from where we left the truck.

We started back to the “terminal” – a flat area noted for being a spacious intersection of paths– “spacious” meaning hardly big enough for the two trucks parked there without blocking the pass from other vehicles.

When we passed a clearing in path along the cliff, we saw her! Can you see her????

Perhaps I should saw, she saw us!

On the phone we could hear her excitement, and far across the valley and up the next mountain over, we could see a small house- a thin strip of white in the middle of a mountain forrest landscape.

Smaller yet was the dot that was Maria! So distant!!

Still can’t see her??

Here, let me zoom in!!

Even at this distance, the excitement in her voice carried across the valley and I could just make out her voice at the peak of her phrases! How incredible to have phones even in remote places that Peniel could speak with her with ease from such a distance. It was surreal to clearly hear the message from someone we could hardly see!

But… we had climbed the wrong mountain!!!

On we went back to the terminal where little Analia was waiting for us.

She looked tiny sitting alone on the cliffside. And yet, she had made the walk alone and was assured in her directions.

This was her home.

Our young guide us down a small, steep path, and seemed to descend with ease while I in particular had to choose every step with care.

She would stop and wait for us to catch up, wordlessly, patiently leading the way.

Down and down she led passing by other paths that opened to the left or right along the way.

At the bottom of the valley, we hopped a small stream that must rage during a rainstorm.

Climbing the other side was easier on the knees than the descent, but had me breathing like I’ve skipped cardio for the last… year! Meanwhile our guide was tireless and fearless- up and up she climbed.

The path had clearly been here a long time because years of rains had deepened and widened the path until we were climbing between two walls for dirt nearly chest high!

When we reached the top and climbed out, we were on the ridge. Below on one side laid painstakingly tilled earth ready for farming, and from the side from which we had come was a beautiful pine forrest.

Farther up we went along the ridge until we passed the thin white strip we had seen from the far side– it was actually quite a large house! Maria and her family has a small tienda there which would surly be the only tienda within hours of hiking- making it a hub of activity… which yesterday consisted of a few kids coming to buy snacks.

I love the little Analia is already such an essential part of her family. She is trusted to go and guide in the visitors, and does so with a quiet diligence.

We were welcomed in where we could check on Maria, and praise God- her baby was now in a safe position to deliver at home with a local midwife!

After all that, we found Maria, and a perfect spot to ask about our other moms. A tienda is the place to be if you need to ask directions. Unfortunately we had lost a lot of time and could not reach them by phone. We might find their house and never know it if they were not home.

So we turned toward home and will visit them next time.

Mountian life is flexible!