Portraits from Guatemala

Man of Mayalan

 In 1989 Church of God World Missions sent me to Guatemala and Belize to document their mission work in those countries. The highlight of my trip was a 24-hour visit to the remote village of Mayalan, high in the mountains of Guatemala, near the border of Mexico.

My companions on the trip were an American missionary and a Guatemalan doctor We flew into the village in an old Cessna piloted by a Guatemalan man whom I have always thought of as an "aerial cowboy," topping 8,000-foot mountains by about a hundred feet. I could almost count the blossoms on the jacaranda trees.

Tres Muchachos (Three Friends) at the village store.
 

We were welcomed by the Mayan people of the village when we landed on the community soccer field. The minister met with the village elders to prepare for a church service that evening, and the doctor set up a clinic in the church building, which was built entirely of poles lashed together.

Our host. He and his family fed us our meals in Mayalan.

After the church service, we pulled split-log pews together and settled down for the coldest night I've ever spent. It's cold in those mountains, and no one had told me I needed to bring a sleeping bag!

When first light began to appear, I had no incentive to remain in my "bed." So I got dressed, picked up my camera, and went out to watch the village come to life. 

Girl with puppy, Mayalan.

 My equipment for this trip was my usual kit of Olympus OM film cameras and Fujichrome 100D film. In Mayalan I used extensively a Vivitar 75-205mm f3.8 zoom lens given me by my father. Not a highly-rated lens, but it did a good job on this trip. I later passed it along to my brother Mark, who used it, as best I remember, on a mission trip with his church.

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Photography and text copyright 2025 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    film photography     Olympus OM film cameras   Vivitar 75-205mm zoom lens        Fujichrome 100D film     Guatemala     street portraits      Missions photography    documentary photography