Guatemala 2015: Arrival information

Good Morning to families meeting the Guatemala team!

Received a text from Melanie. They are in Houston. Their flight number is United Airlines flight #5116. According to Melanie, they get in around 2:18pm. Flightaware says 2:08pm.

See you at the airport!

Guatemala 2015: A day to play and to travel

We got up early this morning, not to work, but to be touristas.  A short ride in the tuk-tuk took us down to the docks on Laga Atitlan, where we caught water taxis to a beautiful hotel/restaurant called Casa del Mundo (House of the World; http://www.lacasadelmundo.com/web/).  As you can see in the pictures, it is perched (securely) on the cliff side over looking the lake and with a fabulous view of the lake and the volcanoes.

We had a leisurely and yummy breakfast at the hotel, admiring the view and splashing in the lake.  Then we got back on the water taxis to ride back to Panajachel.

Just outside of town, there is a nature preserve/park that features a zipline.  We got suited up in our climbing harnesses and hiked up a fabulous trail to the top of the ziplines.  The walk was amazing.  There were monkeys, waterfalls, and suspension bridges - not to mention 143 meters of vertical ascent.  Everyone was breathing hard by the time we reached the top.  The ride down was a lot less work and a lot more fun. The view from the zipline is spectacular and the ride itself is a blast. Then, after the last zipline, there was a short ropes course that most of us chose to climb across. Smiling faces everywhere when we got to the end.

The vans picked us up and took us back to the river house to collect our luggage and board the Chicken Bus again for the three hour ride to the airport.  We got here in plenty of time to eat some McDonalds food and hang out until time for our plane.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at home.  Remember that you need to come inside at the airport to claim your child.

Zeba 2015: Homeward Bound

Our sunny travels from the L'Anse area Friday provided a gorgeous landscape to reflect on the impact the FUMC Youth made in Zeba. Hearts have been warmed by God's work. We regrouped for a picnic near Germfast where we bade farewell to the Hoffman ladies whose family travels branched off from there. The first of our Paper Plate awards (ask your kids) were presented to them and to Kim, Michael, and Keith who would likewise head directly home from St. Ignace.

Sunny weather continued for us on Mackinac Island. A bike ride around the island gave the kids energy to then head off for dinner, fudge, souvenirs, fudge, and fudge. Did I mention fudge?

The St. Ignace UMC was our home for the night. The rest of the Paper Plate Awards were bestowed and Prayer Pals revealed. Small group affirmations capped off a beautiful day and week.

The vans loaded up in the morning as we all eagerly anticipate reconnecting with family, a hot shower, and our own beds. See you all soon. And may God's love continue to shine on the people of Zeba!

Guatemala 2015: More Friday pictures

Guatemala 2015: Saying adios

Today (Friday) was our last day of work at Xepec and Xecotoj.  We left with mixed emotions ... We are pleased and proud of the good work we've done.  Both sites have advanced their respective projects significantly.  At the same time, we're reluctant to leave the work unfinished and we're sad to leave the new friends we've made here - both with the Guatemalan workers and the children that came to visit us each day.

After dinner, and more emotional goodbye's, we had a great time with the traditional paper plate awards. What fun.

Tomorrow, we begin the journey home.  We have sightseeing, a boat ride, and ziplining in the morning.  After an early dinner, it's back on the Chicken Bus for the long ride back to the airport to catch our flight at an unreasonably early hour. Look for all of us to be sleep deprived, but glad to be home when you see us on Sunday.

Zeba 2015: Thursday evening gratitude

On Thursday evening we were invited to join the Zeba and L'Anse community at their new Tribal Hall for a potluck dinner in honor of our 20 years of this mission trip. Our youth sang two songs for the group and a VBS drama skit, and we presented a plaque to commemorate the two decades of our friendship bond. Pastor Steven was thoroughly gracious and the community expressed how deeply they've been affected by our relationship. We were all moved to tears!

We ended the evening with a campfire and talent show, and final small group devotions. Halfway home tomorrow - Mackinac Island here were come!

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Zeba 2015: Thursday update part 1

Our last day of VBS was a special one. Prayers of thanks were shared with both youth and Zeba kids for the friendships and special times they've had together this week. Rainbow crafts adorned the chapel as we sang "Sanctuary" a final time and shared the MYF Benediction.

We abandoned our plans for river fall hiking (too cold and water too high) and instead played a fun game of Nine Square at HQ. Our evening ended with a most special event - you'll read about that in part 2 of Thursday's report!

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Fwd: Zeba 2015: Wednesday pics - Copper Harbor

Fwd: Zeba 2015: Wednesday pics - VBS

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Guatemala 2015: Happy BDay Angela! A long work day - lots of progress

Happy Birthday today to Angela Xydis.  She's 18 years young today.  We got to sing to her twice (at breakfast and again at dinner), then we celebrated with a traditional Guatemalan birthday party - complete with a face full of frosting and a pinata. It was great fun.  Tom (the director of Mission Guatemala and our host) said that he hadn't laughed like that in a long time. Thank you, Angela, for having your birthday with us.

On the way to the work sites, we all got to walk across a suspended footbridge that was built to bypass the road that was washed out by Hurricane Stan.  It was really cool.

At the work sites, both teams continue to make great progress.  The walls are nearing the top at Xepec and at Xecotoj, the concrete mixer was running non-stop all day.  Both sites ran out of at least one of the ingredients for concrete (cement at Xepec and sand at Xecotoj).  We have one last work day tomorrow. It's sure to be a strong push to get to a good stopping point at both locations.

Zeba 2015: Day Five - Wednesday Report

Wednesday morning VBS was another huge success. A few more kids from the community joined us, and we sang happy birthday to one of them to start things off. Our music, drama, crafts, and games teams from our FUMC Youth once again kept the kids energized, and the Zeba-A2 buddy relationships by now have formed close bonds. We then piled back in our vans for our drive to Copper Harbor. Our youth shopped the 2-block main drag (the candy store was the favorite spot) while the counselors enjoyed a cup o joe and slice of pie. We then drove into the Fort Wilkins State Park to cook a marvelous dinner on the grill, with trout, whitefish, potato packs, roasted veggies, and more. Our youth sous chefs did splendid work with the meal prep, while others toured the Fort and played volleyball.

We ended our day with a drive to the top of Brockway Mountain for a panoramic site of the sun setting over Lake Superior while a storm front swept over the inland. Four vans of tired Ann Arborites fell into bed upon our return. Pictures to come!

Guatemala 2015: More pictures from Wednesday

Guatemala 2015: Wednesday - Dinner in Panajachel

What a gorgeous day! It was sunny and beautiful all day. Today is actually Father's Day in Guatemala.  The father's on the trip get to celebrate twice.

We're making amazing progress on the kitchen at Xepec. You can see in the picture that the walls are going up fast.  The kids (our kids and the local kids, both) are having a great time.  Happy faces everywhere.

At Xecotoj, we spent the day twisting wire around re-bar.  It's an important task, if somewhat tedious.  We kept reminding each other that this is part of a building that will have small children in it and when (not if) an earthquake comes, we want our building to stay standing.  Tomorrow, it's back to mixing and pouring concrete (and continuing to tie wires onto re-bar).

This evening, we had a delightful time in Panajachel.  Mission Guatemala arranged for a fleet of tuk-tuk's to take us all into town where we were able to go shopping and visit Lago Atitlan before dinner.  At the restaurant, we were served delicious food and treated to a talk and demonstration of the Mayan culture.  It was very interesting and entertaining.  Everyone got to try their hand at making tortillas (let's just say the locals have nothing to worry about) and hear a trio of marimba players performing traditional music.  A great time was had by all.

Guatemala 2015: Playing with the kids

So many great pictures - so little space on this blog...

Today was our first day with the kids at Xepec and Xecotoj and it was a longer work day.  We left for the work sites right after breakfast and jumped right in with the hard work.  Except for our lunch break (yum), we worked straight through until it was time for the kids to come back and play with us.  Then, after playing with the kids, it was back to work.

At Xepec, we continued laying block for the walls of the new kitchen expansion.  This included learning about all the extra measures that are necessary to make the building earthquake resistant.  We also had fun unloading a dump truck and using the masonry saw to prepare the existing building for attaching the new space.

With the kids, we sang songs and presented a skit where the kids got to be the animals being loaded onto Noah's ark. We also made butterfly crafts, complete with googly eyes.  At one point a soccer game broke out between the Ann Arbor kids and the Guatemalan workers.  A good time was had by all.

At Xecotoj, we continued making concrete and pouring it into the trenches to make the footings for the new classrooms. It turns out that the easiest way to move the concrete to some of the locations was with a bucket brigade - buckets of concrete passed from hand to hand across the space between the wheelbarrow and the footer we were pouring.

By the end of the day, we had placed and leveled all of the pillars that were already made.  This means that we're now learning how to make new pillars by using bits of wire to tie re-bar together.

The kids at Xecotoj also loved the butterfly craft and took pride in their work.  At one point, a local dog was decorated with a googly eye in the middle of his forehead.  Very cute. On the lower level, the kids listened to stories and played games involving relay races and balloons.  They went home smiling and shortly thereafter, our team was chased back to the River House by the daily downpour.

Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to do some shopping, followed by dinner at a restaurant in Panajechel.