Guatemala 2017 - A very productive day

We got an early start today and arrived at the work site eager to get to work. The tasks today (and tomorrow as well) are all about laying block - building the walls. So, we had two teams that were actually laying the block, one team that was mixing mortar (which activity consists mostly of sifting sand), and one team moving dirt to fill in the ditches around the walls that we just built. The teams worked with a lot of energy and the progress over the course of the day was visible - and very encouraging.

Just like yesterday, about half of the group left after lunch to go to the local school and play with the neighborhood kids. We sang camp songs, which they loved and then divided into two groups. Today, the craft was to thread beads onto pipe cleaners and make key chains. Some of the kids made two or three. It was a very popular activity.

The kids who weren't actively engaged with the beads kept the youth busy on the playground. We brought beach balls and balloons to play with. A good time was had by all.

After work, we came back to the river house and were treated to a Mayan cultural presentation. One of the local Mayan elders came and spoke to us about their traditional beliefs and then led us in a Mayan blessing ceremony. It was very moving.

After the ceremony, six young people from his family presented a Mayan dance (really a play set to music) that told a story about humanity and our relationship with the earth. Even though there was no dialog, it was very easy to follow. The acting and dancing was very well done and the musicians were amazing. It was delightful. At the end, they even got everybody out of their chairs to dance along with them. What fun.