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.

Zeba 2017: Here comes the sun!

Vacation Bible School - Day 2

After breakfast and lunch packing, we traveled to the Zeba campgrounds for our work of the day:  running the second day of Vacation Bible School.  The sun was out and it felt so good to be outside.  Although the ground was a bit soggy, everyone was happy to be able to run a bit freer and play active games.

Acting out the Parable of the Sower.  Notice the happy, healthy "plants" on the right :)

Working hard at the craft station

Craft station, wide view

Buddies

More buddies

Other Adventures

After VBS was finished, we headed to downtown L'Anse for a picnic lunch and some time to enjoy the park and explore the town.  Later, we drove to the Zeba Indian Cemetery to understand more of the local history and culture, as well as understand and respect the traditions of the local area.  

Late afternoon, we returned to our home base for some downtime, which was filled with 9-square, puzzles, and some chill time.  After dinner, our crew headed out to an evening hike to Canyon Falls and Gorge.  The hike along the river was amazing with wonderful views and waterfalls.

Guatemala 2017 - Our first full day at the work site

Today we were able to go straight to work. The kids were very enthusiastic and the weather was perfect - sunny and warm to start, and it didn't rain until we were in the vans going back to the river house.

There are a lot of us and so we accomplished a lot of work. There were four basic crews: laying block on the walls, mixing concrete and mortar, moving dirt to fill in the spaces around the foundation, and making/removing forms for pouring the concrete into.

After lunch, about half of us broke away from the work and went to play with kids. There is a school just a short walk from the work site and Mission Guatemala has invited the local children to come play with us. They were impossibly cute and very eager. We sang songs, made "magic wands", played soccer, and played on the swings. We're looking forward to more fun tomorrow.

After dinner, we all piled into "tuk-tuk's" (small three wheeled taxicabs) and headed into Panajachel for ice cream and shopping. Riding in a tuk-tuk is quite an experience and everybody had a good time. The market is smaller than Chichicastenango, but it was much less crowded. Many of us came home with new handicrafts.

Zeba 2017: VBS begins

First Day of VBS

After preparing on Sunday, we headed off to our first day of Vacation Bible School.  Rain changed our location to the Zeba church, but the kids came and the day went really well.  Our kids were assigned buddies, in addition to their assignments on the drama, music, crafts or games teams, and everyone adjusted well to our downsized space for the day.  

Sunday night music run through

Buddies

Drama team performing a version of the Prodigal Son which included local references.

Afternoon and Evening Adventures

After a picnic lunch at a local park (we packed our lunches at breakfast), we headed out to our afternoon adventure:   a tour at the Adventure Mine in Ontonogon.   Adventure Mine is the original name and was a real working mine until 1917.   We rode to the mine in a Swiss army vehicle and then had excellent tour guides that showed us around and taught us about the life of a miner, geology, and many other interesting tidbits.

Then we headed to a beautiful park on Lake Superior.  We had a pizza picnic for dinner and had lots of time to enjoy being outside, hanging out, playing on the playground, and, for a few hearty souls, swimming in the cool Lake Superior water.  We arrived back at home base around 8:30pm, met in our small groups to do evening devotions, and called it a night.

Guatemala 2017 - More pix from Monday

Guatemala 2017 - Mission History and Working on the site

This morning was devoted to learning about the different programs that Mission Guatemala runs. They have a wide variety focused on health, education, and nutrition. We toured the medical facility where there is a doctor, a pharmacist, and a dentist, as well as an eye doctor. People come from miles around to get affordable, compassionate, high quality care in a setting where they don't have to drive to the big city.

We learned about how they run two full time feeding programs and a part time feeding program for school age children and preschoolers. They serve nutritious meals and snacks to hundreds of families every week. Beyond just providing food, they have staff who experiment with new recipes to make the meals and snacks interesting and tasty.

After lunch, we got back in the vans and made a short drive further up the mountain to our work site. Everybody was very eager to get started. We are continuing the process of building a dedicated work space for the teachers' association.

When we got to the work site, we were introduced to the local crew, who welcomed us very graciously. The owners of the building were also there and they thanked us for our service and welcomed us to Guatemala.

The first thing we did was to make a "bucket brigade" and move more than 100 cinder blocks up from the road to the place where we need them. Then we divided up into smaller groups each with our own task - laying block, leveling dirt floors, cutting re-bar, mixing concrete and mortar, working on concrete forms, and whatever else was needed. It was very satisfying and everyone worked with a lot of enthusiasm.

2017 Zeba: Sunday update

How was your day?

Our day was full and eventful.  We met lots of new people at the L'Anse United Methodist Church.  After worship, we had some snacks (well really, they gave us a huge spread of homemade goodies, salads, and sandwiches) and had some really nice conversations with folks from the local congregation.  We heard stories about jobs, kids, cats, and even a rock-skipping contest (FYI - the world record is nearly a hundred!)

Check out the sign!

Most of the afternoon,  we hung out at a beautiful park on Lake Superior.  The views were spectacular.  The weather threatened rain all afternoon, but it held off.  We had a picnic, skipped rocks, and just had some fun.

The rest of the day we worked hard to prep for tomorrow's VBS.  For our large group, we previewed the music, drama, crafts and games!