Guatemala, January 24, 2011

We want to begin this blog post by asking you to pray for our translator, Oliva, whose mother unexpectedly died from a heart attack this afternoon. What a reminder how short life is. Do not neglect to fill yours with opportunities to share God’s love.
After a great breakfast of black beans, tortillas, fried eggs and plantains, we divided into two groups to being our mission work. The eight men headed to build houses while five women took the hour long trip to the Malnutrition Center.
Report from the Malnutrition Center:
Today was a revelation for us. American children are terribly spoiled and we are responsible for it! The children here are remarkably well behaved and patient. It takes a lot of time to bath, diaper and feed 68 children and there are never enough hands to do the work. We cannot imagine how the workers here do what they do without help. For example, there were eighteen babies in eh bed babies alone with two workers. Yet, each child is clean and well fed. We were busy all day, bathing, changing, feeding, rocking, holding and playing with these remarkable gifts from God. And we were rewarded with smile after smile as those little faces beamed at us in gratitude for our help and even the tiniest bits of affection. Some of the moments we will treasure include the feel of Vilma and Bree snuggled up against us, so trusting and affectionate to a stranger. One of the girls less than a year old in the bath and handing the cup used to rinse her hair to us. Hugo’s incredible smile. Gerson’s clearing face. Bathing our first baby ever in our life. Seeing the children playing with each other’s shoes. A storeroom almost empty of diapers filled to the top shelf once more. Over 4,000 diapers donated! Seeing a toddler suck every bit of meat off the chicken bone. Jose drinking his cup of milk in less than 30 seconds, asking for more and the worker having enough to give him another cup. A lap full of babies. Toddler tricycle races in the hall. A classroom full of eager minds wanting to learn. Children soaking up the story of Samuel, a boy also separated from his family but whom God used to do great things. Little hands and faces stained with colored markers! Carolina so excited about the words she can now read. Workers eager to show us the ropes. Piles of laundry in a wheelbarrow. Our bodies are more tired than after the zip line and yesterday’s hike and we don’t smell very good, but it is a good tired and we can’t wait to go back and do it again tomorrow.
Report from the Construction Site:
The team completed one house today. They also completely took an old roof off another house which was fairly large by Guatemalan standards, put up rows of block and hand mixed cement to put a roof on that house. They have also decided to put a concrete floor in that house tomorrow and will also finish the roof. This work is being done for a single mom with a child and she is overjoyed by this unexpected blessing. The team will put in two more concrete slabs that will be 16 X 24 feet tomorrow as well. This will prepare for two more houses, but they cannot get a mixer there so will haul the concrete by wheelbarrow. Please pray that there are no injuries tomorrow. The group has really come together as a team, and the men are enjoying their camaraderie. They have worked through such difficulties as a loose cow, tack hammers to put in nails, lack of water and language barriers. Still, they are full of stories of their work and know that they are making tremendous differences in the lives of the people they are building for.