Canadian Visitors - The Joy of Fellowship!

Last week we had a first...a couple came to visit us in Guatemala.  They were not on a team and had no agenda apart from spending time with us and seeing into the life we live here.  It was so much fun! David and Eleanor Hawkes have supported us since we left for the mission field over 5 years ago.  When they first emailed saying they wanted to come for a visit, we were surprised, because we are not on the "top 5 destinations for an amazing holiday" list!  But we were on their list, praise the Lord.

We met up with them in Flores, Peten and visited Tikal together.  It was so impressive to see how flexible and easy to please they were.  (For those of you wanting to visit missionaries out in the field, flexibility is a huge gift you can give those who receive you.  No matter how much planning goes into a trip and how much you think you have everything in place, something always goes wrong...or maybe not wrong, but not quite as planned.)

Then we travelled to Chisec - our home base - and spent a few days just doing life with them here.    We had numerous "God appointments" as we visited homes and spent time with the people.

We also visited our property and shared the vision God has given us for the future.

Then we were off to Antigua for a couple of days.  David and Eleanor were not only flexible, but they have quite an adventurous spirit, too.  They were willing to try new foods and new experiences.

It was such an encouragement to us that they would want to visit and that they would trust us with the details.  It was an honour to show them first hand some of the impact they have had in this community simply by supporting us.  We are in this work together with all those who pray for us and support us financially.

If you are thinking about a different kind of vacation...give us a call!






 

Pour Day

For those of you who work in construction (or have spouses who do) you will understand this…pour day. It is the day when you need all hands on deck. You have set forms, tied rebar and snapped lines in preparation for pouring concrete. You have double checked that all safety regulations are being met on site. You have done all your calculations, scheduled the pump truck and communicated with the cement company how much you need, what kind you need and when you need it to arrive on site. I remember many days like that back in Canada. 

And on a day like this in Guatemala, I think of Jon, Peter, Dean, Josh and others whom I have had the opportunity to work alongside pouring  concrete. I draw on those experiences to help me make decisions here on the mission field. Today we poured concrete for the roof of a water tank. This tank will enable the village of Yalicoc to collect water that will sustain them over the dry season. Currently, they hike to a cave during this time to retrieve their water. Those who came on a team in October from Pritchard/Scotch Creek know this cave.

So… we have set forms, tied rebar, and snapped lines in preparation for pouring concrete, but here’s where the picture changes. There are no safety standards to meet and no pump truck to call.  Mission 2 Guatemala has a portable cement mixer we used for the pour, but the rest is all in the hands of the men (and boys) of Yalicoc.  Modesto (the village leader) summons the men of the village by blowing through a conch shell. It takes about ½ hour for everyone to show up. They have prepared a breakfast for the two lead bricklayers and me. We eat during this time of summoning. Fried eggs, onions, tortillas, and coffee of a sort.

They set a platform in place to reach the roof of the tank (not quite up to WCB standards) and begin to arrange themselves as the lead bricklayers shout out orders. They fire up the mixer and away we go. The men are in good spirits and there is a lot of laughter as they move the cement in 5 gallon buckets down the line.

Guatemalan Water Truck

Guatemalan Gravel Truck

Guatemalan Line Pump

It is always a joy to watch this process and I marvel at the way these men find comradery in the act of physically working together. What would take 20 minutes or less with a pump truck in Canada, took about 5 ½ hours here. I would consider this a successful pour. No one was hurt, we didn’t have any blow outs and the job was finished in good time.

I am very thankful to be a part of the work that results from the teams from North America.  They come and invest their time, energy and money into a community and the love of the Lord is expressed to the people by helping to meet a practical need.  What a blessing!   

Back to School!

For us in North America, back to school happens in September but here in Guatemala, January is back to school time.  In October we had a team come from Grand Rapids and pre-pack, assembly line style, back packs of school supplies for public school kids.  Then in November, before leaving for Canada, Rocky and I packed the bags for the sponsor kids who attend Galilea Christian School.  

In January, when Cindy and Eileen arrived, they worked like crazy to make sure all the sponsored kids had their school supplies, uniforms, shoes, etc and were ready to begin the year.  For 2015 we have 38 students attending Galilea!

Then, once all of those students were set up, they got to work on distributing the backpacks to public schools.  Working with the school principals to determine the most needy students, Cindy and Eileen distributed around 190 bags!  What an amazing blessing.  

 Education is something, as North Americans, we take for granted.  But not here.  In Chisec, many school aged kids are not in school because their families simply cannot afford to buy the necessary supplies, shoes and uniforms to send them.  It is an amazing privilege to work on behalf of all of you who have given so generously and enabled these precious little ones to attend school.