MT View Baptist Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 6

Another day, much like the last few days…  That is typical for this type of team.  Breakfast, devotions, off to work.  The group is making great progress.  We were excited to see the cap on the first half of the walls we were building for the ladies room.  When we arrived at the site, Angel and the other guys had already mixed the concrete and had begun laying the blocks for the first row on top.  By the end of the day, the guys had completed the wall, and we took a group picture as the last block was put into place.

While they were doing that, the rest of the team was helping with twisting wire (used throughout the entire building to help keep the rebar in place), breaking out the area of the wall for the rebar to be tied into it, bending and preparing the rebar for the support beams, moving scaffolding, moving block, and a variety of other odd jobs.  They have been working hard all week!  We are hoping to have all 6 rebar areas ready and forms prepared for pouring by the end of the day tomorrow.  It is our goal, and Lord willing, we will achieve the objective.

Today also had a few other highlights as we spent the evening playing soccer with men from Otto’s church, and then we went to Pizza Hut for dinner.  The soccer game was a blast!  We actually scored a number of goals (yes, they did too) but as expected, no one kept score.  It was a wonderful relational time.

The night ended late as we arrive back at the hotel around 10:00.  We decided to forgo the evening meeting as most of the team will probably be asleep by 10:30.  It was a long hard day.

Tomorrow is more of the same, but it is our last day on the job.  I pray that God gives us the strength to finish well as many are sore, struggling with head congestion and other minor health/medical issues.

MT View Baptist Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 5

It’s hump-day, and we are ready to work.  There is much to be done, and we are going to get right on it.  The morning started the same as the others – breakfast, devotions, and then off to work.  Just like yesterday, we started the day by mixing concrete for the wall builders, while others went to work on tying the rebar for the support beams we plan to pour tomorrow.

The day went rather well – everyone was working busily, and when there were “down times” they found things to do to help.  One of those tasks was assigned to John Mark and Taylor.  They were asked to pick up rebar and wood around the facility to make working conditions a little better.  After about an hour or so, John Mark was moved to another task, and Taylor just kept working.  He even decided, on his own, to pick up and pile the rock together.  I was impressed by his consistent steadiness in the task he was asked to do.

Meanwhile, Meredith was at one of the childcare centers working with, and playing with the children.  I am certain she was having a great time.

As lunch rolled around, we had a surprise for Charles.  Today is his 50^th birthday, so we asked everyone – including the 4 guatemalan workers we have worked with this week to go to the lunch house early – before Charles. When he came in, I blindfolded him and lead him to the center of the courtyard.  Phil had purchased a Winnie the Pooh piñata and had tied it up for him to hit.  Charles took some swings, but someone (who will remain nameless) was pulling on a rope and keeping the piñata away from his attacks.  Eventually he took Pooh by the leg and held on to him as he “beat the candy” out of him!  It was fun to watch.  After that, we all moved inside for lunch and some cake and ice cream.  It was a great birthday celebration.

While we were eating, it started raining. We weren’t sure we were going back to work, and we had much to do. But shortly after it started, it stopped enough for us to get back to work.  The afternoon was awesome – we got a lot of work done.  But the last hour was the most fun of all (at least for me). We had prepared the wall that the team was building for a concrete cap to go on top.  We formed it out, and it was time to make and distribute the concrete.  We were moving buckets of rocks, water and sand to the mixer (since it included rock, we used the gas powered mixer).  We were taking full buckets of concrete over to the wall to pour inside.  We needed more concrete, so we ran around moving buckets of necessary items to the mixer. It was like a hive of bees – people taking their positions and getting the work done.  It was awesome.

When we finished, we headed back to the hotel for showers – and boy did we need them.  Everyone was dirty.  Well, except Meredith and Sam – they were at the childcare center all day.  It was so bad that when we returned to the van to go out for dinner, it smelled like a locker room.  Yeah, pretty nasty!!  We went to downtown Quetzaltenango and walked around the center square and then went to Pollo Campero for dinner.

We finished the day with a long LONG game of RAGE.  Ten cards down to one card, and then back to ten cards again.  We finished around 11:30.  It has been a great, but very long day. 

Enough for now – it’s definitely bedtime.  More work tomorrow…

MT View Baptist Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 4

Today started much like yesterday, breakfast at the house next to the center, devotions with the team, and then off to work.  The first item to work on was mixing concrete for the people building the wall.  So we got right to it.  The rebar benders went back to their station, and everyone was working on something.

The morning went rather quickly, and with few breaks.  The team blew right through the 10 O’clock break time, because they were hard at work building walls, bending rebar, tying off rebar, preparing for the second floor.  There were moments of breaks in the work, but for the most part, everyone was busy all morning.

About 12:30, it started to rain.  The rain drops were large and cold!  The team rushed around getting all of the items in the yard put away, and we went to the shed to get out of the rain.  While there, I looked through pictures with Angel, Mario, Floritin, and Esvin – the maintenance guys.  Otto even got in on the action as he took pictures of the 5 of us.  We shared pictures from the camera, and then I showed them pictures from my Iphone.  Others on the team were doing the same thing, just interacting with the workers and showing God’s love.

Eventually we realized that it wasn’t going to stop, so we went over to the lunch house and prepared for lunch.  While we were waiting, we watched the beginning of “Reparando” a movie about Guatemala and what God is doing to reach these people who have experienced many difficult times over the past 50 years. 

When lunch was ready, Francisco and Mariela arrived with Carey and Meredith.  We all sat down and enjoyed a meal together.  All the while, it was raining.  Otto and Phil hatched the “new” afternoon plans – we would visit 2 childcare centers, Ostencalco, the center we were building the new school for, and another center in the Xela area.

We went to the first center and visited the kids in class.  They sang songs for us, shared with us a little of the knowledge they were learning, and we sang songs for them too.  It is always fun to see the kids in school, and watching how they respond to their teachers.  The center is 5 or 6 classrooms, and it hosts over 300 children.  It is hard to imagine that many kids in such a small area.  I know they will enjoy the new school and classrooms when they are done.  Please pray that the center is finished by January!

The second center only had a small number of the 155 kids who normally attend.  The rain kept some from coming.  However, they put on a presentation, sang songs, and one student recited the 20 verses she needed to learn to get a Bible.  It was awesome to watch them in action.  The fun didn’t stop there – we played soccer with the boys and Meredith played games with the girls.  The kids loved playing with us, and the team enjoyed the interaction as well.  After a while it was time to go, we prayed together, took a group photo, and headed off for the hotel.

Dinner was Chinese food as we drove to a local Chinese restaurant for our meal.  The group enjoyed talking and sharing during the meal.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel for our “wrap up” time and a large game of Rage.  It has been a wonderful day – full of excitement and energy. 

Tomorrow is more of the same…  We will see what God does as we follow His lead…

MT View Baptist Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 3

Last night was a long night for a number of us – at least those of us who were not snoring…  I ended up in the hallway, sleeping on a stack of mattresses I found, while others just persevered through the night.  When morning finally came, we got ready to go to the worksite at 7.  The plan is to change the “housing arrangements” tonight so everyone can sleep.

We arrived at the worksite at 7:30, we ate breakfast, and then spent some time studying Philippians.  After devos, we headed over to the school property and began working. 

The day was made up of a lot of various projects.  None of them very glamorous, but all jobs were very necessary.  We moved block to build the wall for the ladies room.  We cut rebar for the forms we were going to be making.  We folded the rebar into usable squares for the concrete supports.  We mixed and made concrete.  We moved dirt and sand for the ground in the ladies restroom.  We helped form the supports for the concrete supports for the second floor.  It was a very busy day.

Meanwhile, back in Guatemala city, Carey and Meredith were introducing the children’s sponsorship workers at the corporate office to the “connect” program that will speed up the process of passing information back and forth from the field, to the corporate office, to the donors.  This is a huge step forward for AMG, and I am certain that Carey and Meredith did an excellent job presenting this new program.

After work we went back to the hotel and prepared to go out for dinner.  We went out for pizza and then went to Xelapan to pick up some desert coffee cakes that apparently are very good – at least that is what Phil and Sam said.  I think we are going to eat them tomorrow morning.

Well, after we spent some time rehearsing the day, talking about what we learned, what we saw, what we did, we closed our time together in prayer.  Then some went to their rooms to sleep, while others watched Monday Night Football, and others played a game of Rage.

It has been a great day – Tomorrow is more of the same…  We will see what God has in store…

MT View Baptist Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 2

Sunday morning and the team was up early and getting ready for the day.  We ate breakfast at 8, which seemed like 10 AM because of the time difference from Chattanooga.  After breakfast we took time to look over the book of Philippians and study the first 2 verses of chapter 1.  I am looking forward to studying this book with this team because Tony is planning a sermon series through the book, so it’s a great “precursor” to the lessons to come. 

After devotions, we went to Phil’s church and learned about the book of Acts.  They were finishing up a study on the book, so it was great to hear the rundown of their summer study.  We also spent time in singing, and man is it loud.  We knew it was going to be because they handed out earplugs for those that wanted them at the entrance of the worship area.  Two of the people in front of me were wearing them – and for good reason – it was rather loud. 

When church ended, we said goodbye to Meredith and Carey because they are staying in Guatemala City until Tuesday morning.  The rest of us loaded up, headed to Thelma’s for lunch (tuna casserole and sandwiches) and then boarded the van for the 4 hour ride to Quetzaltenango (or Xela).  The ride was uneventful – we stopped by an overview to look at Lake Atitlan, but the view was overcast so you really couldn’t see much.  We arrived at the hotel around 5 PM, unloaded our stuff and headed to dinner. 

Dinner was at Pollo Campero (the Guatemalan version of Kentucky Fried Chicken), and then we took a stroll through Walmart and the mall.  Yes, that is right, we went to Walmart in Xela.  Wild… 

We headed back to the hotel, spent some time talking about today and tomorrow, played some card games and headed to bed.  A rather uneventful day, but I am really looking forward to tomorrow when the work begins.  I am excited to see where the project is now, and to find out what the next stage is for us to accomplish. 

Off to bed now – it’s going to be a good but probably physically difficult day tomorrow.

MT View Baptist Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 1

Today began very early in the morning as the alarm went off at 3:15.  Carey, Meredith, Richard and I were all sleeping at the church – each one in our own Sunday School classroom.  The rest of the team was supposed to be there around 4, and we were to leave the church by 4:30.  That was the plan, and that is what happened!  By 4:30 we were finished taking our first team picture and we were loaded up heading for the Nashville Airport.  The team consists of 9 men and Meredith.  Tony said that she was going to be “Queen Meredith” for the week, but I think Meredith felt very comfortable with the guys.  We even spent some of the day talking sports, politics, healthcare, etc. and Meredith was right in the mix of it all. 

Charles, Meredith and I were the only returning Guatemala team members, so the rest of the team were not sure just what to expect when we arrived in Guatemala.  Watching Taylor on the plane (as he and Tony found their way to the emergency row), was fun as this was his first time in an airplane.  He loved the turbulence more than the smooth air – he said it was more fun.  From John (our youngest member) to Charles (our oldest member) we were ready for what God had for us, and I think we are going to get a lot of work done on the Ostencalco school that we will be working on. 

The day today was rather typical – 2 flights, Nashville to Miami, Miami to Guatemala City.  Both flights just over 2 hours, and we arrived in Guatemala.  Both flights had many seats empty, and when we arrived in Guatemala, there wasn’t even the usual crowd of people there to meet those coming in.  There might have been 20 people waiting for arriving friends and family.  That is very unusual.  After 18 trips to Guatemala, this is my first time ever seeing so few people. 

We left the airport and went to eat our first Guatemalan meal – Burger King!  Yeah, not really Guatemalan, but it was on the way back to Thelmas.  We ate and then finished the journey to Thelma’s house before the rains began.  We unloaded and got settled in for the night.  Most of us will be heading to Xela tomorrow (Carey and Meredith are staying to work at Verbana on Monday), so we are not unpacking our things today.   

Dinner was a combination of spaghetti and meat sauce, and a chicken and rice plate.  Thelma went above and beyond for our benefit.  After dinner, Phil shared with the team the vision for the week, the work at Ostencalco, and some do’s and don’ts for our time here.  Team members shared a brief comment about who they are, why they are here, and what skills/gifts they bring to the table.   I think we are going to have a great week.  

Tomorrow is church at the Wilson’s church, lunch, and then a 4 hour ride to Xela.  We are praying for safety and quick travel.  Thank God for his protection and safety today as well!