Guatemala trip - Day 3

Bizarre beginnings…  I woke up probably 2:00 in the morning because the 13 year old boy sleeping in the bunk on top of me jumped out of bed.  Still asleep, he walked around the room and eventually stood staring at the door.  After numerous questions with no response, James asked, “Devin, what are you doing?”  To which Devin replied, “I am waiting for the door to open.”  Shortly after that he sits down on my bed, and of course I fear he is getting ready to pee on my bed – but – thankfully that is not what happened.

Eventually I awoke around 5, and got up around 5:30 and took a shower.  I went into the other room of guys and found them all sleeping.  They had said they were going to be up early, but at 6:15 they were all still asleep.  Later I got the story.  One of the guys had set his alarm for 6:40 in the morning – only he forgot to change the time, so at 4:40 local time the alarm went off – he hit snooze – went and took a shower.  After 2 more times of the alarm going off, one of the guys finally got it shut off.  Talk about an annoying way to start your day.

After breakfast and devotions we headed to Verbana to work at the center.  Our task for the week – take a broken down, nasty, dirty building and clean, paint and prepare it to be used by the “psychologist/counselor” for the childcare center.  This person(s) will be caring for the emotional and relational well being of the children.  Many of them deal with rather difficult situations at home, so this position is vital for many of the children.

The building was pretty bad, but after about 6 hours of labor, I believe it is ready for a new roof, some electrical work, and then a fresh coat of paint.  Hopefully we will be able to accomplish all of this by Friday.
One of the guys found a 12" snake - red body - black head right outside the building - it was pretty cool, but the women and the teachers didn't think so.  Harrison would have loved it - Dee... not so much.

I was able to see a bunch of the guys from the maintenance group – they were excited to see us and to talk about past visits.  We challenged them to soccer on Wednesday evening, so I am looking forward to a great game.  I told them, “You won a game last year, we won a game this year, this is the tie breaker!”  They just laughed.  I love watching them work – they are hard workers and take great pride in what they do.

I was also able to see Diego (Harrison’s buddy) again, along with many of the other children I get to see.   Diego and one other boy asked about my son and when he was coming back – I told them December. This is my 4^th time to Guatemala in less than 24 months, so the kids are getting familiar with me, and I am getting acquainted with them.  The teachers are also excited to see the teams come and interact with the children.

I was able to watch 2 funerals happen today from the top of the basketball goal (you have to ask), we heard drums playing and a trumpet playing and I figured it must be a funeral.  It was difficult to watch people mourn the loss of a family member knowing that they might not know Christ as Savior.

After dinner we went to Chad and Marliana’s home for coffee and dessert.  The team had a great time, so it was well worth the visit.  I think the Smith’s enjoyed our visit just as well.

It’s about 9:30 and I am ready to wrap it up.  It has been a long day, but a good one. The team is doing well.  I know people are praying for us because God is teaching many of the team great things, and they are sharing them with each other.  I thank God for the supporters that make this all possible.

Tomorrow is a little more of the same – looking forward to hanging out with kids, the maintenance guys and getting things done.  Off to bed.