Busy and Loving It!!!!

I have to admit I was embarrassed to see that we haven't posted in a while.  However, any feeling of guilt has been drowned out by the fact of pure excitement of our current progress.  Since our last post we have been getting the last of our projects started and summed up before coming back to Canada.  This has been a bitter-sweet feeling knowing that we are going back to our cultural home, biological families, familiar church community and friends, in lieu of being with many new friends and adoptive family that have many different felt needs that many of us don't struggle with back in Canada.  However, I will digress a bit, more because I don't want to get my keyboard wet with tears, and focus on some of the ways that your support has been helping the mission here in Los Pinos.

And the teacher said 'Let there
be less light, so my students can
learn.'

To start we have been working with a group from the United States that has been paying for an English teacher at Casa Hogar that we found for this group.  We lent the video projector that was given to us by a friend back in St. Kitts to use for the class.  Unfortunately, the projector was not strong enough to project an image in a lit room.  This brought on the curtain project, where our wonderful girl Francisca went to task and sewed together the curtains and as of today, the curtains will be up in two classrooms for the English teacher, computer teacher, and any other group that comes to make presentations (and let's not forget movie days on the weekend --- fun!).

Eddie's new home.  Great perspective of his current home (the tin
hut) in the background to the home he will move into in August.

While this was going on we started building Eddie's house.  (If you didn't see Eddie's living conditions before you can check it out at this link: Eddie's House Tour ) The past couple of weeks we have dug out the foundation and started to make the rebar columns.  Today the cement is being made and poured into the footings.  Our goal is to have the house finished before Mandy and the kids leave.  The house will consist of two bedrooms a large living/dining room, a shower, toilet and the capacity to build a second floor for future expansion (if needed).  So invigorating to drive by the construction on the way to Casa Hogar and see the changes everyday!

Hoping to see this image at Casa Hogar in a year's time.

In the meantime as well we have been digging holes in a vacant field at Casa Hogar getting it ready for banana trees.  The plans allow for 180+ trees in the area with each tree having the potential of producing 200+ lbs of bananas.  It has been fun watching the backhoe prep the land, the labourers digging holes, and the people from Los Pinos bring in organic soil on horseback in getting this project done.  The project hopefully will be done in another two weeks and in a years time having bananas ready to be harvested.

Eddie with his extension cord.
I think it is time for some new ends

Aside from these bigger projects, we are still plugging away at hygiene protocols and creating health histories for the girls, fixing up the salon classroom for Mandy, working on improving the internet capacity for the computer lab at Casa Hogar, cleaning up storage spaces, and getting supplies together to help Eddie better maintain Casa Hogar.

All in all it has been amazing to see the generosity of people pour out and get involved with the projects that we are pulling together.  God has been an incredible strength through this process and saying goodbye will be a difficult thing to do as we return home.  Yeah that line did it for me, now I'm crying. It is not the sadness of the situation but of the abundant joy that God provides in getting the glimpse of what He desires for us to do to fulfill His purpose.....to love your neighbour as yourself.  I praise God for this time and sincerely thank-you for believing in this mission.

Yours in Christ,




Matt

Thinking of you.

What's not to like?

Gettting to know people.

Small farm in the yard.

It is funny for us when we say that we are living in Guatemala and how many people back home wince  at the idea of it.  However, there is so much that is awesome down here that it seems to me that we are getting more of the benefit of living here than what people can imagine.

What I like about living in Guatemala is that:

Crowding around a small TV
 to watch the World Cup

-you can buy items directly from the truck and cut out the middle man
-the climate is permanently spring and summer
-a 500mL bottle of name brand pop is 65 cents and no name is 40 cents at the corner store
-they deliver water bottles and propane tanks to your door and take away the empties
-you can have a small farm in your backyard in the city
-despite how small the prisons are you are able to interact with people walking by in the street to keep a sense of what is going on in the world and socialize with people outside of the prison walls
-car insurance is only $140 a year
-cell phones are cheaper and more reliable than a landline
-taking a taxi across town is only 32 cents

Campfire in the driveway,
followed by fireworks.

-fresh fruit and vegetables are always in season and you can load up for the week for your family for about $13
-people value the relationship more than the business
-even though people are poor they band together to try and help one another out of their poverty
-resourcefulness carries you far and little is wasted
-biological processes and fluids within animals are not completely gross but a part of life and not feared and pointed and gawked at strangely
-people understand that personal space is not necessary in the short run while trying to travel
-going to the gas station means that they will check your tire pressure and wash your windows as well
-the market is every day of the week and loaded with new items every visit

Clowning around.

-there is a corner store at every corner (and in between too) where you can get all of your basics
-bakeries are all over the place and give a pleasant odour to the air
-rent for a beautiful four bedroom home is $300 a month
-people that lived in the United States want to speak English with you
-you can walk up to someone's house and buy fresh hot tortillas for 4 cents each
-when you go to leave people stop what they are doing and make sure they give a hug and/or kiss followed by a blessing
-the expectation for an house party or get together is very casual and everyone in attendance contributes  with food and bringing their own seat

Getting ready to do traditional dance.

-when someone passes away they close off the street to let the family and friends mourn in silence
-your car horn is a communication device in the positive regard to show gratitude or that you are passing by
-kids go to school in uniform
-a section of the police department only monitors the highways not to only enforce traffic laws but more to serve those citizens that break down at the side of the road to keep all drivers safe
-they have fireworks to celebrate every occasion and it doesn't matter what time of the day it is
-there is no hot water tank but heated on demand with little waste heat
-entertainment is found in being with people and seeing their talents

Taxi or horse?
The horse might get you
there in these roads.

and most of all.

I like Guatemala because it gives our family the opportunity to do His work through the support of our network of friends back in Canada and the United States for the benefit of the the girls that we love so dearly.

Getting tortillas from the neighbours.