WORK DAY #1

As the morning dawned, we realized we were facing our first workday -- the reason why we came to Guatemala in the first place. I think we were all raring to go - at least in spirit, though some of us were still seemingly catching up with sleep. We gathered for devotions at 6:45 a.m., ably led by Brian Wunderink, James Handtke, and Justin Dexter. Breakfast was at seven (french toast), and at 8:00 we set out to do some work. The various tasks that awaited us were as follows:

working in their very huge garden, digging, harvesting, planting, weeding, and more. An afternoon group raised new hills for planting strawberries, and others filled some depressed areas near a new footbridge over a deep ditch. A nice haul of cauliflower and broccoli was harvested. Leftover greens were fed to the pigs!

Another group dug a trench and mixed and set a concrete barrier for erosion prevention as well as drainage and runoff control during the rainy season. That job involved hauling dirt, gravel, and concrete uphill. Good honest work for some strong guys!

Two guys roughed in a wall, making their own two by fours and learning about "level" and "square" in the process. They did a great job!

Caring for children is an ongoing need here, so different groups took turns helping in the infant house and toddler house, as well as playing with the children on the playground. playing on the swingset, slides, and by the gutters and governing the children while playing with balls and toys requires constant energy. Megan Wetselaar said: "now I know why parents are always tired!" Nice life lesson, for sure! However, playing can be dangerous - Sam cut his hand on a teeter-totter. Cleansing wipes, anti-bacterial cream, and sterile gauze, and Sam was good as new.

Helping in the kitchen. Senora Nanninga and a few students helped out in the kitchen preparing food and cleaning what needed cleaning. Pastor Rick enjoyed checking out the "tortilla shack", a place dedicated for where they mix and form and then bake the hand-formed tortillas on a wood-heated griddle top. The woman who makes them is an expert! Pastor Rick tried his hand - not so much an expert.

At 10 in the morning, all work ceased so we could watch a presentation put on by the children on one aspect of the life of Jesus. This week is "Semana Santo" - "Holy Week", and every day the children will plan on putting on a play for us depicting the last week of Jesus. This morning was Jesus riding on a donkey, and then overturning the tables of the moneychangers at the temple. SOOOOO CUTE! But the children acted and prayed and did a wonderful job. We will certainly look forward to the rest of the little skits.

As I'm writing this, our students are getting cleaned up, we can smell the dinner that's awaiting us. Devotions at 8:00 p.m., and lights out at 10:30. In between we will play some games, sing some songs, slap each others hands in a game of Ratscrew. A full day of work, diligently carried out by the students. We as chaperones are certainly proud of them, and you as parents should be too! We are thankful for the privilege of spending time with your children and getting to know them better!

Two things regarding this blog: if you click on the pictures, hopefully they will expand to full size, and you'll see more detail. Second, we welcome your comments! If you want to, leave a message on the blog and we'll relay it to the group. :-)