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We once again were blessed to see a different part of Guatemala.  San Marcos is located in the northwest corner of Guatemala in a mountainous region at an elevation of 7,800 feet.  It is a community of approximately 36,000.  It is near the Mexican border and many people pass thru the area on their journey to hopefully "a better life".  They grow produce and raise a variety of livestock and they produce more wool than any other department in Guatemala. Our first and last days were spent in Antigua, which we have enjoyed on our previous builds.  This was no exception.  We visited one of many Jade factories and, of course, I had to purchase my birthday present while I was there.  We viewed the city from atop a cafe and enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery while also enjoying a glass (or two) of wine.  We toured the Cathedral of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, (which is now a 5 star hotel).  In the 15th century, Santo Domingo was a conv...

This build was very similar to the past two - a block house, 10' x 20' (divided into 4 rooms) with a 3' x 5' bath off the back.  We arrived on Monday at 8:00 a.m. to meet with the family and masons.  The guys were pleasantly surprised to see that the footing had been dug and poured.  The masons were ready to begin laying the blocks.  After prayers, the head mason gave instructions of what they were in need of.  Since the majority of our team were old hands at what needed to be done, we began our jobs. Day 1 - The footing poured Blocks needed to be placed inside of the building, so a line was formed and we moved blocks.  The mason needed some blocks broken in half, so I proceeded to chop and break, then moved on to chipping the ends out of blocks to make "U" blocks.  Several of the guys started mixing mortar for the blocks the masons were laying.  "C" clamps were created out of re-bar, wires were cut to tie the "C" clamps to the re...

It's hard to believe that our Mission/Build Trip #3 is over.  The week went by quickly, we had beautiful weather, an awesome build, a delightful family, super Thrivent and Habitat Team - God was truly with us each step of the way. This year's build was in the city of San Marcos in the Dept. of San Marcos, Guatemala - located in the northwest corner of Guatemala about 100 miles from the Mexican border.  This is at the end of their rainy season and rain and thunderstorms had been predicted for each day.  God blessed us with only one rainy afternoon, lots of sunshine and some clouds, mild temps - low 50's high 70's.  It couldn't have been any better.  Our altitude was about 8000 feet, so the first day was a challenge to not run out of air, but we all survived. Our build this year was for a young family - Benedicto, Laura and their baby.  Benedicto is an 18 year old mason.  He couldn't be at the work site because of his job, but his extended family c...