My Reading Blog

Last week's post was about our worksite.  This week's is about the people of Guatemala. Driving thru the towns and countryside from Guatemala City to Antigua to Tecpan and further up in the mountains, we saw many Guatemalans traveling from one place to another, to get to market, to a job or back home.  They ride "Chicken Buses", in the back of pick up trucks, walk, some even hitched a ride on the back of large truck.  They smile, they laugh, they are serious, they are sad, but happy! They work hard and enjoy all that they have. The house we were building was for a family of four - Mom (Thelma) and Dad (who was working in Canada), 3 year old Jasmine and 2 year old Guatelupe. Lydia (Thelma's sister) and Guatelupe Jasmin Thelma's nephew Thelma's mother, Isabella Isabella, Thelma, Jasmine & Guatelupe and two other sisters Our Team and Family ...

Last year was going to be my final trip.  I figured five years was enough, but my mind was changed as my friend, JoAnn, really wanted to go to Guatemala, but wouldn't go unless I did.  So..... JoAnn & me with Volcano Fuego in  the background - quiet at the moment We journeyed with twelve other participants to a village to the north of Guatemala City - Tecpan.  A small village, not a tourist stop, pure Guatemala.  Lots of agriculture - field after field of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, zucchini and corn - tall corn. Our worksite was over an hour from our hotel, so we saw lots of countryside with a tapestry of fields spread across the hills and mountains. Our worksite - ready for staking out the house and digging trenches The digging had started Ready to start cutting the wire All trenches had to be dug to a depth of 1 meter Cutting rebar to make the rebar ladders Even through our team worked Monday to F...

The month of October has been a whirlwind of travels with brief spurts at home.  So today I'll tell you part of my travels. At the beginning of the month, we traveled to IL to visit our kids and delight in having our granddaughters for the weekend plus.  Eight years old and a bundle of energy (thank goodness Aunt Jen was there to help take the load off).  We had fun playing and talking and just being with them. After I was home a week, the packing and sorting began for my sixth (yes, it's been six years) trip to Guatemala for our mission/build trip.  After last year's trip, I wasn't planning on going again, but my dear friend told me that she really wanted to go, but ONLY if I went.  So, how could I resist. This trip was JoAnn's first and what a delight it was - she reminded me of all the things that I had seen and experienced my first year.  It was like looking at something through the eyes of a child. We had lots of highs and lows during this trip a...

My heart and prayers go out to all those who are experiencing the tragedy of natural disasters - the volcanic eruptions in Hawaii and Guatemala.  Tornados, flash floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and wild fires.  So many people displaced, villages and towns eradicated and disappeared under the flow of lava.  So many lives lost and families with no where to go. Guatemala is near and dear to my heart.  I have been there on five mission trips and plan to make another one in October.  It is such a beautiful country and the people are unbelievably gracious and caring.  They are hard workers and happy to work the land that they own.  The villages that were in the path of the lava were fertile because of the volcanic ash, but now are buried under all the lava flow.  There were no roads into these areas, there was no quick way out of the flow of lava. And yesterday, an earthquake shook this country. The government in Guatemala is very corrupt and ther...

Wednesday was our day off of working.  A trip across Lake Atitlan to San Antonio was planned in a small boat accommodating 16 people.  It had rained overnight and the wind was blowing, but we boarded the boat for a 20 minute ride across the lake.  The waves were rocking the boat and the captain seemed to think that faster was better.  Needless to say, most of us got somewhat wet, but the two sitting up front got the worse of it.  Once we arrived in San Antonio, our guide gave us an overview of the town and then we headed to the pottery shop. The molds Every piece that they make there is done in a mold, fired, glazed and painted and fired again.  Each piece done with love and care.  Of course, we got to do some shopping in their shops and brought some pottery back home. Painting each piece We headed further into the town, uphill towards the market place.  Because this is a Mayan community, all of the women and gi...

Since we were working at different sites each day, we didn't have the opportunity to get to know those we helped.  But, we did find out their stories, which really break your heart. The people we helped are too poor to qualify for a Habitat home.  Habitat has definite requirements for qualifying, one being that they have a job that will enable them to pay the loan on the house.  The people we helped were agricultural field workers - in their own fields - using the majority of the produce to feed their families.  The rest they would sell at market. Even though these families couldn't afford a house, Habitat Guatemala is providing them with smokeless stoves, latrines and water filtration systems to enable them to live a healthy life style. We found the families to be very proud of what they did have, which was minimal.  The houses were made of adobe blocks, dirt floors, and metal roofs.  The area surrounding the house was swe...

This year's work was much different than previous years.  Instead of working on a Habitat house for one or two families, we divided into two team of eight and went to different work sites to build smokeless stoves and latrines.  Over the five days, we build eight stoves and eight latrines. These families are not able to afford a Habitat home, as their income is very limited and not stable. Habitat is still very diligent about helping these people to become healthier, therefore they have developed the Healthy Solutions program which enables these families to have a smokeless stove, latrine and filtered water. Currently these families cook on a block stove that burns a lot of wood and all the smoke stays in the kitchens, which also is inhaled by all of the family members, especially the children.  Habitat has developed a stove that is vented to the outside and uses less firewood (which they have to purchase). The families are required to help by make the adobe blocks ...