Thursday
Today started off just like any other day with a wonderful breakfast prepared by the staff at Hope of Life. The staff here really go out of their way to make you comfortable here. I guess they realize that within a few hours, we are going to be out in the fields and desert working on projects.
We split up again into three separate groups. One group, lead by Joanne went back to the warehouse to continue working on packing food bags for Friday. She was joined by Margaret, Terri, Natalie, Meghan, and Sarah. For such a small group, they packed over 200 bags by themselves before lunch.
A second group went back to work on the houses They are build in the hope of Life village. This time around Will, Aaron, and myself got to go to the construction site along with Rick and the boys from Washington State. (Kyle is actually from Alaska!) We spent the morning finishing filling out the floor to make it level and helped sift sand and gravel for future concrete making. Once again I walked away with a pocket full of rocks to bring back to my classroom. Some people never learn!
The third group went back out to the Greenhouses to work on the irrigation lines. This time we sent the "youngsters" to represent us. Zack, Sam, Foster, Amanda, Tessa, and "Big John" were digging out trenches to run pipes later.
After lunch, the Greenhouse group went back out to finish the pipelines. Will opted to go back out with them this time. I think he was afraid they were having too much fun without him. that meant Zack was able to join the group at the Warehouse.
The Construction group joined the Warehouse group since they wanted almost 800 bags filled with food supplies. we didn't make that number since they ran out of some of the food stuffs to put into the bags. We then packed the truck for the food delivery tomorrow morning to the School/Church dedication. We also started to put together some furniture. Carlos has purchased several pallets of furniture from Walmart of all places. I think that several big wigs from Walmart are coming down tomorrow to see what is going on with the stuff they sold Carlos. It is amazing the stuff people return that can't be resold so they sell it to countries like Guatemala. Aaron and i tried to put several pieces together but some were missing a few important pieces. Like table tops and such.
After dinner we went out to one of the other churches in the village. Aaron actually got to share the message he prepared for a service last year but didn't get to. It was a moving message about the prodigal son. Margaret lead devotions tonight and after telling us her story, she had each of us share something we learned or appreciated about someone in the group. It was a very moving devotions and I think it showed just how close a group of strangers can get when thrown together in the name of Christ!
It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day here before making the long trip home!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Team Guatemala 2012 Wednesday
Wednesday
Today we get to go into the field and do some construction. Our team raised money to pay for a large greenhouse here at Hope of Life. they are not going to be starting another one here soon but we got to work on the ones that are currently being constructed.
Will, Zac, Meghan, Tessa, Foster, 
Sam, Aaron, and I went down to the greenhouses to work today. We met Luis, our interpreter from Nicaraga. He speaks very good english and we learned quite a bit of spanish while working. We were to dig a trench for a water pipeline to the 10 greenhouses on the left side of the compound. The right ten already had a pipeline going to it. the digging was tough. Apparently they don't have just soil here. Most of it comes with tons of rocks in it. Aaron was voted MVP (most valuable picker) for the morning. Foster however grabbed the title in the afternoon.
The other group - Sarah, Rick, and the team from Washington went into the Village of Hope that has sprung up near the small greenhouses and the chickenhouse near the entrance to Hope of Life. This summer there were a few houses along this dirt road. Now there are houses completely up and down the road, plus a church, and more houses on the way. Carlos is also planning another set of houses in the nearby field. The construction crew got to work with the guys here to build another house. Actually it was almost finished but still need the floor to be leveled and the attached bathroom to be built. They worked hard today to get those both close to completion.
Terri, Natalie, and Joanne went to work some more at the warehouse. I'm not sure where all that stuff comes from but they just keep pulling it out of somewhere. they also were asked to start working more food bags for another food distribution.
Amanda was on our injured reserve list. Apparently something wasn't sitting right and she was completely wiped out most of the day. She is back up and going strong however tonight.
Tonight we treated the entire orphanage and nannies and some of the workers to dinner from Pollo Compero (guatemala's KFC) They LOVED it. After dinner, Terri lead us in devotions. All in all, a very tiring but satisfying day. Tomorrow - more construction and food bags!
Today we get to go into the field and do some construction. Our team raised money to pay for a large greenhouse here at Hope of Life. they are not going to be starting another one here soon but we got to work on the ones that are currently being constructed.
Will, Zac, Meghan, Tessa, Foster, 
Sam, Aaron, and I went down to the greenhouses to work today. We met Luis, our interpreter from Nicaraga. He speaks very good english and we learned quite a bit of spanish while working. We were to dig a trench for a water pipeline to the 10 greenhouses on the left side of the compound. The right ten already had a pipeline going to it. the digging was tough. Apparently they don't have just soil here. Most of it comes with tons of rocks in it. Aaron was voted MVP (most valuable picker) for the morning. Foster however grabbed the title in the afternoon.The other group - Sarah, Rick, and the team from Washington went into the Village of Hope that has sprung up near the small greenhouses and the chickenhouse near the entrance to Hope of Life. This summer there were a few houses along this dirt road. Now there are houses completely up and down the road, plus a church, and more houses on the way. Carlos is also planning another set of houses in the nearby field. The construction crew got to work with the guys here to build another house. Actually it was almost finished but still need the floor to be leveled and the attached bathroom to be built. They worked hard today to get those both close to completion.
Terri, Natalie, and Joanne went to work some more at the warehouse. I'm not sure where all that stuff comes from but they just keep pulling it out of somewhere. they also were asked to start working more food bags for another food distribution.
Amanda was on our injured reserve list. Apparently something wasn't sitting right and she was completely wiped out most of the day. She is back up and going strong however tonight.
Tonight we treated the entire orphanage and nannies and some of the workers to dinner from Pollo Compero (guatemala's KFC) They LOVED it. After dinner, Terri lead us in devotions. All in all, a very tiring but satisfying day. Tomorrow - more construction and food bags!
Team Guatemala 2012 Tuesday
Tuesday
Tuesday Morning we were asked to work at the warehouses again separating more clothes. I am guessing that J Crew and Madewell Jeans must not be popular in the US. Several of the women on our team were extremely happy with one of the crates. It was over half full of bathing suits. Meghan, Sarah, Tessa, Amanda, and Margaret purchased several of the suits at the extreme Guatemala discount.
We also were told that there will be a dedication for a new school/Church in a nearby village on
Friday and we were going to be able to attend the dedication Ceremony to pass out food bags to the entire village. Of course, we were needed to pack those bags for the village. They needed 800 bags of food. Of course, in true Soul Discovery style, we packed up 850 bags just in case. Each bags had cans of beans, potatoes, rice, and the things called nutributter for small children to keep them from becoming malnurished. (We kinda tasted one pack - tastes like peanut butter - thanks to Will and Sam for the idea!)
In the afternoon there was more stuff to be unpacked for the warehouse. It is a totally thankless job and very tedious at times but then again that is what we are here for. To serve the people here in any way that will help. The stuff we sorted, re-taped up, cleaned up will be resold in the bodega. It always amazes me the stuff that we in the US return and then gets sold off in large parcels to places like Guatemala.
Rick and family have given me a new nickname - Mayhem - like on the Geico commercials. I'm not sure if I like it or not. They have asked me to help out with some of the driving here for our group so I get to drive a large 15 person van up and down the mountain. What a change from all the hills we have in Salisbury!
Will lead us in a great devotion about David. Aaron and Natalie once again lead us in worship songs. What a wonderful bonding time for our team!
Tuesday Morning we were asked to work at the warehouses again separating more clothes. I am guessing that J Crew and Madewell Jeans must not be popular in the US. Several of the women on our team were extremely happy with one of the crates. It was over half full of bathing suits. Meghan, Sarah, Tessa, Amanda, and Margaret purchased several of the suits at the extreme Guatemala discount.
We also were told that there will be a dedication for a new school/Church in a nearby village on
Friday and we were going to be able to attend the dedication Ceremony to pass out food bags to the entire village. Of course, we were needed to pack those bags for the village. They needed 800 bags of food. Of course, in true Soul Discovery style, we packed up 850 bags just in case. Each bags had cans of beans, potatoes, rice, and the things called nutributter for small children to keep them from becoming malnurished. (We kinda tasted one pack - tastes like peanut butter - thanks to Will and Sam for the idea!)
In the afternoon there was more stuff to be unpacked for the warehouse. It is a totally thankless job and very tedious at times but then again that is what we are here for. To serve the people here in any way that will help. The stuff we sorted, re-taped up, cleaned up will be resold in the bodega. It always amazes me the stuff that we in the US return and then gets sold off in large parcels to places like Guatemala.Rick and family have given me a new nickname - Mayhem - like on the Geico commercials. I'm not sure if I like it or not. They have asked me to help out with some of the driving here for our group so I get to drive a large 15 person van up and down the mountain. What a change from all the hills we have in Salisbury!
Will lead us in a great devotion about David. Aaron and Natalie once again lead us in worship songs. What a wonderful bonding time for our team!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Team Guatemala 2012 Monday
Monday
After breakfast this morning, we were treated to a tour of the Mission from Carlos himself. He is such a captivating speaker. I never grow tired of the tour (even though this was my tenth time seeing it) There is always so many new a different things going on here. He showed us these huge containers that he purchases from companies in the United States of clothes that he will then give away here or sell in the bodega. We also found out how they get the school buses down here. It always amazes me to see buses with signs on the side from the US. There is one from Harford County in Maryland and the one we were riding in was from West Virgina. Apparently, they hire a guy to drive them down to Guatemala (A ten day trip). They load them up with stuff to save the shipping costs. Margaret asked if he was hiring bus drivers! ( I think Dave - her husband might have something to say about that!)
This is a current model of the St. Luke's Hospital that carlos is trying to build on the mountain.
Here is what it currently looks like. They have started working n the fifth floor. We couldn't see it during the tour or work there this week since it is in a stage where it is dangerous to have people around it but they have been working on it all week. He hopes to have it up and running in August of this year.
After the tours, we had lunch and then we were off to a feeding at the Dump. It is always a heart wrenching experience to see such poverty in person. Once you get past the smell and the extreme dirtiness of the people there, your heart just goes out to them. Especially the kids!!
Terri was happy to see that "Grandma" as we call her was still there with her many great grand kids but most importantly, that she was looking much healthier than when we saw her last time.
Here are Tessa, Terri, and Amanda at the dump.
Rick and Sarah help with the feeding at the dump. There were so many people there - it was almost heart breaking!
One little guy had a shirt there from Chincoteague Island. It always amazes me how a shirt from Maryland can travel all that way and end up in a dump in Guatemala!
After the feeding, we went back to the warehouses and got to unload ALL of those crates that Carlos had showed us earlier and had to separate them by gender. It was amazing to see all of the designer name clothing in the boxes that he was able to purchase dirt cheap. J Crew must not be selling too well in the US!
These were some VERY ugly sweaters that we found in the crates. Of course, we just had to try them on!!!
After we finished, we had some free time to relax either at the mission house or at the pool. Unfortunately, that meant that we couldn't get up to the orphanage today. Luckily, we had time to see the kids in the morning during the tour but i know that I wanted much more time to see the kids.
That's Julio being shy.
After dinner, we took a walk into the village of Llano Verde and hit the little store for some ice cream. the it was up to the mission House for devotions. Rick spoke tonight and we got to hear a testimony from Jonathon (another one of the group from Washington) he certainly has gone through quite a bit for a guy of only 19.
We are hitting bed now to be ready for whatever life throws at us tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to continue writing about our trip.
After breakfast this morning, we were treated to a tour of the Mission from Carlos himself. He is such a captivating speaker. I never grow tired of the tour (even though this was my tenth time seeing it) There is always so many new a different things going on here. He showed us these huge containers that he purchases from companies in the United States of clothes that he will then give away here or sell in the bodega. We also found out how they get the school buses down here. It always amazes me to see buses with signs on the side from the US. There is one from Harford County in Maryland and the one we were riding in was from West Virgina. Apparently, they hire a guy to drive them down to Guatemala (A ten day trip). They load them up with stuff to save the shipping costs. Margaret asked if he was hiring bus drivers! ( I think Dave - her husband might have something to say about that!)
This is a current model of the St. Luke's Hospital that carlos is trying to build on the mountain.
Here is what it currently looks like. They have started working n the fifth floor. We couldn't see it during the tour or work there this week since it is in a stage where it is dangerous to have people around it but they have been working on it all week. He hopes to have it up and running in August of this year.After the tours, we had lunch and then we were off to a feeding at the Dump. It is always a heart wrenching experience to see such poverty in person. Once you get past the smell and the extreme dirtiness of the people there, your heart just goes out to them. Especially the kids!!
Terri was happy to see that "Grandma" as we call her was still there with her many great grand kids but most importantly, that she was looking much healthier than when we saw her last time.
Here are Tessa, Terri, and Amanda at the dump.
Rick and Sarah help with the feeding at the dump. There were so many people there - it was almost heart breaking!
One little guy had a shirt there from Chincoteague Island. It always amazes me how a shirt from Maryland can travel all that way and end up in a dump in Guatemala!
After the feeding, we went back to the warehouses and got to unload ALL of those crates that Carlos had showed us earlier and had to separate them by gender. It was amazing to see all of the designer name clothing in the boxes that he was able to purchase dirt cheap. J Crew must not be selling too well in the US!
These were some VERY ugly sweaters that we found in the crates. Of course, we just had to try them on!!!
After we finished, we had some free time to relax either at the mission house or at the pool. Unfortunately, that meant that we couldn't get up to the orphanage today. Luckily, we had time to see the kids in the morning during the tour but i know that I wanted much more time to see the kids.
That's Julio being shy.
After dinner, we took a walk into the village of Llano Verde and hit the little store for some ice cream. the it was up to the mission House for devotions. Rick spoke tonight and we got to hear a testimony from Jonathon (another one of the group from Washington) he certainly has gone through quite a bit for a guy of only 19.
We are hitting bed now to be ready for whatever life throws at us tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to continue writing about our trip.
Team Guatemala 2012 Sunday
Greetings from Guatemala. We have all reached Hope of Life in good health. (Except for our friend Kevin - Long story there - I'll let him add the details but due to some poor timing he wasn't able to join us this year.)
Our first full day was actually more of a day of rest. And I must say that after the airplane trip and the LONG bus ride through Guatemala, we really needed it. We had breakfast at 8 and then went to the local church for service. Aaron was once again ready to lead if needed but Pastor Carlos delivered an interesting sermon on "listening". Jon (one of the group with our friend Margaret from Washington) gave a brief testimony as well. After lunch, we were supposed to go on a tour for the mission but Carlos couldn't do it then. One of the babies they were bringing in to the nutrition center that morning didn't survive the trip. It was a pretty sad atmosphere in the nutrition center that day. So instead we headed up to the orphanage for some free time with the kids.
After dinner, we all retreated to bed early since everyone was still pretty wiped from the day before.
Our first full day was actually more of a day of rest. And I must say that after the airplane trip and the LONG bus ride through Guatemala, we really needed it. We had breakfast at 8 and then went to the local church for service. Aaron was once again ready to lead if needed but Pastor Carlos delivered an interesting sermon on "listening". Jon (one of the group with our friend Margaret from Washington) gave a brief testimony as well. After lunch, we were supposed to go on a tour for the mission but Carlos couldn't do it then. One of the babies they were bringing in to the nutrition center that morning didn't survive the trip. It was a pretty sad atmosphere in the nutrition center that day. So instead we headed up to the orphanage for some free time with the kids.
After dinner, we all retreated to bed early since everyone was still pretty wiped from the day before.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
They've arrived!
Team Guatemala 2012 is officially in the field (figuratively of course - they're technically on a mountain...). After a little bit of a rough start (sadly they are one team member down due to a first-time situation), the team had routine safe flights. All luggage arrived (praise God!). They are safe on the Hope of Life mountain.
Please pray this week for the health of the team. It is very difficult to be down there and have stomach issues. Trust me! Please pray that the Holy Spirit would move in the hearts of all the team members as well as the people they encounter. Pray that they recognize God opportunities.
Team - we are praying for you here!! You're going to have an amazing week.
Please pray this week for the health of the team. It is very difficult to be down there and have stomach issues. Trust me! Please pray that the Holy Spirit would move in the hearts of all the team members as well as the people they encounter. Pray that they recognize God opportunities.
Team - we are praying for you here!! You're going to have an amazing week.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Less than a week to go...
Introducing Team Guatemala 2012:
Sarah Adkins (shown here is Guatemala Jan 2010)
Our newlyweds, Aaron and Natalie Flynn (shown here in Guatemala in January 2011)
Terry Frallic (please pray for her husband Preston who has surgery the day before the team departs for the trip)
Amanda Howard (this is her first mission trip!)
Ken Johnson (team leader)
Tessa Johnson (seen here in Guatemala July 2010)
Meghan McNeil (this is Meghan's first trip)
Rick Trenary (unknowingly helping Ken lead)
Sam Trenary (recently dislocated his knee and wearing a brace - pray for healing)
Zach Trenary (seen here is Guatemala January 2011)This team was responsible for raising $1500 individually and our church gave $3000 towards the cost of a large greenhouse, which the team will hopefully be working on while they are there. They will be in Guatemala January 14-21, 2012.
Please pray for safe travels, health and God's blessing.
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