Day three- Monday

Hola,
We had a very fullfilling full day in Chichicastenango today! It was a joy to wake up and worship with the group in this beautiful part of God's creation. After devotions and a great breakfast Pastor Scott and I led a group of 15 to start digging the foundation for a two story house. The local boss and a translator were a joy to work with. They were very organized and had three tasks for us; cutting wire, bending the wire on a nail jig and digging about a 33 inch deep trench by 50 centimeters wide ditch. At first they didn't want the ladies digging so they were doing the first two tasks. Much to the pleasure of the Pastor Scott, Ryan and myself the locals allowed the ladies to help us dig. There is no way we would have finished the foundation today with out the strong support of our ladies. The weather was in the 70's with on and off rain. It was enriching to try out our limited spanish and talk to the locals. It was a real team effort as we had to bag and carry the dirt about fifty yards. We had all groups working on different tasks and also making the rebar columns that will support the corners. It is such a beatufil walk as we cam back to Casa del Ray, our Hotel. Will keep you posted on our progress and the many other great things the Lord is doing in this area. I will thank our prayer supporters back home as we really feel your support.
Birk


Today was the first work day. I was on the construction team that was working on the house. It was a very small house by American standards, but we dug a deep trench around the perimeter for the foundation. We had to remove all of the dirt and carry it away from the site, while some others were building steel rebars for the concrete columns. It was hard work sometimes, but it was fun working with native Guatemalans. It was very fun talking to them in Spanish and learning about them at a personal level. Before I came, I thought that most of my communication with the people would be brief or in basic Spanish. However, after being at the site for awhile, I had had some great, and long, conversations with some of the workers. I was talking to them about the same kinds of things that I would talk about with my friends, and not just asking them questions that are taught in Spanish class. The best part of talking to them was when I told a joke. I came up with a joke in Spanish, and all three of them laughed. It was fun because I wasn't sure if they would think it was funny, but we had a great time. I cannot wait until tomorrow. This trip is amazing--both the projects and the bonding with team members.
-Ryan


So here I am on my first ever missions trip, on my first ever blog...no one who knows me would ever doubt that I'd be on a missions trip, but ME - BLOGGING??!! Oh, yeah, and I even have photos to prove it! (With God, all things ARE possible!) Of course, He had to bring me all the way to Guatemala to force me to do this, but hey, it happened.

But enough of that; I have way more important things to write about. This trip is amazing on so many levels, and I can hardly wait to share it! The terrain is very dramatic, very beautiful, and very captivating. One of the many volcanoes we saw as we drove to Chichi was still smouldering, a mere hint of the power and majesty of our Lord. The people are very interesting and not what I expected. They are very tiny, very dark skinned, and very different from us; yet I feel a connection with them that I had not expected. One lady we passed on the way to the market was barely waist-high to me. The children are some of the most absolutely adorable children I have ever seen, and their smiles can melt you like the sun. I wanted so much to share our moments in great detail, and while the three and a half years of spanish that I studied has proven invaluable, I regret that I am limited by the confines of our language barrier. Some of the natives are very reserved, and we've been told that they have some significant (albeit unfounded) fears about us, but once they engage with us, a whole new world if intrigue opens up.

We have seen God at work here already, and it's been largely in us. He has knit our hearts together to serve this sweet people, and He has done so much more than I have time to write tonight. I can't wait to tell you all more, and I will close with thanking everyone back home who have been so instrumental in helping us get here and are praying for us. And I can hardly wait to see what all God has in store for us here!

Sally


Hi everyone from Pittsburgh!

I'm so excited to share my day and experience with all of you. Today, I was supposed to go to English Second Language to help translate english to the little Guatemalans in their classrooms, however, plans changed and I helped with the fencing project. Although I was disappointed to not see the children at the school, I was happy to help with the fences. As expected, God turned the disappointment into a great and exciting day!

When we first arrived at the project, the weather did not look promising. Although it sprinkled at points in the day and was a bit chilly, it did not downpour completely on us, making the hammering and building still possible. Because we were on slopes for hammering the barbwire fencing to the posts, it was very slippery, yet thankfully, we only had minor injuries during the duration of the fencing time. Evan, Sally, and Abigail were on my team for the building. While Sally and Abigail left to tend to Abigail's wound, Evan and I were left behind to finish the project. This was not a good idea. Instead of the 8 inches we were supposed to have between each fence, we had 2 feet! We did not realize this major mistake until we hammered the nails in. I, then, said "Jesus please help us fix the fence!"As we went back to see any possible solution to this problem, we decided to count our losses and cut the wire after the Guatemalan man insisted that we needed to fix it. Proceeding to cut the fence, I desired to cut the fence, however, since I lack muscle, I failed at cutting it. I attempted on pulling the wire and wiggling it back and forth to gain progress, but, instead, I pulled out the nail! Praise Jesus! The Guatemalan then saw that Jesus really does answer our prayers, as simple as the request may be. I have to go now though...others need to share too! See you soon!

Emi