Hi. Two days ago I spent about 25 minutes writing a message and when I sent it the computer lost internet. It has been harder to get access to the internet this time around so you may not get nearly as much email from me this year. We have had rain most afternoons and the internet goes in and out when the weather is like that.
Our group arrived on the 12th of May after a long day of traveling by plane and bus. I immediately felt at ease due to the familiarity of being here last year. Our team is working on two houses. One is in town and the other is about a 15 minute bus ride away. Both houses are in the beginning stages and we have done a lot of digging, concrete mixing (by hand), sand and gravel hauling, and punching holes in cinderblocks. Our work day starts with breakfast at 6 30 am and then to the work sites at 7. We start early to beat some of the heat. It gets very hot and sunny during the day and then most afternoons around 4 it has been thunder storming. We have all been tired by the end of the day and some are dealing with minor blisters and soreness.
The team in town goes to the restaurant (Angellos) for lunch and those at the out of town site have the lunch delivered to them. This is different than in the U.S. Here the owner of Angellos and his wife drive the food to the trail that goes to the house. Then they haul it by hand the half mile up the trail and up the mountain to the home site. They are huffing and puffing by the time they arrive. Today´s lunch was beans in a beef sauce with chunks of beef (like stew beef). To add to it we were given white rice with corn and home made tortillas. It was delicious!
Our team of students has become very close. In fact they are currently playing cards and laughing loudly. Each of them has been pushed out of their comfort zone in one way or another. They are experiencing good growth as am I.
Tomorrow (Saturday) we are working a half of a day (which is actually 3/4 a day since we start so early). Then we have time to hike to the top of a mountain with Mayan temple ruins and to visit a museum in town that is about the civil war that was here about 15 years ago. Sunday we go to Bio Topo Quatzal which is a National park. It is about 2 hours from here. Monday we return to work. It is hard to believe we only have 6 days left.
The people in town and everywhere have been very nice. We are stared at everywhere we go because we stick out like a sore thumb. People greet us with Buenos Dias and Hola and other greetings just as we do back to them. We do our best to communicate as some of us have great Spanish speaking ability and others not so good.
The town of Rabinal itself is very rural. It is build in a system of squares. There is a very large Catholic cathedral in the middle of the square right were the market is. The Cathedral is large but in poor repair. Everything is dirty. There is trash all over the street edges. This is due to poverty here and not much of a trash removal service. The people though are not dirty or filthy in anyway.
Last night we went to look for Ingrid, a woman whose family we built for last year. We had already looked for her twice with no luck. She runs a Taco Al Pastor stand in the market. Jennifer and she became close last time and they have exchanged letters. She was there last night and she and Jennifer were reunited and enjoyed visiting as Ingrid worked. Some of us sampled the tacos (which are nothing like what we call tacos) and they were delicious.
Well, there is much more I could tell you but it is late and we need to get up at 5:30 am. If I can write again I will. Thank you all who have supported us in prayer and financially. You are changing lives (ours and others) even if you are not here with us. We have all been blessed.
We love you.
Jay
May 16
We took a hike today after lunch, only a half day of work. We hiked to the top of a mountain that we can see from town, just left from the hotel. There was a small Mayan ruin at the top. They still use it for ceremonies. A big thunderstorm hit just before we reached the summit, and we all got really soaked and took shelter in the part that had a not too leaky roof. Then we hiked down after it mostly stopped raining. The little stream at the bottom that we crossed on stepping stones going up was almost waist deep going back. Then we stopped at a Mayan school that was having a Mothers Day celebration. They played us a couple songs on a marimba, pretty neat, and we learned how to thank them in the Mayan language.
Rabinal was the site of the worst massacare of the Guatemalan Civil War. It also has a central cathedral on the plaza that was built in the 1500s. Interesting.
Tomorrow we go to a national park for hiking and looking for the national bird.
Paul
May 17
On Saturday we worked a half day and then went to lunch. After lunch most of our group went on a hike up Mount Cajyoop (sp?) to a Achi temple ruin. Jen, Hannah, and I went to the small museum in town. It has only 2 rooms. One has artifacts of the region and the other is dedicated to those who died in the civil war masacre more than 10 years ago. It was very moving. During our visit to the museum the sky opened up and poured rain very heavily. We were concerned for our friends who were on the hike. Turns out that they were near the top when the rain came and took shelter in the temple ruins. They still got soaked but had quite an adventure.
Today was Sunday so we did not build houses. We did do some very exciting things. We went for a hike in a rain forest- one of Guatemala’s most beautiful national parks. We also hiked down into a GIGANTIC cave. It was amazing. In the evening, we went to visit with kids who are in the hospital because they are malnurished. The children stay there for 1 to 3 months to get better nutrition. They were very small. There was one girl Noah’s age (7) that is almost as small as Autumn (4). We brought them toys and held the babies and it made them happy. We played a lot and drew pictures with crayons. We also played with them in the small courtyard on some playground equipment. We plan to go back tomorrow between work and dinner.
Tomorrow after we work on houses, we are going to see our friend Ingrid in the house that we helped to build last year. She has lived in it with her family for over a year now and is very happy. The word they use to describe it here is ´bastante’ which means ENOUGH. We are pleased to see her so happy.
We only have a couple of days of work left and then we will go to Antigua for a couple of days before we come home.
As always, thank you for your prayers and email. We have been blessed and changed from our experiences here. We have made many good friends whom we will never forget.
Jay
May 19
Hi,
This is my third and final email before we come home.
Last night we went to the town market and ate tacos al pastor from Ingríd´s stand. They were delicious. Jen and I stayed late to visit with her as long as we could. We don´t know if we will ever see her again or for a long time at least.
Today we worked our last day on the home sites. We spend all day pounding holes in cinderblocks so the masons could use them for the houses. One house has the walls being constructed where the other house was not that far along yet. We also spent a long time telling jokes, stories, and socializing with the families.
Tonight we are going to our closing ceremony dinner with the families and masons. I am sure it will be memorable and emotional.
Tomorrow we head to Antiqua for some site seeing and shopping. Some of us are planning to hike a volcano. It will be fun but I am sure it will be a strange transition to go from being practically a local in a rural Guatemala town to being an instant tourist in a tourist driven town. I´m kinda of dreading it in a way.
The trip has been a huge blessing to us all and one that we will never forget. We have taken thousands of photos amonst us and have shot nearly 3 hours of video that we will edit down to a home made documentary. I hope you get a chance to see it when it is finished.
Well it is time to go to dinner now and celebrate the work we have done and the friends we have made. Hasta Luego.
The Wesley Foundation
