Guatemala City

I'm in Guatemala City right now on a preview trip for Simply Missions. Our time has been spent visiting various ministry locations and host sites for short-term teams. It has been exciting to see the work that God is doing down here, preparing the way for opportunities in the future. It is also difficult to see the extremely poor living conditions that so many people face in this city of 6 million. No matter how many times I see things like this, it never stops hurting a bit. That's good motivation for me though.

Guatemala: Our Last Day of Work - Thursday, June 22, 2006

Three and Out:
The day started with me waking up. After a good night’s sleep I was still pretty tired, but ready for a tough day’s work. For breakfast we had pancakes and bacon, yes bacon. It was very good. After that we went up to the mountains to finish our widow’s house.
It was a crazy, bumpy ride up and somewhat uncomfortable to say the least. We finished putting up the siding and then got the bed and the roof done, after lunch. We got to watch some of the USA vs Ghana game, which i won’t talk about b/c USA lost 2-1. With the USA out of the world cup morale went down, but so did whiteness as el sol was beating down on us like a stick beats a drum.
After finishing up the house we made the treacherous trip home. Then I went shopping in the market, trying to barter prices down to vente (20). I picked up a few odds and ends and then went back home and showered. When dinner was ready I ate it, it was chicken and mac-cheese. Then i was on kp (kitchen patrol or police) and after finishing the dishes i was recruited to do blogging duties, which i have now finished.
Peace out,
~Abe Kane

What a Great Week!
Today my team headed back up the mountain to the Saquilla feeding program that is under construction. We finished leveling the dirt floor in the main meeting hall, moved two stacks of cinder blocks, and then began leveling the courtyard.
Everyone was pretty tired today, so at times it was tough to stay motivated. We had to leave Emily behind because she had been sick all night, and Sarah stayed behind to take care of her. Since we were down two workers, Ronnie joined us so that we could still stay productive. His translation abilities and sense of humor were welcomed by all.
The best part for me was thinking about the 600 kids that would one day be fed (physically and spiritually) on those grounds and knowing that I had a small part in it. After visiting the feeding program at Patzibal on Tuesday night it was easy to envision what this new place would look like when all the kids show up. I hope to return some day to see the Saquilla location in operation.
We returned to the house about 2:00pm so we still had some time to wander the market. I picked up a Giga (ice cream bar) and a pepsi. It’s hard to believe I could buy both for the equivalent of $1.50. I wasn’t really shopping for anything in the market but it’s fun to just be out among the people and experience the culture. It’s been a great week here.
~Joe (Mr. Neill)

Guatemala: Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Our version of the World Cup:
We began today in prayer. We split into small groups, walked the streets around our home here and prayed aloud to our Lord. We prayed for our group, our churches, the people of Guatemala, those God has brought into our lives while we have ministered and anything else that God placed upon our hearts. As we finished praying we were given an extra treat and were able to see a parade for Teachers’ Day, that was taking place. There was a school band in it that sounded great.
The next big event in our day involved going to a Christian School and meeting and playing with some kids. We walked, not far from the school, to two soccer fields to play soccer with some of the kids from the school. We may not speak the same language, but we like the same game. The Guatemalan guys gave our guys a run for their money.
(Maybe JCS can start recruiting Guatemalans).
After a half day of fun it was time to work so we divided our group in half and my team went to the village of Saquilla. Buildings are being built there for a new feeding program. While we were there we leveled a dirt floor so cement could later be poured. We used pick axes and shoves to break up the dirt and a wheel barrow and buckets to take the dirt away. It was hard but gratifying. ~ Sarah Haines

Work Begins on Widow House #2
Life is so lively with 14 high schoolers. Their singing and antics make the work seem easy and the days even more memorable. Their spanish is well, Mrs. Snow might have to let Kasey teach the class since she insists she’s fluent now!
Ah, you all would be impressed with the way our kids are tackling the tasks given us with such energy (maybe it’s the coffee) and love. Our evening time is spent in reflection,song and prayer. Makes me think about boxing up the video games and TV.
Our team...Justin, Rachael, Kasey, Kyle,Steve,Brianna and Abe, (and Ronnie-he is our evening worship leader) started our widow house this afternoon. We are building the cottage for Tomasita, she is 60,extremely friendly, and her thanks is in her smile! Tomorrow we finish that portion of God’s work.
Well, our evening worship has started so I want to join. Thank you all for sharing your children with us. We met a little boy, Bentley, on our first full day here, his parents are missionaries about 10 mins from us, Bentley asked me when he saw our group helping build a house,”are these the people God called down?” Thanks again for allowing your kids to follow God’s call. For making this trip possible through your help and prayers.
~ Sandia (Mrs. Kane)

Guatemala: Tuesday, June 20, 2006

This is How A Heart Breaks:
There is a popular song out there by the artist Rob Thomas. It is called “This is how a heart breaks.” The song is not Christian, but the title is my point. Many people on the trip are experiencing this to one degree or another. God is softening our hearts and making us whole, pure, and resigned to do His work with a passion.
Last night, a missionary here for two months named Ronald led us in a time of worship that touched the hearts of each one of us, me personally. Proceeding this we reflected on what God was showing and speaking to each one of us. As people shared, you could see the fire, passion, heartbreak, and renewal within everyone.
We were supposed to hit the sheets when it was over, but my entire room of guys stayed up until 1:30 pouring our hearts out to each other as God led us. I have never experienced anything like it before, and know that others are feeling the same way. Do not expect us to come home the same, and certainly don’t expect us to lose our fire. God has and is knitting us so close together that we will keep each other accountable in brutal honesty.
Well, that was the spiritual side of things on my mind, so here’s the factual.
After 5 hours of sleep for my room, and roughly 8 or 9 for the others in the house, we woke up and ate the most amazing breakfast (as all meals are) and proceeded to head out to finish the house that we started yesterday. We got the roof on in about an hour and a half. Many had nothing to do because it only really took 4 people to do the job, so they ended up playing with the child of the woman who the house was for, named Andreas. We had brought a ball with us and all took turns playing soccer and catch with him.
The window was soon cut out and put together at about our waists height (head height for them) and we went to work on both the door and two beds. All was finished at about 1 o’ clock, and we presented Maria with her beautiful new home and a basket of food and cooking supplies as a housewarming gift.
Maria and her mother Michaela could not stop smiling. Before we left them we closed in prayer for blessing on them and that they would come to know God as their savior.
It is now 3:15 and in a short while we are going to head out to participate in a feeding program. -God bless you all, adios
~Jesse Daugherty

Pandas on Roller-skates:
Hello there, everybody! I’ve got nowhere to be right now, so I hope you don’t mind if I write a short novel.
For breakfast this morning I had scrambled eggs, potatoes, and dog meat (I’ll let you decide whether or not you think I’m kidding). Then my group (which we had named “Team Sesquipedalian,” which means people that use big words--but it later evolved into “Team Sasquatch Battalion” because Kyle could never remember how to pronounce it) headed out to this nifty hotel place where we loaded debris onto a pickup truck for a few hours. Abe and I then rode on the back of the truck, flying at nearly forty miles an hour with no seats or seat belts. Oh wait, my mother is reading this. What I meant to say was that we were safely belted in with iron bars and locked into position for the ride, which was about two miles per hour. Yeah.
Anyway, after lunch, we loaded more debris onto the truck, except we were much more exhausted and it wasn’t nearly as cool. Plus, Abe started making these sweet sound effects every time he lifted his shovel, which was our only source of entertainment for nearly half an hour. The female members of team Sasquatch Battalion wanted me to mention something about Rachel going into a fake seizure, but I really don’t understand it or want to be associated with it.
We later came back to the house, where we showered and enjoyed the lovely paint fumes, then headed off to the feeding program station place. We served dinner and played with the kids for a while, who enjoyed playing soccer and running away from me. They had a wonderful time running away from me, and I had a wonderful time chasing them. At least, I think they had a wonderful time running away from me. Maybe they were just scared of me. Hmm.
We then came home and had dinner. It was chicken pot pie without the pie part and corn on the cob without the corn. Just kidding about the corn part. But the chicken thing was lovely.
Then we had devotions, and they drafted me to do this. So I did. I hope you appreciate the effort. The biggest thing that God is showing me is the value of the human heart. No matter where you go in the world, the feelings on the human heart and reaching out to touch another life is far, far more important than any of the riches of this world. People, like the kids we spent time with today, just need to know that there’s somebody who cares for them and who will spend time with them. And the great thing is: you don’t have to fly around the world to do that. People everywhere need that.
Well, that’s my novel. If you’re looking for a sequel, then, well, I’ll come up with something witty to say about that later. Keep praying for us!

~ Stephen Devereaux

Guatemala: A Tale of Two Houses - Monday, June 19, 2006

The Adobe House:
When we got up this morning we were told we were going to be digging dirt out of an adobe house. The women living there was handicapped and needed cement ground for her wheelchair. So we were split up into two groups, the adobe group and the widow house group. The adobe group was digging the dirt from the house. We worked extremely hard. We were to dig 6 inches out of the floor. It was a challenge but we managed.

We are so glad to be here and to be able to build these houses for these people. It makes us so happy to be impacting the Guatemalan people. We have been working very hard the past few days. So far its been an awesome, impacting, and heartwarming experience. We’re so glad we’re here. A lot of us have blisters on are hands from shoveling but thinking of what results come from it, it makes it that much more worth it.

Were also glad to be here to witness and shine through to spread the word of God. It feels so good to be able to do that. We all love it here, and we hope to be able to work, and impact 10 times more than we have.
~ Kasey Espinoza



Widow House #1:
In our third full day in this lovely country of Guatemala we got to start building a house for a widow who lives in the mountains. The day started off with a lovely breakfast prepared by Josephina and Rosa. After that we went to our building site about 45 minutes away into the mountains.

Once we got there we had to hike back about a quarter mile to the widows house. There for us was already cement and posts in the ground. Our job was then to get the siding on and make a doorway for the door. Just before lunch time an elderly lady came by and asked us to pray for her as she was sore and she had a bad headache, she was about 90 years old, we then prayed for her. Once we finished praying for her we then preceeded to eat our lunch. After seeing how those people were suffering I couldn’t eat my lunch so I decided to give it to the family who greatly appreciated it. We finished all that needed to be finished and then headed home.

On our way home we were giving candy to little kids who we saw along the road and kids we saw when were leaving the village. As we were driving home we saw a man passed out on the road. Christian, who was our project leader, stopped and decided to help the man and put him in the shade by the road so he could sleep. Christian then decided to talk to the man about his problems although knowing he was drunk. We then left as the man decided to not be kind. Soon after we arrived back at the house we were staying at

Through this experience God taught me that although someone may not deserve respect you always need to give it. With Christian’s act of kindness it taught me a thing about being courageous because when we left the man Christian said “God bless you”. Even though he was drunk I pray that the man heard those words come out of Christian’s mouth and understand that God truly does love him and thinks no different of him.
~Ross Withrow

Guatemala: Market Day - Sunday, June 18, 2006

We woke up to the sound of very busy streets. After a great breakfast, singing and challenging message from Steve, we ventured out into the streets of Chichicastenango for market day. We stepped outside the door and boom there’s a booth! Guatemala’s market (the largest open market in Central America) was filled with more colors, smells, sounds and people then I could ever imagine.
So there we were, trying to keep track of each other while making our way to the bank on the extremely crowded streets. We got to the bank, stood in line and waited patiently for the bank people to exchange our money for Quetzales. The exchange rate down here is approx. 8 to 1.
With groups of at least four, we went down different streets to check out the booths, which pretty much held the same thing. Every bag, belt or piece of jewelry was unique though. Another thing unique about shopping in a Guatemalan market, is the bartering.
Some on the team are better than this then others, but we all managed to survive the pressure put on by the one running the booth. I had to test out my dickering skills when I attempted to buy a blanket. Between trying to understand the little bit of Spanish that I know, and calculating in my head how much I’m really spending, bartering with the Guatemalans is not an easy task. One leader on our team, Bob is quite experienced in this. It’s fun just to watch the bartering with Bob and the natives.
After we were all tired of walking and ready to go back to the house and hang out for a while, dinner was served. I’ve been told to note how good that the food is here. Tonight we had steak (very good), rice, corn, bread, salsa, guacamole, and ice cream. (which Brianna decided to thoroughly enjoy...)
Right now, some are playing soccer and me, I’m writing this...obviously.
-Amy O’Dell

Guatemala: A House for Miriam - Saturday, June 17, 2006

Well we got up at 6:30 this morning and ate an excellent breakfast (the food is really good). We then walked about a half mile to our work site. About a quarter mile down the stairs was the house we were building. The girls went down to the house and helped set up the prebuilt walls. The guys were put up at the top to shovel gravel and stone into bags and carry it down to the house. This was exhausting (keep in mind this is 7000 ft. elevation). After this we proceeded to put up the walls. We then ate lunch at the worksite which again was delicious. The kids whose house we were building helped us a lot. We were just working and they joined right in. I didn’t expect that at all. There names were Luis, 10, and Benjamin, 8. They were really cool and hung out with us the rest of the work day. The group then split up and half laid cement in the first house while the other half moved dirt in another house. Laying cement was interesting. This enormously strong, monster of a guy named Christian helped us out. He was also an absolute genius so all of us want to be like him when we grow up. Anyway, we laid the cement and then we had to carry the leftover bags of cement bag up the huge stairs and into the truck. While two of us would greatly struggle to get one bag up the hill, Christian proceeded to take one bag up by himself, while carrying a backpack, tools, and answering his cell phone half way up the hill. He also took another one later. While we were heading back we found a shop showing the highlights of the US game. They actually tied!! We were pretty much overjoyed. It was just a really awesome day. The kids were just absolutely overjoyed with the house. Although it was only maybe 200 square feet they were just absolutely overjoyed that we would do that for them.
Kyle Drake


We woke up this morning and ate a delicious breakfast of banana pancakes. After gathering up our tools and wheelbarrows, we headed a few blocks away to work on a house. We headed down a steep hill, the first of many trips. The guys began to carry down the gravel and sand needed to make concrete. Many grueling trips were required, along with the trips needed to carry down the roofing material and concrete mix. Meanwhile, the girls began to raise the walls of the house, nailing and chain sawing (which was mostly done by Mr. Neill and Bob). We ate a quick lunch and then began to mix concrete and lay the floor for the house. Some members of the group went to another house and dug out dirt to level the floor. We all worked very hard to around 4 o’clock. During this entire time, we were meeting and becoming friends with the children whose house we were building. Luis Miguel was a favorite kid of most of the team. We all picked up many Spanish phrases, the favorite being “gordo”, or fat. Luis caused much laughter as he called most of leaders “gordo” as he patted them on the stomach. All in all, we had fun while accomplishing a lot of work. It was great to see God work through and in us as we worked. The most common refrain was comments on how blessed we are in the States. It was very true, however, and caused much introspection and thanks for what God has given us. It was a great way to start out off the week.
- Adam Barsuhn

Guatemala: Our First Day - Friday, June 16, 2006

To begin with, our flights went well and no one lost any luggage (even though Amy’s got pretty chewed up), and the airplane food was good. Well, kinda :~)
Wow, Guatemala is amazing! You don’t even know how other people live in other cultures and how cool it is until you actually see them. When we got our first look we could really see the poverty that fills this country. It made us realize how blessed we really are and how much we take it for granted.
After we got to Guatemala City we had to take a 4 hour bus ride to Chichicastenango... it was different. It consisted of sharp turns, scary drop-offs only 6 feet away, but hey there was a beautiful view!
When we arrived in Chichi. we were taken to our home for the week. It is very beautiful and comfortable, and the food is excellent. We hung out for a while and then went for a walk around the block. We stopped at a gym type place where there was a bunch of kids playing basketball and “football”. While we were there some kids asked us to play football with them (it’s soccer for them). We agreed and had a ton of fun until it was dark even if they did dominate. It was kind of funny watching our varsity soccer guys get schooled by 10 year olds! We were all happy to get to bed because we only had about 3 1/2 hours of sleep.
- Rachael, Brianna, and Emily