Guatemala Day Two – Lazy Saturdays in Guatemala…Do We Do Work Today?

The morning was a pretty chill morning. Breakfast was a late 8am which is really 10am in Georgia. So most were awake before they even needed to be. One of the agenda items for today was to make the hike up the mountain behind the mission house. The people who own the land behind the mission house have cleared much of the forest to begin farming the area so our hike up wasn’t a set path. We used some of the trails ahead but we were making it up as we went along. We did eventually make it to the top, and then decided to take the backside down which we had never done before. It was a nice change in scenery and saw some different sites. We ended up on the return road from Antigua and had to hike the rest of the way on the main road. We stayed single-file like ants marching and kept away from the busy road.
The pew building team was ready to get back to work. With all of the work that was done Friday we knew that we could make some serious progress today. Some of the challenges of building in Guatemala is certainly the size and weight of the wood. Some modifications had to be made to make the design work. We are also a little concerned about the dampness of the wood. It is fresh and water almost pours out of the wood when we drill pilot holes and sink screws into the wood. It will take a few months for the wood to dry so we will not get the chance to treat or paint the wood. The good news is that when the wood dries the pews will be much lighter. The water in the wood has made them quite dense. Ten 8 foot pews and two 4 foot pews were built today…very exciting!
The next part of the blog is transcribed from the experiences of Derek Seeling: While the pew team was building a group of adults and youth went to Embaulada to play with the kids in the community and to start a Cub Scout pack. There were a bunch of people waiting and very excited to see us. We opened the church and got everything set up for the Cub Scout meeting. While one team did the set up others took soccer balls outside to play with the kids beforehand. It was really cool watching them play. Coming from a former soccer player I was really amazed by their soccer skills. After some play time we gathered in church with the boys and girls to separated them in age groups. Our girls took the Embaulada girls out to play and get their Pandamania VBS shirts. While the girls had their bonding time the guys gathered in church to divide up into their packs. We had the Tigers, Wolfs and Bears. Each pack had to say their animal name and make their animal noise. It was really funny hearing the Bears try and make a bear noise… Grrrrr. We handed out shirts and they were so happy to get them. They really do appreciate all we give them. We then taught them the scout motto: “Do Your Best” or in Spanish “Lo Mejor De Su”. Then we taught them the Scout sign, salute, the scout promise and law. We even planned a community service project by having them go out a pick up trash. It was great to see them take pride in their community and also see them take on the challenge. They were even excited to get surgical glove to pick up the trash. They played a water balloon game and then got them in a circle for the closing.
Once the Embaulada team returned it was time for the pew team to close up shop. It was time to also clean up for dinner. We closed out the night with a great devotion from Janet and letters from back home!

Thanks for all your prayers!
The Guatemala Mission Team