Trip 2 Day 7

Today is Wednesday and the day started out normal for us just as any other day has been here in Guatemala, except for the excitement of not having to make lunch because we were getting pizza delivered at the work site. That seemed to make everyone happy. On our way to our work site I was handing out rosaries to kids and adults. It was so nice to see their reactions to the gift. One girl looked at what was handed to her and exclaimed "Rosario". She was very excited about the gift. In fact all of the people who received the rosaries seemed to like them including our Guatemalan crew.

On the ride in I was in the cab of the truck with Alfonso aka Micky Mouse and I presented him with a Micky Mouse pin which he wore proudly all day. He had to show all of the other crew members the pin who in turn teased him about his nickname - but Micky didn't seem to care.


Once we were on the site we split up into our seperate groups and got to work - well kind of we always seem to find time to have a little bit of fun. In fact this morning while the cement was being mix, Fred decided to make a "Cement Angel" that was a first for me as well as our entire crew. Wish I had the picture of that. Anyway the mixing of cement consists of pilling up in a large mound until everything is incorporated. We had our own little Pacaya Volcano. Fernando aka Cheeky was spreading out the mixture while taking down our mountain and Fred thought it would be fun to have someone flatten out the rest. As you can see I volunteered for that task - not very pretty but it was effective. There was no sign of a mountain after I got through with it.

Our task today was simple but far from easy. The floor was our main project this day; the cement just needed to be spread for the floor of the house. The house may not look that large but I bet that if you ask Fred, Micheal, Kristen, or Trina about it they would have said it seem three times it's size. The room seemed to grow.

In the picture you can see Cheeky, he's probably trying to decide what mischief he can reak on us. And Micheal was the recepient of his humor. Did you notice the slant of the house? Water had to be poured down the slope and Micheal happend to be in the right/wrong place (depending on you view) when it happened. But since it was a hot day a would guess that it just might have been good or not. Right in front of the house there was a stoop added. Nice touch don't you think?



After the floor and stoop was layed/spread, most of our folks went over to assist the other folks with their house. While they were doing that some of the guys went to get the pizza. About that time is when I notice Innoceta over in the corning by her house. She was signing the sign of the cross and started to pray and she started to cry. She was so moved by the house that she took time to thank God for her gift. (at least that's the way I saw it)

It was kind of funny but everything seemed to happen about the same time, you see once the other house as finished - the floor spread, then the pizza guys where back. I call that good timing. After our lunch we got to go. Our day was done.

Up above you can see the big yellow truck with me in the driver's seat. You see what happened was that I jokingly told Micky that I wanted to drive his truck - by the way it's a stick - 5 speed. I'm not sure if Micky was calling my bluff or not but he tosted me the keys. Then Fred made a mad rush for the driver's side of the truck but since I was in the passengers side already I just locked him out and crawled over in the prized seat. Well I couldn't back down then so I had to drive. You can't image the streets here. Most are not paved and alot of them will not allow for two cars on the road side by side. Not to leave out that the stick shift was so badly worn that I could see, nor remember where reverse was. But Michael came to my rescue and I managed to get us on the road and on our way. Well until I had to make a right hand turn that caused Micky to turn pale and I ended up relinquishing the driver's seat. But he did tell me that I was a good driver. I still can't believe I got to drive in Guatemala!

Like I said earlier we had a short day and we were lucky for that because it started to rain about 2 PM and it was nice not to be out in it for a change. As is normal for us once we're back everyone starts to take showers. I was the last one to take my shower and I just wanted to let you know what it's like to be here with all these students. There was a group of them in the kitchen talking and another group was in the hall. Laughter was ringing out throughout the house. I can't imagine a better way to end the day. Even though there was more to come.

We went shopping for the families. We went out in the rain after all and had a great time at the store trying to pick out just the right stuff for every member of the two houses. I'm sure the families will be happy. After the shopping and getting everything back to CasaSito we then made our way back out in the rain for dinner. There was alot of laughter and nobody seemed to mind that we were getting wet. Way a high we were all experiencing.

This is little Ophelia Maria and she's a doll.
Can't wait until tomorrow to see the reactions of both the children and their folks will be. I won't be suprized if all of us ending sheding some tears of joy.

Pax et bonum

(Peace and all good)

Cindy Gravely

Trip 2, Day 6

As we sat in the back of the pickup on the way to work today, some of us realized a little sadly that our time in Guatemala is running short. After everything we´ve experienced over the past week, it´s easy to relate to this sentiment. Not only have we bonded well as a team, but we´ve also spent wonderful times laughing, talking, and playing with the families we´re serving in Santa Maria de Jesus. The From Houses to Homes crew has been a fun and friendly part of our time here, and on top of that, I am inspired by the tireless efforts of the Casa Sito staff and volunteers (Casa Sito is the volunteer house which has rooms for five of us).

Today at work we finished five more courses of concrete blocks on the two houses we´re building. Tomorrow we´re pouring the floor (lots of concrete mixing!), and the day after that we´re finishing up with the roof and the painting. I am very impressed at the precision of the Guatemalan crew we´re working with. Our foremen (Henio and Isaias) have memorized every step of the building process and know exactly how much of everything (such as sand, fine and coarse aggregate) we need and when.

After taking the winding road down the mountain and into Antigua after work, several of us attended a meeting held by Casa Sito volunteers at a cafe downtown. The purpose of the meeting was to inform the audience about an important educational program called EducArte, which serves kindergarten through third grade children near Antigua. An non-governmental organization, EducArte is staffed by volunteers and provides education in the arts and nutrition as well as the traditional subjects such as social studies and literacy. As part of the meeting, many of the students from EducArte performed a wonderful rendition of Snow White. The kids obviously put a lot of work into the production. Their lines were memorized and the costumes were simple yet effective. I especially loved the dwarves´beards, which appeared to be made of cotton and were in various stages of disarray! The meeting lasted only about 45 minutes, but it made a deep impression on me. There is a lot of beauty here--one sees it every day in the spirit of the people and in the efforts of volunteers and workers who want to make a difference.

--Adam Cross