Trip 3 Days 6, 7 & 8

Well if you followed the news over the weekend, you will know that all of Guatemala has blown up and sunk into the sea. Actually, as aweful as the news reports have been concerning volcanic eruptions and flooding leaving people homeless or dead, in Antigua and the surrounding villages, things were just really wet and that's about it. Even the house that we built last week with the constant caving in dirt, held up through the storm. So I guess we were very fortunate. The only really down side for us was that the rain ruined any plans to site see over the weekend. So we just hung out, played some cards, and watched TV. As for Monday, the sun finally came out and we finished the house with a roof, a door, a window, some paint, and a fiesta. We had been listening to Guatemalan music all week from the family's stereo, but on this day, we rigged up my Ipod to the stereo and listened to some musica de los Estados Unidos - kicking off with the Commodores' "Brick House." Actually, our young adults seemed just as confused about my music selections as did the Guatemalans. The night before, we made a chocolate cake with the inscription: "Bienvenido Hogar" (Welcome Home) spelled out on top with M&M's, and we began our "house completion" celebration with the family by each having a slice. During the customary "handing over of the keys," Maria (the mother) broke down expressing her gratitude and her regret for not being able to repay us. We explained how the money to build the house came from many, many different people and we were really just the workers. Since this is the last of our Guatemala Help Weeks, we cleared our house of all unopened food and gave it to the family along with some other presents. It was a sad goodbye, as usual, but it also was just what most of us needed. After a week of bad weather and illnesses, we needed a shocking reminder of the good in which we have been participating. This realization was certainly expressed at our evening discussion.
I would like to say that this is it, but the Pacaya Volcano (at which the first two groups enjoyed climbing and roasting marshmellows over lava) covered the airport with ash and canceled our Tuesday flight home. Presented with the options of waiting until Saturday for the first available flight home or driving to El Salvador (5 hours away) to fly home from there on Thursday, we opted for El Salvador. So on Wednesday, we will add one more Central American country to our travel itinerary.
As for Guatemala: Adios Amigos! You were a great place to call my home for a month.
Thanks for reading,
Fred T. Mercadante
Campus Minister

Trip 3 Day 5

Today was good. Before we went to the site we went to see the clinic being built by From Houses to Homes. It is about halfway done, and when it is finished it will provide free medical assistance, which seems to be needed very much. We also saw the school that they built. The students are taken from the poorest areas, and one of the goals is to show that even though someone is from a poor family, they can still contribute great things to society through receiving a good education. The school appears to be running very well, but it is far from finished. 2nd grade is currently the highest level, and they are adding one grade a year until 6th grade. The school is also free, but they need donations for supplies. While we were there the Guatemalans were playing around outside. One of them would lay with their back on the ground, and the rest would grab that persons limbs and throw them into the air without letting go until their limbs were fully extended. It looked painful, but I tried it and it was actually really fun.

Fred woke up sick, so we were down one person at the build site, in addition to the rest of us not feeling that great. However, our task today was just to mix up a bunch of concrete and pour it inside the house to make the floor, so it didn't take that long. Unfortunately we did have one casualty. Brittany poked her thumb open on some wire mesh and it got purple and developed a big bump. She's tough though.

We were supposed to go play soccer with the other volunteers after work. However, all of us are sick to some degree, so we didn't really feel like running around in the cold rain.

I don't know if we will be able to go to the volcano on Sunday since it erupted Wednesday night, killing a couple of people and actually shut down the airport with ash. I guess we will have to play our weekend by ear. Monday we will paint the house and put in the door, window, and roof, and Tuesday we will head back to the "U.S. and A - greatest country in the world!" (as Borat would say). Assuming that our flight doesn't get cancelled.

Ok I guess that's it,

Spencer

Trip 3 Day 4

Hola from Guatemala!

Well, as Patrick was saying, Montezuma definitely got his revenge on Brittney and I. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least (both of us were sleeping next to the toilet for most of the night), but this morning I decided to go to work with the guys, and Brittney stayed here to get some more rest. The weather has not gotten any better unfortunately, although the sky did clear up just enough for us to see the tops of the volcanoes. Sometimes I forget to look up and see all the beauty that surrounds this city, and it catches me by surprise. Pictures can't do it justice!
Today our job was to finish the walls, which we did. It took five more rows, and tomorrow we will be putting down the floor. The house is looking great, and I can't wait to see the finished product! It was yet another rainy day, but Damaris, the eleven year old girl, was out there right alongside us helping in every way she could. I think she could tell that I was tired, so as I was shovelling, she picked up a shovel and helped me. It was funny that when it started to rain harder, she came outside with a Dallas Cowboys jacket on. It makes me wonder how such odd things get all the way down here to Antigua. On a sad note, Rambo, the family's dog, escaped yesterday. I had been wondering where the dog was, since he has been tied up every day we have been there, and then I finally asked why Damaris was shouting RAAAMMMBBBOOOOOO (I didn't know that was his name). I hope that Rambo comes back, but if he doesn't, another dog already showed up at their door this afternoon, so maybe it can take Rambo's place.
On our way back, Fred was throwing candy to kids on the street. Patrick and I were laughing about how strange it would be to see a man on a truck throwing candy to kids back home. We all know the general rule of thumb: Don't take anything from strangers! (especially if the strangers are wearing pink pants, =P)
Well, we will be having our meeting soon, and then it's out to eat. My first meal since the day before yesterday, hurraahh! Crossing my fingers for a bit of sunshine tomorrow =D
Buenas noches amigos!
-Lauren Tate

Trip 3 Day 3

Today we woke to find that Lauren and Brittany both were up all night sick and could not go to work with us. This took us down to five workers to get the job done. We gave the women all of the appropriate medication that we had and headed off to work.

We hopped into the truck as usual and took the twenty minute ride to the sight. Again, the skies were overcast and it looked to be a rather chilly day, by Guatemalan standards. Once at the house, we began to prepare the blocks and mix the mortar. The goal was five layers of block. First a standard layer. Then, a layer of "U" shaped block that was filled with rebar and concrete. This created a beam around the entire house, tied into the columns that run vertically at each corner and on either side of the door and window. We completed these two layers by lunch time. Just as we started to pour the concrete into the "U" block it began to pour. We rushed to get the beam complete and ran into our families current home for lunch. Maria, the mother, made black beans for the family's lunch. She offered us all some to supplement the lunches we had brought.

After lunch the rain began to settle. Unfortunately, every time we began to work, the rain poured down on us. Finally, the rain held up and we began to work. We put some rough scaffolding up, made of blocks and wood boards. We then completed two more layers of block and left the fifth row of the day to complete tomorrow.

Good news of the day, the baby, Jasmin, seems to be warming up to us. We brought her some candy and she actually smiled at us a few times.

-Patrick Daffin

Trip 3 Day 2 -- May 25

Buenos dias! Brittany Mays here. Today started off a bit easier for a couple of reasons -- 1) We didn't have to be ready to go until 9 (rather than a quarter til), 2) We didn't have quite as bumpy of a truck ride to our work site, and 3) When we got to the work site there was a lot less shoveling to be done (the best part - for me anyway) =) As far as work goes, Spencer and Patrick started out sifting through the mixture that we used to make the mortar, ridding it of larger particles of trash, sticks, and mostly rocks. Then Henio (one of the Guatemalan gentlemen helping us) asked us to grab three bags of the cement mix. I already knew they were much too heavy for my weak little arms from yesterday when I tried to be a "he-woman", so I let Patricio (Patrick) and Frederico (Fred) carry them, and I took over Patrick's spot on the sifter. Fred and Patrick picked and shoveled them open and emptied them out onto the pile of sifted through mixture to make the mortar. Patrick, Spencer, Lauren and I all helped mix up the dry mixture even more by shoveling everything first into one pile, then into two separate piles, then into one big pile again. Despite feeling sore from yesterday's shoveling on top of today's, I pushed through and kept up with the rest of my coworkers. After this we formed an assembly line and carried a good many cement blocks close to the foundation of the house. When we finished moving all that was needed, each of us took our turns hammering holes into some of the blocks. Finally we were done with that and we could start building more of a foundation for the home. The three Guatemalan gentlemen (Henio, Thomas, and Cuchi) helped by placing the cement blocks in the correct spots and the rest of us, including Damaricia (the eleven year old daughter) all filled in the cracks between each block. We put in five layers of blocks today. Two or three went up before the rain, thank goodness!

We stopped for a break when the rain started pouring down and enjoyed our lunches. We had sandwiches, chips, and thanks to our stop at the supermarket yesterday, fresh fruit (apples and plums), and of course our agua pura (purified water). Oh I forgot to mention, while we were still working before lunch, Maria (the mother) and her daughters (Damaricia and Oliga) brought us some Kool-Aid to cool us down (PUN intended heehee). So yes, we ate our lunches inside the kitchen. When the five of us were done we went back outside. While some of us were eager to get back to work, the ones in charge (our Guatemalan gentlemen friends) were not so much. While they relaxed Fred, Lauren, Patrick, and Spencer all kicked around the soccer ball with Damarica. I captured this with a good many pictures on Spencer's camera, as sports are not my forte. Fred hit me clear in the head with the ball --accidentally, while I was looking through the pictures I had already taken -- which tends to happen to me rather often when the opportunity presents itself :/ haha. Soon, we were back to work, the guys making more mortar mix and everyone helping out with the last two layers of blocks for the day.

We were, eventually, done for the day. Maria offered us all to pull up a stool and take a moment to rest before the truck got back to pick us up. Just before the truck arrived Damaricia started putting these teensy tiny red and white rubber bands onto Lauren's fingers like little rings. Damaricia handed me five red and white ones to take with me as well. :D Lauren and I were both thankful and appreciative for her little gift :D The truck tooted its horn and Henio yelled to us that it was time to go. This was definitely good news to hear, as most of us had been "holding it" since right after lunch, so as to not go in the family outhouse. I mean, I would have if I just couldn't hold it any longer, but given the choice, what would you pick? The ride back was bumpy, first down the dirt road with holes for drainage, then the curvy stone road, then smooth road, then bumpy again. As if going to the bathroom wasn't enough on our minds for the ride home, it started dripping rain drops, sprinkling, then POURING! My mom always says to look at the bright side of things. So, 1) we were getting dropped off directly in front of our door, 2) it wasn't 100 degrees outside and 3) we could take a shower when we got back :D

Though we are all sore, (maybe just weak little me), we are all ready to work hard again tomorrow. It feels awesome to see all the progress that is happening because of everyone working hard TOGETHER.
--Brittany Mays

Trip 3 Day 1 - May 24

Buenos dias de Guatemala! Esta es su amigo Spencer. So far everything is great. We flew in on Sunday and Delta kept me entertained with Dear John (which would have been really boring if I wasn't on an airplane) and an episode of The Office, not to mention the great scenery of Hotlanta and Guatemala City when taking off and landing, respectively. My comrades (Patrick Daffin, Lauren Tate and Brittany Mays) missed almost all of this because they were fast asleep on their trays. When we touched down, Fred was there with Freddy, our driver, to take us on an exciting 45 minute drive to Antigua. The reason I say exciting is because lane changes in Guatemala are usually made with less than 3 feet of room to spare and without turn signals.

Antigua is a very historic city, being the capitol until an earthquake hit some number of centuries ago. The streets are made of rocks and traffic is pretty much incomprehensible. On a side note, I really like the vehicles here, lots of old Toyota trucks, diesels, hatchbacks and 125 cc motorcycles (with up to 4 passengers). We ate lunch at a delicious restaurant where we played "4 questions", which is basically a way to get to know each other and build community by asking intimate questions. Half of the questions directed at me were about my relationship with and recent engagement to Jacklyn Wilkinson (hi Jackie!). And of course we had to interrogate Fred about his ideal woman. Back at the house we had a small orientation and a discussion about why we decided to give so much of our time and effort to come to a third world country and build a house. We talked mostly about making a positive difference in the world, living out the Gospel through our actions and experiencing another culture. For dinner we went back downtown for pizza and Gallos, and then everyone but Fred stopped at the Monalocos (Gringo bar) on the way back.

The next day we were picked up at about 9 and went to our build site, where we met the family and started building the foundation of the house (cutting rebar, digging a trench, and mixing and pouring concrete). I guess we got an easy job because we didn't have to carry cinder blocks up any hills, and we finished this section of the build before 1. The family was very welcoming and friendly, very excited about their house and eager to help. We had lunch together, and Lauren and I tried an extremely picante type of chili pepper. Lauren went first and made the mistake of taking a big bite, so she ended up needing lots of water and bread. She said that it made her ears burn and we got some good pictures. After lunch the family showed us around their land and the 11 year old daughter (I don't know all of their names yet) told us about all of the plants they grow, although our Spanish is minimal. When we had finished visiting with the family we hopped back in the truck and got soaked by the afternoon rain on the way back. We stopped at the grocery store, which also sells motorcycles and guitars, to get food for the week, and now we are back at the house. We will be having our daily discussion soon and then going back into town for dinner!

Adios amigos!
Spencer

Trip 2 Day 8

Trip 2's final day on the job was supposed to be written by Joe, but since after work every afternoon Joe goes off to build a second house by himself, he didn't have time to write this blog.

The final day's work schedule had us painting the outside and inside of the houses (both families chose red on the outside and blue on the inside) while our job foremen put on the roofs and installed the doors and windows.

As fitting first activity in the new homes, both families extended their hospitality to us by serving us a home cooked lunch inside (chicken and rice in an excellent Guatemalan specialty sauce). After lunch in the lower house, we celebrated the mother's birthday with cake and a "dreadful" (as Ruby would put it) redition of Feliz Cumpleanos. Then it was up to the upper house for the pinada. After the kids, Laura and Ruby sufficiently beat the crap (I mean candy) out of that thing, Oscar (the project coordinator) and Joe Collins (the project founder) arrived to do the final presentation and the "handing over" of the keys. Tears of joy and hugs of gratitude came from the families, and in one moment of time, all of our hard work, fundraising and preparation meetings came to fruition.

At our discussion in the evening, we each described (with the help of a symbol) what this whole experience has been like for us. A vast array of insights and recognitions summed up to one common theme: God was experienced.

Thank you Joe, Ruby, Toran, Sarah, Kelly, Patrick, Brittany, and Laura for "getting your mind made up" to participate in these weeks of service!

-Fred

For more pictures of Trip 2, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/111134524286963924006