MMM-MMM! I spent all morning working on the new Impact Ministries website. The shortterm team that is here now is travelling to Fray Bartolome de las Casas and I got left behind. This is good as I can work on the website and the child sponsorship database while they’re gone. When Amber mentioned to me … [Read more…]
On November 1, the Catholic world celebrates the Day of the Dead. This follows All Hallows Eve (Hallowe’en) and precedes All Saints’ Day. Here in Guatemala, devout believers meet in cemetaries to spend time with dead relatives by bringing food to share with the hungry dead. The food is usually eaten by roaming dogs, or … [Read more…]
Daniel and Flor (meaning flower) were married Saturday night with a couple hundred people as witnesses. People are married in a civil ceremony as well as a religious one. According to Les and Rita who conducted the religious ceremony we attended, the two of them were very nervous. I was asked by Erick, Daniel’s father, … [Read more…]
He turns 50 today. Rita threw a surprise party for him last night. As I was riding back with him (Johnny and Erick were in the other van), we were told to try and delay him in Guatemala City after dropping off the team at the airport. I had to make some purchases in the … [Read more…]
I have 15 new friends in New Brunswick. They came to do some work on the school in Chicoy. This work ended up being diging out the final holes for the foundation to the second building (for the bathrooms) and then building the rock and mortar foundation for the future concrete block 2-story structure. The … [Read more…]
2:50 AM is our rendez-vous time outside my house. I meet up with Walter my neighbour, Oscar (a fellow teacher) and Eddie, Heber, and Johnny (students at Beerseba) in the light rain. Les picks us up in his Kia van and we hook up with Estuardo and Erwin and their big cattle truck. Eric misses … [Read more…]
What a priviledge to carry the gifts from our church here in Tactic and gifts from Canadian Donors to the refugees of the mudslides southwest of us. According to some reports there are as many as 200,000 homes destroyed or damaged. Mixed reports say that 652 people are confirmed dead with the number rising possibly … [Read more…]
Blaise turned 3 months yesterday. He’s a big boy now. He’s slept 5 nights straight through in a row now. Very very precious. Amber and I have been in Guatemala 3 weeks today. It feels like much longer as it feels very familiar already and Canada feels quite distant despite the ability to chat with … [Read more…]
“Our Guatemala is in pain.” A man in our town square this morning was speaking into a microphone. Tactic, where we live, there are no effects of Hurricane Stan, but it is so much easier to empathize with the people affected by the mud slides when you recognize the faces as those of your neighbours. … [Read more…]
Just so everybody knows, we were not, nor shall we be in the path of Hurricane Stan. But thanks for your concern. School was cancelled nationwide for two days though. Gave me a chance to go up to Fray Bartolome, about a 3.5 hour drive from Tactic. Limestone mountains, green ridges, and palm trees dotted … [Read more…]