Fox Valley Presbyterian Church Mission Team

Thursday, November 10

2011-11-10T17:17:00.000-06:00

We are at the school in San Andres at the water system and it is running well. They have made 21,220 gallons of clean water in the last 12 months. It is making a big health impact. They have also put 1,770Q in the bank for future supplies.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

2011-11-09T09:33:00.002-06:00

We arrived safe on Sunday to Jacaltenango after a long 10 hour beautiful bus ride up the mountainside. From our hotel we can see the first ridge of the mountains of Mexico. We began teaching and installing on Monday at Esucala Regional Mixta with the assistance of Claudia from Living Waters, Kristin from Peace Core and Juan, our Translator. The Rojas Family has been feeding us well!! We have also had great assistance from Eddy, 14 going on 35. We began with 10 Teachers, one child from the school, and 3 Installers. Day 2 the numbers grew to 13 adults and several children in the classroom and 4 Installers. We have learned the reason the school was chosen is because it has the best building and serves as a community center where many activities take place. Upon completion of the Installation, the school will complete one of the final steps to a Healthy School Certification.

By Tuesday afternoon our system is making pure water and the teachers are well equiped with new lessons for the classroom. Everyone is healthy and enjoying the beauty of Guatemala. We are sharing the hotel with Bay Presbytery. Linda, the Bay Presbytery Team, a Luthern who tell you we would be nothing with out Luther, is here for her 26th year. The Bay Presbytery Team went from roughly 6 in their classroom Day to 80 on Day 2! Both teams are enjoying morning and evening devotionals and connections as we listen for Gods will.

2011-11-03T14:37:00.002-05:00

Tracy teaches Nancy, Loy and Dave about the filtration system before leaving for Guatemala.

Living Waters Team November 2011 Commissioning

2011-11-03T12:06:00.003-05:00

The Team was commissioned to go to Jacaltenango, Guatemala November 5-12, 2011. The team leader is Tracy Wolf and team members are Kayla Wolf, Nancy Beardsley, Mary Cwiklinski and Loy Williams.

May 2 Update

2011-05-02T09:23:00.008-05:00

Well... breakfast is running long and we found pictures of the presentation of the prayer shawl and the quilt... thought you'd enjoy seeing them! We will probably not be posting any after today, but will be thinking of you all back home. We miss you, and can't wait to see you!

May El Shaddai Celebrates!

2011-05-02T07:54:00.007-05:00

It was a long, long day, but we have clean water flowing at El Shaddai! Only two small leaks in the system that were quickly fixed. Truly a team effort between Fox Valley and El Shaddai. We finished at about 5pm, and quickly rushed to church services which began at 5pm! So that meant quick showers and final preparations for the celebration. Church services run about 2 hours at El Shaddai, so we got there during communion. The celebration was wonderful! Our gifts of the prayer shawl and the quilt were warmly recieved (that is a complete understatement, but words cannot describe the joy and appreciation and the LOVE). We have some great pictures and video that will hopefully convey the feeling better.... and we'll share many stories as well, when we return. We also recieved gifts. A strong bond has formed not only with Pastors Fredy and Isabel, but the entire congregation. We wish you you all could have experienced this "God Sighting!" We now head to Lake Atitlan with Pastor Fredy as a generous gift from him on our way to Antigua for some much needed rest before heading home on Tuesday. Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers.

April 30 El Shaddai Installation

2011-04-30T22:57:00.011-05:00

Today a new adventure with our friends in El Shaddai. We arrived to see a beautiful, almost finished water house. White tile floor, tile on the walls, and best of all the water system board on the wall and painted. It was extreemly hot in the system room, no windows - but not to long after we arrived the new air-conditioning was turned on. What a blessing. We began by glueing elbows - you can see Pastor Fredy working on them in the yard between the school and the water house. Linda W spent the day with a lovely group of adults and children working thru the education curriclum that she and Sara had prepared. This included having the children make hand prints and sing songs. That happy sound was heard all the way up on the water house roof where Gary and one of our partners, Edgar, spent hours working on the clean water tank. Fred and Linda worked with the future operator, Henry, and others putting the sytem up on the board. As always Claudia translated, taught, worked on the system and encouraged us. She is truely a God send to us, and to this mission.

April 29 El Rosario - A New Beginning

2011-04-29T22:06:00.011-05:00

Where there is hope, anything is possible. We had a great finally day with our friends at El Rosario. A new covenant between FVPC and El Rosario was reviewed and signed, forging the way for a new beginning. The hard work began in readying the system for operation. With Linda's leadership, a small leak in the system was repaired by the El Rosario operators (Eli, Omar, and Cesar). The water tank was cleaned and the system purged. It took us all day, with no lunch, but we were drinking clean water and celebrating in the end! Sara led the children in song, and certificates were handed out to the children for completing their health and hygiene training. The operators got their certificates too, and new uniforms (LWW t-shirts and hats!) We felt the commitment from the El Rosario committee, and feel good about the days to come.

Yet our work was not done. On our way back to our retreat at Marco's and Ninnette's, we stoped at a Presbyterian seminary and retreat to investigate another potential LWW site. The administor had left (we were two hours late!), but one of the assistants gave us a tour and showed us the well and water tower, as well as the building that would house the LWW system. We did some prelimiary testing and took a water sample for further lab work. The initial testing looks very promising... now we just need to ensure that we are a good fit with this potential operating partner.

Tomorrow we begin work at El Shaddai, and building the LWW system there. Pray that all goes well. We miss you all.

Through My Eyes - a 2 part series by Linda Williams

2011-04-29T22:00:00.003-05:00

Linda Williams had some time on her today, and decided to write. This is the first of a two part series on her experience in Guatemala:

El Viaje a El Rosario (The Trip to El Rosario)

While spending through Guatemala in Pastor Freddy´ s van over what our hotel host and driver calls “ las carrateras malas”(bad roads) I decided to take my mind off the wild traffic and rough conditions and practice my Spanish by reading billboards and signs and observing all that came into my changing windshield view of life in Guatemala, The scenes shifted ´from colorful city streets and market stalls filled with people and three wheeled taxis to stretches of cane field, to pastures filled with Brahma cattle and groves of mangoes almost ready for harvest. We passed precariously close to Bluebird School buses retired from school duty and now serving as brightly repainted public busses which link the rural communities to more urban areas. Modern hotels, modern houses and neighborhoods stood in sharp contrast to squatter´s thatched shelters beside the highway. All along the highway people walked or rode bikes carrying heavy loads of firewood or other material on their heads and backs. Children in school uniforms strolled in groups going to and from school. The only people in a big hurry it seemed are those of us zigging and sagging at high speeds to avoid the holes on the carrateras malas!

I read everything from campaign billboards to advertisements for tire repair stations. I was struck by the number of what appeared to be small storefront churches with the logo “Estoy con tigo!” I am with you! This being a mission trip I thought I knew what I was looking at. I commented to Marco about the great numbers of these churches he looked puzzled and then laughed. He said that these were all advertisements for the telephone company Tigo not the Word of God! I think that it may be both!

Lesson learned. Just because you see something and can read the words beware of being blinded by your own frame of reference. Good advice in general and especially good when encountering another culture anywhere in the world!

April 28 El Rosario

2011-04-28T22:48:00.008-05:00

First... Can we tell you how hot it is down here? It so HOT.... Enough about our discomfort. We know you don't care ;-) We won't leave you in suspense... El Rosario is 90% back up and running! After some tense negotiations, Habitat and the Colonia came to an agreement for the Colonia to pay a nominal fee to operate the system until a sale price is reached. Fred, Linda Williams and Sara did a great job helping to reach this agreement (photo of meeting above). We also established electricity back to the water house today, along with replacing the pump to the well. All with great cooperation from the El Rosario Colonia committee. Linda and Gary removed the old filters and cleaned the system. We partially filled the raw water tank and ran water through the system.... Only one small leak near the water meter, but otherwise the system is in great shape! Linda Williams, Sara, and Claudia trained in Health and Hygiene today the committee members (along with some children in picture above). The training went very well. Tomorrow we will return to El Rosario to sign a new covenant, flush out the system, train the operators, restart the system, and drink clean water! Oh.... and CELEBRATE! We'll tell you the story later of how Fred, Linda S, Gary, and Carlos (one of the children) pushed our van to jumpstart it after the battery died!

April 27 Our First Day

2011-04-27T20:20:00.010-05:00

Well... It's been a long and tiring day, but as always one of great joy and reuniting! We had an uneventful trip into Guatemala City. No issues with customs. Pastor Fredy, his son Javier, nephew Edgar, and our in country coordinator Claudia were at the airport to great us with open arms. It is very hot here, and we are in for some long days ahead. We are not expecting rain, so that is very positive news!

To the details - we were treated to breakfast at Pollo Campanas when we arrived - the KFC of Guatemala. We ended the meal locked out of the car, but Fred was able to squeeze in the tiny van window and save the day. Then a long hot 4 hour drive to Reu, stopping part way to buy fresh cut pineapple from a roadside stand. We checked into our cozy hotel, had a delicious lunch, a quick rest, and then traveled about 20 minutes to the site at El Shaddai.

There are many exciting changes since our last visit! The water house is ready with the 4x8 plywood board up and ready to mount the system. There is beautiful white tile all around. The new church area now has a thatched roof and is where Linda W and Sara will be teaching.

Pastor Fredy also showed us his radio station, which was a dream and is now up and running with 5,000 listeners. THEN . . . he had us come into the sound room, shut the door and introduced us live!!!!! We all had to speak live (I mean we were priviledged to speak) on Guatemalan radio. That's right, your LWW team are now radio personalities and the name of Fox Valley Presbyterian Church has been broadcast all over Guatemala. All done with no sleep. We were great.

FVPC Mission Team Enroute for Guatemala!

2011-04-26T21:24:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday.... the Fox Valley Mission Team (Linda S, Sara V, Linda W, Gary B, and Fred F) leaves for Guatemala to install a LWW system at El Shaddai, and we will hope to restart our existing system in El Rosario.

Keep us in your prayers!

Fox Valley Mission Team - Postlude: We are Home!

2011-01-21T21:47:00.006-06:00

Two Words... "HUGE SUCCESS!" Sorry we have not kept in touch on this trip. We moved locations after our first day, and did not have internet access. We returned home safely early Thursday morning. The trip couldn't have gone any better, and far exceeded our expectations.

On Sunday, we met with Pastor Fredy and his family at the El Shaddai school to tour the site where the LWW system would be installed... This included the grounds where Pastor's vision is to build a retirement home, medical clinic, and a new church. His vision is BIG! Our meeting to review the covenant took several hours, and ended with the formal signing (see second picture above). Afterwards, we freshed up, and headed off to worship services.

On Monday, we dealt with El Rosario. We made tremendous progress, and we are well on the road to getting our system up and running. Prior to driving out to El Rosario, we spent some time at the Habitat office in Reu to essentially get on the same page with Habitat. We drove out to El Rosario joined by Paulino and Louis from Habitat. On the way, we stopped to see Pastor Fredy at a second site in El Rosario (not far from our first site), and took water samples. This site would serve as a clean water production and distribution point for the area. We then continued on to El Rosario Colonia.

We met with the committee in El Rosario. This committee is extremely committed. They had an advanced copy of the covenant, and were prepared to discuss options. After getting everyone finally on the same page, the committee agreed to work with Habitat in purchasing the water house. The committee also agreed to work with Fox Valley Church in operation of the LWW system (see first picture above). Habitat will be assisting the Colonia to become a legal association, and sign a covenant with the Colonia for repayment of the water house. Once this is completed, we will return to formally sign the LWW covenant, and retrain the Colonia operators and hygiene teachers.

Plans are in the works for a return trip in mid-April to install the system at El Shaddai, and hopefully restart the system in El Rosario... with signing of the covenant. We will also hope to move forward with the second site in El Rosario... giving us 4 active projects in Guatemala! We are making our presence felt... and we are making a difference... with your help, support, and prayers! Clean water is, and will be flowing for many years to come!

We have many stories to tell, great memories, and new friends have been made. Stop Gary, Linda or Fred at church, or call us any time. We are happy to talk to you and answer any questions you may have. A presentation to the congregation will be coming in short order... Please come.

Day 1 Retalhuleu, Guatemala

2011-01-15T21:11:00.011-06:00

We made it! Our first day in Guatemala has been both exciting and tiring. All has gone well so far. We landed in Guatemala City on time and our driver and Claudia were waiting for us at the airport. After about a 4 hour drive through the countryside, past smoking volcanos, sugar cane fields, and across washed out roads/bridges (from the tremendous rains this past season), we arrived in Reu.

We were greated by Pastor Fredy Monzon and his nephew Edgar as we arrived into town, and escorted to our hotel. Pastor and his wife, Isabel, are treating us like royalty! We were feed lunch, and allowed to rest from our journey. We were then taken to a nearby amusement park, Los Hostales del IRTRA (Guatemala's version of Disney World!). We took in a dance/magic show, followed by a wonderful dinner as guests of Pastor Fredy, Isabel, and their nephew Edgar. Edgar speaks fluent English, and has been a great help in translating. After dinner we walked through the park, and enjoyed some wonderful Guatemalan dessert ... Fried plantains stuffed with chocolate!

Tomorrow morning we will visit the installation site near a school run by the El Shaddai Church. We will meet with about 7 school committee members, review, and sign the Covenant. Later in the evening (around 5pm) we will worship at El Shaddai Church. Pastor asked Linda, Gary, and I to preach! Scott, we need you here!!

On Monday, we will go to El Rosario and meet with the committee members as well as Habitat Guatemala. Keep us in your prayers as we work to get our existing system operational. Claudia feels that we have better commitment from the committee at El Rosario. Later in the day, we will look at a third site in this area associated with the El Shaddai Church.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We are all very optomistic about the future, and our mission here. Gary is like a kid in a candy store.... Let's just say we won't have to twist his arm to come back!!

PS: Wish we could send up some sunny, 80 degree weather to help melt the snow!

Another Team Departs on Friday, January 14, 2011

2011-01-10T19:59:00.003-06:00

Fred Filiaggi, Linda Strong and Gary Blauser will be leaving for El Rosario, Guatemala on Friday to check on an existing system and look into installing another water filtration system. Please keep them in your prayers that they have a safe journey.

Please Join Us On Sunday, December 5

2010-12-02T17:47:00.004-06:00

Please join us....

On Sunday, December 5 after the 10:00 a.m. service at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church, there will be a presentation given by some of the team members that went on the recent installation trip to San Andres, Jacaltenango, Guatemala.

Everyone is welcome. See you on Sunday.

10 November 2010

2010-11-10T21:20:00.009-06:00

Today was a day of celebration.

We celebrated the gift of clean water in San Andres where we at FVPC installed a water purification and in San Marcos, where Bay Pres installed their system. In spite of all the glitches, both systems were finished on time and produced clean water today. Between the two celebrations, there were speeches, diplomas, gifts, singing, marimbas, fireworks and of course the drinking of clean, healthy water from the systems. It was an emotional day as we received thanks from the communities of San Andres and San Marcos, and we thanked them for the opportunity to serve them and enjoy their gratious hospitality.

¡Jesuchristo es agua viva para nuestros cuerpos y nuestras almas!

Jesus Christ is living water for our bodies and our souls!

Some of the children whose lives will be improved by the gift of clean water

Tomorrow we leave Jacaltenango and travel to Antigua. Then Friday night we return to the US. It has been a wondrous and fulfilling trip.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

2010-11-09T21:08:00.007-06:00

The new San Andres LWW clean water system

We had a very successful day today. San Andres now has clean water! After a simulated rain shower when the feeder pipe to one of the water tanks on the roof of the water house failed, and after finding and fixing two leaks in the system itself, Greg and Tracy produced clean water. They were even confident enough in their results to drink the water without waiting for the results of the final bacteria test. Val, Kayla and Cindy finished up their teaching today as well and will be able to present 19 certificates to students who will now spread the word about how to use their clean water and how to keep it clean. The Bay Pres team had similar successes today. Tomorrow we celebrate and praise the Lord for the gift of friends, new and old, and for the gift of clean water.

The FVPC mission team and some of the newly trained operators

Monday, November 8

2010-11-08T20:47:00.005-06:00

We now have two work days under our belt. Sorry we didn´t post anything yesterday but everybody was too tired to stay up. Everything is going really well. Tracy and Greg are almost ready to run water through the system in San Andres. Val, Kayla, and Cindy have 17-18 women in their health and hygiene class. The people of San Andres have been wonderful; very organized and ready to install the system and learn how to use it and the clean water they will soon have. Our friends from Bay Pres got off to a little slower start but things are going very well for them now too. They just need water for their system. Our hosts, the Rojas family, have been warm and welcoming. Their influence reaches far and wide here; we are teaching the spirituality, health and hygiene class in the classroom of Leslie´s nephew´s wife, Rosa. Tomorrow is our final work day so we hope by the end of tomorrow to be producing clean water!

We Made It

2010-11-06T21:11:00.003-05:00

We made it safely to Jacaltenango. After our 4 hour flight that left around 3:30 a.m. and our 8.5 hour bus ride, we were welcomed with open arms by the Rojas family. We did stop and have breakfast at the same restaurant we ate at last year. The rickety bridge and beautiful koi pond is gone. It got damaged this year from the severe rains. As we drove through the mountains, we saw the damage that was done by mudslides. A lot of it still needs to be cleaned up. The road makes sudden detours around the huge piles of mud and rock.

After we settled in to our rooms at the pensione, some of us walked the streets while others took a little nap.

We had a delicious meal together with our wonderful friends from Bay Pres and Claudia Caballeros, our in country coordinator. A surprise birthday cake was delivered to our table for Tom Peate and Cathy Nichols.

It´s time to say good night and get ready for our busy days ahead of us. We will begin the installation at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow and the health and hygiene class will begin at 1:00.

Buenas Noches.

The Journey Begins

2010-11-05T07:42:00.003-05:00

Val, Greg, Kayla, Tracy and Cindy are leaving for Guatemala Friday night to begin the clean water mission to install Fox Valley Presbyterian Church's second Living Waters for The World system. It's a 4 hour flight to Guatemala City and then we are immediately taking a 9 hour bus ride up the mountains to Jacaltenango.

They system will be installed in a school, Escuela Oficial Mixta Canton San Jose, San Andres Huista, Jacaltenango, Guatemala. This system will bring clean, safe drinking water to over 600 students and many others in the surrounding community.

Please pray that we have a safe and successful journey. Above you will find a prayer calendar that our congregation will be following.

Jacaltenango Installation Trip November 6-13

2010-07-24T20:50:00.006-05:00

We are planning and preparing for our next mission trip. Five people will be leaving for San Andres, Jacaltenango, Guatemala November 6-13 to install a water filtration system at the school we signed a covenant with on our February trip.

The system will be put together and displayed at church in the Great Hall at the end of August, just in time for the upcoming rummage sale where you will have an opportunity to purchase a piece of the system. Everyone who fills out a form to make a donation to purchase a piece of the system will have their name displayed on the system board. Look for more information near the display board.

Speaking of rummage, this year all profits from the rummage sale are being given to the Living Waters Mission Team! So come out and buy some rummage September 10 and 11 at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church to support our mission.

Guatemala Hit Hard By Tropical Storms & Volcano

2010-06-02T08:02:00.009-05:00

Claudia Caballeros, our Living Waters for the World contact, lives in Guatemala City and has been affected by the tropical storms and the erupting volcano. I recently e-mailed her to make sure she was okay and asked her how our friends in Jacaltenango were doing. Here is what she had to say....

Thanks to God my family and I are ok, the last Thursday Pacaya volcano entered a phase of lava fountaining reaching a height of about 1 km, drifting towards the City, so my house is complete cover with volcano sand and ash in addition the last Saturday the tropical storm Agatha slammed into Guatemala.

My house was a little hammered for the rain and sand, the water came into my house through the windows and doors also we had water infiltration through the walls and the roof, and a plastic roof over the laundry broke by the weight the sand; however we just needed move the furniture in my house and drain the water and shoveled the sand volcano.

I can say that I am blessed because there are buried houses, the rain triggered mudslides that cut off roads, rains brought traffic to a standstill and knocked out power in many neighbourhoods, and the government evacuated many families from at-risk areas.

I called to Gilberto and Rojas’ family, they are ok, and also they have small damages, and they appreciate your concern.

Gilberto say that he hopes e-mail to you this week, he is looking for a camera to send you pictures of the construction, they only have the foundations, the support of the construction, and also have some material to build; but they are raising money to finish the building, but he said that the construction will be finish at the end of July. Also we are looking for a new O.P. for your next visit.

Thank for your prayers

Blessings!!!

Claudia Caballeros

Please pray for our friends and all the people in Guatemala.

Fallen Bridges Hamper Guatemalan Rescue Efforts

Pictures of Storm

Tikal - March 7 & 8

2010-03-15T22:06:00.004-05:00

Val and Paula went to Tikal to visit the Mayan Ruins. They stayed overnight in the Jungle Lodge and had a tour the morning they arrived and then had a sunrise tour the next morning where they hiked in the dark with flashlights to Temple #5 which is the second tallest temple in Tikal. Once they climbed the ladder to get to the top of the temple, they enjoyed the beautiful sunrise above the jungle canopy and could hear the monkeys and birds waking up. Did you know that the Howler Monkey is the second loudest animal on the planet? And Tikal has them. The elephant is the loudest animal on the planet. It was quite an adventure. Natives still use the ruins. Before Tikal became a park, the natives who were already living in the area were allowed to stay. Val saw a native in the early morning in the residential area.

You are Invited!

2010-03-15T10:11:00.005-05:00

The LWW mission team is having their monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the church and everyone is invited. We will be talking about our trip and would love to share our experience with you. If you are interested in hearing about our trip, please come to the meeting!

Also, I am going to try and post slideshows of pictures from each of the days we were on our mission trip. To view the slideshow, go back to each daily post. The slideshow will appear at the beginning of each post.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

2010-03-06T22:16:00.004-06:00

We left early this morning for Antigua to begin our journey home, arriving at about 3:30 pm. After some time shopping, we went out for a nice dinner, and reflected on this past week. Through your prayers and hard work, we accomplished a lot in our short stay here. We helped to build a home, repaired several water systems, signed new covenants, and made new friends.

We have been truly blessed to be here, and could not have done this important work without your support, and the support of our families. Thank you all, and we'll see you soon. God Bless.... We're coming home!

Friday, March 5

2010-03-06T21:31:00.010-06:00

Today we took a long bus ride up the mountains to visit two schools in Tsizba to make two minor repairs to two Living Water Systems that Bay Presbyterian installed in January. The kids were happy to see the Gringos and the director welcomed us with open arms. We had some suckers for the kids and once the word got out that we had suckers, the kids all came running and it was quite a scene.

Tom, Ellen and Chris from Bay Presbyterian Church went back to the Habitat house. They poured two more columns and continued to level the floors with dirt by hauling buckets of dirt up from behind the house.

Our work ended at noon and Eliazar and the construction crew picked us up with Elvira and little Jose. They took us up the mountain to a look out point to view Jacaltenango from above. We could also see San Marcos and San Andres and the hills of Mexico.

After a few sodas, Eliazar took us to a church that had a beautiful large white cross in front of the church overlooking Jacal. Then we headed home.

We ate our last dinner together with Eliazar and after dinner, it was time for a celebration put on by Eliazar from Habitat and the committee. We danced the night away and each of us was given a hat as a thank you for all of our hard work. The people thanked us over and over and over again. They appreciate everything that we have done and everything we are planning on doing. Mr. and Mrs. Rojas joined the festivities also and we danced many dances together and laughed the night away.

Once the music was done playing, we said our good-byes to the Rojas family and a few tears were shed. They invited us back again to stay with them and continued to say...."Mi casa es su casa."

Thursday, March 4

2010-03-05T11:26:00.004-06:00

We apologize for not blogging yesterday. But some of Jacal was without power for most of the day and the internet cafes happen to be on the grid that was without power. We had power at the hotel, but no internet. Then around 1:00 a.m. the power in the hotel went out. It was so peaceful. Then around 3:00 it came back on and it looks like the elctrical problems around town have been fixed.

So yesterday we spent our day back at the Habitat house shoveling and dumping buckets of dirt for the floor in the other bedroom. Some of us mixed concrete and poured it down the walls. We also made an attempt to tie u hooks onto rebar with wire. Kind of tricky, but we gave it a go. The house is coming along nicely and although there is a lot that needs to be done on the inside yet, the outside structure is almost done!

After dinner, Kristina from the Peace Corp, lead us on a walk to her house in the dark with only flashlights and headlights from passing cars helping us see where we were going. Kristina has a studio apartment in Jacal that is cheerfully decorated. It was nice of her to open her door to us. Kristina will be leaving the Peace Corp in a couple of months.

Once we returned to the hotel, we sat around the table and ate fresh mangos from Mexico that Johanna had prepared for us and microwave popcorn that took about 15 minutes to pop in the microwave. Johanna cooked the mangos in a sweet nutmeg sauce. Mangos from Mexico can make people sick if not prepared this way. You are not supposed to eat them "raw". So we had a wonderful night sitting around the table talking about our day and laughing.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

2010-03-03T21:25:00.006-06:00

Today was incredible. We got to sleep in an extra half hour, which Fred REALLY needed after his adventure as chief stone smasher, had devotions and then breakfast. Then both teams - Fox Valley Pres and Bay Pres - loaded into the bus and went to Des Rivera (of course I am only guessing at the spelling... will follow up if this is wrong) and San Andres to sign covenants for new installations. The first stop was in San Marcos to view the installed system there because those of us who have been working at the Habitat home had not had a chance to view the installed system. Again, we felt the "love" from the crowds of school children who treated us like we were celebrities (or maybe animals at the zoo???) Anyway, it is an amazing feeling to see how many lives are being touched by clean water. After this stop we drove about 10 minutes to the next school in Des Rivera. The economic conditions here are about the worse we have seen. This is the village that Bay Pres. is doing their next install. Once on the school grounds we were led into a class room to meet with their committee, parents and teachers. Their covenant was finally signed after Claudia had to read and have translated from English to Spanish to Popti the 8 or so pages of legal jargon on the covenant. (YAWN!!!) Anyway, it was eventually understood by all and signed. The seed money was exchanged and even though we couldn't understand the language you could understand the gratefulness and excitement of this village to have clean water in their future. Wait until you see the pictures from this stop, again the children surrounded us, poked us, laughed with (at??) us, and just thoroughly enjoyed seeing Gringos! (We will upload photos later, the internet connections are just too poor here to post photos)

Next stop, lunch along the roadside in the bus. Yummy sandwhiches, bananas and oranges.

After lunch we continued our ride up the mountainside to the small village of San Andres. When we arrived we were greeted by Gilberto, the head of the school there and welcomed. Again, we were lead into a classroom where we had greetings, thank-you's, and explanations of what the system is supposed to mean. Both Claudia and Leslie Rojas (our host at the pencione) gave wonderful explanations of the partnership by us with the eventual ownership of the system by them. The contract was then read aloud so all could understand and then signed. We were SO impressed with Gilberto's preparation and planning for this system. Although the location of the system is not built yet it is planned and located. The building should be complete in May and is located on the school grounds. The atmosphere in this small town was completely different from what we encountered in the previous two towns. It is kind of hard to explain, but it seemed much more peaceful. Again, you could feel the greatfulness from those surrounding us that they were going to have a system like the other near by villages that would supply them with clean water. I think we are all feeling very optimistic about our relationship with San Andres and are looking forward to a successful project here.

We then returned to Jacaltanego with a quick stop at the BEAUTIFUL Rio de Azul (it truly is Azule). When we returned we re-tested the water from the samples we had taken at San Andres and found them to be consitent with what had been previously done.

The day was finished with a fried chicken, french fries, rice, soup, veggies, and cheesecake dinner. If anyone thought they would lose weight in Guatemala I think they will find it a challenge with Joanna Roja's preparing our meals!

Thanks to our wonderful Saviour for this opportunity to serve in his name. Thanks for protection and blessings on our journey. In his glorious name we look forward to our adventures tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

2010-03-03T21:06:00.008-06:00

What a great day it was today for both Bay and Fox Valley churches! We signed covenants with San Marcos and San Andreas schools, respectively. After a quick stop at the existing LWW system at the first school in San Marcos, we went to the second San Marcos school (about a 30 minute drive from Jacal). After a few opening remarks, Bay Pres signed the covenant with San Marcos. It was remarkable at how well prepared the school officials were... Claudia (the incountry LWW representative) did a great job on the front end, and has been with us every step of the way in Jacal.

After a lunch stop along the road, with some PB&J sandwiches, and some ham sandwiches that Joanna made for us, we arrived at San Andres, at around 1:30pm. San Andres is a very isolated community, where Popti (Mayan) is the main language, and students learn Spanish as a second language. There is great need for clean water here as one in 10 children die before the age of 5 from waterbourne disease.

We were welcomed by the principal, Gilberto, and another school official (who will be in charge of operating the LWW system)to a classroom with teachers and parent organization. An emotional speach was given by Leslie Rojas, and gratitudes from school officials. Val presented the FVPC monitary contribution (seed money), and the coventant was read and signed. It was very emotional, and the feeling of joy filled the air.

The school officials took us to the area where a water house will be built, and afterwards we spent time with the children outside. They offered us peanuts and high 5´s, and enjoyed the attention. It is very rare that outsiders (let alone Gringos) visit San Andres.

Tomorrow we had back to the Habitat house to put on the roof and finish filling in the dirt floors... Yes, back to the hard labor! Keep us in your prayers... Your Gringo frends.

Tuesday March 2, 2010

2010-03-02T17:57:00.005-06:00

Whew! Another day hard at work at the Habitat house for Tracy, Fred and Paula. Christina the Peace Corps volunteer accompanied us to help with the language barrier. Paula and Christina started the day bending and cutting wire to tie the re-bar and Tracy and Fred were given a large pile of big rocks to break into small rocks. The tools given were small mallets ... later Christina and Paula joined in with a large sledge hammer. It took all of us all day to get this task accomplished. We sure could have used a jack hammer.

Alvira and Jose were working along side us all day. Christina commented that it was unusual to see a Guatemalan women working so hard at such hard physical labor. Alvira must be very exceited to get into her new home.

All of the block walls were pretty much completed by the end of the day. Eleazar (the Habitat Representative) thinks that they will be ready to put the roof on Thursday or Friday. That will be exciting and rewarding to see!

Val accompanied the group from Bay Pres to the school located at San Marcos. There they retrofitted a three year old Livinng Water ozone system. Three valves needed to be replaced which ended up requiring the dis-assembling of the system and included an audience of hundreds (?) of precious Guatemalan children. When they were finished the system was back up and running and the children had a good fill of "Gringo" entertainment.

Monday, March 1

2010-03-01T21:24:00.008-06:00

Today was a very productive work day for all of us!!

Val, Fred and Paula went with Tom from Bay Pres to work on a Habitat for Humanity house that is within a (steep) walking distance from our hotel. There was a lot of shoveling of dirt to level one room in the 20x20 house and mixing of concrete and carrying buckets of concrete to pour down into the walls for support.

We also met Jose, the son of Elvira who is the owner of the house. Elvira was hard at work alongside the block layers building her house. Her son Jose watched as we worked and offered much needed relief for us because we had the opportunity to teach him how to play baseball with a ball that Fred brought and a bat we made out of a banana stalk. (Fruit is very plentiful here....mango, and bananas grow alongside the roadways and so do oranges and papya. All very delicious!) Jose enjoyed learning about baseball and we had a chance to all laugh together as we played.

The other half of our group which included Tracy, took a bus ride to Tsibaj to check on two Living Waters for the World systems located at two schools to make minor repairs and adjustments. They also performed some water tests and will be returning later in the week to tweak the systems a little bit more. The systems are being fully utilized by the people. And other people have mentioned that they would also like to get a system installed. The need is great and the people know that we are here to help.

We met Christina who is from the Peace Corp this evening. She is going to be our translator for the group that will be returning to the Habitat house tomorrow.

Buenos Noches.

Sunday, February 28

2010-02-28T21:00:00.009-06:00

Up at 5:00am and on the road at 6:00am for a 9 hour drive to Jacal. The road was windy and steep, with beautiful scenery. Mountains and volcanos, crops growing on hill seemingly too steep. We stopped for a delicious breakfast early, which included scrambled eggs and a local jam, with fresh made tortillas. Stops along the way allowed for some shopping of the local wares. Peanut butter sandwiches refreshed us at noon with banana and raisin breads bought the night before at the bakery next to the hotel in Antigua.

We arrive at the Rojas home to a warm welcome from Jesus and Leslie. What a wonderful family they are. We are being treated like royalty. Special music and dance from the Mayan tradition were presented in an elaborate ceremony. We joined in dance and celebration. Don´t worry, we have pictures too!

Tomorrow we roll up our sleaves to begin the work we were sent to do. Half of us are going to make repairs to an existing Living Waters site, and the other half will be working on a Habitat house for a wonderful family we met tonight. We will be working on their roof this week, and hopefully if completed, there will be a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the house on Friday. We are so excited to help this family living here in Jacal.

Continue to pray for us, as we feel your presence as you follow along with us on this journey. Buenos Noches.

We Made It

2010-02-27T16:30:00.013-06:00

We made it to Guatemala! Our flight left 45 minutes late this morning due to the snow. But we made good time and landed in Guatemala City around 6:30 a.m.

Our driver picked us up from the airport and drove us up and down the mountains until we reached Antigua. Antigua has cobblestone streets and little shops all up and down the streets. The flowers are beautiful and we are surrounding by mountains and volcanoes.

We had the opportunity to have a delicious breakfast and coffee outside at a courtyard table at a quaint little restaurant. Then we walked down to the square and watched and listened to a small Guatemalan band play in the courtyard area by the fountain.

The temperature is warm....in the 70s. Our bus will be leaving tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. to take us on our 10-12 hour bus ride to Jacaltenango. We will start diving in to our work agenda tomorrow.

Here are some pictures that we took. The first one is a picture of the courtyard at our Hotel Aurora. The second is a glimpse of what we are seeing around us in the streets. The third one is the Guatemalan Band we enjoyed listening to. And lastly, this is a picture of four of the 8 of our group having breakfast at Cafe Condesa.

Prayer Calendar

2010-02-20T17:58:00.004-06:00

The following prayer calendar was put together by Bay Presbyterian Church. If you would like to pray for us while we are on our trip, please feel free to follow along. Click on the calendar to make it larger.

The Commissioning on 2-14-10

2010-02-20T08:32:00.001-06:00

On February 14 Tom P. and his wife Marni stopped by Fox Valley Presbyterian Church on their way back to Ohio to speak during our Minute for Mission at our two services. Tom did a great job informing the congregation on what the mission team will be doing in Jacaltenango, Guatemala during the upcoming February/March mission trip.

The Living Waters for the World Mission Team Commissioning also took place. People present included Tom P., Fred F., Tracy W. and Valerie S. Paula P will also be going on the trip.

The video clip is below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWM04Dq3Ua4

Meeting Wednesday, February 17

2010-02-15T20:37:00.000-06:00

Our monthly LWW meeting will be on Wednesday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m. at Scott's office.

Also, there will be a meeting on Sunday at noon at church to go over any last minute things for the upcoming trip.

Tom Peate Speaking Tomorrow

2010-02-13T08:22:00.001-06:00

Tom Peate and his wife Marni from Bay Presbyterian Church in Ohio will be visiting our church tomorrow. They will be arriving at 8:00 a.m. and Tom will be speaking during our minute for mission at both the 8:30 a.m. service and the 10:00 a.m. service. Please welcome them to our church.

Our mission team has partnered with Bay on our upcoming mission trip to Jacaltenango, Guatemala and Tom will be leading us.

Tomorrow is also the commissioning for Fred, Tracy, Paula and Valerie at the 10:00 a.m. service. These four members of the church will be departing for Guatemala on February 27 to survey two or more sites for a possible water filtration installation in the fall.

Thank you to Tom and Marni for taking time out of their busy schedule to stop by and visit us.

Meeting Today - 1-10-10

2010-01-10T18:54:00.000-06:00

Tonight Linda, Cindy, Fred, Paula, Tracy and Val sat down together and discussed some of the specifics on what needs to be done on our upcoming trip. Good questions were asked and now everyone is on the same page. Thanks Linda for organizing the meeting.

Welcome

2010-01-09T13:49:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the new blog for the Fox Valley Presbyterian Church Mission Team.