¡Hola Todos!
Today we visited La Escuela Oficial Urbana Mixta Lleno y San Bacilio, which is our prospective site for next  year´s installation.  Ralph is pictured above collecting a water sample at the school.  We will drop the sample off at a lab tomorrow and eagerly await the results.  The director and a few of the other teachers came to talk to us today and we explained the system.  They were all very excited and enthusiastic about begining the process.
The bottom picture is a picture of the team and some of the Rojas family.  From left to right, Tracy Wolf, Joanna Rojas, Claudia Caballeros, Leslie Rojas, Miriam Mazariegos, and Kayla Wolf, not pictured is Ralph Alvarez (he took the picture).
Tomorrow we will be leaving early in the morning to head back to Antigua.  We will have a few stops along the way.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers,
Kayla, Ralph, and Tracy

¡Hola Todos!
Today we visited La Escuela Regional Jacaltenango.  This system was installed last year in Novemeber so this was the first follow up visit since the instalation.  In the past year the system has produced 33,000 gallons of clean water.  The two men pictured in front of the system are Juan and Donaldo (from left to right).  They are the system operators and have done an impeccable job keeping the system operating at it´s full potential as well as keeping great records.  This site was also visited by the Health Department of Guatemala.  The health department took water samples twice over the past year and both times the system has passed with flying colors and the water was labled fit for human consumption.  The inspection report is posted above.

While Tracy and Ralph checked up on the system, a refresher class on hygiene and the uses for the clean water was conducted by Claudia and Kayla.  The teachers who attended the class told us that they have noticed a significant decrease in the number of children suffering from diarrhea.  In areas where clean water is not available, diarrhea is almost an everyday occurrence.  The teachers said they have implemented lessons about the uses for clean water and handwashing as part of their school routine.  They also noted that it can be hard to get the lessons across to non-students.

Ralph is really looking forward to tomorrow, because he will be able to use his 101 expertise at our site survey.  As part of the site survey he will be testing the water.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers,
Kayla, Tracy, and Ralph

¡Hola Todos!

We arrived safely in Jacal yesterday and checked up on our site in San Andres today.  This was our last check up visit with the school and as our three year commitment comes to a close we are happy to inform you of a couple of things.  La Escuela Oficial Regional Mixta Huista San Andres has produced another 20,000 gallons of water over the past year for a grand total of 41,000 gallons of pure water over the past two years.  Secondly, the Health Department of Guatemala conducted a suprise inspection of the site last month and afte running their respective tests reported that the school was producing water that is safe for human consumption.

Thank you for your contiued prayers and support,

Kayla, Ralph, and Tracy

¡Hola Todos!

Tracy, Ralph, and I (Kayla) had  a safe arrival to Guatemala yesterday.  We got acclimated with some of the culture and history of the country and had a first had experience with a Guatemalan Earthquake!  Although the epicenter was miles away we felt the earth sway beneath our feet for about 30 to 40 seconds.  There was not any damage in Antigua, however the earthquake was devistating for other areas of the country. 
This morning we will be driving up to Jacaltenango and we hope that the systems there are running well. 

Thank you for your prayers and continued support,
Kayla, Ralph, and Tracy

Fox Valley Presbyterian Church Set to Enter Guatemala Mission Field

FVPC is all set to send another mission team to Jacaltenango, Guatemala!   A three person team lead by Tracy Wolf, with daughter Kayla, and new to the LWW team, Ralph Alvarez.  The team was commissioned this past Sunday for their work, and the children got to witness first hand how God calls us to be his hands and feet in the world.  The team will be heading out on early Wednesday morning, November 7, and returning early morning, November 14.  The Team will be providing refresher health and hygiene training for teachers, parents, and children at the two schools where we have installed clean water systems.  Preventative maintenance will also be performed on the systems, with replacement filters and parts provided.  Operators and teachers will be recertified in their training.  The team will be working closely with our in-country LWW coordinators at these sites and a potential new site, which will be surveyed on this trip.  Just as important, we will continue to grow our relationship with our friends in Guatemala.  The Team will be bringing down bilingual books collected by members of the church and pillow case dresses/pants sewn by the Sewing Circle.  Please keep Tracy, Kayla, and Ralph in your prayers this week, as we wish them a successful, safe, journey in doing the work that God has called them to do.

Friday, March 2, 2012

This post is late because we celebrated last night until very late! We signed a covenant with El Asintal, for our second covenant of this trip! AMEN! The impact that his mission is having on the people, the children of Guatemala, is beyond miraculous! Here are a couple of the lives you are changing through the support of the LWW Ministry.

We attended a wonderful church service at El Shaddai last night.... FVPC was honored during the service, we were prayed for, and we prayed for El Shaddai. It was truly a beautiful and overwhelming experience. El Shaddai hosted an outdoor reception afterwards, and we of course had to go out for icecream... even after dessert at the church!

We head out now for Antigua to recoup, and debrief, and enjoy some fellowship together, as we journey home.... We miss you all, and cannot wait to tell our stories.

God Bless,

LWW Mission Team

Thursday, March 1, 2012

We woke up to loud fireworks this morning... In Guatemala, when it is your birthday, your friends and family light fireworks to celebrate.... Just wish it wasn't before sunrise! Today, we signed a covenant with El Shaddai church in Mazzatenango. Working with people that have such a deep commitment to improve the lives around them, and the deep faith to see it through, makes being away from our families a whole lot easier. You can feel the Holy Spirit at work, and it is a wonderful feeling... if only you all could be here to experience it with us.

The process of working through the Covenant is a long, as we go through each aspect of our responsibilities to each other. This effort is import, since it lays the foundation for a successful installation and hopefully many years of clean Living Water flowing. We finished with the signing around 1:30 pm, and made our way to lunch with Pastor Fredy....

Now lunch was an event in itself.... a two hour event! Pastor Fredy took us to Pollo Campero. We all ordered the largest fried chicken plater available.... followed by coffee and huge cookies... followed by more cookies.... followed by an icecream cup for Claudia that got passed around the table. When we said we had enough.... Pastor took us to another icecream place, and insisted we eat more. We refused to get out of the van, and he called our bluff by saying that he would come back with large orders of icecream for all of us! So we went inside and enjoyed some great Guatemalan icecream (so you are probably saying to yourself.... "boy, these guys are really roughing it!") But you try eating until you are about to explode! Before we drove away Pastor said something very touching. He said I don't want you to come to Guatemala to be sad or to always work hard. I want you to enjoy and have fun also. We are truly blessed to know him, and all our friends, old and new, in Guatemala.

We got home (La Cupola de Zion is home to us) around 4:00pm, and were able to enjoy a relaxing end to our day... some rest, and a little bit of cards, and just let our tummies digest. We attended Marco's church prayer meeting tonight. His brother-in-law, Eric, arrived yesterday from California, and he helped to translate the service for us. The service ended with prayer requests, and we were called up to ask and recieve prayer and "laying on of hands." It was very powerful (Linda Williams.... you were right!)... what a blessing! Amen, and Amen!

Tomorrow is our last day in Reu, and we go to El Asintal to sign our second covenant on this trip! At 4:30 we'll head to El Shaddai where Pastor Bart will be preaching on the radio tomorrow, BEFORE he preaches at the 7:00pm service! Sermons in Guatemala last an hour.... so good luck to Bart!