Memory Lane: Antigua, Early Morning

We only spent a short time in Antigua at the end of the Wellshire Mission Trip in June 2010.   On this particular morning we got up before the youth and walked to Cafe Barista for some caffiene.   The streets were empty of people and we had the colorful buildings to ourselves.

Ana's House - Finished!

Very exciting today to get an email from Habitat Guatemala that showed the finished houses that we started in June.  What a blessing a new house is for each family!  

Ana and her son

The finished product

The house on day 4 of our build

...and the house on day 1 of our build

Carrera en Comalapa

On our last full day in Guatemala we also did a project with Aguas de Unidad (Healing Waters International).  I had a chance last summer to go to Chiapas, Mexico on a trip with them as well, so it was great to support their efforts in Guatemala, too (you can read about my experience here).   ADU was a co-sponsor for a 10k race in Comalapa.   Now, Comalapa is not a place that sees a lot of Americans, and we were able to enjoy it for the authentic experience that it was.   A lot of the ladies in Comalapa wear traditional dress, which is very beautiful. 

Lots of ladies balance goods on their heads

Hermanas (sisters) at the finish line

The boys won a prize in a contest

Blue shirts take over Comalapa

Antigua

After a long bus ride from Salamá on Friday June 18, we finally arrived in Antigua.  A lot of the kids commented on the number of  "gringos" compared to Salamá.   On Friday night we went out to dinner at Mono Loco, which is an American style sports bar well known for their ginormous nachos.  

Angela and I shared the Nachos Apocolypto.

Giant Nachos at Mono Loco

We stayed at a great little hotel right across from the market called the Santa Lucia #4.   We had the whole hotel to ourselves.   They had a great rooftop terrace.   Saturday morning, we made a sponsors coffee run to Cafe Barista, the Guatemalan version of Starbucks.  The Moca Menta was delicious.  We made this run before 6am, so there was no one on the streets which was great for taking pictures.   In the afternoon, our "Baquet" (banquet without the n) activity was a combination scavenger hunt and shopping trip.  I could have definitely spent another day or two here just relaxing.   It was our opportunity on our trip to use our bargaining skills, which is always good practice.  I got a scarf, earrings and a few gifts. 

View from the rooftop terrace at our hotel

Our hotel, Santa Lucia #4

View from the plaza

Group picture during scavenger hunt

At the fountain in the plaza

The colorful streets

The Power of Los Pollitos

During our preparation classes for Guatemala in youth group, Greg taught all of us the song "Los Pollitos," an easy children's song that can be used to break the ice.   We hadn't really seen too many kids around our work site and with our limited Spanish we were a little shy talking to them.  When Greg's work group came to our site for lunch, they found that their bus driver had left them, so there was time to have a "sing off" challenge with the neighborhood children.   And indeed, Los Pollitos was the song used to break the ice.   Then the girls taught us a song.  Then "Eres Todo Poderoso" and "Allelu, Alabare."  When Greg's group got ready to leave, he said something to the effect of "Jenni, we've broken the ice, so if you want to play games, it's up to you."  Fortunately, I'm very good at games.  Even in Spanish.   We spent the rest of our last day, prior to the closing ceremony (Despidida) playing Red Light Green Light, water bottle relays, a game like hot potato (called La Bomba, complete with a song), and lots of Pato, Pato, Gonzo (and the kids constantly made me run).   It was a fantastic ending to our week at Ana's house.   

The initial group of girls we sang with

Los Pollitos in action

Greg's group singing

Fuerte!

Keep away with Stephen

All the neighborhood kids, quite the game playing crew

Ana's House

"And if our God is for us, who could ever stop us?"

-Chris Tomlin-

The view from Ana's house

Hard to believe that this time last week we had finished our four days of work on Ana's house.  Equipo A was working in a town called Cacao building a house for Ana and her family.  Ana's dad had lived in the states for a while and saved up money to come back to Guatemala.  He has a fairly big lot.  Currently it's just his house, which is fairly large, including indoor plumbing and a toilet.  Outside, they have a fenced area for chickens, ducks and geese.   We were building on the far side of the lot.  Ana has a twin sister, and the hope is that with Habitat, they may be able to build her a new house right next door.  Our project was out in the country, so not a lot of shops or traffic...I'm sure the lady who ran the small tienda across the street was happy to see us.   Our mason was Oscar.  Oscar has been building houses with Habitat for 8 years and has built over 80 houses.  His ayudantes (helpers) were Jose, Omar and Willian....plus the 10 gringos on our team.   On arrival the foundation and the first two levels of blocks had already been laid, so we got to do a lot of actual construction including: laying block, filling holes with cement, sealing all cracks with mortar, tying rebar and breaking holes into cinder blocks and u-blocks for the rebar.   We also carried a lot of blocks from the house to the build site.   Below are some of the pictures of our progress through the week.

Lauren applies mortar with skill

Wesley and Ashley put holes in cinder blocks

Oscar, our mason, works on the corners

   Meghan and Stephen sift sand

Me in the window

The guys on the cinder block couch

Lots of progress by day 4

The World's Game

Working with a very international staff, the World Cup has been a topic of conversation for months.   During our trip to Guatemala, soccer continued to be popular.  Partially because the World Cup just started. In the Guatemala City airport, some of the kids ran right up to a rental car booth that had the game on and watched for a few minutes with the locals.    On Sunday the 13th, we stopped for a rest and ice cream stop en route to Salamá and what else would be showing on the flatscreen TV in the restaurant?  Soccer tends to be the "world's game" because it doesn't require a lot of equipment.   All you really need is a ball.  You'll see kids without shoes playing "football" in Latin America or Africa in open fields.  On Tuesday June 15 we rented out a small soccer field in Salamá, invited some of our local Habitat volunteers, broke into our work teams and played 5 minute tournaments.

 

On Saturday June 19 we visited Comalapa to help with a project with Aguas de Unidad. One of their water systems was located at a high school, and even though it was a Saturday, class was in session.   Some of our kids played a pick up game with the students there.  Needless to say....we got schooled.

Some of the students cheering their team on to victory!

Equipo A

I would like to introduce you to Equipo A / A Team / Team Awesome, my work group and small group in Guatemala.  Our senior leaders included Wes, Allie, and Meghan, and the team rounded out with Joel (of your cousin is better than my cousin fame), Hayley, Lauren, Peter, and Stephen.

Equipo A prepares for our first day of work 6.14.10

Equipo A at our magical lunch spot 6.14.10

Equipo A on the job 6.15.10

Equipo A at the Salamá Soccer Field 6.15.10

The Road to Salama

A new Spanish phrase for the day is "no tengo pena" or no worries.   It is like wrangling cats trying to get 60 people anywhere and out of the hotel, into busses with luggae roof racks, up the mountain, through a flat tire and into the pool at Lily's Inn in Salama.  

Today I also learned a new way to phrase things (in English)..."On a scale of 1 to 10 ______________ (example repsonse include "I so don't want to do this" or "This is awesome).   Halfway to Salama we stopped for a rest break.  Even better than the rest room?  Helado.  So happy that there was time on the drive for everyone to get some ice cream, including some of our highschool girls.     Shortly after our ice cream break, the van in front of us got a flat tire.  Being the industrious youth that they are, someone broke out their ipod speakers, and others started to juggle. 

   And we answered the question, how many people does it take to change a tire?  The answer: 5.  

We have a great setup here at Lily's Inn in Salama.  We have rented out the entire hotel and there are plenty of places to play, including multiple pools and a waterslide.   We had free time in the afternoon before our orientation with Habitat, and it was the first time that I've played Old Maid since I was a kid, much less in a foreign country. 

Another truth
No celebration in Guatemala is complete without cake and juice.

We had the welcome ceremony with our Habitat families around 3pm which included cake.  In order to be eligible for a Habitat House families must have land and a way to pay their mortgage.  Land is hard to come by in Guatemala.   Another impressive fact?  Guatemala builds the most houses through Habitat second only to the US.  Yay for Guate!   Tomorrow morning we meet our families and start the build.

(having a great time wish you were here)

First Day in Guatemala

My alarm went off at 3am and now it's almost ten.  A busy day of travel and great start to my first mission trip with Wellshire.  It was very strange when one of the Habitat affiliates asked if I was a chaperone...not a word I usually use, but since I am one of 12 "responsible" adults, I guess it's accurate.   It's been over 4 months since I last left the US, so it was about time to go again.  This is also the last trip (sniff) on my current passport.   The passport that has stamps from all continents except Antartica.

The verse that is on our shirts and water bottles is "Ustedes deben amarse unos a otros como yo los he amado." The translation (loosely) Love one another as I have loved you.   It's a very fitting statement for our trip.    Today I learned that even teenage boys love Sky Mall magazine in airplanes.   Also, that our highlighter yellow / chartreuse t-shirts make it really easy to spot our group in the airport.   I think I like it better than the "God's Gang" buttons I used to wear on mission trips in junior high. 

We are staying at the Biltmore Express hotel in Guatemala City, just for tonight.  The weather has alternated between drizzle and downpour.    We had a great worship service in an atrium area that connects our more modest hotel with the swanky Westin Camino Real.   After Bible study and a quick nap, we split for dinner.  The group I went with enjoyed tasty treats at tacoconteno.  Choriqueso for my entree, limonada to drink and a fruit and cream stuffed chimichanga for dessert.   Also the biggest pinatas I have ever seen. 

First day of fun, done!  8 more to go.   Hasta luego!

worship service in hotel atrium

Que rico!  Dinner at tacocontento