Today I woke early to the sound of exotic birds. There was a beautiful golden streaked sunrise over the mountain.

We met at 7 for breakfast.

We loaded the vans at 8:30. We were privileged to be part of the worship service.

I wish I could transport you to the service. It was one of the most worshipful experiences I have ever had.

It started with beautiful music. I did not understand most of the words but I did hear “Dios esta aqu (God is here) And I could certainly feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.

During the prayers the whole congregation participated. it was a different style of worship but very meaningful and we felt like part of the fellowship of believers.

Women lead part of the worship.

Pastor Matt gave a powerful sermon.

We were welcomed graciously

One of the youth had a birthday today. Each member of the congregation came up to congratulate him.

Then we took pictures

We realized that we had some time between the service and the medical clinic (worship only lasted 2 hours instead of 3). We decided to go out to lunch but we had to wait for Jhonny and Carl to get back from the hardware store

We enjoyed a great lunch together. Then 7 of us headed back to the church to work while the rest of the team headed back to the hotel for naps!

Darrell and Carl made great progress with the water system. It is beginning to look like a living waters system

The rest of us did a medical clinic. This was the “waiting room” when we got back from lunch

Joan did vital signs while Margaret did registration with Linda as translator

Frank and Rhoda examined the children and treated what we could

The vast majority of the children had horrible cavities. One had a terrible dental abscess. Many had just nubs for teeth or big jagged holes. We did fluoride varnish and gave out tooth brushes and toothpaste. We did a little simple information about dental hygiene. For the first time in my life I found myself wishing that I were a dentist

I was stunned by the amount of dental disease and hope to be able to address that better in the future

Many parents complained that their children did not eat well which was not surprising given the state of their teeth. Other complaints were stomach aches and intermittent diarrhea and fatigue. When we asked they said they drink purified water sometimes or they only drink well water. We gave every family albendazole for every family member. That will treat the most common type of intestinal parasites.

We also gave vitamins, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and of course prizes (but not candy)!

We treated scabies and reflux and eczema and ringworm and dental abscesses and fevers. Several children were recovering from Dengue fever.

We treated 50 children and a few adults as well. It was a truly awesome experience and we learned a lot about what we can do to improve the health of people in the community. It was a bit chaotic at times but the children’s smiles and hugs made it all worthwhile! We could not have done this without the support of Blessings International. This organization provides medication and supplies at a low cost for mission teams. I was able to get albendazole to treat parasites, antibiotics, and several other medications and well as supplies for the clinic. I look forward to working with Blessings International again in the future. Next time I will have a better idea about what to order. Every time I called or email Blessings International they were very kind and helpful. They even called the week before we left for the trip to make sure that I received everything and to let us know they were praying for us. If you are interested please check their website: blessing.org

We finally made it back to the church about 7 – just in time for dinner.

We have a great group – lots of laughter and fun and gentle teasing at every meal.

We had a great devotional time at our usual spot

Tomorrow will be another full day of work

Today we met for breakfast at 7 to get an early start. Frank defected to a stove team so there were only 4 of us plus the drivers on the water team.

The educators taught more classes. We visited the water room and Luis explained how the system works.

After our tour we started our lessons. We asked our educators to teach us a song and this is what they taught us:

We did a puzzle of putting the parts of the water system in order. They asked some excellent questions and seemed to understand how the system purifies water. They realize the importance of using purified water and they also realize that they have to share the knowledge with their community. They told us that money is tight but people find money to buy Pepsi but say they can’t afford to buy purified water.

If the talking we did was not convincing we had a vivid example. We brought agar plates and on day 1 we had people put various things on them

Pastor Cesar put tap water on his

The educators were horrified to see what they ingest when they drink tap water. we did a hand washing demonstration with finger paints, a germ spreading activity with glitter, bingo, seams, and coloring sheets. Then we gave our educators time to prepare to teach a group in the afternoon

The water operators worked hard on the system all day. They spent a lot of time up on the hot roof

We had lunch and fed about 20 people. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are delicious and go a long way.

One of the stove teams stopped by the church to eat their lunch. Pastor Matt’s sandwich had gotten a bit crushed

After lunch our educators taught another community group

Once again they did a wonderful job of teaching

Stove team had another busy and exhausting day

Margaret and Rhoda got to join the stove team for the last installation today. It was amazing to see it in person and to know that we are able to make a difference in the life of the family

Then devotional time. Darrell gave an excellent meditation on faith.

We met for breakfast at 7. There were a lot of people staying at the hotel and we waited longer than usual for our food. The stove team started off to install stoves. The water team had to visit Dollar City to get cups for the water celebration and frames.

It was Matt’s turn to shine as a 101. He met with Pablo and the Water Board for almost 3 hours.

This is Pablo – our Living Waters for the World Guatemala coordinator. We could not do this trip without him. He coordinates our hotels and transportation and meals and translates for us. He has been great with our large team – we have a lot more going on than a typical LWW team would.

Margaret and I played with children and prepared for our last meeting with the educators and the water celebration.

The water operators finished the system and had time to clean the room

The stove teams had a busy morning

Stove teams finished their morning, went back to hotel to freshen up and the joined us at the church

Margaret and I had one last meeting with our educators. We feel good about this group of educators. They understand the concepts well and understand the importance of educating their community. They already have plans for teaching some lessons

Just before the celebration was due to start the power went out. We did not mind not having the microphone because the sanctuary has excellent acoustics but it was hard to take pictures in the dark

After the celebration the ladies in the church served delicious tamale

It was hard to say goodbye to all of our new friends but we finally got away from the church. We thought we would have a fairly early dinner and have time to pack leisurely. Unfortunately there was a massive traffic jam and it took us over 2 hours to go about 8 miles. We could have walked faster if it had not been raining and dark. We finally got dinner and had devotions. Matt led an excellent meditation on our commissioning vows.

Now it is time to pack so that we can get an early start to Antigua tomorrow

We spent an incredible amount it time in the van in traffic today but it was still an amazing day.

We had breakfast at 7:30. It took a long time to load the vans and check out but we were on the road soon after 9.

We drove to Antigua and had lunch at Pollo Campera. I will share pictures later if I get some from other team members but they have amazing fried and grilled chicken.

Then we dropped our luggage off at the hotel. Most of the team spent the afternoon in Antigua exploring and shopping.

Matt, Margaret, Pam and Rhoda went with Johnny to meet his wife and see his village. It is only 45 minutes from Antigua but with traffic it takes 2 hours to get there.

The vows of Guatemala Ciry on the derive were breathtaking . This is Lake Atitlan which is beautiful but unfortunately contaminated

First we went to the school where Johnny’s wife teaches. The school serves elementary students from 7:30 to noon and high school students from 1-6. There are 4 teachers – each teacher teaches all subjects to her students. Johnny’s Erika teaches 37 students and is the principal of the school. There are only 4 teachers in the whole school and each teacher teaches all the subjects

Erika wanted us to talk to an assembly of the whole school. she asked us to say something motivational.

I think we did well for being put on the spot. The students were incredibly well behaved. They sat and listened attentively.

Then the students put on a performance for us. This is the dance of the giants using giant forms that the students made. It is a traditional dance in this area

After that the boys left and I talked to the girls. Johnny acted as an interpreter which was a little bit awkward at first but it did not take long for the girls to warm up and asked all sorts of questions. Talking about certain issues is taboo in the culture and the girls had a lot of misinformation.

Then we told the girls about the hygiene kits that were made by Mary Burns and Stich’n for a Mission. The girls eyes lit up and they were so excited! Unfortunately there were 52 girls and only 33 hygiene kits. Erika had the great idea to divide the kits up so that each girl could get 2 items There were exactly enough for each girl to get 2 items. When we gave out the supplies each girl wanted a hug.

Then they wanted to hug everyone

And they wanted pictures

Then the boys came back. We were able to give them toothbrushes with toothpaste or a wash cloth with face soap. And we got lots more hugs.

Next year I’m signing Pastor Matt up to talk to the boys. That is if he ever agrees to get in a van with me again without a detailed itinerary!

Finally we left the school. We invited Erika to join us for dinner in Antigua. She needed to drop her car off at their house. While she was parking we had the opportunity to meet Johnny’s mother.

Then we drove back to Antigua and met with the rest of the team so that they could say goodbye to Johnny. Johnny had hooked us up the some very good coffee

Margaret, Pam, Matt and I took Johnny and his wife to dinner. We had a great meal and really enjoyed getting to know Erika. She is doing an amazing job with few resources and it is obvious that she loves her students

Today was an amazing day. Bringing the hygiene kits to the school and having the opportunity to talk to the girls frankly was such a great experience. I learned a lot for next year. I’m going to bring some visuals to make it easier to explain things and I’m going to make sure I have plenty of hygiene kits and kits for the boys as well. These students are the future of Guatemala and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to interact with them.

The trip comes to an end today and we all have to transition back to our lives in the US. I have learned so much this time and I am already looking forward to next year

I woke up early this morning to take a walk because it is going to be a long travel day. I enjoyed the beautiful morning and all of the sights and sounds of Guatemala.

We enjoyed a breakfast buffet together and then hit the road

There was a lot of traffic on the way to the airport but we had allowed plenty of time. Our flight was delayed almost an hour due to excessive weight but we made it to Miami in plenty of time to make our connection. We all made it home with all of our luggage. It will take some time to recover and to process the week.

We had a wonderful team this year. One of the best part of the trip was getting to know each other – laughing together, eating together, spending hours together on vans. We also had great in country partners. Our projects were all successful. The system we installed is producing excellent, safe water. 48 families have safe, efficient stoves. 60 people got fluoride varnish, treatment for parasites and some medical screening. 52 high school girls are better prepared

When I think back on this trip I think about laughter. I think about relationships. You can have some great conversations when you are stuck on a cramped van for hours at a time. I think about service. We had some really meaningful projects this year. And I think about a sense of wonder. Guatemala is a beautiful country, full of contrasts and full of potential. It is a place where we can really make a difference.

The 2023 Guatemala mission team would like to thank the congregation of Trinity Presbyterian Church for your prayers and financial support for this trip. It was a life changing trip for trip participants and for the people we worked with.

The first post will give some background about a projects and then there is a post for each day of the trip with pictures and details about that day. .

We worked in a small remote town called San Carlos Alzatate. This town is accessible only by a narrow, winding, bumpy dirt road that goes up the side of a mountain. The population is mainly indigenous and the poverty rate is over 85%. Most are subsistence farmers – some may work a few months of the year at a local coffee plantation.

We had two projects this year, One team installed a water purification with Living Waters For The World while the other team installed ONIL stoves in homes with Helps International. Both of these are exciting and life changing projects.

We take for granted that we can turn on our faucet any time and have access to clean, safe, pure water. This is not true in many parts of the world. In Guatemala most municipal water systems lack any sort of water treatment. Supply is often intermittent and unpredictable.

Currently, the water supply in San Carlos Alzatate comes from mountain streams and it is very contaminated. Purified water is available in the town, but it must be trucked in up the winding dirt road, so it is not easily accessible or affordable. We worked with a group of elected leaders to install the system. We also trained a group of educators so that they can teach people in the community some basics about germs and hygiene such as how and when to use purified water and how and when to wash hands. We use a variety of games, crafts, stories, songs, drama and activities to reinforce these lessons. Then we leave material so that they can teach these lessons to people in the community. Finally, we trained a group of operators about how to run and maintain and trouble shoot the system and how to run a business to make sure the system is sustainable.

Our other project was installing stoves in homes in the villages around San Carlos Alzatate. When I first heard about installing stoves, I was not every interested in the project. I thought there would be more pressing needs. But the more I learned the more excited I became. In Guatemala, millions of families still cook the way their ancestors have for centuries – on an open fire in the middle of their shelter. 

As you can imagine this causes a lot of problems. Constant exposure to smoke is not just unpleasant, it is harmful to everyone – especially to developing lungs. 

In Guatemala, 1 child in 5 dies before reaching their 5^th birthday. The leading cause of death is acute respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia which are directly linked to smoke inhalation. This is followed closely by diarrheal diseases caused by drinking contaminated water. 

The open flames are a huge safety concern. Children can crawl or trip into flames. Women’s clothing or hair can catch fire and serious burns are common.

There are also economic issues. Because open flames are so inefficient, families need about 50 # of fuel each day. Fuel gathering requires a lot of time for women and children each day, limiting other productive activities (that can generate income) and taking children away from school. 

Finally, there are environmental issues The high demand for wood contributes to deforestation.  The fires also produce a lot of greenhouse gasses which speeds up climate change and global warming.

ONIL stoves are a simple and elegant solution to these issues. There is a model on the bulletin board in Trin Hall. These stoves save lives – they are raised, enclosed and vented to the outside, solving many of the health and safety issues. The are much more efficient – families use 70% less fuel. This frees women and children to pursue other activities such as school, gardening, or learning a trade like weaving. Stoves save trees each stove saves 1 tree a month and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. A stove will easily pay for itself in a year, but most families could never afford to buy one.

We installed 48 stoves during this trip. This is not just a project that a few people from Trinity are involved in – this is something that everyone can be involved in. Together we can improve the quality of life in San Carlos Alzatate and spread the love of Christ. 

We ask for your prayers during our trip. I would like to close with the words of the Archbishop Oscar Romero prayer

I

Today has been a long but very successful day for the team.

We arrived at our Miami hotel about midnight last night and had to leave at 6 to catch the shuttle to the airport. The flight was uneventful and by some miracle, all 26 of our bags made it!

The next step was getting all of that luggage out of the airport and loaded on the vans.

In case you are thinking that does not look very secure you would be right. About half way to Jalapa we rounded a sharp curve and 4 bags fell off. Luckily we were able to pull off the road right away and nothing had major damage.

We arrived in Jalapa about 2:30.

The water team had to quickly drop things in our room and head to San Carlos Alzatate. We traveled up the narrow winding bumpy dirt road to the top of the mountain.

Part of the team unpacked the system while the educational team met with the water board. There were about 20 very distinguished gentlemen but they seemed to enjoy learning about germs and handwashing and they all participated in our activities.

Meanwhile the stove team shopped for supplies. They will have to bring their lunch each day. Then they met with Helps International to learn how to install the stoves.

Both teams finished around 7, in time for supper. Then we prepared the gifts we will be leaving with each family that receives a stove.

Each family will receive a wooden spatula that says Faith Hope Love in Spanish, a copy of the New Testament in Spanish and a lovely dishtowel.

Finally we had devotionals and headed to bed. Tomorrow morning breakfast is at 6:30 sharp!

Today was an awesome day! We woke early to the sounds of of roosters crowing and birds singing. Some team members even reported hot showers! We had a delicious breakfast at 6:30 and by 7:15 we were on the road.

The stove teams headed for some of the remote villages that surround San Carlos Alzatate. There are 4 teams of 3 people and each team has a representative from Helps International with them. The stove teams had a long trip over the windy narrow bumpy dirt road. They went almost an hour past San Carlos Alzatate.

I will share a number of pictures taken by the stove teams and at the end of today’s post I will share some comments made by team members. Each team installed 4 stoves today. By the end of the day they were experts in installation.

The first series shows Stephen and Butler Davis installing a stove step by step.

Starting to use the stove for the first time.

Most families cooked tortillas as a first food on thier stove, some team members even learned how to make tortillas.

Happy families with their new stoves

The villages are remote but the ice cream truck still visits

Beautiful views coming down the mountain

The water team had a great day as well. We have a great team of educators and after a few hiccups the water room is back on schedule. I’ll post pictures and more information on that tomorrow. After supper we met to talk about our day.

Here are some of the comments from the stove team.

“I realized how much I take for granted, I’ve never seen a house with a dirt floor.”

“They were so excited to have a stove. I knew they would be grateful, but I did not expect such excitement.”

“I feel so honored to be here and to be part of this ministry.”

“I was surprised by how happy everyone is. They have so little and yet they don’t seem to miss things. The children run and play with sticks or rocks for toys and they are happy.”

“They whole community helped each other out. When we went from one home to the next the family came with us to help carry the equipment.”

“The home was dark and full of soot! Everything I touched got black and my clothes all smell smoky even though no fire was going.”

“I started to cough as soon as I entered the house.”

“We heard several women wheezing.”

“They wanted to share with us. They shared pomegranate and honey that was delicious.”

“I enjoyed learning to make tortillas and they were wonderful”

After sharing our thoughts we had a devotional led by Margaret Davis. She talked about remembering who you are and whose you are: We are children of God.

Everyone was up early this morning. Everyone was fresh and excited about another day.

Then we were off to our work. The stove teams travelled to 4 different villages. I’ll post pictures from their day at the end of the blog.

I’ll start with water team pictures from Monday. The educators had a great time. We had 6 lovely young ladies who agreed to be community educators.

Purified water is a scarce resource which should not be wasted. It is not necessary to use purified water for washing hands or dishes

In the afternoon a group of students from the local school came. Our community educators did an excellent job of teaching them using the lessons they learned in the morning

While the educational team was having a wonderful time working with the educators, the installation team was facing a few challenges.

Water team pictures from Tuesday:

Today was also frustrating for the installation team.

The water team had somewhat of a wild good chase visiting every hardware store in Jalapa to find one particular part that we never found. The installers say it will work fine without it.

A few homes were not completely prepared but they were able to go to other homes and come back

We all returned exhausted but thankful for a successful day

We had dinner and some great discussion with devotionals

Tomorrow will be our last full day in Jalapa

We will have the purified water celebration in the afternoon- George says it will happen!

Stove teams will have another full day of installation stoves

We appreciate all of your prayers and the opportunity to represent Trinity in Guatemala

Today has been another incredible day. We had a great breakfast at 6:30 the eggs and beans and sausage and delicious fruit.

The water team stole a few people from the stove teams but the stove teams were still able to meet their quota. Everyone made it back to San Carlos Alzatate in time for the water celebration/dedication.

Colors are everywhere on

The water team got a slightly later start. We wanted to get frames for our certificates but traffic and parking did not cooperate

We arrived in San Carlos Alzatate by 9. The educational team had a great morning. We met with our educators again and did a drama of The Woman at the Well. We talked about how Jesus welcomes everyone. Salvation does not depend on gender or race or socioeconomic status. His love is freely given to everyone. We also talked about the importance of sharing the Gospel. The woman at the well left her water and ran to tell everyone about Jesus. The bible says that many cam to believe because of her.

Then the educational team met with the entire water team again to reinforce concepts from the week. Many people had a very limited understanding of germs or the importance of using purified water

Meanwhile, the installation team was still busy working on the system. Several problems delayed them.

The celebration was scheduled for 2 …

They played through lunch

After lunch we visited and danced with the band and played with the kids

But there was till some stress

Would the system be ready in time for the celebration?

Stove teams finished their work and joined us at the water site

2:00 came and went and the band was still playing

Finally the band stopped and we thought we could take down the tables and set up for the celebration- but then the band sat down to eat

It was getting closer to 3, the band was finishing. We were able to set up chairs for the celebration but the water was not quite ready

Just as we can to the part where we dedicate the system and drink the water, Denise arrived with water!

The day was saved! We were all able to drink purified water from the system together and it was delicious!

After the celebration it was time for goodbyes

Saying goodbye to our new friends is always the hardest part but we will be back for visits. We had lots of hugs and lots of pictures.

Finally we left our new friends

Stove teams headed back to the hotel but the water team wanted to visit our friends in Monjas we installed a system last summer

Plans do not always go quite as expected

We called the driver of the van and he agreed to come back for us after he dropped the stove teams at the hotel

But San Carlos Alzatate is well over an hour from the hotel. And then another hour back to get us. We had to cancel our planned visit to Monjas

Finally there were able to fix something enough that we could start back down the mountain.

We drove about 5 miles an hour – but that gave us time to see things we had not noticed before

The yellow bird flying into the trees. The flowers that looked like something Dr Seuss might have made up

Finally the other van met us and we transferred back to it and made it back to the hotel in time for supper and devotions and bed!