March 31, 2009

GOOD TO BE HOME


It is great to be back home from Guatemala, but at the same time it was so sad to leave those precious babies at The Eagles Nest Children's Home. Thanks Larry & Claire Boggs for a great trip!

We hope you will join us Wed. night at 6:30pm in the Chapel at High Street to hear about our trip. We will have Dinner for $1 Tacos at 5pm! Don't miss it!

March 28, 2009

ANOTHER BUSY DAY IN GUATEMALA


Friday was a hectic but fun day for the team. We headed to Panajachael right after breakfast and started our day learning the culture of the Mayan people. Miguel, our tour guide for the day taught us about their language, their dress and the meaning behind what they wear. He also shared about their religion and how the Maya people believe the world came into existence, which is very far from the truth.

Miguel then took us on a boat ride across the lake to the city of Santiago. It is 95% Mayan and very crowded and very poor. We went to the home of a lady who showed us how they make some of the goods they sell. She showed us how to make thread from cotton, how to weave cloth into designs and she even dressed some of our team in Mayan clothing. It was a wonderful experience.

We returned back to Panajachael and headed to the Zip Line! Oh my, this was a fantastic experience for the team! They climb up the mountain to reach the starting point which seemed never ending....but once we got there it was amazing to zip line through the jungle surrounded by mountains, exotic wildlife and just the natural beauty of this city.

We had an authentic meal in Panajachael and then headed out for a little shopping. That is an experience that you can't explain. I can't tell you how many times each of us said No Gracias!

The sights, the sounds and the smell....it is so hard for us to put into words what we are seeing, hearing and smelling! One thing we all have noticed the most is that the people here work very hard long hours. We have watched young children to very old people carrying everything from a baby, to loads of wood, to harvested onions and the biggest carrots we had ever seen! We watched one man put a load on his back that it took 2 grown men to get off the top of a bus. They walk up and down mountain roads that nearly killed some of us with nothing on our backs!

So today is finishing up the security system, one last quilt, and watching the most chaotic garage sale you have ever seen! Claire lets the workers each pick 30 things for free, then the rest of the people get to buy things for about a quarter. Claire just yelled across the valley and the people came running. When everyone is finished buying they take the left overs to the front of the hospital down the road and within a minute everything is gone.

We leave for Guatemala City right after lunch, and it will be hard to say goodbye. We have experienced so much this week, and at times it has seemed overwhelming. We realize how much we take for granted, and hopefully we will remember to be thankful for all that God has blessed us with back home, but also to remember how much the people here need Christ, and to keep praying and supporting the Boggs ministry in Solola.

March 26, 2009

NEWS FROM GUATEMALA



Today was a full day....some of us went to the state children's home to help Claire as she has to volunteer 10 hours a month to complete a course she is taking to meet government requirements to run their orphanage. It was sad, there was no structure and nothing for us to do with the kids as there were no toys or book and a not so great play ground.

The rest of the team went to Vina Studios where they translate the Jesus film into different languages and they also make movies with finger puppets for those who can't read or write. There are 43 different dialects besides Spanish in Guatemala.

This afternoon we ate an authentic Guatemalan meal .... it is a lot of hard work to prepare a meal here for a big group. It was a great experience trying to make our own tortilla shells!! None of us were very good. We toured a cemetery where they bury above the ground 3 or 4 high. The monuments are painted in all different colors...it was a beautiful view but a sad reality.

We also had a soccer tournament tonight and message brought by a group from Larry & Claire Boggs first church in Guatemala. We gave out soccer backpacks, t-shirts, water bottles and candy to all the area kids that came. (thanks to Glendale Soccer Team and Lake Country Soccer) We ended the night with a little fireworks show! They all had a great time and it was a lot of fun for us as well!

We have 11 quilts made and the security system is installed....we are just doing a few tweaks here and there and we will be done!

We will try to post another update before we head to Guatemala City Saturday to begin our journey home.

March 25, 2009

GOING TO MARKET


There are no words to explain market yesterday.....Claire took some of us to their local market they have a couple of days a week. It was unbelievable....the sights, the sounds and well THE SMELL!! It was so crowded there were times we couldn't move. But it was a great cultural experience....one that most of the group will never ever forget!

March 23, 2009

Operation Security Blanket is Under Way!

Well we are here Guatemala and things are going great! The guys got a lot of work done last night and today on the security system....and the girls got 2 quilts completed....which was a huge accomplishment since none of us had ever made a quilt before. As you can see in the photos the babies at the Orphanage are so adorable. It is so much fun to play with them and spend time with them. One of the babies was brought here by his mom the day she delivered him in October, he was only 4lbs old. She asked them to take him or she would leave them in the street. So the Boggs kept the baby and his mom overnight and they went to court the next day to get the appropriate papers signed so they could keep him. Because his mom didn't want him and hadn't given him a name, the state has him listed as baby X, it just breaks your heart.

Keep watching for updates and Keep praying for the team!

March 17, 2009

HEADING TO GUATEMALA


Operation Security Blanket Team will be leaving for Guatemala this Saturday, March 21st - 29th! Please be in prayer for the team and for our project. We will update the blog daily while we are in Guatemala so keep watching for new pictures and updates of our trip!

Team Members:
Gary - Lisa - Matt - Dave - Brad - Mandy - Jeff - Shannon - Ashley - Charlotte - Greg - Stephen - Jenny - Morgan - Sam - Mark - Cindy - Barrett - Dave - Sam - Dennis - Melanie

Prayer request:
Safe Travel

Team Members Health

All our luggage will arrive in Guatemala with the team

We have no trouble getting the medications we are taking through customs (the last team that went to the Eagles Nest had their medications confiscated at the airport)

That the equipped we shipped is in good condition and nothing is missing

We will be able to finish the installation of the security system while we are there

The team will have opportunity to share Christ with those we work with and come in contact with while in Guatemala