Leaving for Guatemala

To read the Pennies for Pencils post, CLICK HERE.

I am leaving for Guatemala this Sunday. The purpose of this trip is very simple. We have to rebuild parts of homes and make repairs and we have to find out if those that have been resistant to visits from Christians will allow us to help them, as well.

This is a very different trip than those I have taken to Guatemala so far. I am not traveling with a team. In fact I am traveling with no one else. I am not staying in my comfort zone which is Antigua. Instead I will be staying in Parramos, a few miles outside of Pueblo Nuevo. Thank you to N.H. from Rehoboth Children's Home for allowing me to stay with her. I will not have daily personal transportation that stays with me all day in case of an emergency except from and back to the airport. For the first time, I will experience public transportation or no transportation at all (except for my two feet), depending on the preference of the Tulio family each day. I will either ride a bus or walk to Pueblo Nuevo every day. I will not have a translator and I know very little Spanish. I do not know enough to even get by. In Antigua, there is always someone that speaks more English than I do Spanish. It isn't that hard to get by there. It is a different story in Pueblo Nuevo. Leddy speaks English, though we often have a difficult time understanding each other. We do not always have a translator (I cannot find one in the area and unless I bring someone with me from Antigua, we do not have one) so as always, I will get by somehow. I will not have a computer with me so I will not be posting daily updates on Facebook or the blog as I usually try to do. This will be an interesting trip to say the least. It will be another quick trip. I will return to the U.S. Thursday night.

In addition to ordering supplies for rebuilding/repair, arranging delivery and speaking with the men in the community to make sure that the work gets done (because they will be the ones working together to rebuild/repair for each other), I have to meet with the school principal to go over details of the December trip....to get school supply lists, enrollment information, information about school fees, etc. and also with a local nurse because I still have some questions about the health of the general population of those living in Pueblo Nuevo and I'm hoping she can answer those questions and help me figure out how to best approach health care there.

As always, I would appreciate prayers for those that I will be with in Guatemala, my family and myself.