Blog entry written by Jay and Zak.
Greetings, this is Jay, again. Today we split off into two teams with Scott and me going to complete the unfinished stove from yesterday. It was a great blessing as the house was owned by Giovanni who is the groundskeeper for where we are staying. When we came home we showed him the picture of his family in front of the stove. It was amazing watching him smile and proudly pointing out his wife in the white tweety-bird t-shirt. We were then able to build a stove for a family that lives next to the church in Zapote. The walls and the roof of their hut that contained the stove were covered with soot and the wood crossbars were a smooth black. It’s difficult to even describe some of the stuff we have seen. While we were in the hut the owner came in with Styrofoam cups and Coca-Cola. This gesture was amazing as we don’t know how much they make and how much this soda cost them but yet she was eager to give it to us.
Afterwards, there was a group of kids who were on the street and I started handing out suckers that we had. I walked up to these children and asked them in Spanish if they wanted them. The children’s eyes grew as they saw the suckers. After giving out a few handfuls of candy a small girl around age 12 came over and tapped me on the arm and said to me in perfect English “I just wanted to thank you for the candy.” After spending hours with Pastor Jose Luis and the family who speak no English and Rudy who speaks very little, this girls gesture encouraged me so much that even after completing two stoves I was sad that we were done for the day and wanted to go and build more. I could go on but in concern for time, here is Zak.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Zapote, Greg, Sean, Glen and I, under the direction of Tono, began work on the second house that we’ll be constructing during our stay in Guatemala. The floor-plan is the same as the last which makes for fast work and more time to spend interacting with the family as well as the neighbors who stop by to watch the progress. We do our best to keep the sweat out of our eyes and the bugs off our backs. The families are a constant encouragement when the humidity has glued our shirts onto our backs.
As we were in the thick of the labor, we were surprised when the mother of the household offered us a refreshing break from the mid-day heat in the form of a chilled bottle of Pepsi to share between the 5 of us. It was a welcome surprise for all of us and we all agreed that it was precisely what we needed to recharge the batteries and give us a boost of courage and motivation to face the ants again! We all feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to be here and witness the generosity and the infectious smiles of the Guatemalan people.
We appreciate the comments as well. We eagerly await the time we’ve set aside after dinner when Aaron pulls out the laptop and shares your encouraging words with all of us. It makes our time here that much sweeter.
Sean here…after reading these posts it is amazing that two home owners showed their appreciation for the work that we are doing in the form of a cold soda. We are truly experiencing God’s new mercies every day!
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