Wed. Feb. 12, 2014

Today we return to El Barranco to build three stoves and visit sponsored students. But first we stopped by the women's co-op in Solola where they use only bamboo to weave with. Their dyes are not natural dye as they are in San Juan but the colors are beautiful. They use two weights of spun bamboo, the rustic is spun by hand and the fine is machine spun and imported but the softness in incredible. After the demonstration we were able to purchase their beautiful wears. Then off to build stoves. I have participated in building several stoves and they are often long treks through fields or up rocky inclines carrying all the concrete parts. These three stoves were were all by the road..YIPPEE…. and the parts had already been delivered. This made the heavy toting much easier. We split up into two teams since it doesn't take 10 people to build a stove this made it all happen a lot faster too. An added bonus to the stove building was that one of the homes had San Simon the Mayan god in their home. I am not sure what the process is to have the honor of having him in your home for the year but each year he is moved to another home. So it was a treat to see this while we were there.Then after lunch we first visited Ann's sponsored little girl. It had been two years since Ann's last visit when she first sponsored Blanca and she was really looking forward to her visit. Blanca was so happy to see Ann, I can't begin to tell you how happy it makes the children to meet their sponsors. Ann had brought each family member gifts, sweater,jackets,dolls,shampoo and toys, which they so appreciated. Ann has been helping the family with food donations for the past two years. You often can tell a difference in growth and skin tone when families are given that boost in fresh fruits, vegetable and protein. While we were still at the preschool to have our lunch the two boys Steve has sponsored were at the school and he got to meet them for the first time. He had a smile as broad as Kansas. Steve sponsored Jose Domingo before he had come to Guate and after being here decided he wanted to sponsor a second and since I had 6 boys who lost their sponsors I of course was pushing them!!! So he decided to sponsor Walter too the night before we went for the visits. I have known both of these boys since 2010 and think very highly of them. So after Ann's visit we went first to Walters home where they could get to know each other. They presented Steve with a beautiful hand made scarf. Then Steve asked Walter what he would most like to have and his answer was if Steve could help with food for his family. Between the scarf and the humble request there wasn't a dry eye. Next we went to Jose Domingo's home and Jose was so excited to meet his new sponsor. They really like to put a face to the person who helps them get an education. His family had taken out a loan from a relative to build their home. They were previously living with the grandparents. The father now works in Guatemala City for this relative to pay off the debt so they are not seeing him much. They are in need of help to pay off the debt so by buying food for the family this will help them pay the debt off sooner. Food is always the number one priority with helping these families. Again the day was made possible by the help of the MF staff, drivers, stove building experts, photographers and most of all Elizabeth and Sergio who interpret for us. We so appreciate them all. The night was finish off with dinner at El Bistro along with friends we have met in Pana.

Tuesday Feb. 11….we like to mix fun with the work so we hopped on a boat to San Juan to visit the women's textile co-ops. They make all their own dye from natural resources. The lake was beautiful ( it usually is since it is considered one of the top ten most beautiful lakes in the world ) so it is always a photo op from the front of the boat with the volcanoes behind you. When we arrived Francisca was waiting for us. Francisca heads up one of the larger co-ops and shows us the entire process of creating beautiful textiles. After the demonstration I presented Francisca with a gift from my niece,Kara, who has been twice to Guatemala with me. Kara has a heart for giving to good causes. She is a creative women herself and create lovely jewelry. She has started a small business of not only selling her own creations but those of others. She does both online and in home parties where the hostess can choose a charity to have a portion of the profits go to. Over the holidays she had an online party to sell Guatemala creations and have a percentage of sales go to the coop that Francisca runs. I was able to hand over Q550 ( Guatemalan Quetzels) and Francisca was thrilled by Kara's kindness. We then proceeded to shop until we dropped. We had two MF staff with us, Elizabeth and Sergio, to help interpret and four ladies who were here visiting MF and also on a buying trip for a group of retails stores in California so Sergio not only interpreted but also became a very sweet Sherpa carrying the large bags. Not a single person went home empty handed. We then had a lovely lunch with a view of the lake. After returning to Pana we did a bit more shopping for jewelry then it was time to rest a bit and clean up for a dinner party at my place with the magnificent Chef Mathilda preparing a fabulous meal for us. I do believe a good time was had by all. And again all the photos can be viewed at the Picasa link on the right of the blog.

Day 2 Mon. Feb.10, 2014

Today started out with a trip from the hotel to Mayan Families (MF) in the back of a pickup piled not only with people but all the tubs of donations everyone brought to donate. It's the Guatemalan way!! After sorting and reloading the trucks with donations, food and people we were on our way to El Barranco. El Barranco is a farming community where many impoverished Mayan live and work. They struggle to feed their families let alone cloth and educate them. MF started a preschool there a couple years ago to help feed and educate the children at risk for malnutrition. Guatemala is fourth in the world for chronic malnutrition so at the preschools the children are feed a hot nutritious breakfast, given a snack, get their teeth bruised and given a vitamin everyday, 5 days a week, 12 month a year. This program has saved children's lives. In the preschool they are not only given nourishment but are taught Spanish. The people of this village speak a Mayan dialect but when the children go to public school it is only in Spanish so they struggle to make it in school. There are at least 6 of these preschools that MF has started and the impact they have made in these communities is immeasurable. In El Barranco (EB) some of the parents have worked at keeping their traditions alive by teaching the children the folkloric dances of their Mayan ancestors. It is always so much fun to watch the chidden perform them. While we were waiting for the children to all arrives along with their families we went to do some of the home visits since most of the people of this group already sponsor children in school. Student sponsorship is our main focus but not a requirement of the trip. The children love to have their sponsors come visit and the sponsors are always so moved by the visit also. It can be very emotional especially when you see up close and personal the real poverty these children live in and yet they are most always smiling and happy. I used to be able to go to all the home visit but now so many not only sponsor one child they sponsor more than one child so we always have lots of visits and multiple teams doing it so I try to go to the homes I haven't been too or the ones that it has been a long time since I have been there. After lunch the chidden performed their dances and then we handed out the donations we brought. It is always so hard when there are not enough shoes for all those who need them to find a pair. Along with clothes and shoes they received tooth paste and brushes and soap and shampoo. Then off to more home visit and back to Pana to freshen up and go to MF for a talk by Julio Cochoy who speaks about his experience as a boy living through the revolution in Guatemala and the effect it had on him and others. Then off to dinner and to bed. A long and exhausting but rewarding day. As usual all the pictures from each day can be found on the Picasa link to the right of this page.

arrival day Feb. 9, 2014

I had a lovey ride to the city today to pick up the new group who have come to generously donate there time and money to help the wonderful people of Guatemala. Jeaneth from Mayan Families needed a ride to the city for some appointments so she rode with me and we had a wonderful visit. It is about 3 hrs. to the city so it was nice to have entertainment!!! Brian was the first to arrive…...well not really the first….Ann,Janet and Judy arrived in the city a couple of days ago to do their donation shopping instead of lugging it all down with them on the plane. Smart ladies. They also had a fun city tour and found a couple of restaurants they really liked. Then there was the Chicago delegation…Jim, Laurin, Grace and Michelle who also arrived a couple days early and spent their time in Antigua touring a coffee finca and taking a cooking class where they made a four course typical Guatemalan meal.They used one of my drivers in Antigua to get to Panajachel (Pana) and met us at the hotel. So after Brian, came Steve and then we picked the ladies up from the hotel then returned to the airpot for Beth and her mother Terry. Since most of them came from the frozen tundra of the USA I was glad they all made it unscathed. We then made the 3 hour trip back up to the highlands and just before arriving in Pana we stopped at the Miradora ( a place on the road with a spectacular view over looking the lake and Pana below) where nature showed it's splendor. The sun was setting and because we have had some slightly windy days it was a very clear view where most times by afternoon with all the open cooking fires it is hazy. We were blessed with a double rainbow and a beautiful play of light off the surrounding mountains. After arriving at the hotel and unloading all the luggage and donations everyone freshened up and then we left for our Mayan Families welcome dinner at Sharon and Dwight's home. Wonderful dinner, wonderful people, wonderful day. Tomorrow we hit the ground running.

Movin' on to Antigua

So now I'm WAY behind. The hotel wi-fi in Antigua was not working for me so couldn't get much done on my computer....that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. Sat. morning we were all packed up and ready for travel. Sharon and Dwight met us at the hotel to show us the video of our trip. It always amazes me that they can gather all our activities together and get a DVD made before we leave. We loaded up the van and off to Antigua we headed. Once checked in to Hotel Bucaros it was time for lunch. A favorite spot is Frieda's for margaritas and yummy Mexican food. Still a few touchy tummy's but all managed to eat lunch. Then we did a little tour of the village which is a UNISCO world heritage site and the original capital of the Spanish empire. It is a colonial village with beautifully colored exteriors and lovely hidden gardens behind the stucco walls. Antigua is a cruise ship excursion since it's only a couple hrs. from the Pacific, so many have seen Antigua w/o seeing the rest of Guatemala. So many wonderful things to see in Guatemala that you really should put it on your list of places to visit. I'd be happy to have you on one of our Grace of Guatemala Voluntourism trips or just help you with your travel arrangements to do a trip on your own. Then it was time for a siesta and to start to indulge in the chocolate we bought at Chocolalala. A Frenchman who knows how to do the most wonderful things with Guate. chocolate. Of course a little more shopping happened along the way too. I called my friend Susie who is now living in Antigua and invited her to join us for dinner as she knew several of the group from previous trips. We had dinner at another favorite place ..La Fonda...where they make the most amazing chicken rice soup. I can't go to Antigua w/o having it. During dinner there was a procession on the street in front of the restaurant similar to the one last yr. Not sure what the event was but the float carrying the body of Christ in a glass coffin was carried on shoulders not driven. I have no idea how many people it took to carry it but it was such a long float I couldn't get it all in one shot. After dinner we were 8 tuckered out peeps so off to bed early especially since six have to catch a 5:30 AM shuttle to the airport.

Day of the Dead

I'm a little behind as I usually am towards the end of the trip. I'm pooped..what can I say. On friday we went to the kite festival in Sumpango which is part of the celebration of Day of the Dead. It is so amazing to see the kites up close. They are very intricate and colorful and made totally of colored tissues paper. The paper is then mounted on bamboo poles. My guess would be that there were a couple thousand people there before it was all over with. They always start flying the kites later in the day so we can't stay for all of it but we got to see several kites flown of the smaller size. I would say about 5-6 ft. across. Actually the first kite they flew earlier was a political statement..anti abortion. You know you have been coming to Guatemala for a while when you just walk in the gate and see 4 different people you know. The world is getting smaller all the time. I was glad I got a picture of the Peacock kite before the wind started to tear it form it's poles. I have no idea how many meters some of them are but you can see from the pictures the comparison of the size of the people and the size of the kites. We were able to see some of them being unfolded and mounted to the poles then lifted up into place. It was like a finely orchestrated dance. Since it is a 2 hr. drive each way, by the time we got back to Pana, everyone was pretty tired out. We have had a few sick and it seems as if they got a bug and just passed it around. It doesn't seem to last too long just a bit miserable for about 24 hrs. so Sandy decided to stay at the hotel and relax and the boys stayed behind to get caught up on there company business. The kite festival is certainly amazing and an event to take in if you have the opportunity but I have now seen it twice so I think I am good for another 20 yrs.

There are no pictures for day 5 since it is a free day so everyone got to do their own thing. Amanda and Angela went zip lining, Jay sat by the pool and did work stuff, Dave and Mike went to visit more of Dave's families and Sandy and Melissa were having some tummy issues so they kept a low profile. Sandy and Melissa were able to come to my place to help eat left overs and then back to the hotel to rest. I rested and picked up some jewelry I had made that was ready. Not very much excitement but much needed rest was had. Day 6 will be Dia De Los Muertes...day of the dead...kite festival.