Day 7 and Gary H. still hasn't changed his underwear.

Jeff





Last day of the mission trip and the dedication day for the twenty houses. We finished up the final additions of the houses. The whole group travelled to each house for the dedication which included prayer with each family. It was amazing to witness the emotion of the families upon receiving the lock and key for their house. There are many different families that stand out, such as the family with 8 kids currently living on the side of a mountain in a lean to with plastic walls. Julio, age 23 and his wife with eight kids will now have a new 12 X 12 house. It was touching to not only see the appreciation for their houses, but to also see how they have decorated their houses with flowers. It has without question been a rewarding experience. I am thankful for the opportunity to share this experience with 33 others from First Baptist. We have all grown so much closer through this experience and certainly impacted many the lives of so many Guatemalans.

Wes Davis


What an incredible week. I told people today it was like a good football game - started slow in the first half but got great in the second half. Wednesday and Thursday were two great days - good weather, good batteries for tools and great inspiration to finish the work. I was on the Davis (Wes Davis) team, but due to his extreme fever of 99.2, I was traded to the Harris (Gary Harris) team. I have been known to the group as the "free agent". The Harris team, otherwise known as teamo de dreamo, started and finished three houses on Thursday. All of the other teams had similar successful days. The faith of the families receiving the houses has been something that has been extremely rewarding to see. The 20th house was started and finished on Thursday except for the door and window. The family was told earlier in the week that we were coming to build them a new house, so their previous house was torn down to make room for the new one. They were without a house for a few days, waiting on us to get there. I wondered what Friday was going to be like by going to all 20 houses for the dedications. What a moving experience to witness the familes moved to tears, and then moving us to tears by their faith. In each of the pastor's prayers, he used the words "hermanos de Jesus Cristo", meaning brothers of Christ. I loved waiting for it and listening to that each time. All in all, what an awesome trip - looking forward to the next trip to Guatemala.


Jeff Tanner

TOP 10 THINGS NOT HEARD ON THE MISSION TRIP

10. Grayson, what do you think?
9. They sure have smooth roads down here.
8. Wes is Davis is so positive.
7. I wish it would rain more.
6. Go ahead and step in it. It's probably just mud.
5. Let's all get fanny packs like Marion.
4. I wish we could get Tracy Hamlet to talk more.
3. Muddy? I hadn't really noticed.
2. Yeah, it's probably all right to drink out of that barrel.
and the # 1 thing not heard on the Mission Trip-
1. Nah, leave the new batteries here - the old ones will work just fine!


RANDOM NOTES FROM THE LAST DAY ON THE WORKSITE - DAY 7

Wes Davis left his lunch at our worksite yesterday morning. We took his sandwich out and replaced with a rock, then sent it over to his site. It's the little things in life.

Several of the people cried today when we dedicated their houses. It was very emotional for us, too. I was glad I was wearing sunglasses.

20 houses in 4 and 1/2 days. Pretty good, but it wasn't because of our strength. Any one on our site the last day will testify that it was the strength and grace of God that got us through it.

I am getting eat slam up by mosquitoes as I type this. Peace out.

Last Full Work Day

Sorry for the lack of pictures tonight. In addition to the batteries for our tools, our camera batteries are dying off one by one. Got GREAT shots today... just didn't get them off of the camera before it died. And we've discovered that getting things at the store in Guatemala is not as easy as it is in the states. Tomorrow morning is dedications day, so we will be sure to find some working batteries and get some pictures of all of the wonderful families we have met and the houses we have built. It has been wonderful. We've hit some walls that we couldn't overcome by our own strength and God has made a way each and every time. We're grateful every time we have eyes to see it. Keep us in your prayers as we wind down our time here and as we travel home.

Grace,
Jayne


This morning I had mixed emotions about the last work day. I was relieved that it was the last day, but I was also dissapointed that I was leaving the children I had grown to love. We left the house same time as always. Today was probably the most efficient day for my team and I. We finished 4 houses and built 1. I was very surprised at our progress. Overall. today was a great day! I made bonds with more kids and actually helped with the construction work. Tomorrow is our last full day in Guatemala. I'm so upset because I have to leave this beautiful country and the beautiful inside of it. I will miss everything about it and be much more thankful for how blessed I am!
~Taylor Hamlet <33


After several days of distractions from our mission (rain, MUD, more MUD, bad batteries for the saws and drills), we finally had a great workday in the sun! The mud, caked on the bottom and sides of my shoes, fell off this morning without much effort as if it were powder. Dirt roads became dusty again. It is amazing that the families, especially the kids, are so happy. Many wanted our candy and toys while others just wanted our attention and love. We saw excitement in the eyes of those that were getting new homes. I also saw disappointment and confusion in neighbors that were not getting homes. One family actually tore down their house and moved in with neighbors because the village pastor told them that American Christians were going to be building them a new house. At the houses that have been completed, the families have not wasted any time moving in. We are dedicating the houses tomorrow afternoon after completing the fronts for 8 houses. We were able to get houses #19 and #20 framed, siding installed on three sides, roofing installed and the door/window made this afternoon. We are going out tomorrow morning to hopefully complete the fronts for the remaining 8 houses; however, not all of the houses had concrete floors as of this afternoon.

In devotions tonight, we talked about how we need to be witnessing to people all the time and not just on mission trips. We need to show God's love to all people. It is amazing to look at the same stars, moon and sun that we see in Wilmington and know that they are looking at it the same as us. I am so grateful for the family, church, job and friends that God has given me. God loves the Guatemalan people as he does all people. As part of our devotion, we gave praises to each other in our work groups, prayed for each other and offered up praises to God for his love and for us being blessed to be able to be on this trip. I am extremely proud of my team today (Mark and Martin, Christian, Mary, Marolyn and Jim). We were able to complete the front siding (after cutting the metal siding on most of the houses to fit), hanging of the window/door on 4 houses, and attaching the roof decking on one house as well as finishing 1 house up to the front and concrete floor. All teams are looking forward to meeting our goal of providing a new home for 20 families!

I can't believe we are nearing the end of this mission trip. The people on this trip are great and I have really enjoyed getting to know friends better and getting to know those that did not know at all. While I will miss being in this beautiful country with our group and will miss the Guatemalan people, I miss my family. I love you Jeannie and Cutter.

Post Hole Counter: 180
Pot Hole Counter: 3,000 (and counting!)
Sponsored by Criser Troutman Tanner Consulting Engineers - Guatemalan Office

Jeff Troutman


Whew, exhausted but rejoicing in the completion of 20 homes! We started the day with another wonderful breakfast by the kitchen crew (Twig and Brenda who have put at least 5-10 lbs on each of us), sunshine and 7 families anxiously awaiting their new homes. What a blessing to know that they will now have a home enclosed from the elements (while only the size of our master bedroom closets) with concrete flooring instead of mud. The families are so thankful and I hope they feel the love of Christ we have been asked to bring to them. The children are so starved for attention and love the games, candy and even watching us work. Tomorrow is a big day to dedicate the homes with each of the families and to give them gifts of food, clothing and rejoice in the sharing of God's love. It has truly been amazing.

Praise God and keep on praying for us,

Jane Dodd

Observations from Day 5

Random Notes and Observations from The Trip - Day 5

by Gary Harris

Twig likes to say "If you think long, you think wrong."

Probably the sunniest day we've had. No coincidence it was also the most productive day.

Wes Davis thinks "Temple of Doom" was the best Indiana Jones movie. Him and maybe two other people in the world. I asked Jayne if she knew that before she married him, 'cause that's a dealbreaker.

We pulled into a parking lot last night and was greeted by over 200 people waiting for us to show up to pass out food and clothes. As we got closer to passing it out, it swelled to over 500.

I worked with Joe Payne, Sean Grzeck, Wayne Hill, Marion Wright, Jennifer Player, and Jeff Tanner today. We sided and roofed 2 houses and built another one from start to finish. today. Thoroughly enjoyed working with all of them. We're so good at it, the Guatemalans are coming from all over the country to watch us work. Word on the street is, they're calling us "El Teamo de Dreamo."

It is an amazing thing to meet peoples needs like we did last night when we passed out food and clothes. We talked tonight in devotions about how Jesus encountered this throughtout his public ministry. He would go into a town and the crowds would be there waiting and pressing in on him, and the reason they would be there was they knew he would meet their need.

My sandwiches keep getting better and better. Today's were so good I felt bad eating them. They deserved better than that. By the way, the brand of ham we eat here in Guatemala is "Scooby-Doo". No lie. Got a picture of him on the front. Kinda weird when you think about it. A picture of a dog on a package of meat?

The batteries for the cordless tools ( drills, and saws, mostly) have been losing their charge after about halfway through the day. This means handsaws, and delays. People are doing well handling it, though.

Twig gave Jane a ring and they got engaged today. I think she said yes cause she was afraid of getting left in a foreign country if she said no.

The schedule the past 2 days has been Breakfast at 6 and leave for the worksite by 7. Same for tomorrow.

Jayne is still doing a great job leading the trip.

POSTHOLE COUNTER

To Date -130 dug

SPONSORED BY CRISER,TROUTMAN, AND TANNER CONSULTING ENGINEERS, GUATEMALAN OFFICE

GH

This is my first mission trip and its been an amazing experience. Last night we drove up a 10k foot mountain to hand out food and when we pull into the town there is just a mass of people waiting for us, a very surreal scene especially looking down the side of a cliff. Days start real early and it is very foggy before the sun comes up. Our house looks out over the city but in the morning the fog completely covers it and all you can see are the mountains that surround it. I met a local boy that was 20, which is about my age, and we brokenly communicated with one another. I found out he has lived in this small little village his whole life and was lucky enough to get 6 years of schooling. He talked as if his future was never in his hands but no matter what he would become a farmer like his father. Finishing a house and knowing that a family will have a better life is a feeling that can't really be described in words. No disrespect to the other teams, but our team was on a roll today. Messing with the kids is the best part though. Gary Harris and I try to sneak up behind them and scare them. We made two kids cry today, Gary says "It's not a good day until you make a kid cry," so I guess today was extra special. Wes didn't think the new Batman movie was all that good... Tracy Hamlet questioned my manhood today because I swallow pills one at a time. I dont think Jayne Davis has slept all trip... Last night we had Dominoes pizza and it was better than in the U.S. Our work day including travel is roughly 7am to 6pm, there are no bathrooms. Jeff Tanner told the kids his name was Bruce Springsteen. Before I came on the trip I was afraid that I would go hungry, but it seems like we have a small feast every night.

It seems like monday was the learning day, tuesday was the fun day, but today we really got to work. Coming into the day we had 7 houses started/finished. We now have 14. Everyone is working very hard and well together, hopefully we can have another good day tomorrow.

Love you mom and dad and I'll see you Saturday,

Sean Grzeck

Day Two On The Work Site....

Today was a very challenging day for us with issues of weather, tools and roads... but never spirit. This is a GREAT team from FBC here in Guatemala! You would be proud. They rise to every challenge and love and serve at every opportunity. We went to a very remote village this afternoon for our food distribution. It was an incredibly challenging trip for our drivers - up steep mountains and down through gorges, few smooth surfaces and little grace on either side of the road - but they were amazing. If it had rained during the food distribution, as it had been raining on and off much of the day, we would have faced some serious issues. But not a drop fell until the moment we reached the main highway - and then it poured much of the hour ride back to the mission house. We were an hour late getting to the food distribution site because of traffic and weather, but all 90 families were there, in line, without complaint, ready and grateful for the supplies we had brought. It was moving and humbling to see their faces light up as they got a piece of clothing, or the hugs they gave as we filled their bag with rice, oil, corn meal and other basic staples. We can't help but believe there was a reason that God took us to this place - for them and for us. Please continue to pray for us. - Jayne

Our blog post tonight is from Team Davis (Wes Davis, Jeff Tanner, Gary Gupton, Mary Dyar, Alan Dyar, Kayla Davis, Casey Eakins, Chamberlain Collier):

Tuesday was a rainy and damp day and the mud made for some difficult conditions, but all in all it was a good day. We continue to work on our houses and today we came to rely on our strength when we discovered the battery packs did not have enough charge to help us drill and cut the lumber. The kids loved the bubbles and having their pictures taken. Even though I can't speak Spanish, the love of Jesus crosses all boundaries. I enjoyed the food/clothing distribution. We were able to bless 90 families and even though we were delayed by the weather and traffic, the families waited for us without complaint. The ride to the village would make for a good ride at any amusement park. But as always the Lord was faithful and he kept us safe. A huge shoutout to all our drivers! Well, I'm going to sign off for now, continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Blessings - Mary

Today was a hard day. The tools did not work, it rained, and it was very muddy. But the day did have some good things too. Like this morning when we woke up Taylor Hamlet told me Buenos Nachos. Then while we were working one of the kids picked up a bunny. Well i look up and scream because he has decided to shove it in my face. It was pretty funny. Our first work site of the day had a school across the road. During the kids free time we took a break to play. We blew bubbles and took pictures (they LOVE to have their picture taken). Then I had a few of the kids read The Cat In The Hat in Spanish. All of the kids gathered around and were quiet to hear that book. It was amazing. Words cant describe how awesome it was to be huddled under a small porch and hear those boys read. Hearing the bell that ended their free time was the worst part of the day. I could have sat there forever.

Chamberlain Collier

I had made it my little mission to bring several children's books to read to the children of Guatemala. It was my pleasure to share the books El Gato Ensombrerado (The Cat in the Hat) and Canguro Azul (Blue Kangaroo) with Chamberlain, Kayla, and Casey to read to the children- they were playing with and spending some quality time with the children. I really enjoyed hearing the little nine year old boy read from Canguro Azul on the jobsite while Chamberlain held the book and 4 or 5 other boys listened intently and looked at the pictures. I did not see it when she read from The Cat in the Hat, but Chamberlain told of how the children laughed with glee as she read the English version to the ninas and ninos. My little mission was successful; I had brought the books (the "tools") and the children had enjoyed them. We were all blessed!

Gary Gupton

Today was a real long day. Our room got a wake up call from about three different people at 5:30 am. We came to our first job site of the day which happened to be across the street from a school. However, I think school got postponed temporarily when we brought out the bubbles and the cameras because a crowd of kids raced and stormed around us. It was really encouraging to see that these kids were actually able to get an education and to see how much they loved to go to school. If only our job site was as pretty of a picture that morning. We were ankle deep in thick mud and cow manure and neighboring a pig. But our group was able to pull it through despite the conditions. We moved on to our next job site around noon where we met many excited children and kids coming home from school. Even though I couldn't be a huge help in the building department, I lucked out in getting the job of playing with the kids all day and trying to understand each other's language.

Kayla Davis

This morning was a pretty rough start for me and the girls in my room. Mary came into our room 30 minuntes early and totally ruined our beauty time. So we left at like 7 and got to the job site at like 8ish. Our first site was all wet and muddie and half way through the day it rained!! Which made it even muddier! After we finished as much of the house as we could we headed to our next site, which wasn't as muddie! There were a lot of kids that were just coming back from school at our site. They were the cutiest things ever, and really sweet! They loved messing with Chamberlain! And when it was time to go to go back to the mission house they followed us to our vans and told us "Adios"! I can't wait till we go back tomorrow to finish the House!

Casey Eakins :)

Our team worked on our second house today. It was a muddy mess with the house located next to a hog fence. We largely completed the house just waiting for the concrete to be mixed and poured. Tonight was our food and clothing distribution in an extremely isolated village about an hour and a half away located at the end of long muddy road thorugh extremely mountainous terrain. As long as and dangerous as the drive was, the numer of people old and young waiting for us was amazing. Families with up to eight children and elderly people filed through the line. Such small children living in this isoloated village with such limited resources yet with smiling faces. They all were so greatful for what little we had to offer.

Wes Davis

Day One on the Work Site.......

Our Village for Today

Team Davis

El Jefe!

Team Troutman/Harris

Team Cox

We were able to complete 3 houses to this stage today and get the posts up for two more. Tomorrow we will complete these five houses and attempt to get five more well underway before we break at 2pm to go to the food and clothing distribution. All ten of these houses are in the same village.

Today's Blog entry is from Team Harris (Gary Harris, Wayne Hill, Christian Davis, Marian Wright, Anna Tolan, Joe Payne, Skip Everhart):

Today was an absolute blessing to all of us. We never had any idea that we would be the ones receiving the blessings.

Going in to the village for me was initially shocking ,with people living in the most unbelievable conditions that you could ever imagine. After arriving we were received with such love. Even with no communication between us the barriers were broken immediately.

The children played all day, learning many games and English that Tracy and her girls taught them. Smiling from ear to ear they were very grateful for our time.

Marian and Jane (Dodd) got really confident in their skills building windows and doors. They thought they were not going to be able to do much but again God brought us through it.



Gary's Random observations from Day 1 on the Worksite:


Skip Everhart nailed his glove to a post


Bobby Cox likes to say "Nail it before it rots."


Sean Grzeck is the tallest person in Guatemala. Him walking through the worksite is like watching Godzilla roll through Tokyo. Being 6'7" has advantages on the work site, though. He can get things done without a ladder that others couldn't.


Bobby Cox likes to say "Measure twice, cut once".


We had stew beef and rice for supper. Muy Delicioso.


Mark Hamlet played the guitar in public for only the 2nd time in his life tonight. (The 1st time for Taylor's 4th grade class.) He played so we could sing some songs during devotions tonight and did great. He sure played better than we sang.


All the youth on the trip say that the chips and cheetos down here taste better than the ones back home.


Mary Avery can do anything on the worksite a man can and just as good.

My work site mixed and poured a concrete floor for our house in an hour. Turn and Burn!


Squaring the posts for the house is tough.


If you're one of the families getting a house, it's probably better to get the 2nd or 3rd house the group builds. I'm just saying.........


The view from the house where I'm typing this right now is beautiful.


Saw 2 goats and a cow get taken for walks at different points in the day.


A ladder almost fell off the truck on the way home today. No harm, no foul.


I had a PB&J, and a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch today. Maybe it's me, but you let them badboys sit in a brown paper bag in the sun for the morning, and when you go to eat them,....... they just taste better. I love them like that.


We had communion last night during devotions. Jayne was going to use hard tortilla shells for the bread but then realized we be dipping them into the juice and realized, in her own words, "that would get a little too funky". So we cut up soft flour tortillas and dipped them into the juice. I suggested we use the hard chips and dip them into salsa for communion. Couldn't sell Jayne on that, but not everybody recognizes genius.


Lastly, Jayne continues to do a great job.


gh

Only the twin peaks of the volcano are visible from the mission house at 6:30 this morning. As the day progresses, the clouds cover the top of the volcano.

The group has been divided into four work teams. We are anxious to begin building tomorrow. We will be building in two villages. Today was a free day as we got to know each other, relax at the mission house, explore the grounds and venture out to Antigua.



In addition to working together at a build site, each of the four teams has a task each day - Packing the tool boxes & loading the vans, Unloading the vans and cleaning the tools, Dinner clean up, Updating the blog. Today, the Troutman team (Jeff Troutman, Jim George, Sean Grzeck, Mark Hamlet, Martin Hamlet, Jayne Davis, Annie Davis, and Mary Avery) is responsible for the blog post.



From Team Troutman:


This morning, we started the day with a healthy dose of Twig's pancakes, afterwhich the group sorted the extra clothes that were carried by the team to Guatemala to give out to the Mayan families (about 10 black garbage bags full!). We will do the clothing distribution on Tuesday afternoon when we give out the food baskets that our children raised money to buy as a part of their mission projects during Crosspoint. Jeff Tanner modeled a leopard print outfit for the group while Maryolyn Schauss modeled the latest headgear.


We were all glad to find out that the pops we heard in the middle of the night and earlier today were not gunfire... just firecrackers being set off at the base of the mountain. Apparently it's a popular way to celebrate and, interestingly enough, it is also a way they let the people know that worship at the local church is about to start. We are going to bring up that idea with the worship team when we get back to Wilmington.



We traveled to Antigua for lunch, site seeing and a little shopping at the market. We were lucky to get there because the drivers here are VERY aggressive. Sometimes all you can do is just close your eyes & step on the gas. (That line was typed by one of our drivers, which really worries those of us who are passengers). Actually our drivers are doing an awesome job in very challenging conditions. We only got stopped on the road once today by police. Turns out it was just to let a bicycle race come up the mountain.

When we got to Antigua, many enjoyed negotiating with the vendors for souveniers.


This afternoon, several toured the 300 acre plantation, where the mission house is located, and saw several ancient Mayan pyramids, the coffee trees, 20' high banana trees and other fruit trees and the many flowers. As we walked all the vegetation was so vibrant in color. There are many different wild, native flowers with an array of colors. Banana trees were everywhere with bunches of little green bananas on the trees. Too bad they are not ready to eat!






Later in the afternoon, one of the volcanos, which is visible from the mission house, did a little "hiccup" and erupted, letting out a small puff of smoke that several in the group saw. Paul, the caretaker, told us we might see an eruption this week! Of course he also told us we might have an earthquake. They had a 4.6 quake 3 days ago and a 6.8 earthquake a few months ago. Let's hope Paul isn't always right! Fortunately for us, the mission house has been built to withstand a quake in the 8.0 range. We'd prefer not to test that theory.


The Mission House









Sean was a BIG hit at the market!















We ended the day with a great meal together, devotions, communion and a game of spoons. Communion posed a small challenge for us as there were no fresh loaves of bread at the market. We got corn tostadas (hard shell) thinking that could be a cool alternative... until we consider having to dip the salty, crunchy pieces in the grape juice. Gary Harris suggested substituting salsa for the grape juice, but... Gary makes a lot of suggestions that we choose to pass on. In the end we opted for soft flour tortillas. They're pretty close to bread and seemed to work fine. But after dipping them in the grape juice, many had an unusual craving for peanut butter.

In the end, worship tonight was a great time for sharing our thoughts about being on mission and leaving with God our anxieties for what we might face, how we might be challenged, and opening ourselves to letting him work through us and use us in ways we might never think ourselves capable of. With God all things are possible.

All are looking forward to building houses tomorrow and meeting the families who will be receiving them.