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