Wrap Up Post

We are currently sitting in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport waiting for our connection home to Sioux Falls.  It is definitely a bittersweet moment.  It will be nice to get back home and see family and friends, but is very hard to leave Casa Angelina and Guatemala.

Yesterday we traveled to the ocean and got to spend a little time on a black sand beach and swim in the ocean.  After we left, we went to Saritos for lunch and then made our way into Guatemala City to the Barcello where  we all got a little much needed rest.  We were up early this morning to fly out of Guatemala City at 8:40. We will be heading out of Dallas at 8:15PM and landing in Sioux Falls around 10:20PM tonight. Thank you everyone for reading the blog and praying for us while we were gone.

Orphanage Last Day

Well we have come the that point in our trip again.  Today was our last day out at the orphanage and you could tell that many people were not ready to leave when the buses pulled out of that gate for the last time this trip.  It is amazing when you look back and see what our group has accomplished in this short week while we were here.  The ditch digging crew got over a 1/4 mile of drainage ditch dug and 60 tons of rock moved into the trenches.  The painting crew got 57 panels painted that bolster the orphanage's security in the future.  The carpenter team built 4 new storage cabinets for several different houses and did a lot of repair work on some of the existing cabinets.  The block laying group got four layers of block laid on Harvest House, which doesn't seem like a lot, but in the end the progress speaks for itself.  Goodbyes are always the hardest part of this trip.  Saying goodbye to the kids, the staff, and the amigos is very tough, but I know I will be back soon so it makes it a little easier.  Each and every person at the orphanage touches your heart in some way or another. Tomorrow will hold another difficult goodbye when we leave the hotel and have to say goodbye to the staff that has been absolutely amazing to us and catered to our every need.  Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for this group.  Every single person on this trip has been absolutely amazing.  I'll leave you with a couple pictures that I took today.  We all send our love and thoughts home and will be seeing everyone shortly.

Harvest House after our week of

Leaving the orphanage

Orphanage Day 4

It is hard to believe we are at this point already.  Tomorrow is our last day at the orphanage and it feels like we just got here.  Today was a great day of work out at the orphanage.  Everyone was in high spirits and was working hard to accomplish what we set out to do this week.  The block crew got several more layers of block laid today and are set up to get a bunch more done tomorrow.  The other crews did a lot of work today as well, but did not get around to really see what they were doing today.  We did get some rain today for the first time this week which hindered a little bit of progress over the lunch hour.  After lunch, the rain subsided for almost the rest of the day, but started again at about 4:00pm causing us to have to quit early because the mortar was too wet.  Despite the minor setback, we are making amazing progress and are all ready to get back to work tomorrow and finish the week on a strong note.  Thanks everyone for you thoughts and prayers.  Please let me know if there is something you would like shared with the group and I would be more than happy to do so.

Orphanage Day 3

We had another productive day that the orphanage today.  Every group got a lot accomplished and everyone is still doing very well.  No body has gotten sick so far, the weather has been amazing, and no body has gotten hurt, which we are extremely grateful for.  Once again I didn't get to travel around too much today, but I did take a little time to check out what the other groups were doing today.  The carpentry group got two cabinets built today and did a lot of repair work on existing cabinets.  The ditch digging team filled in where they dug yesterday and started working and digging another ditch by the soccer field to help with rain runoff.  I didn't get down by the painters today, but I heard that they got one more panel done today than they did yesterday.  So far on this trip, we have been greatly blessed and are very thankful for your thoughts and prayers.

Once again, if anybody would like to send a message to the group you can either comment on this post or send me an email at jjschuh7632@gmail.com and I will be sure to read it for the group at devotions.  Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  We send our thoughts and love your way and will be home soon.

Orphanage Day 2

Today was our first working day at the orphanage. We had several different teams that worked on several different projects.  We had a team that was working on painting a fence the help secure the perimeter of the property even more, a team working on diverting rain waters, a team building storage cabinets to put in a number of houses, and also a team laying brick on Harvest House.  Today there was a lot of work that got done despite a little bit of a late start.  Since I was unable to really get around and see what everyone was up to, this is really the only information that I have at this point.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to get around and check out some of the work that others were doing, but great progress was made on the walls of Harvest House.  If you have any questions or comments please let us know, or if you would like to share something with the group comment on a post or send me an email at jjschuh7632@gmail.com and I will be sure to share it with the group.  Thank you everyone for following what we are doing and your thoughts and prayers.

Orphanage Day 1

Greetings Everyone,

Today was our first day out at Casa Angelina and for some it was a very eye opening experience and was a reminder for all those who were returning for a second, third, etc. time.  To start off the day, we got to worship with the staff at the orphanage. Unfortunately, Kimberly and Bethany had to fly out to get to Florida for a wedding and Ivan will be leaving on Wednesday. 

After our initial orientation meeting, we got to go on a tour of the orphanage and hear some of the amazing stories of the children that are there.  The tours were very eye opening for some of the new members of the group and there were not too many dry eyes afterwards.  We all had lunch at the orphanage, which was prepared by the amazing chef they have their.  After lunch, we broke up into three groups and walked to several different widow's houses in the surrounding village to see what work is being done outside the orphanage walls.  After this tour, we got back together and watched the skits, songs, dances that the kids of each house had prepared for us.  Following the performance, we took the traditional picture on the stairs, then got to watch the kids enjoy a little soccer game.

There are a couple other things that we found out today that are amazing steps in a positive direction for the orphanage.  The orphanage has accepted its first widow to live at the orphanage.  When she was brought to the orphanage,  they told Ivan that she had about three more days to live and that was over a week ago.  They also said that she only had use of 4 of her 10 fingers and came in a wheelchair because she didn't have enough strength to walk.  We were told that she has been an amazing blessing and has assumed the role of grandmother to all the kids at the orphanage.  She is extremely thankful for us coming to help out in any way we can.

The second piece of news we got today was the land owner across the road has approached the orphanage and has offered to sell them his 42 acres that is directly across the road from the current grounds of the orphanage.  Ivan had a meeting with the gentleman today in hopes to work out a deal for the land and hopefully get it for the orphanage to allow even more expansion for homes, children, widows, etc.  Please be praying for this opportunity to work out for the orphanage's sake so even more children can be saved from the streets and terrible situations.

Picture of the widow who is now living at Casa Angelina

The new water purification system in use at the orphanage.

Auqaponics building almost ready to start producing.

The different houses performing skits for us.

The group photo of us all.

Day 1 - Touring Antigua

Today we had a very interesting day in Antigua. We started the day off with a tour to the cross on the hill and took some group pictures as is our tradition on Sunday's while we are down here in Guatemala.  After we left the cross on the hill, we attended a 9:30AM church service at our friend Ronny's church.  Because of our being at church, Ronny preached his entire sermon in English and had his wife translate for him to accommodate our presence.  After church we had some lunch in Antigua and then went to the local market to look around and buy some of the local goods.  After our day in Antigua, we got a couple hours of down time to spend at the hotel before supper and our devotions.  We are heading to the orphanage tomorrow for the first time this trip, and the first time for many of us on this trip.  We will continue to keep you guys posted on how things are going and what we are up to while we are here.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

 The Brandon group that is along on this trip with us.

The Madison Group at Cross on the hill.

 Our fearless leader enjoying his time at McDonalds

 Just a snapshot of the market.

First Day in Guatemala

We have arrived safely and are just about to begin our first day in Guatemala.  Today we will be touring Cross on the hill, the market, and Antigua a little bit and attending a church service at Ronny's church.  Just wanted to let everyone know that we have all made it safe to the hotel and we will keep you updated on how things are going.  Be looking for a post later on tonight about what we did today in a little more detail.  Thanks everyone for reading and your thoughts and prayers.

July Guatemala Trip

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update about our July trip.  We have landed in Dallas and are now waiting to get to our connection flight that leaves Dallas at 4:50PM.  It is going to be a long day today, but will be well worth it, because we will all be in Guatemala by the end of the night.  We will be sure to keep everyone updated on what we are up to throughout the trip and let us know if you have any questions/comments/concerns that you would like us to be praying about.  Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers.

Guatemala Powerpoint

This is a powerpoint that Ginger Sievers has put together and shows to people when she talks about the Guatemala trips that she has been on.  Enjoy!  Guatemala Trips PowerPoint

Orphanage Final Day

Friday was our final day at the orphanage and was our wrap up day.  We made huge progress during the week and were just making sure we didn't leave anything undone by the time we left on Friday afternoon.  The team worked fast to try and get as much of the aqua ponics system done as we possibly could on Friday.  Unfortunately, we had to leave it somewhat incomplete because we ran out of time and power tools to finish the siding and roofing.  In the afternoon, we have a pizza party with all the kids and were able to just hang out with them.  We brought all our donation so they would be able to play with them on Friday afternoon while we were there.  The parachutes were a huge hit with the kids and they played with them for about an hour before it was time for us to depart for Guatemala City.  We had a lot of first timers on this trip that made some sort of comment about this not being their only trip to Guatemala.  This is very exciting for the future trips and for the future of Casa Angelina.  I hope that everyone enjoyed reading about this trip and if you have any more questions or comments please feel free to email me at jjschuh7632@gmail.com and I would be more than happy to talk to you in more detail about the trip.

I will hopefully get some pictures up later on this week.  I am going to try and get pictures from everyone so I can have lots of pictures for you guys, but I am unaware of how long this may take.  So for now, thanks for everything and we appreciated your thoughts and prayers while we were away.

Orphanage Day 4

Well a lot of work got completed today at the orphanage.  We got a little late start today thanks to all the hard work we put in yesterday.  Today we were greeted by even more cement work.  We poured the porches for the two houses that we poured the pad for yesterday.  This took us most of the morning.  After lunch some of the team worked with the welding crew on the aqua ponics system, some worked get the school finished up, and others started the process of moving block to more strategic locations.  Overall, the day was a great success yet again.  Tonight we will all be packing our things and in the morning we will be saying by to the hotel staff who have taking such great care of us over the last few days.  We are so blessed to be a part of this ministry and have the support of Lydia and her staff behind us.  We don't know what tomorrow has in store for us be we are all excited to get the chance to just hang out and enjoy the kids.  We will continue to keep you updated through the blog.  Talk to everyone tomorrow.

Orphanage Day 3

Today at the orphanage was another SUCCESS! The welding team got all the trusses mounted today and finished putting in cross braces on the aqua ponics system. The rest of the team was once again on cement duty. Today we finished 2 pads (60ftx30ft) for new homes going up at the orphanage, one of which was Harvest House. Today has to be up for the most work done in one day award. Everyone worked there tails off today to get the jobs done. I personally want to congratulate the team for their hard work and dedication to the kids at Casa Angelina. There hearts really showed through today as we were all exhausted, but were determined to finish the second floor. Despite all the hard work, everyone is still in very high spirits and excited for tomorrow.  Hope all is well with everyone reading this and we will be home soon. We all send our love and appreciation for your thoughts and prayers.

Tonight during supper we had a mariachi band play for us to celebrate McKenna Larson's birthday. Lidia had a cake ready and we all got to enjoy the entertainment as well.

Orphanage Day 2

There is not a ton to update you on from today.  There were a few people that got to give the school a face lift with some new paint and fixing some of the electrical work.  Everyone else was on cement duty.  We laid the entire pad for the aqua ponics today which wound up being around 60ft long and 33ft wide.  This is very impressive for one days work, not to mention that we mixed the cement in portable mixers and used wheelbarrows to transport it.  I will put some pictures below of the before and after.  However, it doesn't look I will be able to put any pictures up until after we get back to the states.  I will probably make it its own post when we arrive at the Dallas airport.  Other than that, that is about all we have for an update for tonight.

Orphanage Day 1

We had a pretty relaxed day today that the orphanage.  When we arrived, the children were so grateful to see us.  After our brief hellos, we went through our orientation session with the staff members and got a tour of the orphanage.  Since I have last been at the orphanage (June) so much has changed.  The kids have received a new soccer field that was donated to the orphanage, 3 new houses have been started, and they are putting in a new aqua ponics.  On the tour we found out the orphanage has just received 6 new children that have been at the orphanage for about 2 weeks.  So far these new children are doing great and love their new home.

After our amazing meal, we went into the village and toured one of the widows homes that was built in the last couple of years.  We didn't get to spend much time there because the child had prepared skits for us and performed in the afternoon.  The joy on their faces was absolutely phenomenal.  After all they have been through, they still have more joy than most of the people I know.  After the presentation we said our goodbyes for the day and headed back to the motel.  After nearly hitting a man in the street, we made it home and had devotions.  We are all excited to get to work tomorrow and serve at Casa Angelina.  The pictures were stubborn and didn't want to upload so hopefully I will have them up by tonight.

Saturday and Sunday Update

On Saturday our group had the opportunity to tour Antigua with our great friend Alejandro as a tour guide.  The group visited the cross on the hill and tour our traditional group picture their before we headed into Antigua for the touring.  One of the major stops along the way was the Santa Domingo Motel which used to be an old Monastery which was converted into a fancy upscale motel.  There were also several other stops along the way, but they are slipping my mind at this very moment. 

After the group was done touring, we got the opportunity to shop in the local market for souvenirs and goodies to take home.  After a long day of walking, touring, and shopping, we were greeted by George's amazing cooking.  Saturday was an early morning and late night so, therefore, there was no updates that night due to the exhaustion.

Yesterday our group got to travel to Lake Atitlan.  This is the largest lake in Guatemala and has many villages surrounding the lake.  After our 2 and a half hour bus ride to the lake, we were all very pleased to be able to stand and stretch.  We got onto a boat that took us to our first touring destination.  The trip across the lake took about 1.5 hours, which will give you an idea of just how big this lake really is.  Even though they don't know the exact depth of the lake, they guess that it is over 1,000 feet deep in spots.

After our touring, we got to eat in a very nice restaurant.  Most of our group had cheeseburgers and fries, but some got adventurous and had black bass, shrimp, and even steak.  After lunch we got a tour of peace park, which is the location of the death of 13 innocent people during the civil war in Guatemala.  On our way back to the boat, we were mobbed by venders on the street who eventually followed us into the boat and wouldn't leave until we started the boat and began to move.

We got back to the motel around 9:30 last night and had supper.  After that most people turned in for the night.  I will hopefully be putting up pictures tonight.  We just had a little bit go miscommunication this morning about the bus arrival time and I figure I would at least get some updates out to you guys before we headed to the orphanage this morning.

Stay tuned for more updates.  

Update

Hey Everyone,

Sorry that there has been no updates as of yet on the blog.  The last couple nights have been late nights and early mornings and the entire team is wiped by the time we get back to the hotel.  I just wanted to let everyone know that we have made it just fine and that everything is going great so far.  We will be starting our work tomorrow at the orphanage and I will be posting about what we did this weekend and orphanage day 1 tomorrow.  I will also hopefully be able to get some pictures up for you to look at and see what we are doing.  For now I bid you good evening and I will talk to you tomorrow.

February Trip - Flight Updates

It is strange to think that I am heading back to Guatemala again.  This is the first trip of the 2013 year and I am so glad I got the opportunity to come again.  As of right now, we are sitting in the Dallas Fort Worth airport waiting to board our 4:55PM flight to Guatemala City.  We should arrive their around 8:30PM and to the hotel by 11:00PM.  There are 26 members in our group this February and a lot of returning people on this trip.

As of right now there is not a lot to talk about with the group.  The flights have gone well, only one bag misplaced so far, but we have hopefully taken care of that issue hopefully, for Deb Neslon's sake.  For now that is all the updates we have from the group.  Stay tuned to the blog or facebook for future updates.  Thanks to everyone for you good wishes and prays for our mission team.  We are thinking of those we left behind to do God handy work.