Thanks for your patience everyone. The base was in the middle of a change in Internet providers. Hoping that Internet service is uninterrupted for the remainder of the week.
Our arrival into Guatemala on Tuesday was beautifully uneventful. All people and all luggage arrived on-time with a safe van trip to rhe base. We arrived at 9:15 PM Guatemala time which is 11:15 PM Michigan time. We settled in quickly to our bunk beds with lights out by midnight.
Wednesday morning wake up was at 5:30 AM. The sunrise was gorgeous during breakfast (eggs, chips and black beans) and personal devotions. By 6:30 AM, we left to travel to our building site which was only a few miles away but took 50 minutes by van to get to the other side of the valley. The drive provided the first glimpse of life in rural Guatemala since we arrived after dark the night before.
Our five building teams worked hard roughing in walls, hanging drywall, attaching cement board, mudding drywall, sanding and building a porch roof. It was a hot day but a dry day. Working at 7,000 feet elevation all day consumed most of our energy but there was just enough energy left to play with all the children who came out to the streets to check us out. The entire village is very friendly, celebrating our arrival with fireworks, working with us as we built and providing snacks and lunch for us throughout the day.
There was one injury today to Anya, one of the Paradise Bound staff. Anya re-injured her knee in the morning. She toughed it out until lunch and then needed to go to the hospital for an MRI. She is back at the mission base now but her energy and leadership will be missed until she can return to full strength.
Tomorrow, we wake at 5:30 AM again to complete the five homes we are building. We will sand, mud drywall, stucco, paint and decorate the homes. Please pray for dry weather to stucco, continued relationship building with the families we are building for and especially for Anya’s quick recovery so she can travel with our team again.
Team Hager Park 2015 