Caldo, Concrete, and Entrance Stamps

This team spent 4 long hot days at the institute constructing student houses. The students will come with their families and live on the institute land for 3 years while they receive Biblical training to prepare them for ministry and some practical farming skills that they will use to support their families. Classes will start in January and we will be able to have as many students as we have houses. 

{Dinner at Maya International}

{Dinner at La Luna}

We try to feed them pretty well at night (in order to get as much work out of them as possible, haha), but their days are still exhausting! Here are some of the houses they were working on:

They finished boarding up 4 houses!

They also poured 2 concrete floors! Rob and Jimmy mixed the concrete with their shovels. That's hard, time consuming work. (Jimmy took all of these photos, that's why he isn't in any of them, but he was there.)

Unfortunately during their lunch break one day the guard's little girls ran through the wet cement in one of the houses. That was frustrating, but typical. Lico can add a small smooth coat to fix it later.

One of the existing Kekchi churches sent a group of 15 men to put on 2 of the thatched roofs. 

That must be really hard work too, because we had enough leaves for a third house, but they said their hands hurt too bad!

So Jimmy is paying to have the third roof finished today before the leaves dry out and are wasted. We really appreciate everyone working together!

I think some people on the team even learned how to use machetes!

 So if you are keeping track that is the walls of 4 houses, the floors for 2 and the roofs for 3!

So that is 4 houses at the institute that are completely finished, 2 that still need floors, and then we still have the little guard house that any single guys could live in. That is a long way away from our 20 house goal by January, but we have the money for 3 more, so that's 9. Each house cost $1,200, if the Lord is working in your heart to make an investment in this way in training these pastors.

We are so thankful for the 4 work teams who have helped us with the institute land so far and for the Kekchi men who have traveled to help. Some have helped plant trees, some have prepped the foundation, some have built houses. All made an investment that will produce fruit for years to come.

A sweet Christian family that lives in the village down and across from the institute often feeds our workers when they are there. That is where we all ate on Tuesday for lunch. 

They knew there were going to be gringos coming too this time, so they decorated the entry to their garden with the word "welcome" spelled out in English with some chalk. They also had some coconuts spelling the word "Petén". 

It was all really sweet! They have a beautiful garden with lots of mango trees. 

When the team arrived they washed their hands:

 Then they served us all caldo.

Flavor wise, this was some of the best I have ever tasted! It was my first caldo since furlough too. Of course they always give Jimmy the biggest bowl! 

 He was proud too! They usually have the rice and meat in the soup, but I think they served it "gringo style" (separately) for their guest.

Jonah has been running a fever off and on if you can't tell by his face! He is doing much better though since this photo. Silas is already into the tortillas, ha! The team left this morning. Their flight had some mechanical issues, so they got up real early to just sit at the airport, but I think they did fly out in time to not have to spend the night in Gaute.  I will share about their trip to the island of Livingston tomorrow. 

CRAZY ITEM OF THE DAY:

Jimmy just got a call from the team. They are in Guatemala City, but they weren't going to let them through immigration because 3 members on the team didn't have an entrance stamp in their passport (Kelsie, Kelly, & Josh). The airport in Guate really doesn't know what to do with flights going to and from Petén. I think they think there are custom and immigration agents in Petén, but there aren't. You usually have to ask someone to give you an entrance stamp in Guate or you end up getting in trouble when you try and leave, which they did last week, but somehow 3 passports got skipped. Anyway they got the immigration official to talk to Jimmy on the phone. Jimmy apologized a lot and asked real nicely if he would overlook it and after a little bit of a discussion he decided to let them through! This poor team... too much traveling drama.