Latin America Trip 2011-12: February 2012

Ok…so it didn’t seem I would have too much to update on the blog until I actually read the last blog update that is almost a month old now! So here goes!

I’ll roughly follow the order of the pictures below so I’ll start with the coffee at Tretto Café in Antigua that is simply outstanding! The cappuccinos pictured are the work of Frosty who is a very talented barista who is very passionate about good coffee!

On the weekend of Jan 28-29, we went to Lago Atitlan that is a beautiful spot! We took the bus from here to Panajachel on the edge of the lake. We didn’t spend much time there as it is a touristy spot and we took a small boat to a small little town called Jaibalito. We stayed at a hotel run by a german fellow who has done a lot for that small town. He supplies propane tanks at a cheap rate to the locals who before had to head to Panajachel if they ran out, recharges peoples cell phones with more minutes (a lot of the phones here are pay by the minute), and he roasts the coffee grown by the local farmers so they can sell it at a higher rate. It was a great spot to hang out for the weekend as it is a quiet little town.

The house I showed pictures of in Santa Maria showing pictures of the family in need has indeed turned into another opportunity where we have been involved for the last two weeks! Thanks to the generous donations of several families back in Canada, we are helping a local mason and his crew, build the house. Oswaldo is the mason/contractor, his brother Hector, and another local Carlos. They are great guys to work with and we’ve had a lot of fun with them! They work hard but they have a good time doing it! We wish we knew more Spanish and Quechua so we would understand more of their jokes! Their first language is Kaqchikel, one of the local indigenous languages but they are fluent in Spanish as well. It’s been a great opportunity to learn local building techniques and Oswaldo is a great guy to learn from as he is studying in Guatemala City to become a Master of Construction. He has worked on big multi-story buildings, churches so he has a lot of experience.

The kids at the house have been a lot of fun and they like to play with us or help us with our work when they get the chance. They start school at 1:00 pm for 5 hours so we see them for a little while in the morning. Oswaldo has also been showing us the town and surrounding area a little bit. He introduced us to his family, took us to his local church (which he also built), and to the Country Club situated roughly 25 minutes by walking down a bumpy dirty road. The Country Club apparently sees a number of Korean, Japanese and Chinese visitors along with the richer crowd from Guatemala City.

They are expecting to finish the house on or around March 8 so we should be here to see the finished product! The walls are finished and the roof will be the project for the next few days.

We’ve been teaching with Luis in the schools on and off during the week. Usually two or three days per week as we split our time with the house in Santa Maria. Two weeks ago I gave a devotional on self-esteem to a school which was a good experience for me as it was something that I struggled with a lot in my past and a much needed topic in that school unfortunately so I pray that I encouraged some of them. This coming Friday there is a bigger youth rally occurring as a number of schools will be coming together. They are expecting roughly 900 students to be in attendance and Luis and I will each by taking half of the students and talking to them about dating and pre-marital sex.

Luis also has a vision of starting a youth center in the Antigua area as there is no such facility in the area. The vision is becoming closer to reality as there are some people in the U.S. interested in supporting the project and Luis has begun the search for acquiring land. He has asked me to develop some drawings for a potential building to show potential investors what the vision is. Not only would the facility be used as a safe environment for youth to come and hang out, but would also provide counseling for those who are interested/need it. For example, it is believed that 40% of the kids in Guatemala have been sexually abused, and there is little to no help for any of them who seek help in how to cope with that.

So we’ve been staying busy and are learning a lot about the needs of this country and practical/respectable ways people are helping the less fortunate here. We have just over 3 weeks left here and it will be bittersweet to return to Canada. This feels like home now and I will miss it here. But it will also be great to reconnect with everyone back home.

Cappuccinos from Tretto Cafe

Lago Atitlan

We formed a team with our friends from the World Race group to compete against some kids from one of the schools...I think the score was almost close...