Engineering for Jesus

My last morning in Guatemala

2011-12-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning, before I boarded an airplane bound for Oregon, I hiked (quickly) up to the ecological park one last time. Upon setting out while it was still dark, I realized I could get a great shot of the sunrise. Lastimosamente, I arrived at the top about 15 minutes too late. However, I could still take this great photo of the sun coming up over Lake Amatitlan with the Pacaya volcano off to one side:

So ends my time in Guatemala. I made many great friends and had many adventures, some great, and some not so great. I'm looking forward to the day when I will go back to visit.

Finishing Touches on the Community Center

2011-12-02T06:38:00.001-08:00

Just in time for my exit from Guatemala. I leave December 12.

After a long wait for our glass to arrive, we were finally able to finish the solar water heater. The normal-looking tank water heater off to the side is just the cheapest way to get an insulated water tank (it's not hooked up to power). I already scalded my hands with the water from it.

One of the freshly-tiled showers that get to use this hot water.

In November, we had a team of adults here. Among them was a group who did this wonderful tiling. Here is our mop sink, complete with a mop.

Some pictures from 2011

2011-08-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from this year:

The AT Site team from the Bethel semester program, with myself and Mario Jr.

On the roof of the community center.

Hanging white boards on the walls.

SI staff for 2011.

The AT Site team from Greenville and I.V. Canada.

The AT Site team from CVC and IVCF.

The team from SPU, with their famous chicken coop.

The AT Site team from Trinity and Third Place, with summer staff Aaron (also from SPU).

Designing the solar water heater for the community center.

The community center in use.

The shop.

The AT Site team from Third Place, SICC, and Zion.

An interesting looking part from the solar water heater. I'll make sure to post more photos when it's done.

Photos from 2010

2011-08-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

A selection of photos from 2010 in chronological order:

Getting the roof of the community center ready to pour.

Laying the drain field.

Discussing the plans with Seth (one of my leaders).

The Appropriate Technology Site team from Crosspoint with Mario Jr. and I.

Talking with Mario Sr. in Magdalena.

Laying out the drainage for under the floor at the community center.

We traveled a number of different days to help out in a town that was buried by a tropical storm. Very messy.

Standing on the freshly poured roof of the community center.

After taking down all of the form boards.

The AT Site team from TCBC.

Welding the front gate together.

The AT Site team from Chico, Grace, and Postma.

The AT Site team from Coast Hills and RMBC, with summer staff Chad from SPU.

Making sure we put the walls in all the right places.

The team that came down to put up all the interior walls in one week.

Getting ready for wiring.

Pulling wire is lots of fun.

The AT Site team from Sunshine Ridge, with summer staff Easton and Chad, as well as Wilfrido, our night watchman.

Getting ready to pull the big wires to the street with staff member Aaron.

Everybody needs to take time out to pick avocados. If you are wondering about the color, these were picked early to be used in shampoo manufacture.

The community center still under construction.

Working with Perly, who came down to build the kitchen cabinets.

The cabinets ready to go up.

Myself, Seth, Wilfrido, and Perly.

A leveled, graveled parking lot sure makes things look better. Also, note all the windows have shutters to keep burglars at bay.

This was not the time I cut my thumb open cutting pipe.

August 2011 Newsletter

2011-08-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have thought that I just dropped off the map, but I am still here in Guatemala. Next month I complete my third year working with Students International. The last time I sent out a letter, we had just completed the outer walls of a construction project, a community center outside the small community of El Gorrión. Although I don’t think the project will ever be finished (as is the nature of such projects), we have completed the main construction and furnishing of the building.

The building now houses a plethora of ministries organized by SI. The most visible is a clinic, open three days a week, currently staffed by a local pediatrician, as well as whomever comes down to help us as part of a short term team. Also, the new office space in this building houses social work, microfinance, and child sponsorship ministries. A staff member working at the local school also holds after school programs there. Finally, there are community education-style sewing classes in the building. We sometimes already find the 3500 sq. ft. space a little crowded, and things are just warming up!

Mario Mendez Jr., son of local pastor and long-time SI staff member Mario Mendez, has worked with me at the appropriate technology site for over a year now, and has a great vision for where he wants to lead this ministry. He plans to begin teaching a Jr. High shop-type class out of the shop at the community center to give a hands-on learning experience to the local kids. Please pray that he will be able to effectively teach and minister to them.

Last week, we sent home the last of our summer short-term teams for the year. What would have been the last team of the year cancelled, so I get a bit of a break right now. This summer, I used a good portion of my time with students putting finishing touches on the community center, but we also did a number of little projects out in the community. For example, Mario led the students for a week to improve the drainage around the school. We also fixed some leaky roofs, and broken doors.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the team of engineering students from SPU that came at the end of June. They attempted a redesign of a long-running project to build chicken coops for local families. We were trying to make the project more cost-efficient. While they ended up with a new design that looked great, it turned out to be the same price as the original, and much more difficult to assemble. I recently witnessed the coop full of chickens fulfilling its purpose, but I doubt we will attempt another.

The group from SPU also helped me run calculations for a possible solar heated wood dryer for a group of local carpenters. I had a great time working on this, but I have had to put this project on hold indefinitely. It turned out to be a much larger project than I expected, and I do not have the time left here to complete it.

As far as time left in Guatemala, I plan to leave the country at the beginning of December. Working with Students International has been a great experience for me, but it is time for me to move on. I hope to get a well-paying job for most of next year and save up before going back to school in the fall of 2012. I would eventually like to teach engineering at a university in the States, but I will need a different title in front of my name before I can do that. Hopefully, once I move back to Oregon, I will break my long string of food-borne illnesses as well.

Thank you for your support over the years; I would not have been able to have this wonderful experience without your help, and I look forward to seeing many of you again in the coming year.

Country Bible Church (Men's) Construction Team

2009-09-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Last week a group of ten guys came down from Nebraska to help out with the community center project. They moved lots of dirt, and had fun doing it!

A view of the inside of the building.

One of the workers tying rebar for a big beam. Check out the scaffolding.

The site midway through the week.

The guys having lunch.

We needed fill dirt for the inside of the building, so we started our neighbor's driveway for him. You can also see how we are building the fence: part of the way block, with chain link above that.

Joe and Drew digging out a shelf on which to put the back wall for the fence.

Filling the (thin walled) fence poles with concrete.

The site on Friday after we lifted (by hand) the welded rebar for the three main beams in the front room.

El Ruso and Joe repairing a bad roof job at the church with blackjack and a piece of cornstalk.

On Saturday we went to the volcano. The lava was coming right at us. Some of the guys melted their shoes.

August Newsletter

2009-09-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

I am posting a copy of my latest newsletter here as a summary of the summer's work. All of the photos included in the newsletter were previously seen here.

So much has happened since my last newsletter in January. I moved in with a new family, I began working on new projects in earnest, and as an organization we received hundreds of students on short-term teams.

After witnessing the most fireworks I have ever seen on New Year’s Eve, I moved in with Rafaela and Adolfo Martinez, one of the more successful families in town. They are native to Magdalena, with three married children and three small grandchildren. I enjoy living with them very much. My parents can attest to their hospitality, as they also stayed here when they visited Guatemala in April. I have my own room, the grandchildren come over for maybe a half-hour each day, and Rafaela showcases the best of Guatemalan cooking.

Early in the year, Oscar and I initiated a new project making twelve-sided (almost round) concrete sand filters. It took us a long time to cut all the wood to size to make the mold. I have since bought a table saw to alleviate this process a little. We were able to make six concrete filter containers with help from the first few teams of the year. This project has been put on hold, though; as we have received donations of other cement and plastic filter containers. One team of businessmen came early in June with 45 plastic filter containers. We are still trying to sift and wash enough sand to get all of them installed. Through this project, I am learning just how hard it can be to introduce a new (albeit simple) technology to a community. The plastic containers have been breaking, and some families were so scared they would do something wrong that they weren’t using their filter at all. For those whom have accepted it, though, the filter project has brought a huge blessing.

Besides continuing to put cement floors in houses for families currently living over the dirt, and resuming an old project building cisterns for water storage, we are currently working on a grand construction project. Two years ago, volunteers from Country Bible Church in Nebraska had the vision for what has developed into a 3500 square foot community center. It will include a large front room for meetings and eating, a commercial kitchen, a clinic with two exam rooms, an office, bathrooms, and two work rooms for teaching and doing projects. It is situated just outside of El Gorrión, where much of SI’s work takes place, but also centrally located between the towns of Magdalena and San Miguel. We hope to be able to run a feeding program for the kids at the school in El Gorrión, as a part of the child sponsorship program. We also hope to host occupational training classes. There will also be a place to keep all the tools we use for the appropriate technology ministry. Currently, funding for the project is at about 40% of the needed $100,000. Please consider helping us with this hugely beneficial endeavor.

As I mentioned earlier, we have been hosting short-term teams from churches and schools all year, but especially during the summer months. Once here, they split up to work at the different ministry sites, including appropriate technology. Our site has hosted between two and ten people at a time. They help us not only with the physical labor, but praying with and witnessing to the families. Many of them also really enjoy playing with the kids.

Please send donations to: Students International, P.O. Box 2733, Visalia, CA 93279-2733. Indicate separately whether the support is for the community center project or me personally.

Thank you for all your prayers,
Matthew McIntire

Grammy and Daniel visit Guatemala!

2009-09-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

Vacation Time! My grandmother and brother recently visited Guatemala with me as their tour guide. Here are some pictures of our time together.

At the beach (Pacific).

From right, the volcanoes Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego (from atop Pacaya)

Daniel needed this picture with the horse.

They let you get way too close to the flowing lava.

Daniel made a friend after roasting marshmallows over the lava.

The lookout point over Lake Atitlan

Some fishermen on the lake

Grammy relaxing in front of her cottage at the lake.

Nick Miller went with us to the lake. The food was awesome.

Daniel in a canoe

Nick and I paired up in the canoe and easily overtook Daniel.

The beach at Panajachel

A tuk-tuk

Daniel and Nick in a tuk-tuk

Another shot of the beach at Panajachel.

From the construction site

2009-08-09T14:48:00.001-07:00

Making a form

Cutting rebar

Cutting wood

The site

Digging the trenches for the underground seismic beams

After finishing with another small project- a floor for some cow stalls.

My room, a bit messier than normal.

SPU professors visit the volcano

2009-07-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Halfway up the trail.

Standing on week-old lava.

Right on top of the vent.

Dr. John Lindberg.

Dr. Elaine Scott

Most of the way up Mt. Doom.

More summer pictures

2009-07-27T11:32:00.001-07:00

Some of the staff and I out in Antigua at night.

At the banquet on Friday

Pouring the foundation for the community center.

Mixing the concrete for the foundation.

Filling the cistern from the water truck.

Piling the sand to mix for the concrete.

The rebar.

The community center work site.

Digging the latrine hole.

Magdalena at night during the fair.

Pictures!

2009-07-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the last team we had:

Having lunch in the clinic building in El Gorrion

Mixing concrete for a floor

Another lunch

Oscar working hard

Nick and I on a hike up the hill. Guatemala City in the background.

With the summer staff going out to eat for Ramon's birthday.

The storage shed we built at the community center construction site.

Oscar with the finished cistern for the community center.

Digging the foundation for the community center (a giant building).

Unloading 5000 pounds of cement.

5000 pounds of cement and lots of rebar out of the rain.

The last three months

2009-06-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

The last few months have been very busy around here. In April, my parents came to Guatemala for ten days. Our schedule was rather packed with jam. Well, my mom brought some of her (much appreciated) jam for me and the family I’m staying with. She also got to spend a day making strawberry jam the Guatemalan way (cooked all day without added pectin) with Rafaela.

Together, we toured the sites where Students International works in El Gorrión and Magdalena and met the staff.

With Mario and my trumpet.

Then, we did a family project (building wooden concrete forms for cylindrical water cisterns).

Dad was very interested in the local wood industry.
For the second phase of their stay, we went to Tikal to see the Mayan ruins.

We toured the park with its accompanying museums for two days, and for the third day stayed close to the hotel in Flores (an island in Lake Petén). We did go out on a boat to see a museum on another island, and my dad and I swam across the lake.

When we returned to Antigua my mom was beginning to get sick, so she stayed in their hotel room for most of the rest of their time here. However, my dad and I went out to climb the volcano one day,

and go fishing the next.

We caught a few dorado (mahi-mahi) and some small tuna, but then my dad had the opportunity to wrestle with a 300 pound marlin for over an hour. We also saw lots of turtles and dolphins.
It was great to see my parents even for a short time.
After they left, we received a team of Canadians for a very fast-paced week. They wanted to work longer hours than we normally do with teams. They helped Oscar and I put in our first cylindrical cistern, which came out looking great. We dirt-formed the outside of it, so we spent a little more than anticipated on concrete, as the hole ended up being about an inch too big. My new design for a lossy hand pump to get water out of the cistern was a complete success, though, with the whole thing costing less than $13. It is much easier to operate than the other suction pumps SI had been installing earlier.
The Canadian team also brought 10 square concrete sand filters from an orphanage where they work. We installed five of them after sifting and washing some black volcanic sand to go inside. The sand came off a rock crusher, so it is very clean (nothing organic), but includes lots of dust that we have to wash out. I drank from one of the filters, and didn’t get sick, so they really do work. Some of them weren’t very well sealed, though, so they leaked all the water out the bottom. We are in the process of replacing those ones.
Two weeks ago, a group of businessmen came for a week with 45 plastic sand filters in tow. One of them arrived a few days early to help set up. Together, we built more screens, mounted on stilts, to sift more sand faster. When the rest of the team showed up, it was a whirlwind week of sifting and washing sand, and installing filters. I lost track of the number we installed, but it was somewhere around 18.
Then, last week, with two teams from California, we installed 5 more filters. There were much fewer workers, and the hours were not as long.
We did have more workers than originally planned, however, as all of the schools in Guatemala have been shut down on account of the flu pandemic. Those students planning on working in the schools were reassigned to other sites, including mine.
We divided the appropriate technology site into two groups for the first time last week. Oscar led a team to put a floor in a house, while I led the other team washing sand and installing filters.
Neither the concrete filters nor the plastic ones have all come out flawless. Some of the concrete ones leak (but I have yet to try the ones we have been pouring ourselves) and the plastic ones were rather difficult to make seal at the bottom where the pipe exits. A number of them cracked while the team was trying to tighten them down.
I am back home in Canby until Monday to renew my visa, visit with family and attend my brother's graduation. I would also like to buy a camera; maybe then I could take some pictures of my own to put up on this site, rather than just begging and taking from others' cameras. My mom has suggested I get a camera for a while now; it has taken me too long to listen to her. I am excited to see her and the rest of the family.

Spring Break

2009-04-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

During the month of March we had two spring break teams from the States. The first was from Bethel. We don't have any students from the Bethel semester program helping with the appropriate technology site, but we had two from the spring break team.

Here is a picture of us at the house where we finished putting in a cement floor that we had started a couple of weeks earlier.

My phone has been invaluable as a calculator.
Besides the floor, we also worked on a couple of sand filters. This is a short video of me explaining a little about how we make them.

We are finally getting the noses to hold on to the rest of the concrete by covering that part of the mold with margarine (the slickest stuff we could get our hands on).
The second spring break team was a high school team from King's West in Bremerton, WA. We had three guys from this group with us.

Oscar's son Christian also joined us for a day when he didn't have school.

I am clearly posing for this shot. Notice there is no sweat dripping from my brow. We had enough help that I could sit back and work on an AutoCAD drawing for my next project: wooden forms to pour cylindrical concrete cisterns.
At the end of their week, the King's West team took a trip to Pacaya, an active volcano with accessible lava fields. We were only able to get within about 100 meters of the lava, but we did find vents hot enough to roast marshmallows.

My most interesting observation was that generally the fresher the rock was, the more hollow it sounded when I poked it with my stick.
After the team left, one of the adults accompanying them (but from California, not Bremerton) and I spent a few hours Tuesday of Holy Week walking around Antigua observing the festivities.

This is me standing below the huge concrete cross overlooking the colonial city.
In case you were wondering, we have not made any real progress in getting water to El Gorrion. Keep praying for this.

Filters Update

2009-03-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

We have successfully poured two concrete sand filter containers. The first happened last week while a team of women was here. One of them, Lori, was brave enough to work with Oscar and I. I took off the outer part of the mold the next day. It came off cleanly, except for the nose where the water outlet sits. It will still work, but it won't be as cute.

This first photo is of Oscar putting a finish coat of cement on the outside.
For the second pour, I used a lot more vegetable oil on the nose part to try to get it to release. We took the inner part of the mold out this Tuesday. No mishaps there.

This photo shows the inside of the first filter. Notice the small tube sticking out of the side at the bottom (Click on the picture for a larger view). This tube runs up the wall and pokes out about 2/3 of the way up the side as the outlet. You may also see that we neglected to vibrate one portion of the wall near the top. Oscar filled in this evidence nicely a couple hours later.

This last photo is of the mold completely disassembled. The next day (Wednesday), we put the mold back together and poured the second filter. This time, I wore myself out with the vibrator (A stick of re-bar slightly bent at the end, stuck into the chuck of my cordless drill). We are waiting until Monday to take the whole mold off at once.

In other news, I went to the beach this last weekend with the Bethel students. We got in one and a half games of Settlers, and lots of pool volleyball. I got neither sick nor sunburned, a vast improvement over my previous trip.

On Tuesday afternoon, all of us working in El Gorrion had a meeting to discuss our projects, vision, etc. The biggest consensus was that water supply should be the first priority. The idea had been going around to take water from the spring-fed creek below the community and pump it up the hill. Oscar and I took the initiative to go check out the feasibility of the project. On Wednesday, we went down to the creek and hiked up it as far as we could without a machete. According to my rough estimate, there is about a gallon per second in the creek now (the driest part of the year). There is also a waterfall of about 15 feet a hundred or so yards inward. Also, the water is very clear. Anyway, we went back yesterday with a machete and survey equipment (a speed square, a plumb bob, and a 100ft. tape). We determined an altitude difference of about 76 meters between the community's water tank and the creek level at the bridge, with 444 meters walking distance between the two points. However, we could not survey the creek yet, because the community leader still had not talked with the landowner of the area with the creek. As of today, we are waiting until next Sunday, when we will go up the creek with more people from the community to do the survey. I am very excited about this project, especially because a ram pump seems like a very feasible solution.

Please pray that everything will go well with the landowner, that we will be able to supply this community with water.

The Filter Mold

2009-02-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today Oscar and I completely finished building our prototype filter mold. I don’t have any photos of the whole thing put together, but here are two interesting photos from the work today.
This one is of me working on smoothing out the corners of the inside part of the mold. The base is also visible, where the pieces for the outer part of the mold will also fit.
This is me demonstrating how the plumbing will go. The tubing will be within the concrete.
Yesterday, I took a trip to Pastores, a town a few miles out of Antigua, to visit another filter-making operation. I wanted to ask them how they keep the tubing from touching the sides of the mold (and thus sticking out of the side of the concrete).
“With a stick and a flashlight,” they told me. “You just have to move the rocks around to push the pipe from side to side as you slowly pour in the concrete.”
I’m hoping that tomorrow we will be able to acquire the materials to pour our first filter container.

Begin the work

2009-02-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

The last month was very packed. After I arrived back in Guatemala, I purchased a motorcycle, a Suzuki 125. In order to be careful riding it, think to myself that I’m just as vulnerable as if I was walking down the middle of the road, only much faster. The process of buying and registering the bike was a little more complicated than it would be back home. First, I had to get a tax ID number, called a NIT. That process turned out to be pretty easy, except that the first time around, they thought I needed two last names instead of two first names. (Everyone here has two last names, one from the mother and one from the father.) So that required two trips to the local tax office. Then an attorney had to be present when we signed the old title, in order to notarize it. Next, I had to make a complete photocopy of my passport (every page), and of the title, the registration card, and every other scrap of paper that accompanied the bike. Then, I had to go to the capital. First, to the police office, to make sure the bike had no outstanding fines against it. Then, I had to fill out an absurd amount of paperwork (I had to write the VIN number in about six or seven places). Then, after paying a number of small taxes and fees (each at a different window), I had to make copies of each of the receipts I received. Finally, I handed it all in at the final window, only to have to come back three days later to pick up my new registration card. The government never mails anything. All things considered, it went off without a hitch.

The team that was here when I sent out my last newsletter the first week of January had a great time. They worked with the agriculture, appropriate technology, clinic, and social work (hospital) sites. This was my first time working with Oscar with students. We poured two concrete floors in a house in El Gorrion. Our work went rather quickly, so we had plenty of time to get to know the family. There are twelve people in the house, including the ten kids who still live at home.

After the team left, I had a few days to help out with a couple of house construction projects in Buena Vista, the next town to the east of Magdalena with a great sweeping view of the capital city. I helped finish the floor in one and dig the foundation for the other. I also had to opportunity to repair an angle grinder, doing something I had never before attempted: I uncrimped and reused two solderless connectors.

During one of my trips to the capital, I stopped at a large hardware store to buy a soldering iron. So far, I’ve used it to repair all of the microphone cords at the church (no more popping and crackling), as well as a signal light on my motorcycle, and the insides of a microwave oven.

I also began work with Oscar building a new mold to pour concrete containers for sand filters. We are building a round wooden mold. Round so that we don’t have to use rebar, wooden because we don’t have a metal shop. Wood here, though, is at least four times what it is in Oregon. Most wood in this country gets cut very young for firewood. Still, I only spent about $35 on the wood.

Last week, all of the Guatemalan staff members who are not proficient in English began afternoon classes in Antigua.

This weekend, an excavation company gave us a really good deal to level the lot for the new community center in El Gorrion. They were Christians and excited about the work we are doing in the community. They worked with a large backhoe and two dump trunks for three days for about $2200. They moved close to a hundred loads.

Yesterday, I began a week of work in the school in El Gorrion with two of the Bethel University semester program students. They arrived late last week to Guatemala, and all eleven of them plus their leader will be here until sometime in May. They alternate between just classes, and work in the morning plus classes in the afternoon. I didn’t have to spend much time with the children yesterday, though, as I spent most of the morning rewiring the school. The building was built quite a few years ago, and one of the two wall receptacle circuits (the one that happened to feed the office and kitchen) had never worked. It had a short in it. The lights in the kitchen had also never worked, as whoever had wired the switch sent two neutral wires to the light. Both were easy fixes, but it took me awhile to track down the problems.

Today, however, I was in the classroom. Marcos, the two Bethel students and I were all helping to sub for a teacher who was out for the day. This was so far out of my skill set it was funny. I have three more days of this. Please pray for me.

Pictures from my newsletter

2009-01-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

All the snow in Canby!

The volcano from my rooftop classroom
Veterinary work with Mario

January 2009 Newsletter

2009-01-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

Dear friends and family,

Happy New Year 2009! I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. I was able to go back home to the Northwest for two weeks to celebrate and play in the snow. I had a great time skiing and snowshoeing (and driving in it), but now it’s time to get back to work.

Early in December, I completed my ninth week of one-on-one Spanish school in Antigua. The view from my rooftop classroom was quite spectacular when the volcano erupted. I was attending this school the majority of my time here last year, and I believe I am able to communicate quite well now.

During my breaks from language school, I moved up the mountain to the town of Magdalena where I lived with
local pastor/missionary/veterinarian Mario Mendez and his family. I began attending his church, where I added the sound of my trumpet to their praise and worship music. I also followed Mario around on his daily veterinary circuit of the surrounding communities. I received a very hands-on education on the care of cows, pigs, and goats. Finally, the week before I traveled to Oregon, I helped out with the Vacation Bible School at the church. The kids are out of school from the end of November until almost February, and we had 200 of them by the end of the week. This exhausted me!

I have really enjoyed living here. The food and weather have been great, and the people are very hospitable. Apart from a couple of bouts with the local parasites, I have remained healthy most of the time. I am looking forward to being here a full two years.

This week, I will began working with Oscar Juarez in the appropriate technology ministry with the first group of students of the year. I will also have my first major opportunities at translating for the students.

I pray, and I ask you to pray with me, that God will give me the wisdom to follow the path He has laid out for me here in Guatemala. I pray I will continue to develop right relationships with those around me, while remembering those strained by geographical separation.

Thank you for all your support,

Matthew McIntire

More School

2008-10-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

After an entire week of caring for sick animals, I returned to Antigua to resume my schooling. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last three weeks, school in the morning and studying in the afternoon. My Spanish is definitely improving. I also got to meet with the two teams of married couples that passed through here on consecutive weeks. I can now say with certainty that I know how to drive to the airport and back. The president of SI, Dave Hansen, and his wife also were here for the two weeks, so I got to meet them for the first time.

Then, Saturday, the day before they left, we all went out to climb the active volca...no, actually, I got sick and stayed in bed all day. But everyone else had a great time evading the lava.

Last Thursday evening, I started to feel not so good. By Friday afternoon I was running a fever, and other things not fit for publishing. Saturday I slept. Saturday evening I felt better and joined the group for a post-volcano pizza party—bad idea. Then there were ups and downs all this week. I finally had a parasite exam yesterday, and the result: lombrices. If you really want the English translation, don’t look it up at mealtime. But, two chewable tablets later I feel great.

Today, I move back out to Magdalena with the Mendez family for two weeks, before three more weeks of school. Then, before I know it, it will be time to go back home to Oregon for Christmas.

Happy All Saint’s Day

Injections

2008-10-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Monday, October 06, 2008

Although I will not be able to post this entry for a few days, I wanted to get down what I experienced today for the first time while it is still fresh in my mind.

We had a late 7:30 breakfast this morning on account of the kids being done with school. Ingrid decided they deserved to sleep in. While we ate, Mario enlightened me about the upcoming day’s work. He, his son Mario and I would continue their regular circuit of the surrounding farms and give injections to pigs and cows.

Mario’s veterinary ministry covers quite a large area in and around Magdalena. He gets all of the medicine donated, so he doesn’t charge the farmers anything. He doesn’t carry vaccinations, though, because they are too expensive.

We started out within the town itself, making the rounds to women whom Mario has helped to start small businesses with chickens and pigs. Mario inspected and showed me the chicken coups they have been building. Then, we began the injections. Mario put me in charge of the vitamin B12. All of the pigs and cows received this. I had to fill the syringe with the amount he specified for each animal, help hold the animal, and then give him the syringe to inject the medicine. Mario Jr. did the same with the anti-parasite medication, and with antibiotics if necessary. Pigs can squeal very loud when they’ve got a cable around their snouts and up to 8 cc’s at a time of medication going into their necks.

When we began making our way around the outside of the town, the houses became farms, and the chickens and pigs became pigs and cows. The cows received pretty much the same treatments as the pigs, albeit in larger doses, up to 12 cc’s to a syringe. The difference here was that while Mario and a farmer held the cow, Mario Jr. and I took turns quickly doing our respective injections ourselves. I was actually expecting a little instruction prior to plunging the needle through the skin, but I guess hands-on learning is best. I quickly got the hang of it, after I stained my hands yellow.

Of course, a great deal of our time was spent visiting with the people we were serving. Mario seems to know and have time to talk with everyone in town. He spent the longest time speaking with a man who had just accepted Christ a couple weeks ago after being an alcoholic for many years.

By the time we finished with the last house, we had given injections to 35 pigs and cows for about 15 households, plus one sick dog whose owner stopped us as we were walking up the street. Then, as we exited the front gate, there were three girls standing there with two puppies, along with medication they had just purchased at the pharmacy. Mario donated a syringe, medicated the puppies, and sent them on their way. All said, then, 38 animals and about 5 miles walking in 7 hours. And by the end of the day, my new boots were feeling…quite nice, actually.

Monday nights are family nights at the Mendez home, so I finally got the formal introduction to all six kids, shared a bit about myself, understood a surprisingly significant amount of their Bible study, listened to them sing, and prayed with them for the family, the church, the ministry, and the Kingdom.

Three Weeks Later

2008-10-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I finished with my first three weeks of language school. Although only four hours each morning, it is rather exhausting. My professor, Harvey Toledo, gave me hundreds of vocab words and about a hundred new verbs. We also touched on 12 of the 14 verb tenses, spending hours on each of the major 7. Just as when I was learning Spanish in high school, I have found that my understanding of the English counterparts to Spanish grammar has increased as well. I even came up with an example of the subjunctive voice in English (that requires conjugation): "The teacher demands that the student finish his homework." It sort of falls between the present and future tenses, "the student finishes," and "the student will finish."

Enough of grammar, although I'd bet a select group of you find it interesting (now I'm seeing subjunctivity everywhere). During the past weeks I've met up with more of the SI staff, including Oscar, who was sick the first week I was here. I've been able to spend some time getting to know Nic and Maurine Bekaert. They invited Fernando's wife and kids and I over for crêpes after they moved into their house. Nic had to call his mother in France for the recipe. We also all went to a big fiesta last Sunday; one of Oscar's daughters had her fifteenth birthday. The coming of age ceremony was like a slightly scaled back wedding. There was a ring bearer and a pillow girl, and vows were exchanged. The quinceañera knelt on the pillow while her father and pastor blessed her. There was food also. Lots of food. And a church service. It was enough to wear me out.

I don't believe I mentioned that Fernando left for the States a few days after I arrived for a two-week fundraising and relationship-building tour. How this most affected me, is that since Fernando's wife has a hard time with the clutch, I got to have my first foreign driving experience. Saturday before last, I drove the whole crew to the capital in the rain (actually, it has rained just about every day since I got here) for a YWAM lunch. It turns out that Fernando and his wife met while in YWAM, lived and worked for years at the base in Guatemala City, and raised their children there. They were all getting together to talk about a youth magazine they want to start.

More about the driving. At first glance, it seems that here, like in most other cities of the world, traffic laws are rather loosely interpreted. People drive extremely close to one another, so they have no qualms with squeezing their cars into a not quite car-sized opening in the next lane. Also, pedestrians never seem to have the right of way. But, since few here have insurance, they are also very attentive. It's amazing how fast so many cars, vans, buses, jalopies, and motorcycles can fit down a road when everyone is concentrating on the road. Driving is relaxing by no means, but neither is it heart stopping.

Back to the present, I leave Antigua today to live and work with pastor and veterinarian Mario Mendez for one week in Magdalena, the town where most of the SI ministries are located. When we met at the first staff meeting, he told me that I should come and work with him for a while, that we could go and vaccinate some cows. He said this in a joking voice, but I'm not sure...

Anyway, I return to Antigua on the 12th to resume language school, and possibly any and all communication with the outside world.

Once again I thank you all for your prayers, your support, and your love.

Language School

2008-09-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

I arrived safely in Guatemala this Tuesday. The travel was exhausting, as I took a midnight flight through Houston. But, I only had to wait a hour and a half at the airport for my ride to Antigua, so it wasn´t that bad. Once again, my first meal in Guatemala was from an American fast food chain--McDondalds this time. I slept soundly through what I heard was a rather noisy night.

On Wednesday, Fernando and I went back to the city (here, ´the city´ refers to Guatemala City) to pick up a family at the airport that is also joining SI. They were supposed to arrive on Tuesday with me, but their flight was changed. I only rememer his name, Nick, but he came from Oakland with his wife and two small children. They will be living with Fernando and his family until they can find a house. I think there are two other families/individuals coming in October to join SI as well.

While in the city, we stopped at Telefónica to see if my very cool cell phone would actually work in Guatemala. It does. Fernando gave me a prepaid SIM card for it that I can use until I get on the SI staff plan.

On Thursday morning, I began Spanish language school at the centro linguistica MAYA, one of many language schools in Antigua. I don´t know how long I´ll be going there. The instruction is all one-on-one, so it is rather exhausting, but very fruitful.

Thursday afternoon I moved in with the Olviedo family in Antigua. They live just three blocks from the school and one block from the central park. Roberto and Sandra have four boys, from 13-23. Sandra cooks wonderfully. They also have an excercise bike that I excercised on Friday, and which I plan to excercise regularly. I asked whether there were any lap pools in Antigua. Sadly, there are not.

Today, Saturday, I took a walk over to Fernando´s house (4km). I am quickly gaining confidence in my ability to navigate the area.

I am looking forward to going to church tomorrow, as it will be my first time attending a service in Guatemala. I was quite ill on Sunday when I visited in December.

But as for most of my time for the next few weeks at least, I will be getting tutored, studying, eating, sleeping, and doing enough excercise to keep from wasting away.

Follow up letter

2008-08-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Dear family and friends,

I am taking this opportunity to send you an update on my rapidly approaching move to Guatemala. My departure is nearing and I am getting excited. I have been spending the summer with people I know and love as they prepare to send me off to get to know and love the people I will meet in Guatemala.

I will be leaving on September eighth to Guatemala City, Guatemala, and then travel west to the colonial city of Antigua, where I will connect with the current staff of Students International (SI). I'll live with a local family while attending language school, then I will be joined by five other new staff members and should be starting my work at this time.

Oscar currently runs the technology ministry in designing projects for next year's student teams hosted by SI. When the first of these teams arrive January second, I will join Oscar in leading them in the implementation of the projects. Most of our projects will consist of rainwater catchments, cisterns, hand pumps, and filters in poor communities with limited access to water.

I'm making a two-year commitment to this ministry, and will return to Oregon for two weeks during the Christmas season.

To all of you who responded to my first letter, I greatly appreciate your prayers and your financial support. I understand that I over-engineered the response part of my first letter, making it a little confusing. Hopefully I can be clearer this time. I am close to being able to go, but still need increased partnership. If I was unclear the first time, or you have wanted to respond, now is the time. I need your consistent prayer support. If you would like to be on my list to receive updates for prayer, and have not already let me know, please respond to this email. Also, if you would like to support me financially monthly, or with a one-time gift, please make your check out to Students International, and mail it to the address below. Do not make the check out to me. That way they can send you a receipt for tax purposes.

Again, please accept my sincere gratitude for your love, prayers and gifts,

Matthew McIntire

Email: matthewmcintire@gmail.com Skype: matthewmcintire
Webpage: http://matthewmcintire.blogspot.com/

Mail financial support to:
Students International
P.O. Box 2733
Visalia, CA 93279-2733

Please indicate my name and the type of support (monthly or one-time) on a separate slip of paper with your check.

Support Letter

2008-04-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Much has happened since I last sent out one of these letters. I graduated with honors from Seattle Pacific University with a bachelor of science in engineering and missionary applications. During the summer I worked for my Dad, doing new construction out at the mill.

In December I traveled to Guatemala to interview there for a staff position with Students International. I stayed with the local SI director, Fernando, and his family in one of the suburbs of Antigua. This touristy colonial city sits in a valley at about 5,000 feet above sea level, surrounded by volcanoes. Students International ministers in the neighboring suburbs and also operates a number of occupational ministries in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Fiji, and Guatemala. These ministries are supported by short-term high school and college students, mostly from the United States, and hosted by SI. They participate in two-week outreaches throughout the summer months, paying a fee to cover their own food, accommodations and supplies, as well as a portion of the year-long operation of the ministries. Staff members also raise their own financial support.

Over the course of a week I met with the current staff; in particular, Oscar, the man with whom I would be working most closely. He showed me the various projects he has been overseeing. By the time I returned to the States, I was ready to turn back and begin the work. But first, I needed to attend a training session, as well as raise almost $1500 a month to support myself.

After being formally accepted by SI, I attended the mandatory three-week training program at Missionary Training International in Palmer Lake, Colorado. This was an emotionally trying time designed to make sure I was ready to handle a long-term cross-cultural experience. Leaders confronted our personal values to try to determine whether they are godly or simply American in nature. The curriculum covered conflict resolution, and tested our reactions to acute stress, and we participated in small-group discussions and individual counseling sessions. In between classroom exercises I did manage to make some new friends. It is always encouraging to know people with a calling similar to your own. We climbed mountains, played Settlers of Catan, and shared our lives with each other. It was a time I will not soon forget.

This August when I move to Guatemala, I will most likely stay with a local family near the ministry sites. For at least the first few weeks, I will attend a language school to improve my Spanish, then I will be working for SI full-time. I made a two-year commitment to work in their appropriate technology ministry helping to design projects for short-term student teams to work on. Then I will lead them during the summer months when they arrive to work.

Oscar, the Guatemalan in charge of the appropriate technology ministry, has years of local construction experience, but little engineering training. Hopefully, we will be able to learn from each other how better to serve and show the love of Jesus to the locals and the students who come to work with us.

Most of our projects will likely be water related since access to safe drinking water is a pressing need in most poor communities. We will be working in a high-altitude area where wells have to be dug very deep to find water, so currently Oscar focuses on rainwater catchments, cisterns, and slow sand filters. I will join this work, and I pray that God will work through me. This is what I have spent the last four and a half years preparing for, and I am very excited to be stepping forward.

I hope that this letter finds you well. Many of you I have not seen in awhile, and I always look forward to hearing from you. God bless you,

Matthew McIntire

Students International - The Mission:

Bringing students and the poor together cross-culturally to encounter God, share the Good News, disciple and serve others in occupational ministries.