My last morning in Guatemala

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

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

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

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

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

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.