Last Post

Good Evening,

Tonight will be our last blog post.

We had a great final day here at NLCH. We finished up some final touches on some projects. Derek, Ruth, Levi and Micah had some fun in the morning helping some teachers in a pre-k class. They worked with the students to assist in cutting and gluing together some paper houses. Ed, Brandon, and Barry went to wal-mart and picked up some new bicycles, bicycles tires/tubes, and basketball nets for the kids. They were all so excited to ride the new bikes. Overall we just had a wonderful and fulfilling day spending time with the kids and playing games and just being able to spend some final time with them.

After dinner, we watched a closing slide show of the week. Derek, Levi and Micah entertained everyone by doing a dance up front; the kids thought it was hilarious. We all had an opportunity to share our thoughts and give thanks to everyone for the week that we had.

Tomorrow, we head to Antigua again before returning to the states. We look forward to seeing all of you, and sharing about our time here.

Peace and love,

Wednesday- Antigua Day

Today was our day to visit Antigua which is touristy type of town, rich with history. In the morning we drove there and ate breakfast in a hotel named Santo Domingo, which is a hotel that was built into the ruins of a monastery. It was a wonderful buffet style breakfast with omelets, fresh fruit and juice, potatoes, breads and cheeses. We explored around the ruins and watched one of the volcanoes periodically blow out some ash clouds!!

After breakfast we walked through a catholic church, known for Hermano Pedro, who is one of the catholic saints from Guatemala. And also climbed around the ruins there also. Following our historic adventures, we got to visit the artisan market of Antigua and buy some souvenirs. (t-sihrts, blankets, knives, shoes, jackets, jewelry etc.)

For dinner, we had eggs and black beans, and then had a great evening hanging out with the kids, playing soccer, and enjoying some jokes that may, or may not, translate across the languages. We had some good laughs. Below are some photos of the day. Tomorrow we are back at work.

Photos

Monday

Today was our first work day. Half of the team helped to organize a supply room for some of the staff members, while the other half did some landscaping/tree trimming.

In the new comedor, which is multi-purpose building that functions as a lunch cafeteria, assembly building, and staff multi-function room, there is a supply room that needed organized. This half of the team took inventory of all of the supplies: clothing, school items, hygiene items, dry food items etc. They stained all of the wooden shelves with a sealant that helps to prevent termites, and then put all of the totes of items back onto the shelves. It looks great, is very organized, and the staff here is thrilled.

The other half of our team did some much needed tree trimming. Guatemala receives about 180 inches of rainfall per yer, so plants grow very quickly. Especially bamboo!! Both halves of the property are surrounded by a 7ft block wall with razor wire on top. Much of the wall is covered in an ivy like plant/vine, which looks nice, but needs to be cut back every few months. We made sure to be careful while working around the razor wire. Some avocado trees also needed trimmed, and some rain spouts needed cleaned out. Our maintenance/project coordinator, Shawn, was very pleased at how quickly and efficiently our team worked today.

After a dinner of black bean nachos, we had an energetic evening outside playing various games with the kids. Kids were playing with bubbles, wrestling, playing tag, four square, etc. It was a lot of fun. Following the fun times with the kids, Lee and Stacey (full-time NLCH staff from Texas), gave us an opportunity to hear the history of NLCH, and ask questions about certain kids/families, the history of Villa Nueva, specifics on how the facility operates , and kids gain sponsorship, etc. PS- If You Want To Sponsor A Child- Ask One Of Us !!

Below is a video of Barry and Micah "leading" an aerobics class for the school; and some other photos from the day. Enjoy!

More Photos

Day 2- Sunday

It is Sunday evening around 8:45pm. Today was a great 1st full day in Guatemala. We spent the morning and afternoon at a water park with the kiddos. The sun rays were hot, as we were in the southern part of the country. It felt good to cool off in the water, wave-pool, and water slides.
We all noticed how well behaved and appreciative they were to be doing something fun and different. This is something that they only get to do once per year, maybe twice at most.
The older ones were protective and helpful with the younger ones. For lunch at the park, we have hamburgers, fries and a soda, then headed back to the home around 3pm.

For dinners here at the home, we are splitting up into 4 groups; each night rotating through eating with the big boys, little boys, big girls, and littles girls. Tonight for dinner we had a fried egg, and of course, delicious black beans, and coffee. Derek had to eat Lindsay's helping of the beans.

We are excited to see what meals the wonderful home mothers have in store for us. All of the cooking is simple, and very delicious.