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!