It's being used...

Besides the English classes I have been teaching, the first "formal" use of the new salon was yesterday by pastors and their wives in the Pamazebal area close to the Camp. There were 23 in attendance. Johnny took these pictures during their meeting.

We still need a large whiteboard and a pull-down screen for the front of the meeting room.

The tables and chairs were donated with a generous gift from Wisconsin!

Again, thanks to all who had a part in building and helping supply the new salon. I don't have pictures of the new bathrooms in use...but we are ever so thankful for them also!

Vacation Bible School 2009

We would like to say "thank you" to all the folks who helped us help the local churches with Vacation Bible School. As many of you know, school is out here November, December and part of January. So, as the U.S. churches do in the summer vacation, we have Vacation Bible School during the vacation break...usually in November or early December. We had many gifts from teams that came down during the year of craft supplies, Bibles and a special gift from a good friend in Decatur, Alabama, which supplied materials for teaching. In all, we were able to help 8 churches with craft supplies, teaching materials (in Spanish, of course), Spanish Bibles and money to help support the VBS. The church of the pastor in the photo is doing three VBS programs - in their church and in 2 other villages that do not have an evangelical church present. In one, they use the local school without any electricity. Just this one church alone reaches about 250 children! So you see why we are so thankful for your gifts! It is amazing to see the ingenuity of the teachers to make some kind of craft project out of whatever they are given! God has blessed these programs in reaching children for Christ and God will bless you for helping. All of the pastors we have helped have wanted us to tell you all...

Gracias, Maltiox, Thank you!

He came to work...and work he did! Wayne Campbell, the youth pastor at our home church, First Bible Church of Decatur, Alabama, visited us for a week in October. He wanted to see what we did and boy did he ever!

Wayne spent a couple of days learning to tie wire and make concrete on the ground. He was helping us prepare for the dedication of the Camp by putting up a wall and fence at the end of the soccer field.



He also spent almost every evening helping out with some computer problems!

But everything he did wasn't work! We did visit Panajachel and Antigua. Here, you can see him climbing the waterfall between the Camp and Panajachel!

Thank you, Wayne, for all of your work! But most of all, thank you for coming to visit and lift us up!

Centennial Camp Dedication

Finally, after three years of work! Monday, November 2nd, all of our churches were invited to join us in a dedication of Centennial Camp. We had just returned to the Camp the evening before after a week in Dallas, but were up early Monday morning to welcome around 1,000 of our church members to see what Centennial Camp was all about! Below are some pictures of the day:

We had children and ancianos and everyone in between!

The basketball court, the papifut court, the playground equipment and, especially, the new bathrooms were all utilized!

As you can see, we packed them in!

We were joined by several of our CAM staff - Niel and Diana Thomas, Glenn Stewart, Brandon Scott (who didn't show up in pictures because he took many of these!), Joel, Vivian and Josh Lara and finally Mike Stephenson, who represented CAM International in the dedication!

We welcomed everyone...I managed to do it in English, Spanish and Quiche! After a time of worship, a devotional by the president of the national Centoramerican church consejo, a congratulatory speech by Mike Stephenson of CAM and a prayer of dedication by Joel Lara...

We enjoyed praise music by a ensemble from the Esmirna church in Solola! There were about 6 marimba players playing on 2 marimbas, a bass, drums and various percussion instruments. You can see the drummer above...he really enjoyed what he was doing!

Finally, the ribbon was cut on the new building! Then...what everyone had been waiting for...

fun and games! Noe refereed the guys' papifut games while the ladies played a basketball tournament! I didn't get a picture of the winners with their trophies because during this time they also started feeding the crowd.

We only had about 1,000 people...I can't imagine the crowd of 5,000 that Jesus fed! Puts it all in perspective, doesn't it?

I want to thank all of the teams we have had in the last 3 years and who worked so hard on the Camp. This was only the beginning of what we will have, but it was a good start! Thanks to you all and God bless you!

Almost finished!

For anyone who has done construction in Guatemala, these are familiar sights...

gravel...

sand...

and a bucket brigade!

Such was our Monday, a week ago! The guys had finished the "prep" work for the cistern on the mountain and were ready to pour the walls.

It took all of us, including Junior and Johnny, to make the concrete and get it in the forms before the rain started.

Just had to put this one in...he's so cute!

Believe it or not, they had a shovel that even fit my hand! I spent three hours shoveling sand and filling buckets. Thought I wouldn't be able to move the next day but God was gracious.

After a lunch on the ground of caldo with chicken and vegetables, we headed to the house just ahead of the rain. Good timing!

Two days later, the forms were removed and now they just have to make a top for it and fill it up! We are having a celebration to officially open the new building on the 2nd of November. By that time, all of the bathroom amenities will be completed and the lights in! (Wayne, guess what you will be doing!)

Water on the mountain

Before we hook up the water to the bathrooms recently built at the Camp, a water cistern needed to be dug on the mountain across the highway. Johnny, Noe and Kiki have spent the last week and a half digging and preparing the hole for concrete. First, rocks had to be taken up from the road to the cistern location.

And Johnny told his cardiologist he was just doing "administrative work"!


The rocks are thrown into the hole...

then leveled. A layer of concrete will be placed on the bottom and sides.

Two small springs empty into the cistern also. Kiki drinks the water, saying that it is not contaminated, just dirty...and a little dirt is good for you!

Johnny prepares to make another load.

San Andreas bridge

Our last team in August worked daily in the Centroamericana church in San Andreas Semetebaj. Panajachel is located in a valley between two mountains, with one entrance coming in from Solola and the other from San Andreas. So each day, we traveled to San Andreas from Panajachel, having to cross over a bridge enroute. Each day, we watched the bridge crumble a little more and feared we would not continue to be able to pass. Well, the bridge hasn't fallen off the mountain yet! We passed that way last week and I took pictures of the continuing "crumble".

They say they are going to build a new bridge, but if they don't hurry, any small earth tremor will take care of the destruction process! We still pass that way, wondering each time if we will be able to return!