Our recent team from Wisconsin worked and worked to prepare the terraza so they could pour the concrete. Rain and time conspired to keep them from this task, but less than a week after they left, a group of 39 men, representing 11 churches, arrived for a day of concrete pouring. This was the most support we have received from the churches at one time! God knew what He was doing! The delay in the pouring of the concrete the week before caused the need that these churches answered, pouring not only concrete but sweat equity into THEIR Camp! Many of the men that came and worked stated that they had never been to the Camp before but would certainly return! Praise the Lord!

A concrete mixer was rented for the day.

A bucket line was formed.

And now we have a roof!!

Everyone was sunburned and covered in concrete by the end of the day, including me! With all of that testosterone around, I didn't feel the need to include myself in the bucket brigade so I took pictures. But even that can be dangerous if you get too close!

Maria

LBN Update

Just a couple of photos to let you see the progress at LBN. The rain has slowed things down, but we have had several days that we beautiful and the construction progresses!

Maria

It Is the rainy season...

Again, another wet team! But, then, it IS the rainy season! We had a great group from Spring Creek Church of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, join us for a week of "fun in the sun"! The weather was beautiful...all the days we didn't work. But then, the travel and "fun" days were dry, which was nice!They continued work on the bathrooms and store.

They tied rebar to prepare to pour concrete on the roof. We didn't ever get to pour the concrete, but everything is ready to get it done this week!

Another part of the group set the posts and started stringing the fence along the riverbank. This will keep the children from falling in the river and, hopefully, keep the animals from grazing (and leaving deposits) on the picnic grounds!

They also leveled and sodded the lower soccer field...

and one gentleman cut steps into the side of the hill especially for me! (I'll bet his wife is short also!)

Since we had so much rain and they were already wet, "river-jumping" became a fun pasttime!

The youth pastor joined in...

as did Jason, a 6'9" youth leader.

I think all the kids had a go at it, including Josh, who fell in...

four times!

When you live out in the "boonies", you make your fun where you can!!

We had a great time with this group and they actually did do a lot of work! We look forward to seeing them back here again one day soon!

Maria

Las Palmas

For those of you that have visited us before, you may remember the restaurant in Antigua that we like to visit on our "free" day. Las Palmas has been a favorite of ours since we lived in Antigua and walked past it every day going to school. In the past, the groups have always been put in a side room so we could all eat together. It was always a little dark and everyone would look out into the outdoor area and comment on the beauty of the restaurant. Well, the First Bible Church/St. Paul's Lutheran team was so large we couldn't fit into the side room so they put us in the beautiful outdoor area! The downside was we couldn't all eat together, but after being together for a full week, that didn't seem to be a problem! I told them they would be the envy of all who had visited Las Palmas in the past! The food, of course, continued to be excellent!

Maria

Congratulations and Welcome!

Congratulations to the Lara family (the four in the middle)! They were officially accepted by CAM International on July 12, 2008! Pray for them as they continue support raising and visa paperwork, preparing to leave for Spain.

Maria

It's the rainy season...

As many of you know, we are in the middle of the rainy season. So...when you are digging in the dirt, it gets messy! Here are some photos of the First Bible Church/St. Paul's Lutheran team from Decatur, Alabama. They had various projects, one of which was to level and sod the soccer court. Needless to say, a lot of digging was involved!

Each day, a different local church came and helped.

So they dug...

And dug...

and dug...

and dug...

and dug...

and dug!

They leveled a muddy field...

and sodded...

after first having to dig it up...

(Notice who is doing the work here!)

and move it up the hill!

They strung fence...

and added a roof on part of the porch!

I have no picture, but Steve and Evan also put shelves up in my kitchen!!!!

(Teams are great for getting things done that my husband doesn't do!)

All kinds of things were learned this week:

Team work helps!

Take advantage of break times!

Always supervise those women!!!

And finally, never run in the mud with boots on!

Power Girls!!!!

Maria

Recipes - Taco Stew

I have been asked to post some of my recipes on the blog. I need time to organize the pictures from First Bible/St. Paul's work team so I will post a recipe today and start posting for the team tomorrow.

Taco Stew

1 lb ground chuck

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can Bush's Chili Hot Beans or black beans, kidney beans

1 can tomato soup

1 can whole kernel corn, undrained

1 can Rotel tomatoes or equivelent amount of salsa, I use Pace's

1 package Taco seasoning mix

1 cup water

Brown the ground beef. In a large pot or crockpot, put all the ingredients together, including the meat, and let simmer. If you have the ground beef already cooked and frozen, it is easy to put it all in the crockpot on low in the morning and let it cook all day. It will be ready for supper!

Serve over taco chips, topped with grated cheese and sour cream. It is a great recipe for groups because you can always add an extra can of beans or corn to help it go farther!

This recipe serves about 6.

Hope you all enjoy!

Maria

We miss you already!

We put the team from our home town on the plane this morning and miss them already! It was so nice to have a touch of home for the week! This was a group from two churches in Decatur, Alabama, who worked together like they had known each other for years. Check out the blog in the next few days for pictures of their adventures!

Maria

Bits of Home

Saw this truck in a gas station in Guatemala City! Makes you homesick!

I promised them...

that their mothers would never see this! Imagine that...a missionary lying! What happens on a mission trip stays on the mission trip - unless it's good for the blog!

Sorry Jordan and John (the other Jordan).

Maria

Filter systems

The Visalia, California, team had two parts. One that worked at Centennial Camp and one that installed water filtration systems in two of our local churches. Here are some scenes from that:

These are pictures from the Iglesia Centro Americana "Emanuel" in Panajachel. Each church had to provide some of the parts, men to learn how to build the system and maintain it, women to learn how to teach the community how to stay healthy with clean water.

Some of the men from Emanuel who learned the system.

This system was put into la Iglesia Centro Americana "Esmirna" in San Pedro La Laguna, across Lake Atitlan from Panajachel.

A teaching session with the men...

learning how to build and maintain.

And with the women on teaching the benefits of clean water. There were activities for the women to learn so they could teach...

and hands on (off?) visuals of what dirty water has in it!

One of the women, Ana, from the Emanuel church learned so well that she was taken to the Esmirna church to help teach the women there. She was a great help!!

There were lots of photos taken and these were only a taste of what work was done. Each church had a celebration of thanks service where all in the congregation got to taste the clean, filtered water. Diplomas were given to each of the women and men involved and great fun was had by all! We look forward to the return of this team and their work around the lake!

Maria