Hola!

We last left you wondering what was going to be for dinner last night...and it was... rice, beans, and tortillas! What a shocker!! We got the honor of listening to Wilmar's story. He was shot and paralized from the waist down and now lives here with his sister. He is studying to be in management as of now and is very happy here. We were blessed to have him come talk to us.

Today after a lovely breakfast of dry cereal, bread, and a cookie, we all went about our daily duties. We worked in the kitchen, in maintenence, in the clinic, and the rest of us broke up and either painted blocks for the kids, or worked on sewing stars onto a decoration for the little kids room. As of now the rain has held off, knock on wood! We´re all excited for our various ventures tomorrow, please pray that we have an enlightening experience.

With love from Guatemala,
Shelby, Alyssa, and Paulina

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH W!

P.S.S. Here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

I just wanted to update you all on the blog situation- we have my laptop here and were planning on using that to do our blog. But the wi-fi system is not working correctly, so we use the office computers as often as we can. We have been taking hundreds of photos and lots of videos as well. Maybe this afternoon we will be able to use a new computer in this office and it will actually allow us to upload the photos.

The kids are all out at their work projects right now. Alyssa and Jill were able to work in the clinic here for the morning which they were thrilled about! Working with special needs kids, varnishing brick walls with wood varnish, creating cut outs for classroom walls, sewing and few other projects are also going on as I type. I will let the kids fill in more details later today for all.

Last night we had a great group time, looking at where God has shown himself to us each by singing "Open my eyes Lord, Open my ears Lord, Open my mouth Lord". Your kids continue to amaze us every night as they share how God is working through them this week and where he is pointing them to change. They volunteer to lead prayers, read the daily reading in front of the group and sing pretty darn good :)

Thank you for sharing them with us! Honestly we have been so happy daily with their hard work, willingness to share and the flexibility they have as we adjust to life on "Guatemala Time".

In Him_ Andrea G

July 27, 2010

Hola family and friends,

Today is our 6th day here in Guatemala! We are literally dripping wet as we are typing this beacuse it is raining...again. Today was a typical morning here at NPH starting with breakfast at 8:00. We were lucky enough to be served two good breakfasts in a row. We chowed down scrambled eggs with ham, beans, a roll of bread and a cookie. Afterwards we went our seperate ways to our designated jobs. Maintenance worked outside varnishing the brick buildings. Kitchen people cut up canteloupe and carrots along with other various kitchen duties. Gardening weeded the onion patch for about an hour till it started raining endlessly. Special needs workers played with the kids for the whole morning and people in the Montessori room worked on decorating and organizing. When everyone finished around noon we took a stroll down to Parramos (a town nearby the orphanage). We walked around looking for American snacks but failed. As we were leaving we smelled a delicous bakery across the street and decided to check it out. Once we got a whiff of the sweet smelling bread we could not resist and we also could not turn down the cheap price. Some of us got a dozen rolls for 4 Q which is about 60 cents. We returned back to the orphanage just in time for lunch which only a few actually went to. The rest of us took a break for an hour and a half till it was time to watch the kids´ orchestra play. After that we went to the girls house to do some fun activities. It is about 5:30 right now and we are pretty much chilling until supper at 6. Once we are done with supper we will gather in our clinic room to have our meeting then hear an orphan´s story. After that we will pretty much hit the hay because of our long day ahead of us. Hope all is well back in Minnesota! We miss you and the weather very much and can´t wait to see you in four days!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAVE STICHA FROM YOUR PALS DOWN IN GUATEMALA!!!!!!!
(You dont look a day over 60!)

Kellie, Katelyn and Jackie


P.S. (funny story)

Paulina was walking back to the clinic by herself yesterday when a volunteer said to her in Spanish "Shouldnt you be in school right now?" Paulina panicked and didnt want to embarrass her so she replied "Si!" and walked away quickly. She casually walked into our room and the first thing she said was "Some chick thought I was an orphan". It was our joke of the day and possibly the whole trip!

Our day in Antigua yesterday was really fun because the city was SO beautiful! We all had a good time shopping in the markets for various items like bags, quilts/blankets, headbands, bracelets, paintings and hamocks. Everyone was also excited to eat "real food" again. In the middle of the city there was this very pretty arch that sits underneath a volcano, but it was a little cloudy so it was hard to see the top of it. We also had a service in the beautiful catherdal in Antigua. The church services have been interesting to experience because even though they are in a different langague and none of us -with the exception of Paulina- understand what they are saying, its cool to know that God is God no matter what languauge you speak.

We were all so tired from our day walking around yesterday that we all slept pretty well, unless you dont count the chickens/rooster and the fireworks that sound like bombs that go off in the early morning. We got up and had eggs, beans and tortillas before we got ready to go do our "jobs" for the day. It rained this morning, and when it rains here, it POURS. It seriously rains for twenty minutes, and drops like six inches of rain. I worked in the kicthen with Jill and Katie and we cut up carrots and other various jobs- My hands are orange from peeling and cutting them up! The garden crew, Jackie, Sara, Melissa, Nicole W and Katelyn helped cut grass- with MACHETTES. Zach and Nicole H worked with the special needs children and Zach didnt get bit today! We are getting ready to eat lunch pretty soon- We all pray for no more beans- and then we are going to play with the kids this afternoon again. We try to have something planned for them to do everyday, but all these kids ever want to do is play Soccer! And these kids are really, really, really good. It's so much fun to play with them- even though they make us look so stupid! We have had so much fun this week and its hard to believe that it's half way over!

- - -Taylor Rookaird

buenos dias :) Yesterday we had a wonderful day touring around Antigua, shopping and eating. We began the day by visiting the ruins of the Cathedral from the 1776 earhquake. We then hiked across town to the sight of the tomb of St Hermano Pedro. He was a great great man and we spent time studying his life some before the visit. We related his great work to what the life of one person can turn out to be, if we allow God to work through us and with our hearts. We visited a few more tourists sights to get photos and then split up into groups to shop and eat. We ended the day with Mass at the Cathedral at 615pm. It was a wonderful mass we are sure, but couldnt hear 2/3 of it because there were loud loud firecrackers-fireworks-bomb like things going on the whole time to celebrate the life of St Paul, just near the steps of church. Good times had by us all and no worries parents, no students were harmed in this firworks spectacular event. I will hand the computer over to Taylor now so she can tell more about today. Thanks for the prayers and support! We are so so blesse to have everyone of these students on this journey. Blessings to all_ Andrea Gibbs

July 24th, 2010

Buenas Dias!!

Yesterday we had a lot of fun planning activities for a group of 10-12 year old girls. We made bracelets, colored pictures, painted fingernails, and played outside with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. It was a ton of fun! (Hi to my family from Katie). For supper we had some kind of broccoli soup, it must have been more of an American meal since the children didn´t eat too much of it. When we have meals with the kids, we split up and sit with them. One table of girls loves High School Musical and patty cake, so many of us were singing and playing with them :) After supper, we had group time and tried to find a soccer game to get in on, but couldn´t. Nicole couldnt sleep last night because there was a spider in her bed! Today we played with a group of boys ages 8-12. We played soccer, baseball, frisbee, ninja and other various games. It was very hot this morning, but we still had fun! After the games we cooled off in our room and had some fresh pineapple (best pineapple ever!). Tonight we are going to church with the children in a town called Perramos and having a late supper. We may not have a blog tomorrow because we are visiting Antigua. Photos are difficult to upload but we will try again sometime. Adios!



Katie Vollmar, Jill Zimanske and Nicole Hoffman

July 23, 2010

Hola,

Hey everyone back home. We have arrived mostly in one piece. We still can´t find Zach. But that really isn´t important. We were up bright and early today... kind of. We ate this different tasting breakfast that was fried plantains, some form of beans, and something else creamy and white. After breakfast, we split up and started our work projects. We are working in the monisary, with special needs children, in the garden, as maintenence, and in the kitchen. We are all planning to try something different everyday. We are having a lot of fun and miss you all... a little... except for Jake Molitor and Josh Wehseler.

Adios,

Zach Molitor and Nicole Wehseler

Packing Party

The bags are packed. We're ready to go.
But before we leave, we say THANK YOU to... our families - the wind beneath our wings, Laura for ALL of her work, Ruth for handling money and paying bills, Fr Hessian for the beautiful blessing, Joan for her technical coaching, many parishioners and other friends for supporting our fund-raising efforts and making donations (monetary and material.) We have one more thing to ask of you - remember us in prayer while we are gone. Know that our first day of work will be a prayer for you.

Pre-Trip Preparations

Maria M has our flight itinerary now and is arranging for all in-country transportation.
A work schedule is being drawn up, and evening activities are being planned.
A contact sheet is being prepared for all parents, to be distributed at the packing party on July 18.
Ruth is contacting participants who still owe a bit, asking for final payments. Once all payments are rec'd, credits will be issued to others.
Some participants have outstanding paperwork and will be contacted.
Supplies and donations are being collected.
Fr Hessian will give us all a blessing at the 10:30 Mass on July 18. Watch for a sea of orange! The growing excitement will be palpable at our pot luck/packing party, 5-9 on July 18.
Everyone is to bring:
1. suitcase, dimensions within airline restrictions
2. donations
3. $6
4. dish to share and a drink
Everyone is advised to get as much sleep as possible on the 21st/22nd.
We leave from the parking lot at 2:30! Drivers are still needed - call me if you can help. Drivers are asked to be in the parking lot by 2:15.
Check back for trip updates!