Guatemala Round Dos

It's been an amazing two days already. We've been to both villages and worked like crazy. Yesterday, we went to the high mountain village of Bejucalito. The town is literally hanging off of mountains and somehow they farm the land. We spent our day mixing concrete yo finish up the school play yard. Our concrete machine consisted of our arms, shovels, little kids, and a 15 year old master mason named Hilmar.

Today, we ventured southwest from Guatemala city to Santa Luisa. This was the village i worked in last time if you read that blog post. It was amazing to see the familiar faces an receive loving hugs. You feel gods presence when you hug these people. You don't want to let go.

In this village, we worked on the foundation of the pastors house. Basically, I shoveled dirt out of a ditch in order to make it 3 feet deep. I removed more dirt and placed it on myself than I think made it in the pile. We were forced to stop by the crazy afternoon rain storms. These rain showers make you think you should probably build a boat. But because of the rain, we were able yo stop and break bread with the local mr fixit, Chevo, and the three prayer warrior women. Lunch is a very rare treat for them. We basically gave them everything we had. It was a true blessing to be able to serve them. We got to learn a little more about one of the ladies. She ha given birth to 8 children; five are alive. Two died in child birth and one died at 18 months. Two of her five alive are considered "sick." basically, they are mentally handicapped. The other three are healthy. Her husband abandoned the children and her. He rejected his "sick" children. He passed away two years ago. She now supports her family through faith in god and the amazingly strong church body that is established in the village. In the book of James, he declares that faith without works is dead. This woman gives all she has yo her church, friends, and family and expects nothing in return. She is a beautiful picture of faith.

Today I experienced one of the best lunches I've ever had, and all we ate were ham sandwiches, doritos, and animal crackers. I could do this lunch everyday.

Keep close...more to come.

Happy Birthday Lady Liberty

Hello all you beautiful Americans or random foreigners viewing this blog. The words in this post have been endorsed by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E Lee, Eli Whitney, and Matchbox 20.

I have spent the weekend soaking up sun rays on a beautiful lake. I've been living the American dream; listening to sappy country while quoting Katy Perry, drinking Mexican beer, eating 7 types of deserts, waving Ole Glory, and hugging my family and friends. My scalp is burnt to a crisp. My back looks like leather. And my neck is as red as a sweet and delicious watermelon...which I ate my body weight of this weekend. Best thing about today, other than our freedom from those crazy Brits, I didn't have to go to work today. God Bless this Land. But honestly, we have it pretty good in this country. No one is threatening to kill us because of our skin color, dress code, religious views, or music choice...

...but what if there was? Would we live differently? Would we be less or more bold? Who knows. What I do know, is that I should not take a single day for granted. We are not guaranteed tomorrow or even tonight's dinner. Crazy thought, but I think I'm going to kill someone with kindness tomorrow and just see what happens. What do I have to lose?

Lifetones: You Are a Tourist by Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie - You Are A Tourist [Official Video]