House Construction - Carly Bone

Hello friends and family!

Today a group of 4 of us; Raven, Louisa, Ashley, and myself had the opportunity to help lay the cement floor in a house that is currently being built for a Guatemalan family in the mission's neighborhood. The first thing we had to do before we could begin putting down the cement was level off the dirt. This required us to remove the excess dirt and transport it to the nearby carpenter shop where it could be reused as fill dirt. Following that we collected wheelbarrows full of sand and rocks and brought it back to the area where we needed the cement. We then mixed in the cement powder and the sand and rocks into a big pile on the ground. We transported conserved water from a near by rain barrel, and by making a hole in the cement pile, poured it in with the sand and rocks. We mixed the cement manually using shovels until it reached the appropriate consistency. Our Guatemalan friend in charge of the project explained to us that this was the best way to make the cement because of the quality and its ability to hold up much longer than machine mixed cement. By the end of the day we were tired, dirty, and sweaty to say the least but it was more than a blessing to step back and look at the work we accomplished for this family. We saw a patch of dirt transform into a floor of a home that will serve as both shelter and a place for a family and their friends to enjoy each other's presence. We thank God for our strength and abilities and also for the opportunity to take part in this project. 

Love and blessings from Guatemala,

Carly

Water Project

Hello friends and family!

Eight of us worked on the "water project" this morning. The water project is a relatively new project of the Mission. Its purpose is to bring water farther up the mountains so that the land can be cultivated and lived on (there is currently no irrigation at the higher elevations, rendering the land useless). This project is very important to the Mayan people that own that land. 

We helped dig trenches that the pipes will be laid in. One pipe will carry water from Lake Atitlan to the tank at the top of the mountain, and another pipe will go down from the tank to the houses on the mountain. 

Before we began, we hiked up to the top of the mountain to see where the tank will be. This area is very rocky; stonecutters have been working diligently (using a chisel and hammer) to break up the boulders and remove the rocks. Then, we set to work, digging the trenches 75 cm deep. Over two hours, we added approximately 60 feet to the trench.

Andres was the local man who oversaw the project. He explained that the Mayan people performed a ceremony to ask a blessing to open the land and build the trenches. This helped us see the importance and relativity of the indigenous culture.

There were other local men working alongside us. One of them was 14-year-old Juan Ronaldo, who told us he worked 5 days a week on the project. I worked closest to him in the trench, so he and I talked about our families. Although it was a brief conversation, I felt a closer connection to him, the people working on the trench and of San Lucas, and the land itself; this showed me the importance of solidarity with the people here. On our way home, we ran into a man who owns land on the highlands and who will benefit from the water project. He thanked us repeatedly for our work and reassured us God would repay us. This tied the project together for me and showed us all how valuable water is to the people of San Lucas. 

Con mucho amor (with much love),

Katie

Pictures to Enjoy

The group wanted to give thanks to everyone for being patient with our blog while we figured out the technical issues. Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip so far!

The Small Things in Life

Hola a todo de nuestra familia y amigos en los Estados Unidos (Hello to all of our family and friends in the United States)! I am so happy to be able to write our first blog post from Guatemala. For those following our adventure here, this is Raven posting. I visited San Lucas last year with a different ABST group, so I thought it would only be fitting to let everyone in on a little secret: there has been TONS of progress and I could not be more excited for the beautiful people here! There's plenty of new projects underway, improvements to existing vehicles, and the town is as lively as ever. 

Today was an exciting one as the whole group was able to tour neighboring towns. We all loaded up on a boat in Lake Atitlan and set sail. There was more than enough excitement to go around. Today was not only our day to settle in, but it was a day to begin learning. Here in Guatemala it is so important to learn: learn about the culture and language, but about the history offered in every street as well. We have been realiizing that it is the small things that matter most. It is the fact that you are greeted with an eager wave and hello, it is the appreciation for you trying Spanish, and it is stories shared. As our first full day unfolded I am happy to say that this will be a great week, but sad to say it will probably be a quick one.

I say it's the small things in life that matter because today was a little personal for me. San Lucas mission receives hundreds of volunteers monthly, so in choosing to come back and lead this year, I never would have imagined any of the locals remembering me. But, above in our photo are Paulina and Ana...they remembered me! I cannot express in words how much that made my entire week. In a way, this was a small confirmation that the relationships we build do matter. It was even better seeing our group build relationships with them as well. We were blessed with a boat ride back to San Lucas with both of them. We conversed and shared stories; we tried their native language (Quetch or Mayan), and we laughed. It is the small occurences each day that make a difference. We may all be different, but we all possess the capability to turn someone's day around.

I look forward to sharing more as the week unfolds.

- Raven

Safe Arrival

After a long delay in Newark and last leg journey from Guatemala City to San Lucas Toliman, the group has safely arrived at the San Lucas Mission!

Some more facts about Guatemala

Hello everyone!

It's officially less than hour until we leave! We will post tonight upon arrival in San Lucas so you know we made it there safely! In the meantime, here's some more facts about Guatemala:

Coffee:

• Coffee has been an important part of Guatemala's economy since the 1850s.
• In 1880, coffee was 90% of Guatemala's exports and is still their largest export today.
• Guatemala was the top coffee producer in Central America until 2011, when Honduras overtook them.
• Many indigenous people were evicted from their ancestral home without benefits in order to produce more coffee.
• Harvesting the coffee crop depends on a massive, seasonal influx of migrant workers who travel to supplement their meager income. They are paid $2 a day (48 cents less than minimum wage); this only pays for a third of a family's calorie requirements.
• Half of their coffee is exported to the US.

We will most likely be harvesting coffee while in Guatemala. Please keep in mind that some of your coffee you drink in the morning may be produced by these workers who are paid sub-poverty-level wages - try fair trade coffee, where workers are paid fair living wages!

Powerful Women Figures:

• Rigoberta Menchu is an indigenous Mayan woman born in 1959. She has renounced marriage and motherhood so that she can dedicate her life to raising awareness about racism in Guatemala and work toward equal treatment of the Mayan people. She received the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts. 
• Guatemala's Attorney General is a female, Claudia Paz y Paz.
• Irma Flaquer Azurdia is a psychologist known for her critique of the Guatemala government.
• Maria Josefa Garcia Granados y Zavala is an intellectual, writer, journalist, poet, and feminist.

Jade:

• Jade is an ornamental green rock.
• It was rare in southern Mayan cultures; therefore, it was very valuable.
• It was used in Mayan art and for religious purposes.

Thank you for all your support as we prepared for our journey, and please continue to keep us in our thoughts and prayers as we travel!

Some facts about Guatemala

History & Disappearance of the Mayan Civilization

The Mayan civilization was the most dominant society in Mesoamerica (Mexico & Central America)
 Earliest Maya settlements date to around 1800 B.C. These civilizations were agricultural. They grew crops such as corn, beans, squash and cassava. They also become culturally advanced and started building pyramid buildings and developing cities.
During the classic period around 750 AD is considered the Golden Age for the Maya Empire. The civilization grew to about 40 cities, and may have reached a population around 2,000,000.
The Maya were deeply religious and they worshipped God related to nature. At the top of the Mayan society were kings. These kings were thought of the earth. The inscriptions of temple walls led people to believe they were very violent. As a part of religious ritual they performed torture & sacrifice.  During this time they also made advancement in math & astronomy, and created the 365-day calendar.
From the 8th - 9th century the Mayan society started to fall classical cities were abandoned and by 900 AD the Mayan civilization had collapsed.

These popular theories exist as to why the extinction of society occurred one theory is the people completely exhausted the environment to the point it could no longer sustain the population. Another theory is that the constant warfare caused the society to breakdown the final common theory is extreme environmental change, like an intense drought.

San Lucas Mission

The San Lucas mission was founded by the Franciscan order in the late 16th century, the mission church was founded in 1584. In 1958, the catholic church in Rome called for greater involvement of clergy and lay people in world missions. Diocese of New Ulm launched a partnership with the Diocese of Sololá Guatemala. Father Greg Schaffer a Diocesan priest from New Ulm began serving as a pastor for the San Lucas Mission in 1962.

Devotion has been the enhancement and enrichment of the whole person - spiritually, intellectually, and physically addressing immediate effects of poverty and its underlying causes.


Father Greg Schaffer

Father Greg was born on January 29th, 1934 in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He entered the seminary in 1954 and started working at San Lucas Mission in 1963.  He stayed for nearly 4 decades and oversee the mission and always made upholding the dignity of the Guatemalan people.  He also started many aspects of the mission such as medical and dental clinic, elementary school, library and a women's center . Many awards were bestowed on him, specifically order of the Quetzal.

Civil War

During the civil war thousand were killed and many more unclaimed.  People  were forced from homes or killed because the rich people wanted the lands. Men were recruited and they were killed or kidnapped if uncooperative.