The Women's Center

Today, we visited the women's center here in San Lucas. The women's center is a place where almost all of the women here in San Lucas attend daily to learn how to weave, sew, and cook.  It is also a place where people in the community go to wash their clothes. Today, during our visit to the center we had the chance to learn how to make tortillas, carry the basin that women here in Guatemala put their clothes and food stuff inside. We also learned how to wash clothes using water from the rain and also how to  carry fire wood on our back. Learning how to carry the basin connected to my childhood experience as a young girl growing up in Ghana, West - Africa. In Ghana, we always carry basin to and from whether from the market, damping garbage, and to the River side. 

Louisa Afriyie 

Danielle's post

Hola friends! 

During yesterday's reflection we were asked to close our eyes and envision and reflect on our experience and our return home. I felt relaxed as I played out the events of the day in my head; it was then that I really noticed my environment and the sounds of Guatemala. 

I was sitting under the gazebo and the sun was down; a cool breeze was present. In the distance there was music and a few dogs barking. Other than that, there was no other sound. At that moment I felt at peace and so thankful and privileged to be sitting under that gazebo with such an amazing group of people. 

Earlier that day we were assisting with a water project. To allow people to live on land higher up the mountain, a community was working together to build an irrigation system that would pump water up the mountain to be supplied to the people's homes. We were guided on a small hike up the mountain to see the progress the local volunteers have made. At the top where the water basin was going to be placed were multiple giant boulders and four men chiseling away at them. With no machinery to carry away these boulders, there is no other option than to break the boulders into smaller pieces to remove them. The men were so happy and proud to be able to contribute to the project. They didn't see the chiseling as tedious, they saw it as an opportunity. It was the most beautiful thing.

We hiked back down and began digging trenches where the pipes will soon be placed. At first the shoveling was easy, but the deeper we dug the more we ran into buried boulders. We worked together trying to remove these giant rocks, and as frustrating as it was at times, we were able to look at the 60 feet of trench we dug and feel proud. It may have seemed like only a small stretch of trench, but it was tangible progress made. It was 60 feet of trench that the workers didn't have to dig themselves. 

Every moment spent here in Guatemala is an amazing blessing, and each day is a new learning opportunity. 

Peace

Danielle

P.S. Shoutout to my family! Miss you and love you! 

Coffee demo and tasting!

I really don't like coffee.  drinking coffee is something I have never picked up on in college.  Everyone asks "what do you do for caffeine?" My answer: "Pepsi!" Even though I don't drink coffee, learning and working with the coffee is one of the aspects of this trip that I was looking forward to.  

Yesterday afternoon we watched Carlos present the process of roasting, grinding and brewing the coffee. When the beans come off the plant, they are a very light color. Each bean needs to be de-shelled.  Then the are put into the roaster.  The roaster has to reach 300 degrees and then the beans roast for about 15 minutes.  At this point we were able to smell coffee.  

After they have been roasted, they are placed in the grinder.  This is what the coffee looks like when we purchase it in the store.  He then brewed it in the coffee pot.  Carlos used a coffee pot just like we use, however he recommended to use a french press because it keeps more of the flavor of the coffee. 

Everyone was poured a cup of coffee.  Even though I had a strange feeling that I wouldn't care for it, I tried a few sips.  What can I say? I am a college student who does not drink coffee! However, members other members of the group said it was excellent.  Carlos was asked by one of us about how we can start becoming acquired to the taste of coffee.  Carlos said he started by adding creme and sugar, which makes sense to me.  Maybe at some point in my life I will like up to that "advice" but for right now, I will stay with pepsi.  

We look forward to the second half of this trip, while the other members of this group enjoy the coffee!!

Much love,

Madeline Boucher 

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