Shoot! I missed the 4th of July fun...

Here I am in front of some gorgeous waterfalls
just 15 minutes from my house

...I guess it's alright though.  I had plenty of fun on my own and lots of work to do here in Guatemala.   I have had two weeks without a group of American missionaries now but that doesn't mean the work has stopped or even slowed down for that matter.

Last Tuesday Ramiro and I went to Rio Dulce
This is a picture of Castillo San Felipe
It was used as a fortress back in 1595 when the Spanish
military occupied the area

These are some of the friends I made in San Pablo
where we are building a house and intend to
have a medical clinic and VBS

Ramiro and I have been working diligently on getting all of the upcoming projects ready to go.  Coming up we have 1) a house being built, medical clinic, and VBS in Oratorio (July 16th) 2) house, medical clinic, and VBS in San Pablo (July 23rd) 3) house, eye clinic, VBS in La Avanzada (July 30th) 4) and then another house building/VBS in Los Limones (August 6th).  So, there is a lot to do.

This is Marcilino, standing in front of the wall that
we built in Progreso

It has been lots of fun getting to know the different people from the various small towns.  We visited San Pablo a couple times last week and the little kids flocked to me and kept telling me to take off my sunglasses (they don't see too many blue eyes around there).  I taught them a little English, we played soccer and I also sang some songs with them (more like to them- they were a little shy to sing) about Jesus that I hope to use for the VBS there in two weeks.

One of the biggest obstacles that the church, and the culture for that matter, has to overcome is this phenomena called machismo.  Machismo, or macho-ism is this cultural pressure that says a man has to completely dominate all of his surroundings- especially his wife and kids.  This is something that I have read in books and articles but it never felt real- until now.  I have seen it first hand.  There are numerous cases of battered women and child abuse.  Also, for a man to have a significant amount of money and not have numerous mistresses is rather uncommon.  If a man has money the women (young or old) throw themselves at him.  So the problem doesn't only lie with the men.

In the poorer communities, especially in the mountains where I have been working, machismo takes on a little different look.  For example, there are many malnourished children here in Guatemala, in part due to economic hardship,  and another part due to the most nutritional food going to the man of the house.  If there are eggs to be eaten the man eats them and then sells the rest.  The wife and kids eat beans and corn tortillas (staple of their diet).

I write this little bit of information because some of you have been wondering what I have been learning here and what obstacles stand in the way of sharing the Gospel.  Machismo is just one.  I have had the opportunity to go to several political events here with my host dad Reynaldo.  He is a lawyer and on a committee that is supporting one of the political parties (elections are in September).  Reynaldo has let me tag along to several of these meetings and I have meet congressmen, mayors and the governor of the state of Zacapa.  Something I have noticed while researching is that all the political parties seem to promise the same things: better employment, education, security, health, water, electricity, infrastructure etc...  Maribel (my host mom) says that this is what all of the politicians say year in and year out and few follow through with it.  I guess politics are politics no matter what country you are talking about and Guatemala is no exception.

I am told that the government has money and that it is meant to be used for the people but the majority of the public officials use it to line their pockets (se ponen en sus bolsas).  This is the sad part.  On the bright side of things there are several organizations and peoples out there that are taking matters into their own hands and improving their communities without the help of the government.  In Progreso, the last village I blogged about.  The community has come together to put funds toward building a new classroom to their grade school.  Also, this community has worked (without government help) to fix the roads near their village.  This is awesome to see and these are the kind of people that I, and CALMS love to work with.  People who want to help themselves and don't expect handouts.  One of CALMS's mottos is that we work with people not for people.

This is Rodrigo and Santo from Oratorio.  They are receiving a house from
CALMS as well as working on it too.

What we (CALMS) want to do in these small villages is to raise hand in hand the economic along with the spiritual well being of the people.  With help from God, first of all, and with churches in the US we have done so and continue to do.

After the first few weeks of being here I was pretty depressed.  I was homesick, sick to my stomach (getting used to the food), and I didn't feel like had much direction.  I was wondering why I had come in the first place.  I prayed to God to give me some direction, support, wisdom, insight or something!  With much of my free time I have been reading my Bible and every time I open it I find assurance.  God answered my prayers in every way, shape and form.  Now,  6 weeks into my trip, I really feel like God sent me here for a purpose and would not be surprised if he sends me back in the future.

Thanks for reading!

This is a family from Piedras Azules.  They will be
receiving a house in August.

Prayer Requests:

• The team coming from Trinity Lutheran in Richmond Virginia
• Oratorio- the family receiving the house (Abricio, Rodrigo, Santo, and Norma), and for the Holy Spirit to come to the community
• Salvador with health problems from Progreso
• Ramiro (my new bff and CAMLS's housing coordinator)- the man works really hard
• My host family is traveling to and from Guatemala City this week
• Me- assurance and guidance