"Center" picnic

Our friends here decided that it would be fun to bless the boys at the vocational school with a day off to go and play. So we made arrangements with friends to use their private beach and take the boys there for the day. We had a great bbq with all kinds of good food. This is a huge treat for these boys. Their realities don't include many luxuries so it was fun to be able to give them a break from reality where they could just be boys and play, having lots of fun. It was a great time for all of us. The owner of the property told the boys that they could all have coconut so they climbed the trees and shelled and ate coconut for at least an hour. Fresh coconut is soooo good! We layed around in hammocks, played lots of soccer, did a lot of swimming and of course a lot of eating. All in all it was a great day!




Here are some fun pictures of our kids playing at the beach.

Today!

Here are a couple pictures of the boys making desks for the local university.


Here are a few pictures of the boys. We went and visited Craig at The Center today and they had fun playing in the sawdust from the planer.

At the Vocational Center

Here are a couple of pictures from the vocational center where Craig has been working. The boys are very sweet and love learning to build new things. They are learning welding and computer skills as well right now. Recently they welded and installed some bathroom stalls for an office building. The money that they make they put into the school for tools and supplies. It is a great system.

The other day Craig had a reminder of why we are here and why we are helping the boys at the Vocational school. At the school they do so much more than just teach the boys a trade. Every day they have a woman from the community who comes in and cooks a hearty snack for the boys. Some of these boys don't get much food at home so this insures they get at least one nutritional snack every day. They give the boys boots and pants to wear to work because again most of them don't have the money for this. The boys attend educational school on Saturdays, so they often end up tutoring them in their school work so they are successful in school as well. And most of all the goal is to show them the love of God through daily actions caring for these boys. The boys are like family and they care for them greatly. They all have different stories and come from different backgrounds, but none of them are plush and easy.
The other day Craig came home and told me a story from his day. One of the boys had been given money to go buy a new pair of pants because his had a long rip in them down the leg. He was very gracious for the money but openly shared his mental struggle. He felt torn whether he should use this money for the pants or for food for his family at home. I can't even imagine how it must have felt for him. He is the kid in he family and he felt the pressures of needing money for food so strongly that he wanted to give up his money for pants to his family for food. This all circles around to the fact that it is so valuable for these boys to learn these trades so that they can break the cycle of poverty and learn how to provide for themselves and their future families. This is one of many stories but what an eye opener for us.

Progress

Today I had a confidence boosting experience. The water delivery guy came to the house this morning and delivered our bottled water. I was home alone with the kids so I spoke to him in Spanish and he understood what I was saying. Then he looked at Isaac and asked me if he spoke Spanish. I said no, but the best part was that he didn't question my ability to speak Spanish. Granted the conversation was simple words, but I was happy! Later we were on a walk and a guy was trying to sell us some sort of food that he was carrying around in a 5 gallon bucket. I am not sure what the food was but I was able to have a simple conversation, generally understanding what he was saying and letting him know that I didn't want any. Then we talked for a second about the kids. Again, I know it may seem simple but I am excited for small progress.

Josiah's new short haircut.

It is too hot here for long hair so we finally broke down and cut off the curls. It was a bit sad for me but he needed it and it turned out better than I thought it would. So here is the before and after.

Last Sunday we got the opportunity to meet some new friends and hang out at their beach property further down the lake. It was a good day for me because I was fully immersed into the Spanish language. So far I get little bits here and there but this was most of the day. I felt quite overwhelmed but I needed this to help me along in learning. I spent a lot of time listening trying to pick up bits and pieces of the conversations. The best part of the day was when Isaac got to play ball with some other kids his age. It is amazing how well they do at that age even when they don't speak the same language.

Here is our apartment on the left. It is the second level one with the satelite dish(the dish is not ours though)Our friends live directly below us.

Here we are with Flores, Island in the background.

Things learned so far!

So life in Flores, Guatemala has been fairly unadventurous so far due to sickness amongst us all. But I think we are finally starting to pull out. Craig and I are a lot better and Isaac and Josiah are on antibiotics for ear infections but also still have incredible amounts of snot pouring out theie noses and a cough that just screams germs. So with the little venturing out I have done so far I will tell you some interesting things we have learned so far.
1. It is always noisy here. Music is always playing. It oesn't help that we live next to a studio for a band and the next door down is a music school. Starting at 8am are singing, trumpets, and drums. In the afternoons the kids are always playing all assortments of instuments. And because of the warm tropical weather everything i open air and windows are all open to help it be even louder. Even the people delivering gas or food drive down the street with megaphones letting people know they are there to buy stuff.
2.We live in the center of a very small island, probably only about 8 blocks in diameter. So it doesn't take long to walk around the island.
3. An exciting find was an ice cream shop only 2 doors down. For 8 Q's (a little over a dollar) I can get a waffle cone with 2 scoops of ice cream. As the weather heats up this could be a dangerous thing. Ice cream every day.
4. 2 Blocks away is a store that makes fresh bread daily and if you go at 3-4 in the afternoon it is hot and delicious.
5.There are no road rules. People drive crazy here.
I am sure there is more than that to share but for now my brain is too tired. So that is all until next time.Pray that next report we will be able to share that we are all healthy and strong.