Thursday  March 6   It´s 1'30 in the morning Thursday and we just finished our first devotion and got the house rules down for our first night in Guatemala! Our flight was delayed leaving Houston due to some storm warnings and when we did leave, the turbulence kept our prayer life sharpened for the first hour!!!  Aleena Jobe´s flight was delayed leaving Denver and she did not arrive in time to join us for our flight ... Alex Foster stayed behind to join her and take another flight in the morning. They will be picked up by Pam when they arrive and Pam will personally escort them to San Pedro.All is well. We´re tired and I´m gonna hit the hay!!!   Expect a more detailed update tomorrow.

Friday March 7   It´s about 9 AM and we just finished breakfast at the hotel in Guatemala City and will load the bus and take off for Panahachel with a lunch stop at Chi Choy´s ... the only ORIENTAL SOUNDING restaurant in Central America!!! HA!

The kids are doing great!  Everyone´s in great spirits and healthy and looking forward to what God has in store for them on this trip.  Last night in our devotions we asked each of the kids what they expected to experience on this trip and the transparency was truly remarkable!  There are some kids who are really searching for God´s will in their lives and some are looking for specific answers. Others in our group are simply hurting from various conflicts or things they are dealing with. It was exciting to see this degree of openness this early in the trip. It bodes for an exciting time in the days to come!Our worship team is working through not having Melissa Parkhouse along. WE MISS YOU MELISSA!!!  

Luis and Loli, the hosts at the hotel we are staying with, are awesome people! They are obviously blessed by our presence in that they are enjoying the worship and simply sitting in on the devotions. They have communicated genuine love to our group and degree of their hospitality is amazing!

It´s early on in the trip, but I´ve developed some opinions from my observations about this group. There´s a level of spiritual maturity that is significant, perhaps more so than any other group I´ve led down here. Their worship is from the heart and they are very quick and easy to speak about things they need prayer or help with. I am realizing a great benefit from the familiarity they already have with each other ... this is going to be a phenomenal trip!!!

Yesterday I failed to mention that Dorothy Civitillo joined us in Houston from Ohio and is now with the team.  She came down with us 2 years ago and it´s already been a great reunion.

I´m a little rushed this morning and didn´t have time to send this to other folks in my email list ... I´d be grateful if you would pass this on to as many folksas you can ... also, I´m not sure if Charlotte will be checking email today and over the weekend, so if anyone has her home email address, please reply with it so I can include her as she has the list of folks to forward this on to!

The weather is beautiful!  Not a cloud in the sky and it´s already warming up ... 67 degrees as this is typed!!!   

Had our organizational meeting with Pam this morning and she has an incredible week planned out for us .... 20 stoves to install in houses for some very needy families. Part of her caution was for us to be prepared for the shock that we will experience when we see where and how these people live. She said that after her first visit to line certain houses out for this blessing, she cried that night when dinner was served to her at the restaurant ... she couldn´t eat because she was so moved by how LITTLE these folks had!  I´m excited to see how God is going to use THIS to show our kids just how  truly blessed we are!!! 

Please pray for our continued spiritual and physical protection and for these people and for how we can best help them in the limited time we have down here!  Pam is excited to have Aleena and Alex driving with her to San Pedro when she picks them up at the airport around Noon. Once again, please pray for safety for them and that we would all be united as a group soon!

Jerry, Pam is so excited about her new truck!  She has already taken photos and wanted you to know ONCE AGAIN how you blessed her with this vehicle!!!  She was hilarious as we were loading the totes and gear into the truck at the airport ... continually cautioning us to be careful and not scratch anything!  HA!!! 

Well, it´s time to pack and prepare to leave. I will try to send another update this evening if there´s time! 

Finally, a special thanks and apprecaition to everyone who contributed financially to make this trip possible!  We  continue to thank God for those people who enabled these kids to be able to go on this trip. I processed all the checks and donations and it was a special blessing to me to see those who helped financially. I pray God´s special blessing on you for what you´ve done!  Please know that YOU are as much a part of this trip as we are and I can only hope that you will able to make the journey vicariously through my updates!

Saturday March 8

Greetings from SUNNY San Pedro La Laguna!  It must be 75 degrees and just a few wispy clouds on the horizon ... gorgeous weather and a gentle breeze, very nice indeed!

Alex and Aleena joined us late last night and aside from being tired from the long trip, were in great spirits!  They got a good night´s rest and our team is now complete!

After leaving the hotel yesterday morning, we stopped to get 1 liter bottles of water and while I was inside a man approached me and asked if I had come to Guatemala to help `"his" people .... I responded affirmativelÿ and he then asked if we were Christians.  At my reply, he broke into a huge smile and hugged me announcing that he was an "Hermano"  a brother in Christ and he quickly introduced me to his sister who was his business partner ... they were real estate agents who specialized in selling large homes in Antigua.  He could not stop thanking me for what we were doing and it was humbling indeed!  He wrote out his email address and name and said that if there was ever anything they could do to help our future groups, to please let them know ... not sure if this will ever turn into anything that we can benefit from in the future, but it could very well could be!  As we departed, he ran up to the bus with a grocery bag full of bottles of tea and he just beamed as he announced that he bought them for us!!!  What a great affirmation for our presence here and what an incredible reminder ït was that we serve the God of the UNIVERSE not just the United States!!!

We had an uneventful trip to Panajachel, although there was alot of construction which slowed us down.  On the way, we stopped at Chi Choys for an excellent Guatemalan lunch ... still the best guacamole I`ve ever had!

We arrived at Pana at 3 PM and the boat was just pulling up. We quickly loaded up and were on our way for the breezy boat ride across scenic Lake Atitlan.  The rising peaks surrounding this caldera were impressive indeed and the kids who had not been here before were definitely awestruck with the beauty.  The normal 1 hour boat ride took an extra 20 minutes due to an impressive head wind, but we arrived at the dock to a very warm San Pedro welcome!  The kids were definitely moved emotionally as the kids on the dock unfurled a banner written in english saying `"Welcome". We were swarmed as soon as the boat docked and everyone grabbed a tote or a bag and helped us unload everything into Pastor Emilio`s awaiting truck.  We then walked up the street to the Villa Sol Hotel which we`ll call home for the remainder of our trip.

A huge welcome ensued in the yard of the hotel as those of us who have returned, experienced a sweet reunion and those who had come for the first time were greeted as if they had been long lost family!  We split the group into rooms and had about an hour before we had to head over to the school, Colegio Bethel, for dinner.

Ruth cooked up a Guatemalan favorite, "Pero Calientes" ... which we fondly know of as HOTDOGS!!!  The kids ate until they couldn`t move, I was impressed!  We had a great opportunity to mingle with some of the kids we would be interacting with during the course of our stay here. It was a great, relaxing dinner.  At 8 PM, my eyes were drooping and Scott and I decided the best thing we could do was to call it a night and get some quality sleep in preparation for the rest of the week.

At the hotel, the kids were in their rooms and lights out by 8:30 PM!!!  That proved how wiped out we were!  Alex and Aleena arrived at close to 11 after Pam got them something to eat and we all slept in until 7 AM and were heading over to the school by 7:45 to be ready for breakfast at 8.

Pam had a great breakfast of fresh fruit and french toast and all the great, fresh roasted Guatemalan coffee you could handle!

After breakfast we learned about the stove project that was to be the focal point of our trip.  We assembled one stove and then took it apart and put it back together. Pam was impressed at how well we learned and how fast we did this ... she was quick to point out that SHE WAS GETTING BETTER TEACHING ... to which I replied that it REALLY had nothing to do with the teaching and everything to do with STUDENTS!!!  We have a very sharp, ambitious group of kids and we are going to do our best to shine in this stove project!  Once the kids learned the benefits of the project and how these folks down here need them, they got on board quick and their enthusiasm was contagious!

After lunch, we headed back for more instruction and to prepare materials for the actual construction of the stoves. I`ll try to get an update in tomorrow morning, but it might be later as we have a fairly full day with house visits and the CHURCH SERVICE THAT NEVER ENDS!!!!  I know I will be laughed at, but  I am taking a pillow to sit on!!!!!!  HA!

In closing, let me say that once again, these Youth Trips are absolutely incredible!  These kids have already pulled together as a team and they help each other without being asked and they volunteer to clean tables and serve food and anything else that needs to be done!  I am truly blessed to be a part of it once again!

I wish you all the best ... we pray each day for the Russia Team and hope all is going well on the home front!

Sunday March 9

Hey I thought I saw a cloud today but I was wrong, it turned out to be a trash fire somewhere in the distance!  HA!  The weather is gorgeous ... incredibly blue skies and a gentle breeze and downright HOT in the sun.  I took advantage of the opportunity to tell our group that the Russia team was probably not experiencing THIS kind of weather!

Last night we had a great dinner at the school with several Basico´s. The equivalent of  our Junior High and 9th grades ... these kids will be involved in our activities throughout our stay in San Pedro.  It was remarkable how quickly the barriers of language and nationality were dropped and the ensuing relationships that were initated!  Each of our kids was seated next to a Basico to ¨force¨ them to communicate with each other ... YEAH, LIKE THAT WAS A PROBLEM!!!  They were talking so much to each other it was hard to get them to stop!  Afterwards Pam had each Basico stand with their new friend and speak IN ENGLISH about what they had learned about this person ... and then in turn, it was our kids´turn to do the same in spanish.  It was a great interaction with much laughter ... Pam was truly impressed with how much her Basicos were speaking ... I do believe I saw the start of some very serious friendships in the making ... this group has grown very close to these Guatemalans in a very short time!!!

We just came from a visit to the marketplace in San Pedro and to say it was a shocking experience for the newbies, is an understatement!  CARRS-SAFEWAY will never be more appreciated than when these kids get home!!!

We are headed to the school in a few minutes to go on home visits ... a very humbling experience as we greet these wonderful people in their own homes.  Church service will follow at 5 PM and will get over around MIDNIGHT!!!!  That´s hyperbole, but pretty close to the truth ... their services last FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

After church, we´ll surprise the kids with a pizza dinner and then it´s back to the hotel for good night´s rest ... Monday starts bright and VERY EARLY!!! Everyone is doing well ... Scott might have picked up the BUG and is resting this afternoon - please lift him up in your prayers. We´ll start antibiotics if he doesn´t start to improve after some rest. Will check in tomorrow.  Blessings to one and all!!! DB

 Monday March 10

WOW!!!  You´re going to start hearing nothing but adjectives to describe this trip we´re having!  I honestly can´t believe it´s already Monday. I´ll try to present this update in chronological order but may have to do some skipping around, so bear with me. 

After our trip to the marketplace yesterday, we split into pre-arranged groups and went on house visits.  Each group went to 4 houses and it was really a special experience.  Many of these houses were smaller than our garages in Anchorage and yet in the midst of this humble setting, were the most grateful and and gracious hosts you could ever hope to meet!  We were introduced to their families and then we had a chance to ask them if there was anything that we could pray about for them ... THE FLOODGATES OPENED UP!!!  I´m not sure if these incredible people just have the market tied up on transparency, or if our presence gave them boldness to share, but their heartfelt prayer requests gushed forth with a sincerity that we all could learn a lesson from!  It was impossible not to be caught up in the midst of their problems and their lives and the emotions poured out from both sides of these incredible meetings.  It was special to see our kids literally hugging and crying with these people and comforting them and encouraging them in prayer. It was very apparent that these visits were carefully planned and orchestrated by God to allow us to minister to the hearts of these people!  I found myself continually opening my eyes during prayers to look at the kids praying to make sure it was the same kid I had chastised for leaving their room open that same morning!  THESE COULD NOT BE THE SAME KIDS!!!  Their prayers were impassioned and fervent and focused and worded with such care and thoughtfulness and perfect articulation, that you would have thought they had 50 years of Pastoral experience!  I was totally blown away by the maturity of their words and more important, the way their prayers specifically addressed and encouraged these people ... furthermore, it was quite obvious after each prayer session that the people themselves were totally BLESSED!!!  At one point after we had left a house, I almost felt like I was on the outside watching all this from a distance. These kids were being God´s hands and feet and His voice and His arms wrapping around these people and HIS KISSES AND LOVE as these people wept. I know I´ve said these Youth trips are special and I´ve never ventured a guess as to why they are so impactful, but on this trip, I believe that I finally understand that what I´ve been seeing every year, is that these kids are ¨child like¨in the way that Jesus encourages us to be in scripture ... they are so open to God´s miracles and His GREATNESS, that they pray with such total confidence that God will answer their prayers ... this faithfulness is rewarded as I believe God works THROUGH them to reach the people of San Pedro ... and He does it through them like nobody else!!!   THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A YOUTH TRIP TO GUATEMALA!!!!  Honestly, this trip could end right now and be a fantastic success!!!  Thank You Lord!!!

After the house visits we regrouped at the hotel and then headed for the church which is a mere mile away ... WITH A 50,000 FOOT INCREASE IN ELEVATION!!!  It´s hard to show up nice and clean and SMELLING half-way decent after you just climbed Mt. Everest WITHOUT OXYGEN to get there!  Nevertheless, we arrived and found our seats and enjoyed the TWO AND A HALF HOUR SERVICE .... (Lord I promise I will NEVER compain about a long service EVER AGAIN!!!!)  Our kids performed a drama about a kid who is temped by many of the worlds´ evils and falls away from the Lord,  then is restored when Jesus draws her back to Him ... it was very well done by our kids and the crowd´s response was a great affirmation of the success of the delivered message.  I couldn´t help but feel like a proud parent watching his kids!!!

We left church and headed to Mike´s Pizza for a surprise Pizza dinner for the kids. Pastor Emilio and his family joined us and it was a very good time for all.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel and called it a night ... the kids wanted to spend some time in worship, but it was 10 PM and I knew we had to be at breakfast at 6:30 AM the next morning, so the SLEEP NAZI forced lights out and we all got some much needed rest.

This morning we were up early and I was glad for the discipline in getting everyone to bed early. A couple kids needed to be dynamited out of bed, but we made it to the school for a great pancake breakfast at 6:30 sharp!  That hot, black Guatemalan coffee never tastes as good as it does in San Pedro watching the sun come up from the top floor of Colegio Bethel!

At 7:30 Pastor Emilio led worship with the little kids at the school and I never tire from this wonderful experience!  Our group was enthralled by the genuine worship demonstrated by these little kids!  Arms upraised and eyes closed singing at the top of their lungs ... you couldn´t help but get choked up just watching them!

Immediately following this, we were introduced the families that we were going to install stoves for.  This was the first time the kids were able to meet and talk to these very grateful people!  At 9 AM, after Pam explained about what we were about to do next, we left the school to visit each of the houses where we would be working.  It was important to make sure exactly where the stoves were going and to anticipate any obstacles we might encounter in the installation process.  THIS WAS A HUGE EYE-OPENER!!!!  After going to the first house, our kids were in shock!  I think they thought these houses would be similar to the ones we visited on our home visits ... but that was far from what they experienced!  These people were the POOREST OF THE POOR!!!  The majority were ONE-ROOM HOUSES, no bigger than 10 feet by 10 feet. After you read this, walk THROUGH your house or office and try to measure out a 10 foot square and THEN ... TRY TO IMAGINE RAISING A FAMILY  IN THAT SPACE!!!  And that includes cooking for them on an open fire!!!  Even I was stunned at what I saw and experienced ... as much as I love camping and camp fires, I can always walk AWAY OR AROUND a fire to get away from the smoke ... you can´t do that in one of these houses!  Our ministry to these people in getting these stoves in and vented outside from the living area is absolutely incredible and far-reaching!  For me it was very exciting to see a project that we were going to be able to start and complete that would have such a remarkable impact on these people!  I was so accustomed to working on a bigger project like a medical clinic or the old-folks home and we would do a very small portion of that project, only getting to see the final result if we returned several years later.  This was going to be exciting to be able to see the blessing from start to finish!

Our kids were really hit hard by the living conditions of these people!  Several kids had to be talked into going in the next house because of how hard they were impacted by what they had just seen.  The emotions and the compassion that our kids were showing was totally uninhibited!  I do believe that you parents reading this will have some kids returning who will kiss the ground outside their house and thank you profusely for what they have been taking for granted for their entire life!  The conversations as we walked from house to house was solemn and the usual joking around was, for the time beiing, suspended as each one of them was processing what they had just seen and experienced.  Then, to top it off, these same people would express their gratitude to us for what we were about to do and their appreciation was so genuine and heartfelt that it only compounded our feelings of saddness over their living conditions.  I am indeed excited to see how these individual projects  get completed and how our kids step up and minister to these people. The next several days should be very exciting indeed!

After our visits to these houses we returned to the school where we were tested by the guy from Helps International ... they take the proper construction of these stoves pretty seriously and each team has to pass a fairly strict ¨test¨ to make sure we´re doing it right ... I confess I had to set my construction experience and knowledge on the back-burner as I listened to the justification for why some of the things were done in the manner which he stipulated ... I guess this was MY opportunity for personal growth on this trip!!!  HA!

Needless to say, we all passed with flying colors and are very excited about starting the projects tomorrow!  As I type this rather lengthy update, Pastor Emilio is giving his talk about the history and people of San Pedro and dinner is planned immediately afterwards.

Everyone is now completely healthy - we started Scott on antibiotics yesterday afternoon when he got slammed by the BUG ... fevers and chills and everything that goes with that illness.  Four short hours after starting the Z-Pack he was at church with us and downing his fair share of pizza at the dinner afterwards!  Thank you Lord for the gift of medicine and your healing hand!!!

Please continue to pray for our protection and safety ... and that God would continue to use us the way he has so far!Once again, this was sent out to a somwhat abbreviated email list, so I´d appreciate it if you´d pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. I miss taking showers without duct tape over my mouth!!!!!!!!  HA!!!  Maybe now Scott will take my advice!!!!!!

Tuesday March 11

Remember the philosophy question about whether or not a sound is heard if a tree falls in the forest .... Here´s the new question ... if a guy sits down next to you in the internet cafe and lights a cigarette up and blows the smoke in your face as you attempt to send a Mission´s Update, AND NOBODY FINDS HIS BODY UNTIL AFTER WE LEAVE SAN PEDRO, has a crime REALLY BEEN COMMITTED?????????

OK, I´ll admit I´m whooped tonight as I type this and my patience and "Grace Meter" are being PEGGED to the max, but I am still incredibly overjoyed to report on today´s work and what happened ... but if he lights another cigaratte ....

We called it early last night and 3 of the boys, David Bordelon, Ausdin Lemmons and Justin Williams trekked up high on the mountain overlooking San Pedro. From there, they hiked another half mile to the tree line where they cut and chopped firewood for the houses we are going to install the stoves for.  Talk about a lesson in hard work!  Our kids were mentored by a guy who does this for a living and he makes three dollars for a very heavy load of firewood!  The boys said that on a very good day he can get 6 bundles of wood (THAT´S EIGHTEEN DOLLARS A DAY, LESS CHIROPRACTIC BILLS) ... our guys got ONE EACH!!!  And they said they worked really hard ... this will be distributed later to each of the houses that get the new stoves.  From past experience, I know what an incredible blessing this will be for these families ... and our kids will really appreciate their efforts when they receive the grateful appreciation in the form of tears and hugs of gratitude!

We started this morning with breakfast early and then it was off to Pam´s house to load the component parts for the stoves into trucks which would take us as close to the houses where the stoves would be installed. Then it would be up to us to haul the bricks and the stove parts (several hundred pounds each) to the individual houses.  Our crew was so fantastic. They jumped in there and grabbed whatever they could without needing to be told!  My heart about jumped out of my chest as I saw these kids enthusiastically taking on the challenge of this project.  It took about an hour to get everything loaded up and then another 15 minutes to get the trucks as close as we could. THEN THE REAL WORK STARTED!!!  Everyone grabbed as much as they could (Thank God Pam had some hand=trucks) and up the footpaths we went!  It took another hour to get everything to the individual sites, then the first thing we did was gather the family around the place where the stoves were going, and prayed for them and for the day and for the work we were about to do. 

I´m going to sound like a broken record again, but I cannot get over the demonstration of gratitude these people are showing us for what we are doing!!!  To my way of thinking, it is so small and insignificant, but to them, we might as well be giving them a Million Dollars!  The family that we built the stove for is a wonderful wife who´s husband was away at the coast working. Her father and mother were there to help and their enthusiasm was almost overwhelming!  This guy had to be in his late sixties or early seventies and he was carrying blocks and hundred pound bags of sand like they were milk jugs!  He was so very excited to see his daughter get this stove!

After we prayed over the project, we began by trying to level the floor of this 10 foot by 10 foot room to ensure that the place where the stove would sit would not have any future problems ... the guy from Helps International was adamant that the stove needed to be level so the air would draft properly ... so ... picture me with all my construction experience .... tasked with making this thing perfectly level ... AND NOT GIVEN ANY TOOLS TO DO IT WITH!!!  God really granted me some rare wisdom (HA!) when I came up with an idea to use one of our water bottles on a 2X4, and by reading the line of the water inside the bottle, it made a crude level ... after letting all the teams in on this revelation, I´ve decided to patent this idea, so be on the lookout for ways to spend my new fortune! 

Once we got the ground level, the stove came together pretty easy and we had it almost complete by the time we broke for lunch.  After lunch we resumed and had the challenging task of getting the flue through the tin roof ... an apparently simple task until you realize that the roof is so old and so weak from years of soot accumulation, that using the tin snips results in large chunks breaking off.  We persevered and ended up making it work, but couldn´t have done so without some serious roof caulking.

The final test came when our hostess started a fire in the stove so we could cure the metal surface .... much like curing a cast iron skillet the first time you use it ... it was amazing to see how that stove drafted .... the flame from her match to her kindling was literally sucked up into what is called the "heart" of the stove and the fire was roaring in minutes!  We helped her apply cooking oil and left a small bottle with her to repeat this process a couple more times ... you should have seen this look on her face when I handed her the very small bottle of oil ... she looked at it and said, "You keep giving me gifts!!!"  And there were tears streaming down her face ... shoot, that did it for me ... we all hugged and were bawling .... over a stinkin´ bottle of cooking oil!

Then, as if there wasn´t enough emotion for one day, we handed her a large bag of rice and beans and one of the Spanish Bibles we took down ... Gabby and Raquel had prepared these as part of their remarkable "Beans and Rice" ministry and when I showed the entire family what the bag contained, they could not hold back the tears and another flood of emotional gratitude ensued. I honestly don´t know if I´m tired from the labor or the emotional melt downs today!!! :)

When each group was finished (we installed 5 stoves today!!!) we then gave them a water purifier ... another gadget from Helps International that requires a filter to be changed out each year, but saves them an incredible amount of wood for boiling water and even more when compared to the cost of bottled water.  Daughter Liz explained the benefits of the purification system and we presented all 5 of these to these families at the same time.  Once again, their gratitude overflowed and we tried repeatedly to leave that site so we could back to the hotel and then to dinner ... as a leader on this trip, I knew we needed to leave, but the moment was so special ... each one of the women we built the stoves for was hugging and kissing our kids and then their families were suddenly there to thank us individually ... and then, just as we were about to go, one of the women asked if she could say something and Liz interepreted and the tears flowed again!!! 

These trips have been so special in the past ... but I must admit that this concept of helping individual families and seeing a project through from start to finish is a very special blessing that I will encourage for all our trips in the future!  We were helping specific people RIGHT IN THEIR OWN HOME!  Our kids were in a state of shock and awe as they saw how these people responded ... one old man who was too old to help, kept shaking his head and repeating over and over, "Thank you God, Thank you God!"

It was definitely one of the highlights of all my trips down here and we can´t wait for tomorrow!

We could use some prayers in the health department ... Kyle Roberts is down with the BUG and I started him on antibiotics right before dinner.  My wife Cathy had a small migraine headache that laid her up for the day today but she is doing much better after I took her some dinner and was even asking about when we were doing worship tonight ... a definite sign that she´s on the mend!  Once again we´d sure appreciate prayers for spiritual and physical protection.  As a side observation, there are more tourists than any of my previous trips!  The number of new restaurants and bars is simply amazing ... and along with that, the number of people drinking and doing weird stuff is definitely up significantly from years past, so I´d personally appreciate prayers as I take a real protective posture when leading "MY" kids down the streets of San Pedro ... and while I desire to be a strong witness for my faith, I also tend to be somewhat reactive when confronted with what I perceive to  be a potential threat ... we´ve been blessed so far and there have been no problems, but the diligence is somewhat draining and I certainly don´t want to alarm the kids with my concerns, but again, I´d appreciate your prayers in this area!

Also, we`ve been faithful to lift up the Russian team in our prayers! The kids are really beginning to understand what this type of a Mission´s trip is all about!!! Oh .... by the way ... please pray for our SUNBURN to heal quickly!!!  IT´S BEEN ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! :)

Wednesday March 12

 It´s 7:00 PM as I attempt to type this ... just came from a Fajita dinner prepared by Pam for our group and I can barely reach the keys ´cuz I ate so much!

WE HAD AN AWESOME DAY!!!!  But I´ll get to that in a minute ... last night after dinner, our crew retired to the roof of the hotel where the kids WOULD NOT STOP WORSHIPPING!!!  Linda, Emilio´s daughter was invited by our kids to join us and she really enjoyed herself, along with Gabby and Raquel ... our kids, led by Ausdin Lemmons and David Bordelon did a PHENOMENAL job of leading worship!  My sincerest compliments to their parents and especially to Joel Brown and our very own Scott Luber for the impact these people have had on their lives!!!  This year´s group has given me a chance to really see the fruit of FCC´s Youth ministries much better than any year previous since this year´s group is exclusive to our church!  The testimonies of these kids when they share, include many references to Joel and Scott and represent a bountiful harvest that has been years in sowing!!!  I´ve known Scott and Joel for awhile and knew what they´d been doing, but really had never had a chance to SEE the blessings of their ministry in action - very, very impressive!!!

Anyway, the kids sang for almost an hour before we had one of the kids do their devotions, but I want to visualize with me as I type this .... we´re up on the roof of the hotel ... it´s pitch black outside and all you can see are the lights of the city and those of the neighboring villages around the lake ... there´s a quarter-moon that is really bright and is reflecting off the water of Lake Atitlan ... AND TEN BILLION STARS ARE LIGHTING UP THE SKY!!!!!!!!   There´s an incredibly comfortable breeze and our group of kids are standing in a group singing for all their worth with hands upraised and praising God!  I comment on this scene every year, but it never grows old ... these kids are being touched emotionally and spiritually during the day´s activities ... they are interacting with the beautiful people of San Pedro and they are bringing blessings to everyone they encounter!  They are receiving immense feedback and in turn, they pour out their response in the evenings during these special times of worship. I am truly humbled every time I participate!!! It was almost disappointing to announce that we had to call it a day and hit the sacks. We were in bed by 10 PM.

This morning, 3 more boys went up on the mountain to cut firewood ... David Lofquist, David Allen and Tyrell Scott ... they had a great day, full of hard work, but also full of many blessings!  By the way, we´re seeing in "3D" on this trip ... that´s what I call it ... we have 3 DAVIDS ON THIS TRIP!!!!!!!  Talk about confusing when you start any sentence with, "Hey David ...." Anyway, 2 D´s and a Tyrell :)  went and cut firewood, then got to deliver the loads to the houses of the people we installed stoves for ... THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE FOR THESE KIDS!!!  It´s real easy to get caught up in YOURSELF as you´re working away at this apparently meaningless task, but then whey they were dead-tired, to see the total and complete joy as these people realize that this PRECIOUS gift is for them ... these people burst forth with such gratitude and it´s so genuine that it really is difficult to experience and harder to comprehend when you´ve never had someone appreciate something you´ve done SO MUCH!!!  I know that our kids will be changed and impacted forever by what they´ve experienced on this trip ... I say it every year, and I´ll say it here again ... EVERY HIGH SCHOOLER AGE 16 AND OLDER SHOULD GO ON AT LEAST ONE OF THESE TRIPS!!!  Praise should be given to Proyecto Fe for their organization and the opportunity to do this, and to Faith Christian Community for the support from our Elders and their endorsement of this unique and remarkable experience! 

Back to our day ... while the boys were cutting firewood, we ate breakfast at the school and then headed over to Pam´s for Day 2 of the actual installation of the "Onil" stoves from Helps International.  We loaded up all the materials and component parts and headed up to 5 different "houses" ... hovel is a better word, and I mean no disrespect with that useage!  These people are the poorest of the poor here in San Pedro and they are receiving a gift so special that words cannot even come close to describing!  These people literally HAVE NOTHING!  Two of the "huts" I went to today were just that ... dried sugar cane poles tethered together with twine that was definitely not purchased!  It came from some dump or garbage pile or was discarded from some job site .... the size of the largest was 12 feet by 10 feet and the smallest was 5 feet wide on the floor and 10 feet long ... I cried like a baby today thinking about the house I live in and the kitchen I am so privileged to ha ve!  I know the same thoughts were going through our kids minds and I didn´t want to assume they were so I made it a point to question each one of them asking them to compare where they lived and how these houses made them feel ... they were, like me, very humbled indeed.

One of our houses that Dorothy Civitillo was working on was for an 82 year old woman and her extended family, including a daughter and her family ... you should have seen the JOY on this old woman´s face as she watched Dorothy´s team work and as the stove took shape.  When I arrived after completing the stove at the house I was working at, Dorothy said that she had been like that all day ... standing there shaking her head in utter disbelief and praising God over and over!  I´M TELLING YOU THAT YOU CANNOT STAND THERE AND WORK WITH HER DOING THIS WITHOUT FEELING LIKE GOD IS USING YOU AND BLESSING HER THROUGH YOUR EFFORTS!!!

We broke for lunch and then grabbed Gabby and Raquel´s bags of "Beans & Rice" that also contained a spanish Bible and some other things for their home, to distribute to our Stove houses this afternoon.

When we appeared back at these houses with yet even more gifts, it was one more emotional roller coaster all over again!  The reaction was the same from all the recipients, but Dorothy´s 82 year old Grandmother was visibly moved by this final gift.  She was hugging on Dorothy and thanking her repeatedly and ... welll .... there simply wasn´t enough Kleenex to go around!

We adjourned around 4 PM today giving everyone a chance to sneak a quick shower in before we headed over to the dinner I just came from.  It was an exciting and truly blessed day!!!

Kyle is 100 percent!  Thanks Lord for antibiotics!!!  He was a new person this morning and worked as hard as anyone else all day today!    Cathy is over her headache in record time and said it´s the FIRST TIME SHE´S EVER HAD A MIGRAINE WHERE SHE ONLY THREW-UP ONCE!!!  I know this sounds gross in an email, but she is convinced that it was a blessing that came from the prayers of everyone who lifted her up!  She worked really hard today and, I must confess, has been a real blessing for me on this trip!  She´s taken care of all the"little" stuff which has allowed me to really focus on the kids and our agenda and reall enabled me to get in there and work with the group!  (Just do me a favor and keep this between us ... if she hears, she´ll take it as an encouragement and will want to go on every trip from now on!!! HA!)

In closing, I just want to say that the kids are doing great!  They are working hard, as a team and God is very obviously working through them and blessing the people of this community.  I am even more convinced on this 2nd day of the Stove Project, that THIS IS A MINISTRY WHICH NEEDS TO CONTINUE!!!  The "Rice and Beans" is a beautiful complement to what  we are doing with the stoves and the two go very much hand-in-hand!  There is significant benefit to seeing the kids experience the TOTAL blessing of seeing these stoves through from start to finish!  I am very impressed with what Pam has done to organize this ... it´s no small feat in a community where everybody operates on what I call "San Pedro Standard Time" ... she is vital to the success of this ministry and has earned my full respect and admiration!

I miss you all ... BUT WISH YOU WERE HERE TO EXPERIENCE THIS !!!!  Blessings,  DB

Thursday March 13

Whew!  What a day!!!  The boys were up and at the school to meet Pam at SIX O'CLOCK this morning to go cut firewood!!!  Now, how many teens do you know who get up that early during Spring Break to do something like that FOR SOMEONE ELSE????  The rest of us met at  the school at 8 AM for breakfast, then on to Pam's at 9 to start another day of installing stoves.

 The families that we were installing for, met us at Pam's and assisted in transporting the materials and parts of the stoves to the awaiting trucks.  These people were SO excited about the stoves they were about to receive!  There was much chatter and laughter as we loaded all the parts into individual trucks that would take us to our final destinations.

Once we arrived at the house where my team would be working, it was obvious that much preparation work would be necessary just to get the floor level for the first course of blocks.  We would later learn that Scott's team had his entire stove done and installed and a fire lit inside IN JUST ONE HOUR!!!  When Scott and his team arrived, the family receiving the stove had a beautiful, perfectly flat area all carved out for the stove. All they had to do was place the blocks!  It would take our team more than an hour JUST TO PREPARE THE FLOOR!!!  Once that was done, the rest went fairly easy and we adjourned for lunch with just a few things to do before completing the project.

Since all the teams were in just about the same shape, we took some time for a devotion and testimony after lunch.  These have really become some of my favorite times during these trips ... the kids are assigned specific verses by Scott and then asked some key questions about the verses and how they impacted the kids.  It's still amazing to me how God takes these specific verses and uses Scott to assign them to the PERFECT team member!  Their insight and observations and applications to their lives is a key highlight of the trips for me.  Then, each kid is required to give their testimony ... these have been amazing as the kids really get transparent with things that have shaped and molded their lives and how they came to know the Lord.  For the leaders, it gives us pertinent information that not only helps us relate to them, but allows God to use us to reach them with special encouragement and words of advice.  After devotions, we stopped by the hotel room to use the "Bano"

 (the N has a tilt over it, for those who know spanish!) before heading back to the houses.

When we returned to our respective houses after lunch, we each completed our stoves and prayed again with the grateful families.  When we presented the rice and beans annd Bibles, they were overjoyed and continued to thank us over and over.  Cathy made the "mistake" (HA!) of giving out candy to the 4 little kids in our family and I'm afraid she's have to check them as excess baggage on the return flight because they simply won't let her go!!!

Each team finished up early today, giving us a chance to get a little nap. I was amazed at how tired I was, in spite of a good night's rest last night. I think the sheer intensity of the week is finally catching up to us!  Hannah Strahan was so exhausted last night that she went to sleep early and slept for 11 hours!!!  I'm sure that climbing these streets and hills at 7000 feet elevation is taking an adjustment as well, and the breeze that I was welcoming yesterday has put enough dust into the air that it feels like second-hand smoke!

It's 615 PM right now and we have our annual Basketball Game against the Colegio Bethel ALL=STARS starting at 6:30. Our kids are excited as usual!  Dinner will follow at 8:30 and we'll have devotions up on the roof again later tonight.  Tomorrow is our last day to install stoves.

Almost forgot to mention that each day, some of the girls have gone to different houses and learned the fine art of tortilla making!  HA!  You should have heard their feedback when questioned about how it went ... "Meatballs" is what one of the girls used to describe HER tortillas!!!  It really is an art and by the end of the session they all were producing tortillas worthy of eating and even selling.

The entire team is healthy and doing very well!  God has been gracious indeed ... the few episodes of illness have been addressed immediately with antibiotics and they were very short-lived indeed!  Tomorrow night is our annual Tamale Dinner ... a very emotional evening with a farewell dinner theme where the kids will get to speak with their new Basico friends and share what the week has meant to them.  I know from the past that this is going to a tough time for us all ... you can't help become a part of these people and their lives and this community when you get as involved in the kinds of activities that we have!  The BLUE MAN CREW as I call our group, to describe all the blue Proyecto Fe T-Shirts we wear around town, has had a PROFOUND impact on this community!  In comparison to years past, I would say that this year is most impact we have ever had!!!  Each house where we installed a stove there were numerous family members and VERY OBSERVANT NEIGHBORS ... and people saw  us in our Proyecto Fe T-Shirts and they knew we were there just to help them!  I cannot ever remember hearing the words, "Hermano de Alaska" (Brothers from Alaska) as much as I did on this trip ... people used that term in the streets ... the kids used it as we walked along the paths and byways getting to the houses we traveled to ... I even received a "discount" from the manager of the Internet Cafe where I've been sending these messages from ... he thanked me for "Coming to his town to help his people" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  HOW DO YOU TOP THAT?????

Truly, the impact that we have made on this community is staggering!  Our kids have hugged and kissed and loved on countless individuals and the comments and gratitude have been overwhelming.  SALT AND LIGHT ... we've really loved on San Pedro during this stay and this stove project has been instrumental in providing that opportunity!

Well ... it's time to get to the big game!  I wish you all the best!  For those of you who have kids on this trip ... it has been a life-changing experience for them .... thank you for the privilege of being able to work with such outstanding kids!  I always end a trip like this thinking it can't possibly get any better or the kids can't possibly be any better, BUT EACH YEAR THEY ARE!!!!  You parents are blessed indeed!  I'm honored to have shared this time with them!

Warmest Regards, DB

Friday March 14

 It´s Friday morning and we just ended a very special program where we were the recipients of songs and skits and special presentations from the students of Colegio Bethel.  It was such an emotionally draining and moving experience that Scott and I decided to send the team back to the hotel to "rest" and re-group.  It started with Pastor Emilio presenting each member of our team with a bracelet with our names embroidered in beads, and a personal message of thanks and appreciation for each of us as the bracelet was presented by a different elementary student.  The kids had practiced special lines and then presented them to each of us individually on the stage ... that in itself was a moving experience as each kid was speaking from their heart and they spared no emotion in the presentation!  They sang us a special song of prayer for us and these little kids were standing up, handsand arms raised, eyes closed tight and singing at the top of their little lungs ... I can only imagi ne that we all got a glimpse of a slice of  what Heaven will be like!

 Then, there were songs and a special skit with the students reciting an acrostic that spelled out "GRACIAS" and each letter was carefully repeated with a sentence or two about their appreciation of us and it all was one huge "THANK YOU" from the students of Colegio Bethel!!!  Our group was split up with half on one side of the stage and half on the other and as I looked across at our other team members, there wasn´t a dry eye in the group!

That should have been enough ... but then, the 15 women who we installed stoves for, all came forward and presented us with a beautifully woven tapestry to Proyecto Fe, thanking us for the stoves and our work on their behalf.  Then each woman came up to each one of us, tears in their eyes, and thanked us individually ... IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD BACK THE TEARS!!!  Every member of our group was reaching for the Kleenex as we hugged and kissed these grateful women!  As I stood back and watched our group, every one of our kids and adults were clinging to these women and not letting them go ... the women were sobbing and kept repeating over and over "Thank you" and "Blessings" and thanking God for us and our work ... I really wasn´t expecting this show of affection and emotion and certainly not to this degree!  Once again, it was very obvious that we had a significant impact on these precious people.  God had used us and it felt really good to know it!!!

Pam then stood up and said that one of the Basico´s, a young boy named Cruz, said that he wanted to address us in english ... THIS WAS VERY, VERY UNUSUAL!  He started with a very heart-felt thank you and then continued to speak about how God will bless us for coming to San Pedro and for doing God´s work here for his people ... he did an outstanding job of speaking and it was obvious he was struggling not to cry himself!  I glanced at our kids and they had lost it after his first sentence!!!  He spoke for a couple minutes ... struggling at times to keep his composure and when he had finished, our group ran up to him and embraced him in a giant group hug ... tears were falling from Cruz and our kids and our kids were just loving on this guy ... YOU COULD NOT WATCH THIS WITHOUT CRYING AND IF YOU TOOK A SNAPSHOT OF THIS OUTPOURING OF EMOTION, IT SUMMARIZED THE WEEK FOR US!!!

If this is a prelude to tonight´s farewell dinner ... I´d better get more Kleenex!

Last nights basketball game was a great success ... I think we lost to the Basico´s by a couple baskets, but we all had a blast and there was much laughter and fun had by all.

Our plans are to leave San Pedro by boat tomorrow morning around 8 AM ... I will try to send an email from the airport hotel where we´ll be staying tomorrow night.

Everyone´s healthy and in good spirits, but we all know our trip is about to come to an end and their is an unmistakable saddness in everyone´s demeanor.  I´m encouraged as I hear promises to return coming from our kids ... and Marc Giampaoli, one of our leaders here for the first time, said he´s not getting on the boat with in the morning ... that he´s staying!  HA!  He has been an invaluable asset on this trip providing great wisdom and guidance for all of us ... it is obvious that he is visibly moved by the people of San Pedro!

I wish you all well ... and covet your prayers for our continued spiritual and physical protection and that we´d get through Customs quickly in Houston and make the flight on-time!  We continue to pray for the Russia team!

Graciously,

DB

Final update

It's 11:30 AM on Monday morning as I sit to type this ... I'll probably get interrupted as I'm typing this from work, but please bear with me ...  my last update was Friday morning and it seems to have been a month ago!  We arrived at Midnight last night and I finally got to sleep around 2:00 AM ... we had to stick around the airport to try to locate some lost luggage ... I still haven't heard anything on it yet.

Again, bear with me as I catch you up on the final two days of our trip. I know it's like closing the barn door after the horse has already run away, but there were some significant things that happened that bear mentioning and will bring final closure to this incredible trip.

Friday afternoon we went and delivered more "Rice and Bean" packages from Gabby and Raquel along with some water purifiers, to folks who received stoves from the last Proyecto Fe group that went down in February.  Once again, the families that received these valued gifts were so incredibly grateful. I know I keep repeating this phrase, but while each of them demonstrate their gratitude, THE EXPRESSIONS OF THIS APPRECIATION are different every time!  I think that's the big piece of this experience. The kids are bombarded with the most sincere, grateful appreciation that they have ever had expressed to them and each time it's unique and deeply moving.  One woman could not speak spanish, so as Pam spoke to her neighbor to translate to Tutuhil (the native Mayan dialect ... I think I spelled it right ...???) We had the opportunity to watch her face very closely as the neighbor translated Pam's words ... at one point, she was so obviously moved that she was uncomfortable and  turned from us to take the rice and beans into her "hut" ... when she returned, you could see on her dirt streaked face where she had wiped the tears from her eyes ... her pride didn't want us to see her crying so visibly!  She profusely thanked us after we prayed for her and as we departed she was waving with obvious thanksgiving.

We visited 4 other houses that afternoon, retiring to the hotel to wash up and get dressed for our annual Tamale Dinner.  It is a very special dinner that is reserved for celebrations like Marriages or Anniversaries or New Year's.  We were to be honored by Pastor Emilio and the staff at Colegio Bethel for our work in San Pedro during the past 9 days.  Each of the Basico students who worked with our kids was on-hand along with some of the kids who were sponsored by members of our group.  Each team member was honored with a special gift that was presented by the Guatemalan that was closest to that team member during the trip.  TALK ABOUT EMOTIONAL!!!  The San Pedran's were visibly sad at our leaving and our kids were crying because of what their Guatemalan friends were saying about how much we meant to them ... it was a mess!!!  :)

Then, Pastor Emilio asked if anyone from our group had anything they wanted to share before we called it an evening. I knew immediately that KLEENEX stock was going to go through the roof that night!!!  Our kids did such an awesome job of communicating their feelings and their love for the people of San Pedro. It was really a great culmination of everything we had done and experienced on this trip.  Relationships were further strengthened by the words that were shared and there wasn't a dry eye on either side, for the rest of the night.  Trying to round everybody up to get them back to the hotel was like herding Cats!  Our group was in a series of non-stop group hugs that I couldn't break up!  When we finaly got to the hotel, the kids immdiately migrated up to the roof for worship and yet another phenomenal evening of praising God and capping this already emotional night.

Saturday morning, we were packed and ready to walk down to the dock at 7:30 AM for the 8:00 boat ride across Lake Atitlan. The goodbye resembled one long FUNERAL!!!  The Guatemalans were crying ...we were crying ...and inspite of my best efforts, nobody was moving towards the boat!  The boat's captain was blaring his horn trying to get us on-board, but no one was moving!  Finally, the kids pried themselves away from their new and old friends and we began boarding.  A giant banner that said, "Thank You" was unfurled and we all got choked up again!  As we pulled away from the dock, full of crying San Pedrans, waving goodbye, our group was one sad looking crew!  The usual laughter and fun banter back and forth had been replaced by silence.  Each person was caught up in their own thoughts about the trip and it was indeed a very sad time for all of us.  For me, it was a mixed emotion ... full of joy at seeing how well our group connected with the Guatemalans ... and a saddness from sharing their saddness at the departure.  If you've been on one of these trips, you know it can only be decribed as bitter-sweet ... but these Youth seem to really take the departure hard! 

The rest of the boat-ride was quiet and when we landed at Panajachel we split into groups for some touristy shopping in this colorful city.  At 1:00 PM we met back at the bus and headed for Guatemala City and the Girls Orphanage, with a ritualistic stop at Katok for an ice cream!  Our bus driver missed the turn for the orphanage and we ended up being an hour late arriving.  The kids got to play with the girls there and then feasted on pizzas from Dominos!!!  We boarded the bus and arrived at the hotel near the airport and everyone was worn out.  We got into our rooms and were planning on a devotion but cancelled because some of the kids had actually fallen asleep in their rooms!  I was planning on doing an update that night, but never made it!

The next morning we ate breakfast and had our traditional Foot Washing ceremony that Scott initiated years ago ...  it was a great demonstration of God's love and Scott read scripture and told the kids why we were doing this ... to send them out into the world the same way Jesus sent out His disciples ...  Scott ended each washing with a special prayer of blessing for each kid ... this really blew the kids away as we had a very special verse selected for each of them based on our interactions with them during the past 10 days.  The foot washing itself was a very humbling experience and everyone, leaders and kids alike, were deeply moved.

We then loaded up the bigger totes and bags in Pam's truck and grabbed our carry-on's and walked to the airport for the departure home.  In Houston we ran through the airport after going through Customs and barely made the flight to Seattle ... a short fueling stop and we re-boarded for the final leg of our journey home.

I must mention in this final update that Luis and Loli who own the hotel near the airport in Guatemala City are an incredible Christian couple!  Their hospitality was a highlight of the trip and they went above and beyond in helping the kids feel at home!  This is a precious relationship with these folks and I look forward to returning and staying with them again!

I definitely want to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who showed up at the airport last night ... you can't imagine the response from the kids as they climbed down the stairs from the gate to the reception area!  I know it was family, but the cheers and welcome sure made the ENTIRE group feel like heroes!  It was a great home-coming.

Finally, Scott and I want to recognize the outstanding leaders we had on this trip:  Marc Giampaoli, Alex Foster and Dorothy Civitillo did an outstanding job of working with the kids   It goes without mentioning that daughter Liz was a priceless addition, but I want to recognize my wife Cathy who helped me out in ways I never dreamed!  She took care of lots of the details that freed me up to do what I do best with the kids and the organization of the daily acitivites ... it was our first Mission Trip together as husband and wife and it will DEFINITELY not be the last!  It was a very special trip for me since Scott and Liz and Cathy and I were together as a family ... I thank God for what I've seen Him do in my life and the life of my family members ... it doesn't get any better than doing God's work with those you love the most!!!

In closing, I want to make an unsolicited plug for Proyecto Fe!  I'll probably be criticized for saying something I shouldn't, but God is laying this on my heart and it needs to be stated.  For you parents who sent kids on this trip and for those who supported this trip with prayers or finances, I promise you, based on what I saw and experienced, THESE KIDS WILL BE POSITIVELY CHANGED FOREVER!!!  What you DON'T see, is that behind the scenes, Proyecto Fe is continuously working on new and different ways to MEET God in His work in San Pedro and to provide the opportunities for ministry like this trip!  While the kids and adults each raised financial support for this trip, it doesn't even come close to covering overhead and the innumerable additional expenses related to doing missions work in a Third World Country!!!  Here's my strongest encouragement ... please support Proyecto Fe!  If you've never been to the annual auction before, this is a very special occassion, and Proyec to Fe's single largest fundraising event.  It's held each Fall ... look for the dates by continuously checking the website at www.proyectofe.org and pay very special attention to your kids and those people who have gone on trips like this ... they WILL BE CHANGED by their experience ... and the only way it can happen for them and for those who follow, is with financial support, so please respond when God prompts you to help this remarkable ministry.

Thanks again for the privilege of working in this ministry.THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A YOUTH TRIP!!!  :)  May God richly bless you and may YOU TOO have the opportunity to go to San Pedro with Proyecto Fe!!!

Dana Bertolini

Kyle Roberts, one of the youth on this team, met this precious boy.

And God moved in his heart to sponsor him.

Above picture is Kyle with Samuel Mardoqueo Gonzalez.

It only costs $28 a month to sponsor a child. For more details go to

the Child Sponsorship tab.

         Thank you Kyle for having a heart willing to love!