I am sorry for failing to keep the blog going well, but it is not a smart decision to learn computers in another language. For the last week and a half I have been scared of losing my photos as I have encountered lots of viruses in the internet cafes. The few photos that I posted will have to do until I get back home in two weeks. Que pasa en Guetamala ? I left Chel and Chajul last Wednesday and spent Easter in Huehuetenango. Guatemala has the largest Easter procession in the world and the nation takes a siesta for three days. It was good to watch and have a warm shower, toilet paper, and silverware but I miss living with the families in Chel. My departure from Chel was very touching to me and I feel success in the efforts to help these people. We delivered 22 cows and it was like watching the families receive a new member. One of the trucks bringing the cows broke down and we didn't get all of them there until 9 at night. When all the cows were tied ,we put a number around they necks and let each recipient draw a number. The smiles on their faces during this process and the excitement when the family found out which cow was theirs was truly heartwarming. The family that received the freezer show a lot of pride in their new possession. Every time he shuts the lid he goes through the ritual of locking it even if he is going to open it again in 5 minutes.
I relized that a lot has happened when I started to record what I have been working on here and I feel blessed to have been a part of it. The carpentry shop is in production and one family has the school tuition covered for their boy. Another family has a new concrete floor and has skimcoated their walls. Another family received 1,000 Queztales, the equivalent of 2 months wage, for their house project, and a school is in the process of buying 40 desks. The collective for making candles is stalled right now but when all is resolved I hope that we will have added a room to store medicines onto the building. Right now I am working for Habitat just for the experience and I plan to soak my old body in some hot springs this weekend.
When I get home I hope to rewrite the blog and access the photo history of this trip. I hope to describe the needs and the joys of a people I have come to love. To tell of the appreciation they have shown for the tools to better their lives and to share a vision for next year. Little gifts have gone a long way physically but I have also seen the help emotionally. It touches a community in need when they see help come from afar and their gratitude to me and God is something I don´t want to forget.
I already have ideas brewing for next year. I would like to provide 75 pots for cooking and 75 plastic tubs for bathing children to the community Almachel. I want to provide a program for 22 families in Xesali to recieve 2 or 3 sheep each and, in the same comunity develope a spring so they can have clean drinking water in each house. I would also like to add to the cow project in Chel because two days after we delivered the cattle we received 15 new requests to enter the program. I want, I want, Iwant, becuase I see, I see, I see, and I hope little by little to make a difference.
Thanks for following this novice blogger and traveler and I will send out an letter when I can organize all of this. And thank-you Carol for the freedom to have come here. Michael

Semana Santa

I spent 4 days at Easter in Huehuetenego. The celebrations were amazing. Friday, the streets were decorated with carpets of colored sawdust and for three days the Easter story was played out in daily processions.

Sunday morning carrying the Risen Christ. A group of young people started making the "carpet" at two in the morning

On Good Friday there was a parade with Roman soldiers, Jewish guards, and disciples following Jesus to the cross .

One of the two thieves.

There was literally miles of sawdust carpets with different bible themes. This one depicted the seven days of creation.

The carpets are made of colored sawdust, pine needles, bark, flowers,fruit and candles.

Different colored sawdust is pressed into forms to make some of the designs

The cross is made of bark and the green border is pine needles. All day thousands of people work to finish the carpets that will be destroyed as soon as the procession passes through.

A group of men carrying Christ with the Cross.

The incense boys are enjoying themselves.

The crucified Christ. In Guatemala City, these are so big that it takes 250 people to carry it.

The women with Mary and the church in the background.

The procession moves very slow with much incense in the air and a band playing mournful music

Christ entering into the church.

Ringing the bells to anounce a new day Easter morning.

I finally made it to some of the nine villages I have wanted to see Yhat do not have water. I will add to this blog when I get to Xela but this will have to do for now. Last Wednesday I caught a ride with a team of medical personel and headed towards Los Encountros. The team dropped Gaspar, the young man with the cowboy hat, and me at Los Encountros and continued on to a village named Santa Clara. I knew before this trip that this project needed a lot of planning and does not have a easy solution yet I still wanted to visit this communities and am glad for the opportunity. The possible source of water for these villiages is a one day ride by horseback, and until there is a more serious plan, I did not want to make people go out of their way with another journey. This is the most remote place I have been to yet, and the villages that are beyond these are only accesible by foot.
Los encountros is very poor comunity of 100 adults. They have lived there for 80 years without water and during the war they were bombed and their crops destroyed. They lived in the forest and survived on a root called malgan. This whole area was hard hit during the war and whole comunities fled to the forrest. The goverment had a policy of destroying all the crops and many of the houses.
We had breakfast in the home of manuel who is very active in the comunity. I got the chance to eat malgan fried and was not very impressed. The only other food I saw in the house was tortillas and 4 bananas. It effects me alot when I see people with so little and know of ou abundance.
They know of a spring a hour and a half by foot away but it isn´t big enough to supply even half the community. They would like help with water tanks but that would cost 300 dollars a tank one for each house and when there isn´t rain one tank will last a family for about 25 days. They lack enough rain during three months of the year and at times will not be able to wash thier clothes for 25 or 30 days. We walked for the whole day and visited four communities out of the nine that need water. The country is beautiful and I look forward to adding photos to this story along with more information. In total, I have visited 7 communities without water. One of these has great potential for a water system and I will meet with them again tomorrow. This area is going to be hard to find a solution for even with money. The community of Santa Clara ,where we spent the night, had set two men into the hills looking for water and after twenty days they only found one little spring. I have to go now but in about a week I will have anouther chance to catch you all up. Things have gone real well and last week we delivered 22 cows and one freezer and food for 10 widows. I am greatful for all and pray for more. With my Love and hope for parters in this work when I can organize a discription of the projects. Until then Adios

Viudas Widows

Today is special because I received two gifts from some of you that will provide food for some widows in Chel. In a community where the average income per family is about $2.50 a day, there isn´t abundance or a safety net for the extremely needy. A little over a week ago, Mateo, a local pastor, told me that the people were asking him what kind a help I was offering. They wanted to know. I told him I had already spent almost all my money and I described the projects I am involved in. He then asked if I would be interested in visiting 8 widows. I said yes, but I wanted to be clear I was not offering help other then to share the information with my friends. The situation I encountered was hard for me and I knew I could not just walk away. It is common for me to visit families with no more then a few bannas corn and peppers for food. So you can imagine that since the elderly do not have direct family members to support them, life is very hard. This widows are alone and without proper housing, food, or clothes. After visiting them, I mentioned this need to a few friends, and later bought 200 pounds of corn , about 30 of rice, 40 of beans, and some sugar and a little vegetables. Last week we distributed food to 10 widows with the hope of starting a food program. I have some very honest friends here to manage it and today, before I could even post some photos, I recieved $700 for this need. The food I bought the other day probably was under $55 and will help for a month. Thanks and here are a few photos(to be added later when I have better access).