The Ripple Effect

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