We finished up the last few items – some interior bits, trim, windows and a door, and cleaned up.

The local pastor came by for a short dedication service. We gave the family the keys, a Bible, and helped them nail a Casas por Cristo plaque to the house. Then they thanked us by feeding us delicious pizza. We were happy to have bonded with them, glad to see their joy at receiving their house, and sad that we had to say goodbye. It must have still been really dusty, as quite a few eyes were wet.

Hopefully we’ll be able to stop by and say hi the next time we come to Guatemala!

 

 

Day 3 Update:

After dinner, many of the team competed in a wall sit challenge. Steve is the champion!

We built a house! (almost). More siding, a roof, interior walls and electrical wiring. Just a few more things to finish up. We’ve had great weather, no one has been sick, and work has been going pretty smoothly. Thankful for those (and many other) blessings.

 

We arrived at the site this morning to find our slab looking good (with a few puppy paw prints).

We jumped right into building walls, and after many bent nails, just a few sore fingers, and some excellent hammering practice, we had walls and rafters ready to go.

Raising the walls into place was inspiring, and made the hard work of building the foundation even more worthwhile.

Once we had the walls in place, we all worked to attach walls to foundation, rafters to walls, and siding to walls. Many nails were pounded in, a lot of energy was expended, and by the end of the day, we had what really looked like a house. And in addition to connecting the parts of the house, our team built connections.

We had a great time really connecting with the family – working together, sharing jokes with gestures, smiles and laughter. We are building a house, but we are also finding other ways to show Jesus’ love.

PACeS mission trip to Guatemala (in the town of San Raymundo) is going well!

We had safe flights on Monday, and all ten team members met up in the Houston airport for the final leg of the journey. We arrived in Guatemala City and cleared customs – after an hour long drive along 12 miles of dark, winding road, we arrived at our lodging.

After a few hours of sleep, we ate breakfast and headed to the site. It was located at the top of a winding hill/road. In a very tight space, some members prepped the ground and forms for concrete, while others started cutting lumber for the next day.

After a delicious lunch of burritos, Gatorade, and apples, it was time to pour the slab. All hands pitched in to supply the mixers with gravel, sand, water and cement.

Two and a half hot, tiring, muscle-burning hours later, we had a slab!

We cleaned up, said goodbye to the family and headed back to rest.

Tomorrow, the walls and roof!

 

Here are some photos of students who dressed up for Bible character day last week.

Can you guess who’s who?

A little late, but we did get some good pictures of the fellowship and activities at the PACeS Picnic in September!
It was good to spend some time in fellowship!

 

 

If you weren’t able to attend the Home Education meeting
(held on Monday, September  17th) but would still like to see the presentation/discussion,

click here for the recording.

Thanks to all who participated, and we look forward to meeting again on Monday, November 19th at 6:30 pm (MT).

Email Chris Dubyna if you need more information about how to attend.

I have attached the exam supervision expectations for Grades 9-12 here. Please let us know if you have any questions.

-Heidi Morehouse

Exam Supervision Expectations – Parents (1)