LOVE GUATEMALA

WE MOVED.....CHECK OUT www.luvsent.wordpress.com

2010-05-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

Casa Angelina...new beginnings

2010-02-13T15:14:00.001-08:00

Inside the school.....

Land next door to the orphanage

Ground work for another house....

A new house....

Class is in....

Psalm 48:1

Casa Angelina is now home schooling the children
on campus. Each of the house parents are teaching
the children with a Home School curriculum from
the Guatemala Education Department.
The drawers are designated with each child's
name...this is where they keep their supplies.
Hopefully January 2011 they will have the school completed.

GUATEMALA - VISITING A FRIEND

2010-02-11T14:44:00.001-08:00

Heading home....

Some of the neighbor's homes

Friends came to join everyone for lunch...

Philip told Eduardo that this room was big enough
for a church....

Eduardo built a house for his family....

Our granddaughter, Anika, became good
friends with Mariela.

Eduardo, Gregoria and Mariela.
Eduardo was a farm worker here in the Fraser Valley.
He worked here two years and has now decided that he
will stay at home in Guatemala.
They invited Philip and our daughter and her family
for lunch.

GUATEMALA - LAND PURCHASE

2010-02-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

The happy new land owners!

Francisco is so excited that his daddy will have land so
that they will have more food to eat....

Rigiberto's brothers with Clay our translator.

Philip and Rigiberto...

Waiting at the lawyers to sign the papers....

There is a well on the property....

God brought Rigiberto Canu into our lives
in November. When some of the team went to
visit his home they realized that he was one of the
poor of the poor and we offered him a micro financing
land deal....this has now become a reality.

MEXICO....WHAT IS GOD DOING????

2010-02-11T13:07:00.001-08:00

A Bible College near Cuauhtemoc....

Daisy....

Don't sit down!

Caballos.....need a ride?

What a view!

Stopping in Creel to do some shopping and look at the scenery..

The scenery travelling back to Cuauhtemoc...

Tradition vs. modern....

They do not have electricity so this is how they
heat their home with a generator and a solar panel.

The Friesen home....

The Hans Friesens' are pastors of the Living Water church
in Cuauthemoc. They have been ministering to the Tarahumaras
and have seen an openness to accepting the Lord.

At present, the Tarahumara consititute the largest indigenous group in the state of Chihuahua.The men are known for their long distance running. They live in caves, partway under outcroppings so that the rock itself provides the roofing.The number varies from 50,000 to 75,000 although it is difficult to determine precisely because of the inacces- sibility of the mountains, and the deficient communication links.

MEXICO ....A HOSPITAL OR A CLINIC????

2010-01-31T13:59:00.000-08:00

Helmut, Cornie Froese, Daisy's father and Dr. Daisy

Dr. Daisy in her home office.....

Philip and Helmut Wiens travelled to Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico
January 27th to look at the three pieces of land that we had been
given to build the hospital and medical clinic. In "spying" out the land
they decided that the first piece of property will be where the clinic
will be built. There is an existing building on the property that could
be renovated for offices, examning rooms, etc. The plan is then to
buy a travel trailer and convert it into mobile medical clinic. They
have also visited many of the Old Mennonite villages, the Tarahumara
Indians and the national Mexicans.

SPANISH CHURCH CHRISTMAS DINNER

2009-12-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

Each of the migrant farm workers got a gift....where
but at an Abbotsford $$ store would I find a Che
toque....the clerk had no idea who he was!

Hey, there is pie and ice cream left.....yes!

Dishes, dishes, dishes.....

Maureen, speaking Spanglish to the guys....

"Are we going to eat soon?????"
Who could refuse these two....

Terry, getting everything organized....

Rene giving the servers the final instructions.....

Cranberries, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables,
buns, coleslaw....jamaica drink....apple pie and ice cream..
what more do you want???

The tables are set....

Linda wondering why the gravy will not cook....

Love Guatemala put on a Christmas dinner for the
congregation of the Spanish church.
Here Rene and Philip are busy peeling the potatoes...

GIVING OF THEIR TIME.....MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-17T07:52:00.001-08:00

So grateful to be in Canada.....
He found it hard to believe that he could shop
and not have to pay for his gifts....
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lorraine, Ken (he is supervising???) and Megan
Dave R. also helped....somehow I missed taking a picture of him.
He was being a gift carrier as one of the little girls was collecting
her gifts.....

Karyn.....

Julia......

Sarah.....

Joe.....

Dianne, one of our volunteers who has never
wrapped so many gifts, so many odd shaped gifts,
used so much wrapping paper, tape and bows.

WOW....Welcome to Godson Elementary School Christmas Store.
Gentely used used items are given and the children get to come
and shop for gifts for their family menbers.
300+ kids and approx. 1000 gifts....what fun!

LAND.....LA CANOA, GUATEMALA

2009-12-17T07:34:00.000-08:00

Rigaberto and his family.....

Rigaberto and his father.....who will be able to lease
land from Love Guatemala in January, 2010

Paul, Pastor Rueben and Philip visiting with the
grandfather of the Canu family

Land in La Canoa is very fertile. Growing season is almost
all year, although in December to February there could be frost
because of the altitude. The Canu family rents land but not
enough to feed their families. This is where Love Guatemala comes in.
We will be purchasing land for them, which they will lease from us
so that they can provide enough food for their family plus have extra which
they can sell.
Would you like to help us with this venture?

Grateful....

2009-11-25T06:36:00.000-08:00

So grateful....Cristina is one of the translators
that works with us. Please pray that she will
be able to find work.
Her husband, Manuel, is the one who received
a cornea transplant several months ago.
Thank you for your prayers.

One of the ladies had made this purse, so
now we need to talk cost, marketing, etc....

Showing them the tela (fabric)....
They knew what to do with the lining, interfacing
and patterns

Ma'quina de coser.....sewing machines

We are sewing......so happy and grateful

Rosita, the newest member at Casa Angelina.
Her mother was a drug addict.....
The two housemoms are in love with this little one.

Great team......

2009-11-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Fall Love Guatemala Team....
Fantastic people....

Francisco and Jorge from our hotel,
enjoying a joy ride!

We had two awesome people join our Love Guatemala
team...Robbie(Idaho) and Lorie (Texas)...we almost
made them Canadians.....

Food and Home.....

2009-11-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

Land is very fertile but these families cannot afford
to rent the land....

The families that the guys befriended on the road crew...
we also provided groceries for them...

The finished project....

Marta Lidia, Esperanza (Hope), Angelica (Angel),
Sergio and Santiago (James)

New beds.....

The new table and chairs....

Well, someone had to try it out?????

Marta Lidia's house,
Finishing the bathroom....

Did someone say "cake"????

Linda showing off her waitress skills.....
5 plates of cake....

After VBS we served cake to the kids....
ok, we had some too!

We brought gifts for the staff at Casa Angelina...
Sunglasses and the Divas of CA

Our last day at the women's ministry
this gal brought us donuts...better than Tim Hortons
We also got muffins and hot fruit punch....
They were so grateful for what we had taught them about
God's love, goodness and faithfullness

Blankets, NT's and Food.....

2009-11-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

Pastor Rueben helping the ladies with their groceries...

Could you do this? Carrying 40 lbs on their heads...

Philip handing out the groceries....

John is handing out oil.....

The truck is ready to move out with
3000 lbs of groceries.....each of the ladies
received 40 lbs of food (rice, beans, sugar and maize)
and a 1/2 gallon of oil....

Thank you to Brian's dad,
we gave each of the ladies a Spanish NT
from the Gideons

Praising the Lord...
These little girls loved to clap...

Karli found some carrots headed to the local market.....

We got some help from two ladies from the Idaho team...

Dorothy and Sheri cutting out the pattern
for the handbags for the ladies in the village...

Rene and John painting the kitchen ceiling
in the Feeding Center...

Hang on, Linda...

Vicki, Marta and Linda took a TukTuk ride back to the orphanage..

Receiving their blankets...
Thank you to the ladies in the Dorcas Ruth ladies group
at the Yarrow MB church and the ladies at Helping Hands
for making children's blankets...

Making a Christmas tree...

Waiting in line for the women's ministry to start...

Here, There and Everywhere....

2009-11-19T04:14:00.001-08:00

The ladies who received the sewing machines.....

Evan and his boys....

"I made a tambourine..."

Marta helping one of the kids at CA....

VBS....

Clementine and Vicki...yes, Vicki does have arms
but this top had not been finished to make the
arm holes larger.....

Meet Clementine....she provides for her family by
weaving typical blouses, tablecloths and wall hangings...

This is how to flatten the cookies, with a metal mallet....

Mixing the dough for the cookies...

A clay oven that holds 36 large pans of baking....
One of the ladies in women's ministry has a bakery,
her husband is the pastor and this is how they provide
for their family...

Playing the harmonica...

Worshipping the Lord in Women's Ministry..

Making a Christmas craft....

We had many little ones come and help out their moms and
listen to words from God's Word

Meet Olga, we built a house for her last November.
Her love for God radiates on her face....

Waiting for Women's Ministry to start..

LET'S WORK......

2009-11-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

Rene, Philip and Lori doing some "shaking"....

Pastor Rueben working hard...

Francisco, being trained on a new job....

The house for Marta Lidia....

Lori, up high and working....
great pose....

When Brian is not in the clinic,
he is working hard on the ceiling....

Jorge, also one of the hotel staff who wanted to work with us....
their second day...

Francisco, one of the hotel staff, working with us....

Rob and Josh putting in the ceiling...

We put our translator to work,
sorry Clay!

Moses, Pharoah and his servants!

Nolan and one of the sweethearts......

John, looking good....

OK, that is one cold snake.....

Yvonne is not sure about the spider.....

A visit by Antigua Exotic...a refuge for reptiles and
amphibians....the lesson for the day was about
Moses and the plagues

VBS you can wear your hat anywhere you want....
NO MIEDO....NO FEAR

FELIZ NAVIDAD TEC PAN

2009-11-15T04:45:00.000-08:00

``Hi! Daddy, I miss you and love you!``

There was a wedding on the grounds at the restaurant
and Greg took the opportunity to have his picture taken
with the bride....

Brian it is all in the hips.....

Jose`s family......

Timiteo`s family...

Eduardo`s family

Isais`fiance and his mother....

Max`s family...

Bartollo's family.....

No this is not a sale at Sears...
We had brought 100 pairs of flip flops, 69 pairs of shoes
and lots of knitted hats.....
The ladies were very excited as they outfitted their kids.

One of the moms thanking us for coming, for being there
for their husbands and for the Christmas party.....

Christmas in November....

Bartolo, one of the farm workers, on vacation back home
sharing about his faith and how the Bakerview Spanish Church
has helped him grow in his faith and helped him not be so lonely.

Grandpa Walter doing some babysitting......

We have been working with the migrant workers that
attend the Bakerview Spanish Church since February.
Seven of the families, who have husbands working in the Fraser
Valley, live in the area that we work in Guatemala.
We visited the seven families in May and thought an early Christmas
party in November would be special for them.
We reserved space for 60 people at La Hacienda restaurant
in Tec Pan and inivited all of the families...7 moms, 38 kids, one
gal engaged to a migrant worker and his mom....what a blast!
They all came in their best attire and we were greeted with beautiful smiles
and hugs. Probably none of these people had ever been to a resturant
before.

Casa Angelina....here we come

2009-11-14T04:57:00.000-08:00

Celia and Marta Lidia making tortillas for lunch....

Casa Angelina Sweethearts....

Paul helping the guys with the tying of steel for one of the columns
at the school....

Josh putting the strapping in place....

John explaining to Evan how to paint a drain pipe.....

Rene painting the Feeding Center

Ed and Walter cutting strapping out of
"river dried" wood....

Cheyenne and Judy carrying the stained boards
to a place that they can dry....

Karli "this is the way we stain the board, stain the board,
stain the board......"

Dorothy and Linda, getting the task done...

Sheri and Vicki, the bag ladies or the "nun" sisters
busily staining the ceiling boards

Dr. Brian Driedger talking to a patient....

Our first day at Casa Angelina Orhanage was partly spent
getting organized....the who, what, why and where of several projects.
Her is Dr. Lucy talking to a patient...

FALL 2009 - LOVE GUATEMALA RIDES AGAIN...

2009-11-12T18:23:00.001-08:00

What just happened? Who are these people?
Why do they want to love us??????

Marta visiting with a young man...

Cheyenne and her balloons....

"Thank you for praying for me...."

Praying for a family...

Brian missed his girls so he found 2 more..

Our Bride....Judy had a little friend give her some flowers!

What is going on????

Vicki has found some new friends...

One of the grateful women accepting our gift....

Welcome back.....

A sweetheart that we met when we had lunch...

Dorothy's practicing for her job in the market....

Greg and Dorothy help load the van....

You need how many more bags?
Buying groceries for El Gorrion families.

Len our bus driver, making sure we have all the people
and luggage off the bus....

Lots and lots of luggage......SeaTac

CUAUHTEMOC, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO

2009-09-14T15:24:00.001-07:00

Dr. Daisy Froese, a young woman with a passion
to serve her people and show them the love of
Jesus.

The property we hope to build a hospital and a clinic
for women, children and youth.
The cost is approximately $100,000.00 and construction
will start in April, 2010.

Visiting...

A leisurely way to travel....

This village does not have water. It takes them 2 hours
one way to travel to get enough water for their homes.

Beautiful flowers...

Helping work in the garden....

Playing soccer on a very rocky field.....

Delivering milk....watch that corner!

The boys.....

Picking beans......

These three teenage girls are raising pigeons....

A young gal and her garden...

The boys are off visiting....

The youth are singing on a Sunday afternoon.

Because there is nothing for the Old Colony youth to do on Sunday
afternoons, the GC church has a time of games for them.
There is a high percentage of youth and others involved in alcohol and drugs.

The Old Colony are building a school...

A family on their way to town, church or just going for a ride.....

A new Home for the Aged being built by the Old Colony church.
In the background is an apple orchard.

Lunch at the Altenheim (Old Aged Home)...

The irrigation system is what keeps this land green and productive.
The wells have been dug to 1500 feet to obtain water.

The church building for handicapped adults to work in.....

The General Conference Mennonite church has a feeding program for
single moms and widows upstairs and a sanctuary downstairs.

and then there is this.....

The difference in the wealth and how they can afford to
build their houses.....
the house above cannot afford windows and doors.....

Farming country...

The road to a Mennonite village...

The tractor meets the horse.....

Three young ladies going visiting....

Off to the cheese factory.....

The truck, towed to the farm, is an incentive to keep on working hard
and just maybe they can afford a truck, hopefully
one that works.....

Papayas.....dad and his children
Dad did not want his picture taken from the front
incase the Bishop would see the picture.....

Checking out the melon crop....

What is it like to live in that part of the valley???

And then the ones that have done very well for themselves...
How long does it take to combine a corn field with 30 combines?????

The farmer who has been given permission to
use rubber tires and newer equipment....

A home in one of the villages...

Taking the oats to the field....

Picking beans....

Buying and selling charcoal....

A new house on new property....

Building a road....

Grinding rock with a hammer mill....

One of the Mennonite homes......

A very fertile land due to the hard work of generations
of Mennonites

Clearing land for a new crops.....

Cuauhtemoc area

many colonies live in a spiritual "fog".

The native ruins...

"Bram" Siemens, the old (the interesting chair)
and the new (clothing)

With the passing of generations, the Mennonites of Eurogean origian have
spread into 7 Mexican states, with 40,000 of the approx. 70,000 living in the state
of Chihuahua, the largest concentration being in the
Cuauhtemoc area.

This tree will be standing long after all of the Mennonites are gone.

The Mennonite society has undergone significant changes in Mexico since 1922.
Very noteworthy is the differentiation among groups, with different degrees of
emphasis placed on certain social issues (such as clothes, transportation, vocation, etc)
while basically adhering to the same christian tenents of faith. That has resulted in different
congregations with varying forms of worship and lifestyle.

El Gorrion visited...

2009-05-23T17:55:00.001-07:00

The new house for the corn grinding machine....

Oscar, Mateo and Philip checking out the
floor that was poured over the cistern...

"Dr. Justin", Dr. Jeff and Nic, the social worker
for Students International

Dr. Raquel....

The pretty walls in the medical clinic...

Oh, Susanna, how does your garden grow???
She was very excited when we gave her a picture
of her and her family that Leanne had taken.

The wall to protect her garden.....

Susanna's garden was planted 17 days ago
and everything is up....she was so excited!!!

CASA ANGELINA...part 2

2009-05-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

Some of our team dug the hole for the septic tank
and now the concrete and blocks are going in....

Evan and the future Dr. Justin....

Dr. Jeff and his wife Bonnie were helping out
at the Mercy Clinic...

Fabian got a pink smiley sticker because
the girls said he had been good at breakfast!

The Look of Innocence!!!

TEARS OF THANKFULNESS....

2009-05-20T20:19:00.001-07:00

"Hi Papa, I miss you and I love you!"

Gregoria and her daughter...

Carmela has 4 children.
She makes wallets and sells them in the market....

Maria is 36 years old with 9 children....

We met Leticia and her son several blocks from her
home because of the rain....

Rainy season has begun!!!

This mom was so excited when we told her that
we knew her son in Canada. When we gave her a picture
of him, through tears she says "my cutie!"

Paulina, David and Heidi.....
Paulina has 8 children.

We had the privilege of visiting some of the families
of the men who are migrant workers in Abbotsford area.
Many of the wives have 3-9 children and are in Guatemala
taking care of their families while their husbands are in Canada.
All of them have a strong faith in God, love and miss their husbands.
Please pray for protection for them as well as wisdom in the everyday
decisions that they need to make.
Each family received a Love Guatemala gift of beans,
rice, sugar and cooking oil.

MORE ART AND ARTISTS....

2009-05-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

A mural that the art students did in a home....

Carlos and Telma.....the teachers at the Art School.
They are a great couple gifted artists, who will be helping the kids
at Casa Angelina paint a mural at the medical clinic
and hospital.

Telma is wearing the oven mitts that we gave her.

A GIFT....

2009-05-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

"Hey, mama, este gringos!"

Carlos' receiving his laptop and printer from
a friend in Abbotsford.
Carlos' has a school for kids who have flunked out of elementary
school. He has 60 kids in the morning, 25 women who are
learning to sew in the afternoon and 15 kids in the afternoon
who are being tutored.
We also brought school supplies and apple pieces (FV Gleaners).

STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN....

2009-05-17T19:43:00.001-07:00

If you stop, look and listen to the needs around you
you might be surprised at what you can do......
Give them that "cup of cold water" in Jesus' name.

This fountain needs a home.....

Not finished, not for sale...

Eggs for sale...

No comment!

A suggestion?????

This cabinet has legs!

I gave a lady two scones and a cup of coffee....
I told her that Jesus loves her.....
She could not stop thanking me......
Bless her, Jesus....

Painting with her feet...

CASA ANGELINA

2009-05-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

Ronny "I got it, I got it!"

Soccer anyone???

Michael and Zach teaching the boys how to
throw a football..

Nelson was all smiles after receiving a gift
from his sponsor....

Digging the hole for the sewer tank....

Herman, helping Armundo service the back hoe.

Julio and Sylvia, the chefs......great food

The new look of the dining room.....

Oh, no...he almost lost his tail.

Stephen, Michael and Evan, cutting the grass......
forget the lawn mowers when they get home!!

Joyce, does the fine details.....

Leanne, got you cornered!

Out with the green and in with the yellow....
The girls house gets a new look....
Frieda what a painter! Even the window screens...oops!
This was an oil base paint and even with the windows
open we were starting to wonder what we were
saying.....

Terri and Sharon organizing the medical supplies...

Wow....those hospital corners look great!!!

Dorothy wiping down the mattresses....

Dianne is busy cleaning the beds....

The hospital is ready for beds!!!

Vaction Bible School, El Gorrion

2009-05-12T13:40:00.001-07:00

Dianne and Joyce following along with the story of salvation...

Marcos, enjoying leading worship...

Let's sing!!!!

It is all about the CROSS....

The director of the school.....

Zach, helping out with the kids.....

Stephen, helping the kids colour...

The story of Rahab.
Leanne, Zach, Nolan and Herman, who translated.

First day in El Gorrion with the kids.
Our first day was outside.

Time to Deliver the Chicks and their homes.....

2009-05-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Michelle, helping us with the chicks....

Rosa.....

Mary and her son David.....

Most of the coops had to be carried up
interesting trails, paths or newly
constructed roads...

Maria, our second chick owner...

Silvy and Pedro....the new owners
We prayed a blessing over each person who was
receiving the chicks and they coops.

Ingrid is explaining what needs to be done with the chicks,
and how many they need to give away as an offering
of thanksgiving to God....

Frieda, Josh and Zach, inoculating the chicks....

In goes the cardboard and saw dust.....

Up the path to the first home...

A "town house" coop.....

Up go the walls....

Noah's Ark

2009-05-10T19:14:00.001-07:00

Noah's Ark mural (40 feet by 10 feet) was a project of the Art School
in Magdalena. Our team helped paint the mural
in the Christian Education department of the church.
Katje, Sterling, Crystal, Nolan, Philip,
Dianne and Dorothy...

Vacation Bible School.....

2009-05-10T18:55:00.001-07:00

Dianne and Joyce following the story with the kids...

The Divas of El Gorrion school..

Zach, helping the kids....

Stephen, gettting the kid's excited...

Marcus, one of the teachers, getting the kids excited
about singing...

The children in El Gorrion school.....

Medical Team....

2009-05-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

A new blanket.....nice and warm

A Family who was so excited that they all received new
sweaters made by a grandma in Abbotsford, came
to the orphanage to see Dr. Jeff

Justin and a little patient....

Visiting an orphanage...."Shalom"
Sharon, Bonnie, Dr. Jeff's wife and Terri

Joyce and her new friends going for a walk.....

The nursing home laundry is done by staff.......

Justin, visiting with some of the residents....

Nursing Home.... Casa Maria...

Sharon....what did you do to this little one????

Magdalena and El Gorrion....work day 1

2009-05-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

Mario, pastor, veterinarian, and Chicken Man....

Mario and Oscar....

Herman inspecting the four almost completed coops...

Josh....our team foreman...

Listening to instructions...that could change any minute!

Josh and Brian and Oscar working on the chicken coops...

Time for lunch.....

Instant playground....

Dumping the dirt on the neighbor's yard that will
become a garden...

Joyce, Frieda and Dianne...
A small kitchen that will have an 8x5 foot hole in it...

Evan...

Leanne....

A much better view....Philip and Greg and Julia..

The rear view of digging the cistern....

A little someone waiting to see Dr. Jeff...

Justin and Dr. Jeff....

Joyce, Dr. Jeff, Sharon, Terri and the doctor from Magdelena
Our medical team....

LOVE GUATEMALA SPRING 2009

2009-05-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Our new grandson, Joaquin...so precious.

Some of our gals are not pleased that
this moth was so big.... that and all the
water beetles...

Greg "torturing" Dr. Jeff.....

Back at the hotel....
Greg was giving Philip a massage and
found just the right tight muscle!

A little person looking forward to his ice cream...

This tiny grandma was very excited when Dorothy
gave her a balloon.

We had fun handing out balloons to the kids on the street...

Greg found some deep fried corn dough.
A version of our popcorn twists.....

Antonio and Lydia....our friends.
We buy all of our product from them to sell in Canada.

Terri, shopping, shopping, shopping.....

Katya and Sterling, emailing friends.

Lidia, our "mother" at the hotel.

Brian was more content!

Nolan getting a facial with macadamia cream....
Actually he survived!!!

OK, who is the "nut" in the group?
Visiting the Valhalla Macadamia Farm.
They provide education and trees to the indigeous people
so that they can grow the Macadamia trees and make a living.

Philip and Ivan Gabriel, the artist. Ivan has been all over the world
showing his amazing painters...no lessons, it is a gift.
We invited him to do a show in Vancouver.

Visiting Compalapa.....a town of famous artists

Visiting the ruins at Iximche Tecpan

Now tell me again, Phil, who is on the team????

Our Spring Love Guatemala Team....

Picture Perfect.....

2009-02-23T08:38:00.001-08:00

Herman is thinking of changing careers......

Ok...is this really the Kamphuis masterpieces????

Josh, wore his artist hat......

An array of colours.....

AHHHHHHHHHH, the perfect picture.....Evan!

Dianne....so intense...

Sterling, Katje and Chrystal.....

Intense....Brian and Leanne are busy painting picture
frames that we will use at our VBS in November.....
125 frames....but it is fun....

We have a great team of 22 leaving Abbotsford on April 29th flying to
Guatemala City. For 10 days we will be working in construction, building
bio-sand water filters, teaching VBS to 125 children, and working in a
medical clinic.

Please pray for our team: Greg, Dorothy, Herman, Andrew, Julia, Zack,
Evan, Stephen, Josh, Michael, Nolan, Katya, Sterling, Leanne, Dianne,
Sharon, Terri, Joyce, Crystal, Brian, Judy and Phil

JUST ONE MORE MEETING.......

2009-01-28T10:46:00.000-08:00

Clara.....her friend who also sells for their family

Myra, my wonderful vendor....

Philip, Clay and Ismael....

Our meeting with the village council of Tululche'

The new diningroom........

Philip meeting the new house parents, David and Brenda...

Alphonso doing homework with his tutor....

Lester...what a great young man

Nelson playing football with Philip....
Emilio in a beaver costume....not sure why, but you have to know Emilio

Kimberley, is being her silly self and greeting Philip and Clay...
at Casa Angelina

We met with Jorge from Promised Land Ministries
discussing what we could get involved in this April.
Teaching pastors, kids and construction.......

AROUND ANTIGUA.....and other places

2009-01-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

The end to a great day!

...or one of these....

Take a trip on one of these.....

The fire volcano gave us some action....

These little "chicks" help out with the other chicks...

Here a chick, there a chick, everywhere a chick, chick....

These boys are brothers with Muscular Dystropy
they have had both legs operated on and will be in casts
for 6 weeks...SI will bring in a therapist to work with
them when the casts come off.

Well and water filtration system..

Peas please.....

We traveled to Magdelina to check out the projects that
Students International are involved in....

This little one was helping mom sell her wares..

Dad and his boys are fixing the cobblestone..

WELCOME TO CANADA.....
This is a condo/townhouse complex....lovely

MEETINGS AND DIVINE APPOINTMENTS JAN 09

2009-01-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Cristina's (one of our translators)birthday..
as you can see we also had a lot of fun!

A view from the school....

Carlos and his staff.....

Philip, Clay (our translator) and Carlos,
unloading school supplies that were donated

The Hearts United Education Center....

Meet Carlos.....
We met Carlos three years ago at a hotel where we were staying.
Carlos now manages a school, on faith donations, to kids that
would otherwise not have a chance at an education.

Meet Fernando and Marinetta.....
Managers of Students International
"Bringing students and the poor together cross-culturally
to encounter God, share the Good News, disciple
and serve others in occupational ministries".
They work in the medical, dentistry, agriculture
engineering, construction, social work, etc in four countries
including Guatemala.
We are meeting with them to see how they work with agriculture
ventures as in pigs, chickens and veterinary medicine.

Across the street a Islamic mosque....
At the other corner was the US Embassy.....do not dare to take pictures
They have a one block square property with razor wire and men with very
large guns!

We spent our first night at a hotel in Guatemala City
as we had flown in at midnight...at the corner was the Star of David
Guatemala had the deciding vote with the UN to accept Israel as a nation
There is a large community of Israelis living in Guatemala City.

When we take teams to Guatemala it is always too busy to
meet with new organizations, ones we are working with or just
finding out new areas to take the teams so we come in January to
scout out all of the above.

LOVE GUATEMALA COMMUNITY EVENTS

2008-12-28T08:30:00.001-08:00

Christmas Hampers......

Santa answers all those thoughtful questions.
Are you real? Is your beard real? How did you get here?
I love you Santa!

Betty and Liz are busy wrapping gifts.

Love Guatemala worked with a local
elementary school in Abbotsford in December.
A dozen volunteers arrived at the school December 8th
to help the students write letters to Santa, the Canadian
Armed Forces and an orphanage. It was great to interact with
the kids. We also made 400 cups of hot chocolate and handed out
cookies.
On December 15th, we helped with a Christmas Store.
Each of the students could come to the gym and pick out a gift
for those living in their household. It was fun. The wrapping of the gifts
was more difficult as we had no boxes, so glassware and the like were
wrapped very carefully. Large items were disguised in garbage bags.
The smiles on the faces of the children was worth it all. Thank you to
all of you who donated gifts...the selection was great!
Even Santa made an appearance.....anyone recognize the man from the
North Pole?????
We also had families, care groups and businesses donate food
and gifts for 13 hampers for needy
families from the school.

JOIN US IN 2009.....

2008-11-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

JOIN US ON A GUATEMALA ADVENTURE....
WORKING AND LOVING THE PEOPLE OF GUATEMALA
APRIL 29TH - MAY 9TH, 2009
NOVEMBER 11TH - 21ST, 2009
CONTACT: loveguat@gmail.com

JUST HANGIN' OUT.....

2008-11-24T11:27:00.001-08:00

All Aboard....time to go home.

Here come the Casa Angelina kids ready for cake!

Our Guatemalan grandkids!

Melisa and Jenn....they hold the clinic together!

Thinking about banana splits!!!!

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

2008-11-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

How do you bend heavy re-bar....you get four
guys to stand on it and then two Guatemalans
bend it....

Time to see why we tied all that re-bar...

Frieda and Darlene, busy tying wire to the re-bar....

Bob taking a break from tying the re-bar...

Helmut, placing the brick....

Joe is concentrating on cutting wire...

Luis....our teacher

The Steel Workers of Canada Union will have some
new members after this week...

Edgar and Sergio working with the re-bar...

Over, under, cross over and twist.....
Joe and Steve working on the re-bar

Pole Climbing.....Guatemala vs. Canada

2008-11-16T20:22:00.001-08:00

The second prize has been captured....

It is more fun eating a cookie than watching these men
climb a pole...

The entire village came out to cheer....

Come on, Josh....go Canada, go...

Sometimes you need some help to climb the pole...

What happens when men decide to climb a 30+ foot pole
that has been greased with cooking oil? A lot of fun, laughter
and competition! This is actually a tradition in Guatemala and the
men from the village wanted to THANK the Canadian men for
spending three evenings with them and sharing from their heart.
The Canadians found out that you need to be much smaller to
climb the pole.

Women's Ministry.....Tululche'

2008-11-16T20:01:00.001-08:00

I'm just hanging out with my mom...

We gave the ladies underwear as it is expensive to buy...
They had fun picking out just the right ones.....

Marion, babysitting, so that the mom can participate in the class..

Marion sharing her testimony with the ladies

The next generation of women.....

Darlene helping one of the ladies....

I came along to help my mom with her craft...

The ladies worked hard to finish their Christmas craft,
and were very proud of what they had done.

Singing praises.......

The ladies received blankets and sweaters for their kids.
The blankets and sweaters were made by Helping Hands.

Women's Ministry ......
Darlene, Cristina (translator), Judy and Frieda

VBS - Avalanche Ranch

2008-11-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

On the last day, Friday, we presented each VBS student
with a bag of school supplies

Juan, it has been a long day!!!!!

Nolan is helping Andy....

Casa Angelina VBS....50 kids

How cool is this frisbee......

Stephen helping one of the boys with their craft....

Klay, translating for Lianne as she tells a story..

Tululche'.....100 kids

Lynn handing out pan to the kids....

The Ark of the Covenant.....

The story of Joshua crossing the Jordan...

Scott and his wife Linda, from Kansas,
helped us out for a couple of days.

Our dedicated VBS team...
Lianne, Stephen, John, Marion
Evan, Klay(translator), Nolan and Lynn

SMILE.....this isn't going to hurt

2008-11-16T15:52:00.001-08:00

Dr. Lucy...talking to a patient.
Dr. Lucy is at Casa Angelina every morning.

Nelson, one of Casa Angelina kids, helping Crystal

Crystal, our hygienist....

Leanne, helping a patient....

Melisa, adding family history to the computer while
Crystal cleans teeth.

Lauren, from Texas, joined us and took the history of the patients.

Our dental team....
Dr. Sam, Jenn (clinic nurse), Linda,
Robin, and Melissa (nurse and translator)
Missing...Crystal and Leanne
They saw 30 patients per day.

Casa de Olga....

2008-11-16T14:49:00.001-08:00

The village council, the team and neighbors came to dedicate the house.

A time of dedication for Olga and her new home.....

Olga, a single mom with a 14 year old son, was
chosen by the village council to receive a new home...
As the project progressed she was getting more and
more excited. She brought the guys vegetables, pan
soup and pepsi...she always said I don't have much to give but
I want you to know how much I appreciate what you are doing for me.
We had a dedication on Friday morning.