Day 4 - Wednesday Part 1

Concept-to-Reality Realized

“The solar project entered hump day with a building deficit to the original schedule.  Day One started with a bang and ended being ahead of schedule with the completion of construction of the first of two frames.  Day Two was as unproductive as Day One was productive.  Missing certain small tools that are critical in metal fabrication caused major setbacks.  Who would think that it would be so hard to drill a 5/16” diameter hole in 1/8” thick metal just because you did not have a center punch to mark the start of the hole or a fresh drill bit designed for metal drilling?  The morning of Day Two was highlighted by the statistic that it took nearly 2 hours to drill 4 holes in the first frame.  In dire need of an upgrade, we foraged another trip to town to search down the key pieces, this time taking three separate stops to procure a metal drill bit set, a metal center punch and some self-tapping screws.  A note to the uninformed: when shopping for something in a foreign land where you do not have professional level of command of the language in the speciality you are shopping for, a neat work around is to use your smart phone to do a Google image search for what you are looking for and then to select the image that is closest to your prize to show the person that is trying to help you.  This yielded a three for three success record at the hardware stores.  The afternoon of Day Two was salvaged by the new found tools and yielded 20 holes in twenty minutes, a marked improvement.

The Day Three schedule was broken up a bit with some of the more worthwhile activities of doing community food deliveries and supporting a local food business by having a group meal out.  

Still, come the start of the afternoon of Day Three we still did not have anything installed on the roof.  We disassembled the first frame and loaded it on the roof of the van along with some of the solar panels and all the tools that we thought we would need since it is not very fun to make the round trip trek from the top of the property where the panels are being installed down to the bottom of the property where the shop is.  Still, with our best planning, Andy managed to rack up 2 or three trips that afternoon.  Once all the gear had been packed up to the roof via the billy goat trail that runs along the top of the property, we were ready to assemble and mount the first frame assembly.

Andy and Edd, willingly or ignorantly, the jury is still out, agreed to help with mounting of the solar panel.  The roof that it was being mounted on is the second story roof of Casa 4 and is a bit of a challenge to navigate.  The roof is corrugated steel sheets supported by sheet metal beams that are spaced at what would be in the US unconventional, not 3 foot centers, not four foot, not even 1-meter centers but the obvious default of 42 inches.  That defines the spacing of where it is safe to step on the beams.  Stepping on other areas will not provide the support you are looking for to stay out of the upper floor bedrooms.  Now for Edd who has a long stride, stepping deftly from one beam support to the next was not too difficult.  For Andy, on the other hand, who has a significantly shorter stride, moving from one beam center to another was more of a ballet exercise in keeping with the best performances seen in the Construction Workers Union.

These two, who were not involved in the design or construction of the frame units were forced to assemble the jigsaw assembly of parts and then mount them to a roof not designed for the purpose.  Still, somehow, with patience and fortitude, they were able to make the assembly work and even mount the first solar panel in place before the day closed down.  Amazingly, everything worked as planned and only minor field modifications were necessary.  More importantly, lessons were learned that will hopefully speed the construction and installation of the second frame and may even get this project nearly complete by the end of the week.  Stay tuned.” - Gordon

“During every trip to VOH, the teams take a couple hours to go out into the neighboring village to deliver large grocery bags of staple foods to certain families. These families stand out amongst the poverty for their needs but also for their efforts to provide for themselves. The Block family and some of their staff have been building relationships with these families before any of the VOH children arrived to the children's home. 

We got to visit eight homes with varying family structures. One is a 16-year-old girl and her 12-year-old sister taking care of their very sickly and extremely petite five-year-old sister. Papa is working out in the fields for extended periods of time, and Mama works who knows where. They couldn't say. These three seem to be alone a lot.

Another house consists of Grandma and several of her 25 grandkids. She asked us to pray for one of her son's work.

The nicest home we went to is a plain cinderblock room with some beds and a TV. The two-year-old twins were completely fixated by the Nick Jr programming and cried when Mom tried to get them to turn around for a quick family photo. Some things seem to be universal.

Everyone asked for good health. They seem to not have much access to care, even though a pharmacy is just across the street. The menu of drugs and their prices are printed on a vinyl sign and hung on the cinderblock walls for all to see.

Pharmacies seem to be some of the only storefronts here that focus on one or two categories of product. Other shops are little hallways with roll-up doors that sell everything from fruit to chips to diapers to clothes. You never know what store will have what!

I'm told Guatemalans tend to shop one day at a time. They see how much money they have that day and pick up enough to get through the day. The pre-planned supermarket run for a two-week inventory apparently wouldn't work out here.

One of our Guatemalan team leaders and I enjoyed talking about the various architecture and lifestyles we observed on our food delivery. He is dating an American missionary and has heard a lot about American cultures. He happily answered my questions about contrasting American and Guatemalan economic status and tourism, etc. There's not much division between the poor and wealthy homes here. They seem rather intermixed. Also, he said that San Lucas seems to attract middle-aged Americans and Canadians who want a little more quiet, suburban, retirement spot.

On this trip and my first trip last March, nothing surprised or shocked me. I have seen plenty of photos of shacks and muddy kids with holey shirts, etc, from all around the non-Western world. Stopping by for a few minutes at these huts is not enough time for spoiled me to truly put myself in their shoes - their scuffed up, dusty shoes. I cannot imagine the daily ins and outs of living with five other people on a dust floor the size of a large walk-in closet. I just can't.

This being my second time on the food delivery trek, it was good to see that two of the families have been able to start construction on new homes on the weekends. Just scanning around the properties, I couldn't tell if anything else had changed. That's what struck me. What means of improvement are there? What hope is there for a healthier, easier life?

I tried to put myself in the place of the girls who rarely see their parents and sleep with no locks or other protection. I tried to imagine being married to an alcoholic and carrying the burdens of my family alone.

The most emotional scenario I pondered was that of Yessica. She's probably been written about a lot on this blog over the years. She is bound to a VOH-provided wheelchair. She can move her face and head in a limited manner, but that's it. She can't hold it up straight, so everything is seen from an awkward angle. Her life is sitting in a dirt lot day in and day out. I don't know if her sisters take her out for walks or what. Every time our team visits her family, she's in that little spot between her house and the neighbors'. We asked her sisters to spin the chair around so she could see us. Her whole face lit up, and she let out a happy wail. We could spend only about five minutes with her, praying over her and listening to bit of her story as team members recalled what the Blocks had told them. Were we the most exciting thing to happen to Yessica all week? What a depressing thought.

As we reflected tonight in group conversation over our visit, we landed on the plight of Yessica as well. A sigh and then silence hung in the air. I didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Gordon spoke up. He said that in moments like these, it is comforting to think about eternity. This life, no matter the quality of it, is temporary. We weren't meant to be here long. As creations made in God's image, we are meant for heaven, where there is no pain or physical limit. Heaven, God's full presence away from the world's sin and curse, is our true home and our most certain hope.

I don't know why Yessica must live in that body and in that economic condition. I don't know why I am completely able and in middle-class America. I can only be thankful for what I have, do what I can for others, and trust that God knows what He's doing where he places us. My earthly comforts are only extra bonuses while here, but, as an eternal creature, my only real hope is heaven as well. Yessica and I are equal in our spiritual needs and united eternally in this way.” - Linda