Brayan lives with his mother and father in a crowded room with other family.  They have a small piece of land but they are not able to afford to build a small house.  His father works as a security guard which earns about Q50 per day ($8.00).  His mother is a regular volunteer at the feeding center.  She has a very humble and grateful spirit.

Melanie, her 5 siblings, and parents are currently living with family in a small room.  They have 2 beds for 8 people!   Her father works as a masonry where he makes Q50 ($8 per day).  Melanie is very quiet, loving child.

Nicholas and his 3 siblings are being raised by his mother.  His mom works hard in the greenhouse to try to provide the basics for the family.  They are living in one bedroom with two beds.

Rosa and her 2 siblings are being raised by her mother.  Her mother cleans houses and washes clothes to make a little bit of money.  There were bricks were given to them so they can have a little protection from the weather.  However, plastic tarp  and rusted tin covers the majority of the house which does not give much protection from the weather.

Daniel and his sister are being raised by their mother.  She works as a dishwasher in a cafeteria where she makes Q25 ($3) per day.  Their breakfast consist of bread and coffee, and their dinner is mostly beans and tortillas.  Families can make 5 tortillas for Q1 (13 cents)!

As you probably know, our website was attacked which caused it to be shut down.  Up to this point, we have been able to continue posting blogs.  However, this morning Deidra is unable to log in from Guatemala.  That may get corrected soon or it may not.  Thank you for your understanding.  Blessings!

Lazaro and Glendy devote Fridays for sharing a Bible story and songs with the children.  The children also participated in a craft, ate popcorn (a lot of it), played on the swing sets and finished some homework.  The previous groups had leftover pizza and the kids devoured it!

Click on the link to view the video!

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The last GRACE team, led by Bro. Jerry, bought and dedicated two swing sets for the feeding center.  The kids can release some energy on the three slides, four swings, two hand swings, and monkey bars.  The parents were so excited about the swing sets that they volunteered to help level and prepare the ground.  The kids are ecstatic, and it is a highlight of their afternoon.

This is the first time the kids were able to play on the swing sets.  This is only half of the children, but it looked like someone stepped on an ant hill.

Haley Ray has been helping with the feeding center for the last several weeks.  She is constantly loving on the people of Guatemala as she serves them.  She has been a huge blessing to our family, Lazaro and Glendy, and the families of the feeding center.  I have asked her to write a few thoughts about her experience in Guatemala for the past several weeks.

I began my summer not really knowing what to expect, but God has completely exceeded my expectations. I never knew I could feel so much love for strangers. I mostly work with the 40 kids in the feeding center and I can’t express to you how much joy these kids bring to my life. I love the relationships that I have built with these kids, and I honestly don’t know how I am ever going to leave them to go back home. The first thing the kids do when they get to the feeding center is drop their bags and run and hug me, Lizzi, Sydney, Deidra, Soy, or really just anybody who they can get their hands on. No matter how many times they see us there, or how normal it is for us to be there now, I still get a hug from every single child, every single day. That is something that will never get old to me. These kids may be super poor and super needy, but they have joy like nothing that I have ever seen. They have Jesus and that is all that they need. They’re thankful for every meal, every gift, every crayon, every piece of paper, every vitamin and you never ever see them without a smile on their face.  I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to watch some of these kids meet their sponsors for the first time and I have watched them receive new clothes and toys. (These kids have probably never been able to afford new clothes or new toys.) These little simple gifts cost us almost nothing in the states, but it means the world to these kids. Also, it isn’t only the children who are super thankful for our time and money and willingness to give, the parents of these kids will come up to us with tears in their eyes just thanking us for helping them. Seeing them be so grateful makes me a lot more grateful for the things that I have at home too. I always come to Guatemala with the intentions of teaching these kids and showing them love, but I always leave Guatemala realizing how much they have taught me and how they are actually the ones showing me love and teaching me how to love!

The following came from Bro. Jerry last night:

“Greetings! Today was a good day! The block party was great! Yes, I did wonder about half way though the party, where Bro. Mike’s crew were but it was all good! Not a problem at all! Tell him not to worry about it at all! I did give Lazaro all the cotton candy stuff for the feeding centers use at a later time. We had excellent workers who organized the party and I thought all were diligent and did a fantastic job! The kids and parents had a ball. All total we had about 200! I know all our hot dogs were given out and we ran out of balloons, stickers, and some other stuff!

The evening program was great too with the center packed out. The meal was wonderful! The people were very gracious! Lazaro and Glendy are doing a great job of ministry! Good people!

Again, don’t worry about the block party…it was great!

We also got 3 1/2 houses built today to some point!

This is a great group!

Alcy made it also! She is a wonderful lady and very hard worker! Already a blessing! Her parents are Guatemalan and she was born in Chicago.”

The following came via e-mail from Bro. Jerry Hovel earlier today:

“Greetings! I’m using bro Herbert’s iPad because I have not been able to use my computer and no time to mess with it. We have had a great start so far! Alcy showed up yesterday morning after spending the night searching for us! We sent a driver for her but she did not see the sign! She arrived by chicken bus and taxi about 30 mins after we left for the village but went right to work helping Clara and Peggy cook! Turns out she went to culinary school and is an excellent cook also! Clara and Peggy said she was an angel sent from heaven!

We have been busy since we got here! Four houses with concrete done, one up to concrete! I have one small crew of men building houses this morning, some putting up tents, some staining, and some getting ready for the block party and dedication! Looking forward to a great day!

Just wanted to touch base!”

Obviously, I do not know how to rotate the pictures.

Fredy’s sponsor sent him some new clothes, pajamas, and shoes.  I asked Lazaro to make sure they fit so she will know for future knowledge.  Fredy tried them on and they were perfect!  I asked to take a picture of Fredy with the toys and pajamas so I could send it to his sponsor.  Of course Fredy smiled and allowed me to take the picture.  However, Fredy turned around to walk away from the bag of clothes.  Lazaro called him back and explained that they were his to take home.  Fredy’s response, “All of them!”  He was overjoyed and expressed himself by hugging me and saying “Gracias!”  (I had nothing to do with it but I took full credit–LOL)  These children have not ever been given anything new so it is difficult for them to comprehend the gifts.  It is our prayer that through a simple gift they can know they are loved by people who have never even met them.  It is our prayer that through a simple gift we will have the opportunity to show them the love of Jesus Christ.

The kids enjoyed vegetable soup for lunch!

They painted kites for a craft.  Thankfully, it is washable paint since they wore most of it!

Sweet Tatiana is one of the smallest children at the feeding center, but that does not stop her.  She is determined to wash her face and brush her teeth all by herself.  Notice that she found the perfect place to suction her toothbrush while she washes her face.   She is hilarious!