I know, I know, there was no post on Monday night, Tuesday, or yesterday!  Happy Thanksgiving!  Monday night was wild as we hosted a large number of guests and then had a team meeting very late.  Tuesday was a day full of traveling, and yesterday saw me trying to get out of town with my family for the Thanksgiving weekend.  I apologize for the tardiness of this post! 

Monday saw us dedicate all fifteen houses that were built during GRACE ’08 VI.  Actually, our team members poured cement in two of the houses on Monday before putting the final side on them plus they put the final side on one other. 

Monday also saw a team go back to Casa Aleluya to finish laying the tile in the gringo dorm.  So, they finished the entire dorm (the bathrooms had been done previously) in three days plus a few hours one other day – amazing! 

Monday late afternoon saw us go past Panimaquin to a village where we distributed food & clothes to one hundred families.  That was a neat experience.  We were joined by a mother & daughter from another country (Mississippi) and a young lady from Georgia.  Long story but suffice it to say that the mother was a relative of Rita Vice – need I say more? 

Tuesday saw the Americans leave in two waves – one at 4:00AM and the other at 9:30AM.  The early folks entered the States through Houston while the later group went through Atlanta.  Everyone arrived home safely – praise the Lord.

Tuesday also saw the Canadians stay in Guatemala to climb a volcano (Picaya), minister in Palabra Viva Church, and take a tour of the mountain with Paul Leytham.  They left yesterday morning on the early flight through Houston and I assume they arrived home safely. 

So, this team actually probably completed more work than any team I have ever led personally.  That is pretty incredible when one considers that I had so few bubbas/bubbaettes to help me!  They built 15 houses, laid around 2,000 square feet of tile at Casa Aleluya, laid 300 square feet of tile in the seminary’s main office, painted the inside of one of the seminary’s houses, installed a drop ceiling in that same house, made a new set of curtains for the main office in the seminary, painted the entire outside wall at Panimaquin, grouted tile in the medical clinic in Panimaquin, did some other painting at Panimaquin, hosted three days of VBS, did one night of village ministry, painted the iron work on the mission house’s patio, and hosted our first ever block party – awesome!  (I may even be leaving something out!)

We had a great week and we give God the glory for all He did!  Plans call for our next Thanksgiving trip to take place November 17 – 24, 2009.  Contact me if you are interested in joining us! 

Thanks for praying and thanks for keeping up with our adventures.  God is good!