Dear Friends,
We are here and having an amazing time! I wish each of you could be here to experience what our team members have over the past few days!
We just came back from San Jorge - up and mountain and then back down - in the back of a pick-up truck. There are absolutely breathtaking views! More to come on today's activities later!
We have very limited internet access at our hotel - and can occasionally post on Facebook, but I can't do the blog from there. When I get a free moment at the Mayan Families office I will try to give updates. I wish I could include pictures - but I forgot to bring the card reader necessary to transfer pictures to the computer - so you will have to wait for those until we return. I encourage you to like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NuestrosNinosCharity .to see some pictures.
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Saturday, November 16th
We made it safely to Panajachel, our home away from home for this week. Everyone's flights made it in on time...and we had no problems with customs this year!
On the way to the lake we stopped at Pollo Campero, the Guatemalan equivalent of KFC. It is so popular that many people take it to the USA on the returning flights. Everyone was exhausted from getting up so early, but I don't think any of us fell asleep on the 3-4 hour drive to the lake. We were too busy looking at the windows at all of the "life" going on around us. We started a scavenger hunt, and quickly realized we see lots of cows, goats, chickens, pigs, sheep, and dogs right alongside of the road, but not any tractors in the fields or stoplights once you get out of Guatemala City.
One new sight this year was seeing multiple traditional kites being flown. They are made from tissue paper and are octagonal (or more sides) in shape. They are often flown for the Day of the Dead on November 1st, so it was a treat to get to see them being flown now.
On the road down to the lake we were awed by the beautiful views of the lake, waterfalls, and volcanos. Once we were situated in our rooms at Hotel Dos Mundos, we took off down the main road in Panajachel to eat dinner at CasaBlanca. We ate pasta dishes, sandwiches, pepian (a traditional Guatemalan chicken dish), and other good food. We steered clear of the ice though.
On the way back to the hotel we started doing some window shopping as there are so many things to look at between the vendors and store fronts. We actually saw 3 people that we knew from previous trips...kind of nice to see familiar faces! We heard the traditional firecrackers being set off in celebration of various events. We ended the evening with our nightly meeting recapping the day and going over Sunday's schedule - which will mainly be a day of sightseeing. Paul also commented Guatemala is a little different than he expected with a lot of color between the clothes, hillsides, and daily life.
A quick thank you to Beki, Priscilla, Henna, Sharon, Linda, and Rachel for working craft shows on Friday night and Saturday for Nuestros Ninos. The group will start seeing on Monday how the fundraised money truly helps those in dire need.
Please don't be surprised if you don't see a daily update as we seem to have an intermittent internet connection. Just in case someone needs to reach us - we have two phones that we are using. The phone numbers are 011-502-5292-0547 and 011-502-4104-5769.
We look forward to sharing more as we can!
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Sunday, November 18th
In Becky's words, "It is a good day! The lake is amazing and the views alone are worth making the trip!"
We started our morning at 7am on a boat crossing the lake to the village of Santa Cruz. This village only got electricity about 8 years ago. There we went to a restaurant with picturesque views of the three volcanos and the lake. We had eggs, refried beans, bread, fruit, coffee, tea, and fresh squeezed OJ. It was a wonderful way to start our day.
Afterward we took the boat to another village, Santiago, one of the larger villages on the lake. It was quite a hike up through the town. We had many street vendors ask us to buy their beautiful wares. We wound our way through streets and visited Maximon - the saint of drinking and cigars. It was an adventure. We weaved through the crowded market where anything and everything was being sold. Our guide, Samuel, was a great wealth of information throughout the day. We took some time to shop and then took the boat back to Pana - our home away from home.
In Pana we had a nice lunch at Deli Jasmin. Many of us had quesadillas. Afterward it was time for the big adventure - ziplining. To get there we took red tuk-tuks. I felt like we were on the Amazing Race with drivers jocking for position. One "died" on the huge hill, so Tom jumped out and pushed it to get started again. His son, Jacob, had a great laugh at this!
Once we finished our bumpy ride to the Nature Reserve, almost everyone went ziplining. I stayed behind to watch the bags and take pictures. J The hike to the first of 8 ziplines is exhausting, but they made it. Eli (7 years old) said it was awesome, and I think all of the adults would wholeheartedly agree!
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Monday, November 19th
As we came back from San Jorge just a couple of minutes ago, Amanda commented that she had loved today and it's activities. I think it was good for everyone!
We started out at the new Mayan Families office and got a tour of their wonderful new site. In the computer classes, I looked over and saw Iris, one of our two sponsored students. I was so excited to see her!
Mothers and children were waiting for us to hand out chickens. They had all been let go in one room of the Mayan Families office, so we got to chase chickens and catch them to put the in the families' baskets, boxes, or whatever they had brought to carry their chickens home. There were lots of smiles on the faces of the recipients...and ours!
We then went over to the River House and toured the new Carpentry shop. I was excited because we got to see Charlie our other sponsored student. I was also excited because all 22 of our boxes showed up as we got to the River House. It was amazing as it took 3 months to get them here - and we just happened to be there when they were delivered!
Next we watched a presentation of how to build an ONIL stove, and then we went back to the main office to hand out a few food baskets. These four families had come from Agua Escondido and are extremely poor. You could tell the stunted growth in many of the children. One child we all assumed was around 1 years old was actually 2 years old. We heard heartbreaking stories about some of the families - an older girl being thrown out of her house by her father for no real reason. Others where the father had died very recently...and a young daughter. The food baskets included a chicken, carrots, oil, a pineapple and many other items. One family started eating the carrots before they even left the offices.
Next it was time to climb in the pickup truck and really get to know each other - it is a crowded ride! We went to the Elderly Feeding Program in San Jorge. It was exciting to see the concrete floor we had paid for last year, but hadn't gotten to put in ourselves because of the landslides blocking our way to get there. We then served about 30 elderly women (between 75-90 years old) a lunch of chicken, rice, atole, and tamalitos. Several didn't have shoes and I can't begin to describe the walk they had to get to the Elderly Feeding Program - extremely steep and dirt filled paths. I can't tell you how appreciative they each were. We received many thanks and hugs from the ladies.
When we finished eating the same lunch we had served, it was time to install 3 ONIL stoves in the village homes. The house I went to was a one bedroom home the size of most bedrooms. It had 2 beds, and now an ONIL stove in it. Though they don't have much, the house was full of joy. The little boy and girl were so happy, and we had a blast playing with them while the stove was installed. Bubbles were a big hit, along with some beanie babies and toy cars we had brought.
We then installed a stove for a women is a cook at the Elderly Feeding Program. She had recently lost her husband and has 6 kids to provide for. At the end, she gave a short speech expressing her appreciation. She told us the first thing she is going to make on her new stove is frijoles or refried beans.
Time to come back to Panajachel and give out the rest of the food baskets. When we got to the courtyard several of us saw familiar faces...and were recognized by them too. John and Sandy spotted Maria and her family (their sponsored student). There were hugs aplenty. Matt and Tom spotted the woman from San Antonio Palopo where they had put in the kitchen last summer - and she definitely recognized them too. It is heartwarming for me to see some of the bonds that have been formed!
While I am frantically typing this blog up, the rest of the group is handing out the rest of the food baskets.
I am looking forward to hearing about it from the group tonight at our meeting! In a little bit we are heading to the Circus Bar for a pizza dinner.
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Come See Us at one of our Open Houses!
We have already been busy with shopping - and have lots more to do!
We will be busy with various craft shows in the month of November & December. We will have a great assortment of jewelry, textiles, ornaments, baskets, clay items, and so much more - all handmade in Guatemala. All proceeds support our service work! When we get back from Guatemala - we will have lots of new items!
We would love to see you at one of them!
New Items will be here for these!
Saturday, December 1st (3-6pm)
Sunday, December 2nd (12:30-3pm)
Angela Grussing's House
3305 Lands End Lane
Knoxville, TN 37931
Saturday, December 8th (1-5pm)
Tuesday, December 11th (6:30-8:30pm)
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Come Like Us On Facebook!
We are working hard to keep everyone updated about all that Nuestros Niños has going on!
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July 2013 Trip
The dates for the July 2013 Trip will be July 6-14th. If we have more than 35 people interested in going, we will add another trip. The initial deposit of $100 is due currently. If you would like more info, please e-mail Angela at angela@nuestrosninoscharity.org.
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SERVICE. COMPASSION.
HOPE.
Nuestros Niños is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Nuestros Niños translates to "Our Children" - representing the children that we help, along with our children with whom we hope to instill a sense of service.
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Contact Info
Angela Grussing
865-599-4347
angela@nuestrosninoscharity.org
P.O. Box 30656
Knoxville, TN 37930
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