Painting, Teaching, and Concrete

Hello from the beautiful land of Guatemala! As I write, I am inside the common room of the medical dorm at the hospital Santa Elena where we are staying. The dorm is used primarily to host medical teams and we are very privileged to be in such a beautiful location. J As some of you are aware, it is the rainy season here, and yes, it is raining! The past few days it did not rain, but now the rain has started again. Although it is raining, everyone is in good spirits! That is such a blessing!

Today we were very busy. Everyone in my room woke up at 6AM to the sound of an obnoxious alarm clock. By 7:30AM Guatemalan time, we were on our way to an elementary school where we all worked hard to teach some English phrases to preschoolers and kindergarteners. For me, as a translator for the group, it was interesting to work between languages as we taught children words such as “Hello”, “Goodbye”, and “Good Morning”. We also taught the kids to sing the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”. Thankfully God gave us the grace to translate clearly to everyone!

From there, we took another bumpy van ride to a school out in the country. The guys worked diligently busting up old concrete, and digging ditches to prepare for their concrete project. The main thing they will be doing tomorrow is building some concrete stairs from the first floor to the second floor. The girls were occupied with painting the front of the school a luscious melon orange. First, we used masonry trowels, a steel brush and old brooms to clean off the walls. Using our resourceful minds, we used methods such as standing on chairs, and leaning off the edge of the unfinished second floor to make up for our limited supply of ladders. We knew that if we slipped, we could fall off of the building into the yard below. Needless to say, we are really tired. Tomorrow we will continue the job.

Guatemala is a kaleidoscope of cultures. I am blessed to be able to bless people who not of my own culture in order that they might experience the love Christ has for them. God has been working in our group and I am pleased to be a part of what He is doing here.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28: 19-21

All for Him,
Allison Weaver