February 4^th 2017

A beautiful early start to the day; we all met in the restaurant of the Grand Hotel Panajachel at 7:30 for morning devotional.  Tom then lead the group as we reflected on the past 36 hours of travel and looked forward to what awaited us with calm anticipation sprinkled with a little excitement.  We finished our breakfast, packed our few things and headed for the boat.

We had arrived late the night before and had seen very little of Panajachel, the lake, or the surrounding terrain.  The steep cliffs and mountains surrounding the town made it easy to find our way to the lake; just walk downhill.  The streets were busy with Tuk Tuk drivers and vendors setting up their colorful wares in their small shops for the day.  Who knows what treasures await.

We boarded the boat for our hour long ride across the lake to San Pedro La Laguna.  Most of us sat on the upper deck enjoying the breeze and the beautiful warm sun; finally removing that last bit of mid-winter frozenness any one may still have been carrying.  The views were spectacular, with multiple volcanos around the lake and good conversation ensued for the duration of the voyage.

Upon landing in San Pedro, we were greeted Pamela along with a contingent of lovely smiling faces.  Some broken English, some very broken Spanish for me, but the mood and the feelings were undeniably understood.  We were happy to be there and they were pleased to receive us.

Introductions were made at the school, although I am terrible with names and will need to be reminded.  A quick trip to check in to the hotel and then back to school for Lunch.  It was here that Pam laid out the projects we would be tackling today.  Dave and Dick broke off to work on some electrical upgrades for the house.  The rest of us split up in to two fluid groups, switching between sorting desks and chairs and breaking up the concrete roof above the patio for the house.  I stayed focused on the demolition work.  There were at least 4 of us, pounding away with small sledge hammers and chisels.  Concrete pieces broke off regularly, but progress was slow.  Not to worry, we left plenty of roof for future groups to create their own melodious demolition percussion band.

A quick trip back to the hotel and we were cleaned up for dinner.  “Dad’s Chicken” is what Pam called it.  I called it delicious.  Dick lead us in an evening devotional about talents and not wasting them; a fitting message considering why we are here.  Looking forward to a good nights rest to group and tackle tomorrow

Jim Donner

to see more pictures from this team,  CLICK HERE!