Guatemala: Friday Recap

Friday was our last day on the build site followed by travel back to Antigua.

Our goal on the build site was to get the foundation finished and all the block moved to an easier place for the masons to work once we leave them. Finishing the foundation involved infilling with dirt into each of the rooms of the three room house; moving buckets of cement to fill the U-shaped CMUs of the base; and filling the CMUs with the cement. To accomplish this we made a chain to pass the bucket down and our ever energetic friend, Jason, quickly returned the buckets once emptied, to be filled.

Our next task of the day was buying out all the handmade bags and frames made by our home owners talented brother.

After a short break so the masons could accomplish their tasks, we moved on to moving block from the street to the interior of the house. Again we used the chain system and had the help of our hard working friend, Alan. The statement "many hands make light work" could not ring more true than for a task like that. Mind you, they grew much heavier than light after passing the first hundred or so, but with a great team and high spirits, we were able to accomplish the task with teamwork and strong hands. Some of the guys even got pretty good at tossing the blocks to each other!

Four members of our team built our fifth and final stove of the week. They even got to enjoy a water balloon fight with the local women! This community and these women were so welcoming and inviting to us. All of them made us tortillas and stew and other special treats throughout the week as we worked in their homes.

While we were moving block, our leader Fredy paused to translate a phone call from our family partner, Ana. She is in Guatemala City all week for work and wanted to make sure that we knew how grateful and thankful she was for the work we put in on her house. Fredy told us he had never had a family partner do that before. How kind it was for her to go out of her way to make a call to tell us of her gratitiude!

After lunch when the other team arrived we had a closing ceremony with the Habitat Guate staff, the family and community members present, and our team. This was the first and only time our whole team was together at the house. The time was filled with heart felt thanks and gratitude, a few tears were shed, and we even got a smile or two from el hefe, Jorge. (He was a hard egg to crack!)

The affiliate did as all good Habitat affiliates do and ended the dedication with treats! They gave us a delicious cake that all were excited to have, especially the kids , and the choice of Coke or Pepsi to wash it down. (The pop here is better because it is actually made with sugar.)

After the ceremony we took our last pictures and said our goodbyes and drove away one last time from the piles of block and sand and gravel that will soon become a home filled with love, hard work, and laughter.

With the help of a Habitat team, a house with Habitat Guate will save the masons 8-10 days of work. Each house only receives one team, so no matter what phase you come in on, you will do the same tasks of tying all the rebar, mixing cement, and hauling block. The technical work of block laying is left to the masons and their knowledge and talent to complete.

Once back to the hotel, we all quickly cleaned up, packed up, and loaded up to head back to our home for the next two nights in Antigua.

We arrived in Antigua with time to settle in a little and do a few quick errands and shop at the Habitat de Kayla shop setup in our lobby. We all were happy to buy shirts and hats from our new friends to support and promote the affiliate and Global Village program.

After shopping to our hearts content, we went out for another delicious meal and enjoyable evening with the team.

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It is Saturday morning as I write this and the sun is just waking up here. We have the day to explore and see Antigua and get all our souvenir and food tasting in. Nine of us will go to hike a volcano this morning and hopefully roast marshmallows over the heat coming from the ground. Don't worry, Mom, they don't let us hike the active ones...I think!