I am currently unable to comprehend the fact that we are leaving tomorrow... This week has been so incredible, I would be fully prepared to drop out of school and just live at Dorie's! Everyone here is amazing, be it the staff, the kids, or the 4 other people we're sharing this experience with. I can't imagine a better way to have spent my Spring Break!

Today we started out visiting the dump and learning about the people who scavenge there to survive; it's completely overwhelming, seeing how the "lowest of the low" live on a daily basis. We then went to Safe Passage, an organization created to provide a meal and a safe place for kids, as well as to provide education for kids and adults. We were able to purchase jewelry made by some women out of garbage, which is an amazing way for them to earn an income. Lastly, we went to a "Dining Room" where we were able to provide kids in the community with some Little Caesar's pizza, thanks to the donation from one of the girls in our group. We're just about to head out and see Captain America 2 with the Dorie's kids, which should be great fun!

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. This trip would not be as awesome without the support from you guys back home!

Delaney

An Interesting Day

The day started early for Ethan today as he was feeling unwell and proceeded to throw up a few times through out the early morning :(  Today was our tourist day so we headed out to Antigua City about one hour away from Dories.  Half of us went on a zipline tour and the other half went on the historical city tour. We met up for lunch and then went to a market where out mission leaders were able to help us barter for the best price.  When we arrived back to Dories, Ethan was feeling better as he and Melissa spent the day relaxing.  There was a party for the kids at Dories that we all joined in on.  The party was a celebration for four of the children that have been officially adopted, and will be leaving in the next couple of days.  This was a happy and sad time for the staff as they have been raising these 4 girls for the last 6 years.

Things have been fantastic for us all here in Guatemala.  We are so blessed to be able to start every morning with an impacting time of devotions.  Today we considered the topic of validation and had the opportunity to take time to validate one another with words of encouragement and prayers of blessing.  It was our first time to leave urban Guatemala and head out to the country side.  We went to an agricultural community called "Paradise".  A college in Guatemala chose to impact this community by opening a centre that feeds the children of the community and helps them with their education.  This centre has been a light to the community and has been aptly named "The Light of Paradise".  Before this centre opened, girls received no education. Now they have the opportunity to go to school along with the boys.   Although the community is full of people harvesting delicious pineapples, cabbage, & tomatoes; the members of the community do not own the land or the food produced on it.  All of the food is removed from the community and sold elsewhere so these hard working land labourers have trouble providing more than tortillas and beans to feed their families.  Through "The Light of Paradise" the children receive ample nourishment and are growing physically and intellectually.  At the centre, we painted the inside of an outdoor pool.  Swimming pools are usually only for the elite in Guatemala.  The municipality has offered to fill the pool with water at no charge. We also built four large wooden bookshelves. Two bookshelves for school supplies and two for food.  The meager tools and items we had to build the shelves with reminded us of how much we have in our own country.  We visited four homes in the community to pray for them and distribute a food hamper.  We were surprised to see that one bag of groceries would be equivalent to a month's worth of food for a family with 6 children. That same family in Canada would likely go through a bag of groceries in one day not one month.  When we returned back to Dorie's Promise we were met with delicious homemade Chicken Noodle soup and shared lunch together before the majority of the team went to feed the babies of Dorie's and watch a movie with the older children.  Once again, Thina led a devotion for the Special Mothers and other employees of Dorie's Promise.  At the end of each day, we debrief about our highs, lows, and challenges of the day.  God repeatedly shows us how He is in control and meeting the needs of everyone we have met. Not only does He meet their needs but He blesses exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever imagine because He is so good!

A Very Productive Day

We had a great day today!  We started with a group devotion on how God uses our weaknesses.  We then piled into our mini bus and headed out to a shanty town where we were able to bless the people of this community by doing a few projects.  We split into smaller groups and each group went and visited a couple of families in their very meager homes and we were able to supply them with some food items.  We had a time of prayer with each family that we visited with.  Their whole house would be the same size as just one room in our homes. Our hardest physical task for the day was putting in a cement walkway.  We had lots of help from the people of the community.  We then delivered a bunk bed to one of the families.  It was awesome to see how excited the entire family was to receive it. We returned to Dories where Thina led a devotion for some of the special mothers while most of the rest of our group took over the care of the babies to give the special mothers a much deserved break.  A few of the ladies got their first experience with changing diapers.  :)  Thank you for your prayers and support.

p.s. Kara says hi and adios

We enjoyed our first full day in Guatemala.  We went to a state orphanage this morning.  We spent some time with a large group of special needs kids, some teen moms and some special needs babies.  It was hard to think of the life that these children have had to endure.  We returned to Dories in the afternoon and spent a lovely afternoon with the children in the yard playing a bunch of games and doing crafts.  Sorry no pictures today, having troubles getting the computer connected to the internet. We are all doing well and are in good health other then a few scapes from our games of soccer:)

Hello everyone! We have made it to Dories Promise successfully and are now settling in. After almost 24 hours with little or no sleep, we are all happy to finally make it to a place where we can lie down in a non damaging neck position ... (The fact That its above 28 is not too bad either!)

After finishing a delicious lunch, we have some down time until we head off to the park to play soccer with the kids. So far the impression of Dories is wonderful. The staff are extremely nice and welcoming, and the house is a great accommodation for the week. Here are a few pictures to bring to you up to date!

Waiting at the lovely Edmonton International Airport

We successfully got through security in Edmonton.  We will not clear customs until we get to Houston as they had already closed customs in Edmonton.  A few of the team already had a trip highlight by getting a ride to our gate.