Hola … Regresso de Guatemala

I just returned from an incredible nine days in Guatemala with Common Hope. Highlights:

• Visit to Mayra, Dimas, Dimas Jr., Ana Maria and the AMIDI crew in spectacular Pachay Los Lomas

• Clicking from the get go with our fellow Common Hope team from Glen Ellyn, IL

• Teaching a cooking class to ten teenage Common Hope sponsorees (is that a word?) and catching them sneaking extra bites of sauteed squash and Swiss chard

• Cooking a chicken stew for 50 kids in the village of San Rafael, and having them chant “rico huisquil!” (yummy squash!) after being told numerous times that they wouldn’t touch vegetables (and in a rustic kitchen, using frozen chicken, in an hour and a half to boot!)

• Seeing–celebrating–our God son Rene Antonio, who we started sponsoring when he was six and is now turning 17 and graduating from high school with a very rosy future ahead of him

• Building a house from start to finish (and blessing) for a wonderful, deserving family of five

• And, of course, just being in the country that so stole our hearts, and that we can’t wait to return to with our daughter

The trip–and the people we were with–inspired hope, thought, and lots of questions. More to come …

PS — If you’d like to sponsor a child (it’s the best $60 a month you’ll ever spend–education, healthcare for the whole family, skill and trade training, tutoring, the chance to ‘earn’ necessities like a house and stove, etc.) or contribute to the fund that sustains as yet unsponsored children, you can do so here. I can vouch personally on many levels for the incredible ways that Common Hope is working to empower people to pull themselves out of poverty!