Click on a date below to see the photos from that day. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger view of a photo.

• 2/18/2011 - Woody and Robin arrive before the rest of the VIM team to ascertain the status of the construction progress, so that plans may be laid for the next two weeks. They spend a little time helping Team 2 and enjoy the celebration program put on by the school children.
• 2/19/2011 - The remainder of the team from Tennessee and the West Ohio Conference arrive in Guatemala City, journey to Mazatenango and settle in at the Hotel Bambu.
• 2/20/2011 - Sunday starts slowly as team members get their first night's rest on the concrete "box springs" and acclimate to the 90+ degree temperature. In the afternoon we worship at El Fuente de Vida where Pastor Manuel's congregation continues to flourish. Those for whom this is their first mission to Guatemala are quickly introduced to our old friends.
• 2/21/2011 - Today is our first day in service. Robin, Jeanne and BJ work at the clinic near San Antonio Barrio Dos with help from Angel on scheduling patients. Thomas stays at the hotel to grocery/market shop and prepare our dinner (he will do this for the entire first week). The rest of us head to La Toma where we are to continue the construction of two additional classrooms for the school there. Today we take down bond beam forms, build new forms for the porch column posts and build the roof trusses.
• 2/22/2011 - The dental clinic and construction crews are the same today, except that Bible School begins today. The La Toma school principal has agreed to let us do Bible school in each of their 13 classrooms, doing 2-3 per day, roughly at 9:00am and 10:30am. Five team members plus our interpreter, Chester, and sometimes our bus driver, Adolfo, help Sarah with Bible School. After the introductions and singing, Howard returns to construction while the others lead Bible stories and crafts. Note that each class has 40 to 65 children each, so managing this large a group is quite a challenge! Today the concrete for the porch columns is poured, and the trusses are set.
• 2/23/2011 - Today brings one team switch: Vona joins the dental team, and BJ joins the Bible School team. On the construction site, the porch header, porch joists and the roof purlins start to go up.
• 2/24/2011 - BJ returns to the dental team today, and Vona returns to the Bible School and construction teams. The porch and roof purlins continue to go up, and the decking on the roof commences.
• 2/25/2011 - Today Robin, Jeanne and BJ venture to a remote village with two local missionaries to provide dental care. Bible School is another big hit, and the classes remaining can hardly wait until Monday. On the construction, we continue with the roof decking and the purlins (until we run short of 2x4 material).
• 2/26/2011 - It is Saturday. We take a break from the construction, dental work and Bible School to do a little sightseeing. We journey to Chichicastenango to shop and eat at Ruth y Nohemi's and shop the market the next day. Along the way, we pick up Adolfo's wife and three of his daughters, and we make a brief stop at Salud Y Paz. Everyone enjoys the scenery along the way and is delighted with the accomodations at Hotel Santo Tomas.
• 2/27/2011 - It is Sunday, and market day in Chichicastenango. The market in Chichi is quite unique, so everyone takes a few hours to stroll around and see the sights. On our way back to Mazatenango, we stop for lunch in Quetzaltenango and a visit with Irene, our interpreter from past years in mission here.
• 2/28/2011 - Back in mission today, the dental team moves to La Toma and sets up shop in the local Methodist church. Russell switches off with Thomas to handle chef responsibilities, and Thomas joins the construction crew. Today Bible School is done in three classes, so that group serves constantly until 12:30. On the construction site, the roof decking continues while the final purlins and fly rafters are put in place. We have a small accident though. A board from the upper roofing crew drops on Howard's head. Former EMT Vona jumped to his aid, and she and Sally took him to see Robin at the dental clinic. Four shots of novacaine allowed Vona to remove his hair and clean the wound, and then Robin "made it all better" with five stitches using a suture kit he was given at the remote clinic on Friday.
• 3/1/2011 - Today Patricia helps at the dental clinic to get a feel for that part of our mission, while BJ plays with the children at the construction site. Bible school was completed yesterday, so everyone gets the opportunity to be in the full sun all day. It is hot!!! By the end of the day, ninety percent of the roof decking is done, the fascia is on, and the first row of aluminum roofing is in place.
• 3/2/2011 - This morning the school has put together a program to express their gratitude for our evangelical, dental and construction efforts. The children perform a variety of traditional dances and a play. Each team member is presented with a momento of our time in their community. In the afternoon the decking and aluminum are completed. We give the children hugs, and everyone looks forward to seeing each other again in the future.
• 3/3/2011 - We start the morning by sharing communion together. During the bus ride to Antigua, we enjoy the scenery of volcano after volcano and eat ice cream at Sarita's. In Antigua we have our traditional lunch at Frida's, do a little shopping in the afternoon, and then dine at a small Italian restaurant.
• 3/4/2011 - Today Woody, Vona, Diane, Russell and Calvin hike Volcano Pacaya. Since it erupted again eight months ago, the hike is different yet again. Sarah and Robin visit an old missionary friend in the area. The others tour the historic sights in the city.
• 3/5/2011 - After breakfast at Cafe Condesa, some people do a little shopping before boarding our bus for the airport in Guatemala City. Then it's back to the States for everyone, feeling blessed to have served and honored to share His love with so many Guatemalan friends.

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