Mission Accomplished

June 25th, 2006

A few moments ago, we went through the closing ceremony of this first Service Team to El Salvador, and we reflected on many things. We all had the chance to share with each other the picture that stands out most in our own minds from this past week. There was much laughter and many tears.

Earlier today, because of the grace of God, we were all able to walk out of Colonia Taberinto and prepare for our journey back to our comfortable environment back home. Should we feel guilty that we have so much after witnessing such extreme poverty? Tonight we all learned that we should use the blessings - the position God has put us in - to further the work being done down here. I pray that God will always help me to understand what my strengths are, and where he wants me positioned to best utilize those strengths.

It was an honor to work with such a great group of people this week . It was especially nice to share the experience with my own son.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers.

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Last Day

June 24th, 2006

Hey everyone. today was the last day and it was a fantastic one. we went to the village that we had been working in and all the kids and families had a presentation for us. some of the kids had prepared dances for us and others sang. after the party, we were able to hand out rice, beans, toys, candy, and the scholarship money to all the kids who had stayed in school for the month. it was a great way to end the trip. tomorrow we head back to texas, should be a long day of traveling. we will see yall soon.

christopher

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adios!

June 24th, 2006

It´s so hard to believe that our trip is over and we will be leaving to come home tomorrow. The entire trip has been amazing, but today was the most emotional for me. As we came back to the neighborhood to hand out rice and beans and scholarships for the children, we were greeted with applause and a fiesta in grand style! The families had put together a whole program of singing and dancing and poetry. It was truly touching to see how much thought and hard work they had obviously put in for our enjoyment. I have so many snapshots in my head that will never fade, and I will leave this place with an even stronger commitment to help this organization in any way that I can. I look forward to many more mission trips and the opportunity to share this story with any one who will listen. There is so much need here, but we have made a start and made a difference. Thank you for your constant prayers for us. We definately felt your presence here. Continue to pray for the families in El Salvador.

Laurie

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Can´t Say Enough

June 23rd, 2006

Two very appreciative families now have a more comfortable lifestyle thanks to a great team. Today was very meaningful as we watched those two families enter their new homes for the first time. An emotional moment for those that received and for those that gave.

Tomorrow we celebrate with the other children and families in the program as they receive their monthly support. We have gotten to know most of them better this week since they had Thursday and Friday off from school. A bunch of them hung out and watched the construction, and some were even very helpful.

Again, sorry we can´t get pictures to you yet, but we look forward to sharing the full experience with you when we get back.

Thanks for all of the interest, support, kind words, and especially your prayers.

Pete

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One more day

June 23rd, 2006

hey everyone. with only one day left, we have already finished both houses that we were working on. we got done early today and then presented the houses to the two families. each family gave us some cards as thanks. after that, we played frisbee and did some puzzles with the kids then went and played soccer at a local field. the little kids took it too us. it was so much fun. tomorrow we get to give out rice and beans to the kids who have stayed in school this last month then have to say our goodbyes. hope everyone is well and we will see you in a few days.

christopher

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wonderful day!

June 22nd, 2006

Today was unbelievable! We built a house! The family we are working with is so sweet and helpful. I am amazed at how beautiful these children are. We are having so much fun and working so hard. God is truly at work here. Everyday we come home totally whipped, but ready to go again the next day. It´s hard to believe that this trip is winding down. We should finish construction tomorrow, then hand out rice and beans to all the families in the God´s Child program on Saturday.

On a lighter note, Jamie was attacked by a duck today. She tried to hold one of the baby ducks, and the daddy duck became super duck and gave her the evil duck eye. The grandmother of our family finally had to come and shoo the duck away with her broom. I really think he was going to take her down! Everything has been wonderful. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Love and miss you all!

Laurie

P. S. Billy, just in cast you´re wondering… I think we should go ahead and retain contractors for the new building. We could probably build it, but it might take a really long time! I´ve learned that I have many skills… hammering nails is not one of them.

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June 22nd, 2006

Hey yall. we had another good but hard day today. we will have no trouble getting the houses finished tomorrow. all we lack is the door, window, and the roof. hopefully no problems will arise and delay us. thanks everyone for the messages that yall sent. i hope that everyone is having a great week. charles, sorry im missing out on vbs and the bible studies but im sure that you will be able to catch me up. talk to yall soon.

christopher

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June 22nd, 2006

The first night we went to a homeless shelter. I talked to a guy who didn’t have any family in Guatemala. He had 2 brothers in the United States and his parents had died. He wanted to trade me watches and when i told him no because my Paito had given it to me he said that his was dead, at least I still had a dad. Another guy, Marco, was trying to teach Christopher Mayan and decided he was my boyfriend. Another guy, Roberto, or Bob drew Christopher and I some pictures and drew our mom one and then decided that Christopher was his brother-in-law. We are almost done building a house for a family here. The kids are the cutest things ever, they helped us paint, and the mom is so sweet. the guy in charged, Eldiser, we call him El, is nice too. We have a security guard with us. His name is Manuel, he’s 20 and is going to school next year to lear english, just because he wants to learn another language. So for the exciting story of the day…..

El ataque por pato.

There and a bunch or ducks waddling around the mountains and they have ducklings. So before we starting working today I picked one up and was holing it and El and I had been joking about making duck soup earlier. Well, the mama duck didn’t like that and she started quaking and I was like hmmm I should put it down, so I did. And then out of nowhere the dad duck came flying down and was quacking away and was not happy and was eyeing me. So we starting working. I was in the house filling in the foundation and the dad duck was giving me the eye and then he came wadling toward me kind of puffed up. He was coming after me for picking up the baby duck. So the grandmother hit him with a broom and he left me alone. I told the security guard i was attacked by a duck and he looked at me and just asked if I was scared of ducks. I said no. I guess he’s not too sympathetic to duck attacks.

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What A Team!!

June 21st, 2006

It is amazing what was accomplished today. This is the most efficient team I have seen - ahead of schedule after the first day! Hoping to get some pictures posted sometime this week but can´t promise due to limited technology here - kinda nice actually.

Thanks for all of the kind words and comments so far, and please keep those we are serving in your prayers.

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June 21st, 2006

Hey everyone. Things are going great here so far. We have gotten a lot of work done these last two days. Monday was a blast, got to play some basketball with some little kids. They were all sad when it was time for us to leave, they werent ready for the game to end. We have three days of work left and we should have no troble getting the houses finished. I had forgotten how much fun it was using a pick to dig in the dirt. It was a nice reminder of the trip a few years ago. I hope that everyone is doing well and hope that yall have a great week.

Christopher

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