Rain, rain, go away!!! It has been a very rainy few days here in Sololá as torrential downpours from Tropical Storm Alex (now a hurricane) have pounded the area. Fortunately, the sun is actually peeking through the clouds today and it appears the storm has passed our area.
The heavy rains didn't dampen our team's spirits. We spent much of the day Saturday working at a Compassion International host site in Sololá. The teachers and children had been preparing for our visit and each class performed songs and dances for our team. It was absolutely heart-warming and precious. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, reading Bible stories and teaching skills to the children. Blake and Ethan taught the children some basic self-defense movements. Finally, after sharing a snack of tortillas and hot chocolate with rice, we said goodbye. The program director had all the children pray for us. There just aren't words to describe the beauty of that moment.
An interesting side-note about the Compassion project: Caroline's Promise has visited this project several times over the past few years. Each year we are so impressed with the great work that Compassion is doing with these kids and in the community. Perhaps the best evidence of the impact this program is having is the fact that many of the teachers at this project were, at one time, children who were sponsored through Compassion International.
Two of our team members, Jordan and Tiffany, are recent nursing school graduates. Phil, an ER doctor from the states (affectionately known as “Dr. Phil”) and his daughter, Molly, are currently staying with us here at Eagle's Nest. While the rest of the team was at Compassion, Phil and Molly took Jordan and Tiffany across the lake to San Pedro to visit a medical clinic there. They helped in the pharmacy and also assisted with some patient care.
Monday evening, the rest of the team took a harrowing van ride down to Panajachel for dinner and to pick up Jordan, Tiffany, Molly and Phil. Due to the tremendous amount of rain, there were several areas where debris from small landslides had partially blocked the roadway. At one point, Blake and Ethan helped some locals remove a tree that had fallen in the road. Thanks to their help and the amazing driving skills of Claire and Larry (the Directors of Eagle's Nest) we made it there and back safely. But, most of all, we thank God for His protection.
Today (Tuesday), our teacher team (Doris, Esme, Joanne and Lisa) is conducting a day-long teacher training workshop for the teachers who work at the school located here at Eagle's Nest. We're also doing our first day of ministry with the children from the village who attend the Manna feeding program that is offered at Eagle's Nest.
Unfortunately, it appears that a stomach bug is making it's way through the team. No one has gotten seriously ill, but the people who are getting it feel pretty awful for several hours while the virus runs it's course. Please pray that the illness will stop spreading and for the team members who are currently under the weather. We are very thankful that “Dr. Phil” and our two nurses are here to look after us!
Finally, we are slowly but surely adding pictures from the trip to our Flickr account. You'll see a link on the right side of this blog. Thanks to Joanne for the great job she is doing capturing our experiences.
The heavy rains didn't dampen our team's spirits. We spent much of the day Saturday working at a Compassion International host site in Sololá. The teachers and children had been preparing for our visit and each class performed songs and dances for our team. It was absolutely heart-warming and precious. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, reading Bible stories and teaching skills to the children. Blake and Ethan taught the children some basic self-defense movements. Finally, after sharing a snack of tortillas and hot chocolate with rice, we said goodbye. The program director had all the children pray for us. There just aren't words to describe the beauty of that moment.
An interesting side-note about the Compassion project: Caroline's Promise has visited this project several times over the past few years. Each year we are so impressed with the great work that Compassion is doing with these kids and in the community. Perhaps the best evidence of the impact this program is having is the fact that many of the teachers at this project were, at one time, children who were sponsored through Compassion International.
Two of our team members, Jordan and Tiffany, are recent nursing school graduates. Phil, an ER doctor from the states (affectionately known as “Dr. Phil”) and his daughter, Molly, are currently staying with us here at Eagle's Nest. While the rest of the team was at Compassion, Phil and Molly took Jordan and Tiffany across the lake to San Pedro to visit a medical clinic there. They helped in the pharmacy and also assisted with some patient care.
Monday evening, the rest of the team took a harrowing van ride down to Panajachel for dinner and to pick up Jordan, Tiffany, Molly and Phil. Due to the tremendous amount of rain, there were several areas where debris from small landslides had partially blocked the roadway. At one point, Blake and Ethan helped some locals remove a tree that had fallen in the road. Thanks to their help and the amazing driving skills of Claire and Larry (the Directors of Eagle's Nest) we made it there and back safely. But, most of all, we thank God for His protection.
Today (Tuesday), our teacher team (Doris, Esme, Joanne and Lisa) is conducting a day-long teacher training workshop for the teachers who work at the school located here at Eagle's Nest. We're also doing our first day of ministry with the children from the village who attend the Manna feeding program that is offered at Eagle's Nest.
Unfortunately, it appears that a stomach bug is making it's way through the team. No one has gotten seriously ill, but the people who are getting it feel pretty awful for several hours while the virus runs it's course. Please pray that the illness will stop spreading and for the team members who are currently under the weather. We are very thankful that “Dr. Phil” and our two nurses are here to look after us!
Finally, we are slowly but surely adding pictures from the trip to our Flickr account. You'll see a link on the right side of this blog. Thanks to Joanne for the great job she is doing capturing our experiences.