Mission Blog

Today is the day that I’ve been waiting for. I finally get to go and actually walk the the piece of property that we are considering purchasing for our relocation project. I first met with the surveyor at Doc Kenny’s clinic and we discussed the survey and the real measurements and boundaries. The surveyor, Willy, has walked all over the property and is very familiar with the terrain. This land is about 20 minutes out of Escuintla and meets our social/economic criteria. There is a school, major road, accessible power, small stores, and a clinic all close by. We will have to dig a well for water but the surveyor says the water table is very close to the surface. The terrain is very uneven and there will have to be a lot of work to grade the land to fill in some very low areas. We were told that the property was 2.5 acres. After the survey was done we found out it was only 1.5 acres. After our discussion with Willy, the three of us headed to the property.
We toured the land, talked about some potential water run off problems and what it may take to grade the land. This took most of the day. I do like this land and its location but it will take a lot of work before we can even begin thinking about construction. This is the first time we have ever considered purchasing property and I think he is asking a little to much considering the real acreage. This is where I’ll have to have my game face on and start negotiations. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny

Today was set up with meetings. First I went to the new compound site for Mana de Vida to tour the construction progress. This has nothing to do with us but it’s a relationship that I made last time down and we may be working jointly on some in country stuff with these folks. After the site tour I meet with Marlon the director of Mana de Vida. We talked about our progress with the land and how we may continue to be a partner with them. These two things took all morning till about 1:00 in the afternoon. After the meetings we had lunch with a guy I met that may have a better deal on property. We will take a look at his property on Sunday. This guy has several large farms here and deals in rubber trees, sugar cane and cattle. Great guy and we plan to get with him on Sunday morning to drive out of town to see what he may have. We now have two options for our relocation plans. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny

 

Arrived to the city late in the evening and Doctor Kenny picked me up and dropped me off at the Caprizzio Hotel. Arose early and headed for Escuintla. This town is pretty much ground zero for Fuego relief work and the base of our operation. I am with a young man named Makko and he will be with me today. We went to Alotenango where some new homes have been built for some of the Fuego victims. This town is on the back side of the volcano. We passed through Los Lotes, ground zero, and drove around the base of the mountain. I wanted to see what other NGO’s were doing Shelter wise. After the look see, we went to another camp where many people still are living. Several days ago the government moved all out of the camps and sent them back to their land and home remnants. In less than 24 hours the volcano erupted again and they moved everyone back to the camps. There is no dignity or privacy in these camps. And know one really seems to know what direction CONRED is going. I think the situation is worse now than before. From there we went back through Escuintla and headed north to the property we are considering. We now have a legal survey and that will allow me to walk the property but I first must gain permission before entering the land. I like the land and I hope we can negotiate a fair price. There is much work that will have to be done before anything can be done. I met a Cuban doctor here today. He is a surgeon that specializes in neck, throat and abdomen surgeries. For now I won’t mention his name. He is seeking citizenship here in Guatemala. He made $20.00 a day in Cuba and was allotted rice and beans each month just like everyone. If you want meat,sugar, milk etc. you have to buy it. When I get back I’m gonna suggest our family doctor cut his rates down to $20.00 a day…… yeah right. He is very humble and is a new believer. Not sure yet what happens tomorrow but I will push hard to enter the property. Things are moving in a good way but it’s hard to be patient. I must always remember that it’s His work not mine. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny

CI/GMSM are jointly headed back south again. We are hoping to finally get our plan of relocating several families moving forward. Our desire is to purchase property to build 10 homes on. That means 10 families will have a new beginning. We have found property and have paid to have a survey to see exactly where the property lines are and make sure the title is clear. Now that all that is complete I can walk the land knowing where all sides of the property are. We are hoping to make an offer on this trip and put down some earnest money. Should be an interesting process. PTL that we have some great locals who are helping us through this process. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny

Last week brought an opportunity that was made possible by what Give Me Shelter Ministries has done over the last 12+ years in Mexico and Haiti. We have invested time and resources into pastors who truly want to serve their people. By building a continued trust and relationship with these pastors it has opened up so many opportunities through out each country. Conscience International and GMSM sent funds via Pastor Felipe Hernandez from Nuevo Laredo down to FBC Oaxaca. From there their group traveled south to Ixtepec where the first wave of migrants from the Guatemala border were headed. They along with a small church in Ixtepec were able to bring aid to about 2000 people. Food, water and hygiene products were distributed. This small village is next to Ixtaltepec where we continue to build latrines due to the damage of the earthquake well over a year ago. As this was taking place we also sent Pastor Harry and a helper up to the north of Haiti to check out the damage from the resent earthquake and to see if we needed to consider aid of some sort. He went to Port des Paix and visited several small communities. When he came back, he felt that the damage was minimal and things were already being done response wise. The consensus was to stay focused on the roof project in Cayette. How blessed we are to be able to send out our brothers and sisters to do mission in their countries with out having to be micro managed every step of the way. That’s true investment.
Kenny

We headed out at 5:00 this morning to make sure we were at the red zone by 7:00 am. On the way we stopped by a local bakery to pick up some pastries to hand out to the officials at the road block. Sometimes to reach someone’s heart you gotta go through their stomach. I’m not saying that this really helped but they were stoked to get sweet bread and they put our name on the list to enter with the rescue workers.

We were able to walk in to Los Lotes a small town that has been on the news as one of the hardest hit areas. Most of the town is covered with ash, lava and mud. Many lives were lost and there is a large number of people missing. At least 300 is a number I keep hearing. The relief workers are working from dawn to dusk digging out the homes looking for bodies. At this point I do not believe they are expecting to find survivors. The flow looks to me like it was about a quarter of a mile wide.

Once we came back down I met with CONRED to discuss our plan of shelter once the relocation process starts. We are working with a local architect to draw up a simple, indigenous permanent structure. CONRED will submit the plan for approval. We will certainly need financial gifts for this project. Our goal is 10 homes to start the project. The homes will cost between 3500.00- 5500.00 per house. These homes will have concrete footer, floor, block walls and metal roofs.  We will use local labor but teams are welcome to join our efforts. Our readers can make this possible. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny