Saturday, May 22, 2010
We're here.
Day three of our trip has just started. We arrived in Nebaj, Guatemala late yesterday after some, shall I say, intense driving from Guatemala City. I don't have a great deal of time to post but I just simply wanted to let people know we were here. Amazing topography and scenery...WOW.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
17/05/10
Yesterday was packing day and an appreciation day for the family members of the team. We met at Ray and Kim's and had a great barbeque, awesome discussions, and more bonding. It wasn't just the team members that bonded either, it was everyone from adults to children. We were creating a community within a community.
It is really sinking in now about what I am involved in and I am getting really excited. The practice run for packing was a bit nuts for me. It is nothing like packing for a backpacking trip. There are number of variables to consider that when in the woods, I never think about. Things like metal detectors, weight and size restrictions, hungry conveyor belts that destroy laces and straps. It is also not recommended that I wear my hiking boots through the airport, due to the above mentioned metal detectors. Apparently it is best that I wear something I can kick off and on in a hurry that way I am not holding up the line. Thanks for the information Chris.
When I get a chance I will talk about the issues I am having with leaving work for a week and a half. Right now things are a bit hectic. Likely from this point I will be writing in my journal and since internet is doubtful where we are heading I will update the blog when I get back.
I would appreciate it if you could say a prayer for the team and our families.
Here we go team....:P
It is really sinking in now about what I am involved in and I am getting really excited. The practice run for packing was a bit nuts for me. It is nothing like packing for a backpacking trip. There are number of variables to consider that when in the woods, I never think about. Things like metal detectors, weight and size restrictions, hungry conveyor belts that destroy laces and straps. It is also not recommended that I wear my hiking boots through the airport, due to the above mentioned metal detectors. Apparently it is best that I wear something I can kick off and on in a hurry that way I am not holding up the line. Thanks for the information Chris.
When I get a chance I will talk about the issues I am having with leaving work for a week and a half. Right now things are a bit hectic. Likely from this point I will be writing in my journal and since internet is doubtful where we are heading I will update the blog when I get back.
I would appreciate it if you could say a prayer for the team and our families.
Here we go team....:P
Saturday, May 15, 2010
15/05/10
I have now registered my destination with the Canadian Consulate in Guatemala, with a little confusion on my part. I have also started packing, or atleast I have started to think about the packing process for the trip. This is proving a bit different than packing for a 7 day backpacking trip. When you add airports into travel things tend to get complicated. We will be travelling through Bangor International, LaGuardia, George W. Bush, and Guatemala City International airports and thus I have to think about going through metal detectors, straps getting caught or torn, and other things. Add to that, the warm, moist, and muddy climate of Guatemala and I will likely need to pack a good deal of underwear and socks. Usually when backpacking my pack weighs between 30-40lbs and for this I have a 50lb baggage weight limit. Good thing I'm use to packing light. The biggest decision I have to make is to pack into a backpack or a suitcase. I found this link helpful when considering my backpack as my check in luggage.
In last weeks Kings County Record I wrote a column on the upcoming Mission. I decided to post it on my main blog as well. You can check it out here: http://whalenswanderings.blogspot.com/2010/05/mission-trip-involves-two-communities.html
This will be the first in what I hope is a series of five. The first two will lead up to the Mission and the remainder will be about the trip itself.
LaGuardia is looming. Guatemala here I come :P
In last weeks Kings County Record I wrote a column on the upcoming Mission. I decided to post it on my main blog as well. You can check it out here: http://whalenswanderings.blogspot.com/2010/05/mission-trip-involves-two-communities.html
This will be the first in what I hope is a series of five. The first two will lead up to the Mission and the remainder will be about the trip itself.
LaGuardia is looming. Guatemala here I come :P
Sunday, May 9, 2010
09/05/10
It is Mother's Day today so let me start off by saying Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there, especially my wife and my mother. Despite it being Mother's Day the Mission Team decided to meet at our regular time due to it getting down to crunch time. We had a lively meeting with lots of laughs mixed in with the serious planning items.
Earlier this week we received our tentative schedule for our in country travel for Guatemala. I have posted it below as best I could but tonight we were told that we will not likely stick to any kind of schedule as things frequently change in this type of mission. The schedule does provide some insight into the activities that we will be partaking in. There are a few things I am really looking forward to. Interacting with the kids in VHII will be a great experience so VBS activities should be inspiring. Working in a locale that has limited resources will be challenging and to do this with language barriers will be eye opening and rewarding. Last but not least is the opportunity to see a volcanoe. All I can say to that is WOW.
OFFICIAL SCHEDULE IN - COUNTRY
May 20 - 31
CHURCH ACC
COMMUNITY VILLA HORTENCIA II
REGION IXIL
CITY NEBAJ
STATE QUICHE
COUNTRY GUATEMALA
Thursday May 20
20:55 PM Arrival STTC All Aurora Airport
20:55 - 21:30 Lodge and rest STTC All Semilla FH Van
Friday May 21
08:00 - 09:00 Breakfast STTC All Sarita FH Van
09:00 - 16:00 Travel to the Ixil STTC All Utz Laja Hotel FH Van
16:00 - 18:00 Free STTC All Utz Laja Hotel
Saturday May 22
08:00 - 09:00 Regional staff intro Admon. Office W
09:00 - 10:30 Leaving time DIL & STTC VHII FH trucks
10:30 - 11:00 Leaders' welcome DIL & STTC VHII
11:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC All VHII
14:00 - 16:00 Construction DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Meeting with Ladies STTC All Community
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Sunday May 23
08:00 - 13:00 Site seeing DIL & STTC All VHII
14:00 - 15:00 Home visit I DIF & STTC Community
15:00 - 16:00 Home visit II DIF & STTC
16:00 - 18:00 Church service STTC All VHII
Monday May 24
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Visit women's work site STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Tuesday May 25
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII
10:00 - 11:00 Home visit III
11:00 - 12:00 Home visit IV
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Women's training STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Wednesday May 26
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Women's training STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Thursday May 27
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII FH Van
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Women's training STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Friday May 28
07:00 - 09:00 Hiking DIL & STTC VHII
09:00 - 12:00 Farewell DIL & STTC VHII
12:00 - 13:00 Leave Admon All Pending W
13:00 - 16:00 Meeting and Staff Farewell DIF & STTC Admon Pending
16:00 - 18:00 Free STTC All W
Saturday May 29
06:00 - 13:00 Leave to antigua STTC All Common Hope
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch STTC All Doña Luisa FH Van
14:30 - 17:00 Entertainment & Shopping All Antigua downtown
17:00 - 19:00 Dinner STTC all Antigua downtown
19:00 - 20:00 De-briefing evaluation STTC All Hotel
20:00 ---------- Free Hotel
Sunday May 30
07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast
08:00 - 16:00 Volcanoe tour FH Van
16:00 - 18:00 Clean up
18:00 - 20:00 Dinner Van
20:00 - 04:00 Rest
Monday May 31
04:00 - 05:00 Leave STTC All Aurora Airport FH Van
05:00 - 06:15 Check in Airport All Aurora Airport
6:15 Leave country (CO 457) All Houston CO 457
Earlier this week we received our tentative schedule for our in country travel for Guatemala. I have posted it below as best I could but tonight we were told that we will not likely stick to any kind of schedule as things frequently change in this type of mission. The schedule does provide some insight into the activities that we will be partaking in. There are a few things I am really looking forward to. Interacting with the kids in VHII will be a great experience so VBS activities should be inspiring. Working in a locale that has limited resources will be challenging and to do this with language barriers will be eye opening and rewarding. Last but not least is the opportunity to see a volcanoe. All I can say to that is WOW.
OFFICIAL SCHEDULE IN - COUNTRY
May 20 - 31
CHURCH ACC
COMMUNITY VILLA HORTENCIA II
REGION IXIL
CITY NEBAJ
STATE QUICHE
COUNTRY GUATEMALA
Thursday May 20
20:55 PM Arrival STTC All Aurora Airport
20:55 - 21:30 Lodge and rest STTC All Semilla FH Van
Friday May 21
08:00 - 09:00 Breakfast STTC All Sarita FH Van
09:00 - 16:00 Travel to the Ixil STTC All Utz Laja Hotel FH Van
16:00 - 18:00 Free STTC All Utz Laja Hotel
Saturday May 22
08:00 - 09:00 Regional staff intro Admon. Office W
09:00 - 10:30 Leaving time DIL & STTC VHII FH trucks
10:30 - 11:00 Leaders' welcome DIL & STTC VHII
11:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC All VHII
14:00 - 16:00 Construction DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Meeting with Ladies STTC All Community
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Sunday May 23
08:00 - 13:00 Site seeing DIL & STTC All VHII
14:00 - 15:00 Home visit I DIF & STTC Community
15:00 - 16:00 Home visit II DIF & STTC
16:00 - 18:00 Church service STTC All VHII
Monday May 24
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Visit women's work site STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Tuesday May 25
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII
10:00 - 11:00 Home visit III
11:00 - 12:00 Home visit IV
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Women's training STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Wednesday May 26
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Women's training STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Thursday May 27
08:00 - 13:00 Sport Court construction DIL & STTC VHII FH Van
14:00 - 16:00 VBS DII & STTC All Community
16:00 - 17:30 Women's training STTC All Hotel
17:30 - 18:00 Free None All Hotel
Friday May 28
07:00 - 09:00 Hiking DIL & STTC VHII
09:00 - 12:00 Farewell DIL & STTC VHII
12:00 - 13:00 Leave Admon All Pending W
13:00 - 16:00 Meeting and Staff Farewell DIF & STTC Admon Pending
16:00 - 18:00 Free STTC All W
Saturday May 29
06:00 - 13:00 Leave to antigua STTC All Common Hope
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch STTC All Doña Luisa FH Van
14:30 - 17:00 Entertainment & Shopping All Antigua downtown
17:00 - 19:00 Dinner STTC all Antigua downtown
19:00 - 20:00 De-briefing evaluation STTC All Hotel
20:00 ---------- Free Hotel
Sunday May 30
07:30 - 08:00 Breakfast
08:00 - 16:00 Volcanoe tour FH Van
16:00 - 18:00 Clean up
18:00 - 20:00 Dinner Van
20:00 - 04:00 Rest
Monday May 31
04:00 - 05:00 Leave STTC All Aurora Airport FH Van
05:00 - 06:15 Check in Airport All Aurora Airport
6:15 Leave country (CO 457) All Houston CO 457
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