A unbelievable last day

Today was really a dreamcome true for me. I shared with the students tonight that when we left Guatemala last year on the plane ride home I left with the challenge to do more for this country. We left last year having built houses for people that desperately needed them and we left having fed thousands of people with rice and beans. I knew the beans and rice would soon be all eaten and the house we build would one year rust and fall apart. I sensed God calling us to something that would leave a longer impact on more people. While atPassion this year I was introduced to Living Water. They build wells for people that do not have clean water. That was something I sensed God calling me to lead our Student Ministry to do. Long story short The students and adults involved in Student Ministry were challenged and they met the challenge and fully funded a well here in Guatemala. The total cost of the Project was $5,000 the money was collected in less than 5 months. Today we drove to see the village of 250 people and the well they now have. A big thanks to the support of people that saw a needand met it. ( See below for the detailed report.)

Words cannot express how I feel ton

ight. It truly was awesome to see children today drinking water that is pure. This water will not make them sick and they will have a better opportunity to survive so they can learn about a God that loves them and wants to have a relationship with them.

Thank you to all the people that have given to support this effort. I wish everyone of you could have been th

ere today to see the well. We have lots of photos and will be s

haring them all soon.

We all placed our hands on the well today and all prayed for the well and the village it will impact. We prayed that they will come to know a God that has provided living water that can meet their physical and spiritual needs.

God has really used students this week to impact the lives of people that need to know of his love. That is amazing!

COUNTRY OVERVIEW SUPPORTING DATA

Guatemala struggles with revitalization after enduring 36 years of civil war. Social services country-

wide strive to obtain pre-war levels while over half the population survives below the poverty line.

According to a recent UNDP Human Development Index report, Guatemala is ranked 118th out of 177

countries. Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America and survives among the 10

poorest countries in Latin America, according to UNICEF. Over half a million Guatemalans lack

access to clean drinking water and an estimated two million are without adequate sanitation facilities.

Decades of Civil War have forced many Guatemalans to reside outside their country. The distribution

of income remains highly unequal with approximately 7.1 million of the population below the poverty

line and just over 400,000

unemployed. An estimated 30 percent of the population is illiterate, leaving

Guatemala with the lowest literacy rate in Central America.1 Guatemala’s location on the Caribbean

Sea and Pacific Ocean leaves the country susceptible to hurricanes, significant flooding and

mudslides.1 The nation also suffers from frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity making efforts to

restore the war-stricken country near impossible.

The most serious issue hindering social development is health. Surviving in Guatemala are 75,000

children severely malnourished as a consequence of chronic poverty and drought.1 According to a

recent UNICEF report, infant mortality accounts for 40 per 1,000 live births and is double in isolated

rural indigenous areas, while maternal mortality is 89 per 100,000 live births nationally. Education

enrollment is declining steadily while districts suffer from school absenteeism and retention as drop-

out rates increase. According to UNICEF, five out of 10 students entering primary school in urban

areas complete primary school as opposed to only two out of 10 in rural areas. Considering 60

percent of the school age population resides in rural areas, this situation has become critical.

Utilization of contaminated water sources such as swamps, lakes, and open hand-dug wells have

weakened the nation. Water and sanitation-related disease, particularly diarrhea, are major causes of

death in many areas, particularly for children under the age of five. It is estimated that 80 percent of

the illnesses in Guatemala are water-related. Clearly an urgent need to develop safe water supplies

and basic sanitation for Guatemalans is paramount to the country’s survival.

Population: 12.7 million Population younger than 15: 40% Urban population: 48% Birth rate: 2.9%

Death rate: .5% Under-5 deaths: 4.5% Infant mortality (deaths per 1000 live births): 30 (compared to 7 in th

ECLA, Guatemala, 2007 Inter-American Development Bank, Natural Disasters, 2007 UNICEF, Guatemala, 2007

Project Report Submitted to: First Baptist Biloxi

People Served: 250

Project Report Submitted by: Living Water International

DONOR REPORT CONTACT

Chris Winter, Director- Director- Southeast Region Living Water International · P.O. Box 35496 · Houston, TX · 77235-5496 1.877.594.4426 · www.water.cc

GENERAL INFORMATION

The community of Linea B-2 is located in the Cuyotenango region and Schitepequez district of

Guatemala. The team thought that the community was so united and powerful. Most people in the

community earn a living through farming and fishing. Their previous water source was from an open well about one kilometer away. Drinking water from this well would cause dysentery in the community. The community helped out the LWI with the water project by providing materials, food, labor and security. When the well was complete, the community established a point person to be the caretaker of the well.

Testimony from a community member: Guillermo Sac, 48 year old farmer spoke with the team. “The old well was very contaminated. Many of our kids were getting sick. We knew of Living Water and had talked with other villages that received a well so we know how beneficial the clean water is to the people. Now with this well, our children and grandchildren will not get sick anymore. We are very happy, and we know that God has answered our prayers. Thank you, Living Water, for the project and thank you to the gringos that came to give us this well.

HYGIENE TEACHING

The community was so humble, kind and thankful about the project in their community. The hygiene classes went so well. The children paid attention and answered the questions well. They were excited everyday and ready to hear the lessons. Their teachers already taught them the importance of good hygiene. The ladies were so thankful for the classes and they shared some comments about the lessons. The teachers try really hard to get medicine.

Day 4

Day 4 (Wednesday)

Today was a great day in Guatemala. Today we divided up and made three groups. We had two construction groups and one school group. We started out with a great breakfast and headed out for out day.

The original construction site worked to finish replacing their roof and porch. We also worked to rewire their house. The team worked very hard to complete the tasks. At the end of the day there was just a little more to finish on the roof tomorrow. However, the electricity was complete. it was amazing to watch them pull the chain on the lights and see them come on. Their faces were full of smiles when the lights came on. Previously they had to twist the bulb to make the light come on and wires were exposed. It really was a great day at worksite #1.

At the school students continued to play with the children. Each day we have worked with two different grades yesterday they worked with second and fourth graders. The school serves grades K-Sixth which is about 300 students. Yesterday they made cross necklaces. Each day they sing and play and share the love of Jesus. It may be hard for them to use words to explain how they feel. Their smiles are amazing and their eyes show their excitement and love. It was also a great day at at the school.

We started a new work project today. Upon arrival they found a corn field and began to clear the area where a new home was to be built. They also found spiders. I will let them share all the details because some of you may stop reading at the mention of spiders. They got off to a great start and will continue tomorrow and start the foundation. It was a great day at worksite #2.

Students continue to serve with every ounce they have. You would be proud of their attitudes and commitment. Pray as they continue tomorrow on the final work day. Pray that they will finish strong and work safe. Pray they will continue to soak up the experience and learn from their surroundings. Pray as we continue to show the love of God with the people the last day. Pray we may leave a lasting impact on on them.

Thanks for your continued support and your prayers for everyone.

-Jason

Day 3 Guatemala

Today was another great day in Guatemala.

The work site completed the roof and will complete the porch on the house tomorrow. We are also going to rewire their house. Now when I say rewire don't think wow. Rewire here is almost like running new extension cords and plugging in a light. It is really simple here. We will add another work site tomorrow with another roof job.

The students also worked at the school today and shared the plan of salvation. They also had another opportunity to may home visits. Today they visited four homes. One of the homes had an eight day old baby. I would tell you his name but he does not have one yet. It was amazing to be able to serve a family with so many needs.

You would be so proud of your student and adults and how willing they are to serve. They go the extra mile every opportunity they have.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support of the team. Thanks for your blog comments...

Were off to bed.

-Jason

Day 2 Guatemala

Today (Monday) started with a great breakfast after a great nights sleep. We had our quite time and headed off to our projects for the day.

Half our group headed to the school. There they played with the students and really had great opportunities to show them lots of love. It was really amazing to see the smiles on their faces as they played. We also made a necklace that makes a cross. We decided to make these so we could have the opportunity to show them that God sent Jesus to die for them. Tomorrow we will make a bracelet that explains the plan of salvation to them. They also were able to make home visits to take much needed food and supplies to families. They had the opportunity to see first hand the physical needs of the average person in Guatemala.

At the work site the team put in a hard days work. We arrived to find a home that has a very leaky tin roof. The team started by taking of the whole patio area. Then they took of half of the roof that covers their living area. We wanted to make sure we were able to put back what we took off. It is the rainy season here so there is a good chance of rain every day. We were able to complete the half we took off. It started to rain on our trip home. There is a great feeling inside you to know that a job you did today provided shelter for a family that didn’t have that yesterday. We will go back tomorrow and work to complete the other half of the roof.

This afternoon we had sometime to visit the markets and find those great deals that exist in Antigua. It really is an experience all should have at least once. Today was more of a scouting day for the deals to be had later in the week.

Pray today for continued safety. Pray as students work on the work site and each do their best to complete the task. Pray for the students working with the children at the school as they share the plan of salvation.

Here we are Guatemala Twenty10

Sunday Day 1

Today was a travel day. We started out in the Gulfport Airport at 4:30am. Once we all got through the line and past security we loaded the plane. Only 23 minutes late for take off. Gotta love airport computers. We arrived in Houston and changed planes to Guatemala City. We made it safe and sound here just before noon.

Our team here from Mission Discovery was waiting for us just outside the airport. The short trip to Antigua was a smooth ride. The view here is amazing like always. Flying in on the plane you can see all the green farmland and coffee plantations.

Our hotel here in Antigua is Los Bucaros. It is a open air hotel, which of course means no A/C. Don’t let the no A/C part fool you. The temp her yesterday was in the low 70’s and the temp last night was in the low 60’s. We all found our rooms here to be nice and comfortable for missionary living. There is a nice courtyard in the middle with beautiful plants. We had an amazing diner. The menu was Steak, some awesome zucchini, a green salad and rice.

We concluded our evening with a worship time and share time with Rebecca missionary we will be working in. Her and her husband Andrew have been working in Guatemala 11 years. She really shard some great stories of how they have had opportunities to do some great work here. It was awesome to hear the voices praising God last night. Our voices filled the streets of Antigua with praises to God.

Tomorrow we will be working at the school here that has about 300 children. We will also be working on a construction project consisting of replacing a roof.

Continue to pray for our safety. Pay as we work with the children at the school and at the work site that we can show them the love of Christ. Pray for opportunities to share with them. Pray for Rebecca and Andrew the missionaries here. Thank you for your prayers.

Jason