Guatemala!

What a great trip! I just spent the last 8 days in Chichicastenango, Guatemala working on the Good Samaritan Hospital. Our team consisted of a structural engineer, a hospital architect, a mechanical engineer, and an electrical engineer, as well as an architect, construction manager, and another intern from the Costa Rica eMi office. After examining the hospital, it became apparent that adding an eye clinic was more of a temporary fix to the hospital’s problems, so in addition to designing the eye clinic, our team compiled a list of immediate fixes, a 2-5 year plan for a hospital remodel, and a 10-20 year goal for the hospital.

Final Presentation (What a beautiful CAD drawing!)



Me and Rosco working in Chichi



Preliminary Presentation

I spent the next few days working with the hospital architect (Rosco), the structural engineer (Richal), and the other intern (Erika). Rosco reconfigured much of the existing layout to work much more efficiently, Richal made sure the building wouldn’t fall down because of the changes, and us interns created and updated the CAD drawings. I also worked with Rosco to create charts showing the planned expansion in the 2-5 and 10-20 year plans. I also got the chance to act as a translator as Richal and I went to material supply stores to determine the quality of the concrete, steel, and cinder blocks in Chichi.  I spent a few hours at the hospital with the construction manager (Josh) as we took all the measurements necessary to create a new as-built of the entire hospital. We measured all of the windows, doors, wall heights, and location of important features, and I will be creating a new as-built in the coming weeks. During the week, we also had two presentations to hospital administrators, doctors, and other people who were interested in the proposed changes.

The week wasn’t all work. We began every morning with a devotion and worship with the volunteers. We also shared testimonies throughout the week. What a great way to get to know the people you are working with! On a more somber note, one of the volunteers had to leave early to be with her mom who was not doing well after heart surgery. It was amazing to see her faithfulness as she went on the trip while her mom was in the hospital. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

I bought a painting and met the artist at the market!

We did get one day out on the town. Chichi is known for its huge, crazy street market, and we got to experience it first hand on Thursday. I again acted as translator as Rosco, Mike (the mechanical engineer) and I attempted to negotiate for the best prices on all sorts of souvenirs. We also got the chance to go out into the country to see a school and meet some of the locals. It was amazing to see the Mayan influence in Guatemala. The culture is nothing like Costa Rica or Mexico, and it was really neat to experience.

Thank for the prayers and support! Now that all of the crazy traveling is done(ish…), it’s time to adjust to “normal” life as I begin working in the office!



Little kids in a parade on Independence Day



In front of the hotel in the back of a truck

hmmm...

Should I be an architect?

Guatemala - Day 1

I made it to Guatemala! (The sign says "Estoy Aqui")

At our planning meeting this morning, the director (Tim) said that if we hear any explosions in the night that we shouldn’t worry…it is just the local witch doctors shooting off mortars. What a different place!

Today we looked at a hospital in Antigua to learn about local building practices and to look at the typical needs of a larger hospital in Guatemala. Then we checked on the progress of a previous eMi project, a school. After that, we braved the mudslide-covered roads and arrived safely at Chichicastenango. We will be looking at ways to add an eye clinic to the existing hospital, so we took a tour and met with someone who has worked with the hospital for a long time to find out what needs improvement. Tonight, we met with the hospital administrator and with the matriarch of the hospital to learn about their plans and goals, and learn how God has used this hospital to minister to people during civil wars and water shortages. This hospital (The Good Samaritan Hospital) is a great ministry for the town. Here are a few pictures from today’s adventures:

Antigua, Check out the cool colors and the cobble stone road!

Mudslide (There is road under there, I promise)

Panamoramic View from the top of the Hospital

Brief Update

I graduated from language school!  Thanks for all of the prayers and support; I have learned a lot and feel a lot more comfortable with Spanish.  I am far from being fluent, but I am able to communicate with my tico family (they are very patient with me).

The last week has been filled with many small adventures as I continue to explore Atenas.  With language school, all the interns went to a coffee processing plant where they produce from of the coffee used at Starbucks!  I also got to sample lots of coffee (black, no sugar) and I think I am becoming a connoisseur.

On the walk home from language school one day, some kids were looking up at a tree and called us over.  It turns out there was a sloth in the tree, just hanging out in front of someone's house.  What a cool place!

Last night my tico parents were running around all excited.  There was a caterpillar/butterfly trying to come out of its cocoon.  He didn't make it out last night, and is still there this morning, but it was neat to see its head sticking out and the cocoon shaking in the avacado tree in the back yard.

This thursday was dia de los ninos (kid's day).  My hermanito, Henry, went to school dressed up in clothes from the movie Cars (his favorite movie).  During the day, I also saw superman, a magician, and some princesses.  It was kind of like Halloween meets Christmas.  The kids get presents (I got Cars stuff for Henry and Disney princess stuff for Amy), and they can pretty much go wild all day.  So much fun!

I am about to leave for Guatemala for 8 days.  Please keep the team in your prayers as we work with local contractors and hospital staff in Chichicastenango.  We will be working on a master plan, structural, electrical, mechanical, and architectural drawings for the addition of an eye clinic to an existing hospital.  Please pray that I Spanish will come easily and that I will remember what I learned in school.  Thanks for the prayers and support as I head out of the country!

!Bienvenido a Costa Rica!

Mamon Chinos - A Sweet Sea Urchin/Eyeball-looking Yummy Fruit

Welcome to Costa Rica! I have been here for 2 weeks now, and it already feels like my home away from home. I am living here with an amazing Costa Rican host family. My tico (Costa Rican) dad is the pastor of the church I attend here, so there are Bible studies at the house or at church at least 5 days a week. They have been great opportunities to meet other ticos and to learn more about the culture. My tico mom is very involved in the church as well, leading Bible studies for the kids and helping run things smoothly. I also have a little brother, Henry (age 5), and a little sister, Amy (age 3). The first week, they ran away from me every morning. Since then, Amy has fallen asleep in my lap in the car, we have played tag, they have paraded around in my size 13 shoes, and continually begged me to throw them in the air and swing them around (I guess swing dancing does have its uses cross-culturally). My family loves to host others. Last night there was a party for the married couples in the church, so they had 30 people over while I helped babysit with Bethanny (another one of the eMi interns) and her tico family. Every Saturday and Sunday, we host a Uruguayan missionary couple that is studying at a Costa Rican seminary. We have also had meals with the other interns and with other members of the church. You never know who will show up (and it isn’t always announced or planned beforehand), so our family of four eats at a table set for six and the door is always open.

!Celebramos mi cumpleaños!

The focus of my first week was eMi orientation in Costa Rica. We had a daily Bible study with the eMi staff. We went through the book of Romans, and I was particularly challenged by Romans 10:14-15, which says:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?

I was also encouraged (while struggling with a new culture and language) by Romans 8:28, which says:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We also learned some do’s and don’ts (such as: Always greet everyone individually when you enter a room. This can take a while when entering a crowded room, but the Costa Ricans make it look natural. Never call others to yourself with your palm up; that’s how you call animals, and is very rude for people) We learned about the besito, which is a little kiss on the right cheek when greeting a woman (don’t get the side wrong, and don’t greet other guys like this!). During the week, the interns split up to do a photo scavenger hunt in the town to learn our way around. Some of the objectives included: ugliest street dog, shoddiest construction, and most unique fruit. We also had to go to the weekly street fair to buy food for lunch. That was an adventure because the vendors all speak Spanish, the fruits all look different and aren’t labeled, and the prices are different. (500 Colones = 1 Dollar, so fruit can cost hundreds of monies, and still be super cheap!)

My Oitside Classroom

The second week has been full of language school. School is located behind a house in gazebo-like huts with ten roofs and surrounded by all sorts of trees, including banana trees (and the bananas make great snacks, for students and birds!). The classes are pretty much private lessons; Bethany and I have a teacher to ourselves. During class, we have role-played, drawn pictures of stories read to us, danced and wrestled with the teacher, and talked about Diane a lot :) During school, I have seen some big birds, dogs, huge spiders, and fairly large lizards. The teacher laughs are how easily I am distracted by the wildlife, but it sure is cool!

It has rained every day so far…I live in a tropical rain forest.

Speaking of rain forest, yesterday we got to go to the beach and on a canopy tour! The beach was rocky, but the water was the perfect temperature. The canopy tour was amazing! I am scared (I say scared because I don’t know a better word) of heights, but this was a blast. There were 6 zip lines and a tarzan swing through a tropical rain forest. The platforms looked like the Ewok cities from Star Wars!

This week I had my first weekly mentoring time with Micah, one of the full time eMi staff members here. We met at a coffee shop and tried to figure out what we wanted to study. If you have any suggestions of good books to study, or books of the Bible, or books about marriage, please let me know.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support as I attempt to fit in to a new culture, build relationships with locals, and learn me some Spanish.