FUN WITH BANNERS

Each day when students came in, they wrote down some good news on The Good News banner. Some of the kids didn't take this exercise too seriously, but others wrote that the good news was stuff like "coming to VBS", "seeing my friends at VBS", "thank you for my parents", "thank you for another day of life", etc.

The theme for this year's VBS was "THE GOOD NEWS TRAIN", and the train went to five of the continents of the world. The saying in Spanish means "Leaving our prints throughout the whole world", in other words, sharing the Good News throughout the world.

The banner has dolls from foreign countries, and each student decorated a handprint to put on the banner. The title was suggested by Daniela, one of the teachers from the Lutheran School.

Here are David and Luis Roberto (two students from my class).

I didn't take too many pictures this year, and the pictures above were actually taken after I left! My class had a total of 24 kids, so these are just a few of the kids...VBS is a very popular activity at the church, and the kids look forward to having it every November, which is when their two month vacation from school starts.

THE DIVING BOARD ESCAPADE

Yes, the diving board really did break off and then sank just like the Titanic to the bottom of the pool! But never fear, it was retrieved and brought out of the pool! Here's Bitsy, Pastor, and Jim!

THE "SANTOS LUTERANOS" SOCCER TEAM

We had an extra special treat our last night in Guatemala when we saw the "Santos Luteranos" (Lutheran Saints) soccer team from Mighty Fortress Lutheran Church of Guatemala City play a game. They were the only team in the league that had been playing without team shirts. Our Pastor Mueller from Trinity found a donor who donated the team's shirts and the special protective equipment for the goalie. The pastor of Mighty Fortress is in the 2nd row at the left and Pastor Mueller is next to him. He runs a very active youth program and pays for many of their activities out of his own personal funds and feels that through their youth group he is able to keep many of these "at risk" kids away from gangs. He is a true gift from God!

THE DIRTY HAMMOCKS

Here is one of our landmarks on the way back to the Hotel Longarone from Gualan. It's not uncommon to hear a team member say "Did we pass the dirty hammocks yet?" If we have, we know we're getting close to our hotel, which seems like an oasis at the end of our hot days in Gualan! Some day we are going to stop and check these out! The hammocks are actually beautiful and very colorful. This highway is the only road that cuts across Guatemala and goes to the port where all the fruit coming to the U.S. is loaded onto freighters. Dole and Chiquita trucks are driving by all day. So, unfortunately a ton of soot and dust is kicked up by all the vehicles that pass by, so everything gets very dirty. I've always wanted a hammock but don't know where I would put it!

DAMAGE FROM TROPICAL DEPRESSION AGATHA

At the end of May, Tropical Depression Agatha hit the Gualan area very hard. Thirty inches of rain came down in a very short time. Here Pastor Jasinto is explaining to us some of the things that happened. Fortunately the bridge that we see here in the background held up and did not wash away. But at the height of the storm, the water came all the way up to the bridge.

Many squatters were living along the edge of the river, and most of them lost everything and had their possessions and makeshift houses washed away.

MOST ENTERTAINING TEAM MEMBER

Although we didn't give an award for "most entertaining team member", here was the one who would have won the award -- Chris "Bitsy" Engel. He kept us all guessing and wondering what he would do next during the trip! We were at the hotel barely an hour, and he broke the diving board at the pool. It was probably due to a loose bolt, but nonetheless, we got a pretty good laugh out of it, once we realized he wasn't hurt. He definitely added a fun dimension to things. One of our goals is to get more Trinity youth to participate in mission trips. I certainly hope a lot more like Chris decide to participate in trips. He truly was a blessing.

PANAS

These fruits were on the trees at our hotel, the Hotel Longarone. They're called "panas". Looks like they could do serious damage if they hit you in the head! Don't know what they taste like.