A drizzly April day didn’t dampen our team spirits to assemble in northeast Tacoma to get our supplies in order and stashed in nine big suitcases and a duffle.
Today was kind of a capstone in our mission to as we prepare to go to Guatemala to install more than 100 stoves in the homes of two distant Mayan villages. After months of team-forming, organizing, planning, fundraising and other means of preparedness, the cramming all of our take-alongs in 10 large bags gave everyone a sense that we are just days away from grabbing that United Air red-eye to Houston and on to Guatemala City.
Mary Altena, one of our team members who will not be able to join us on the trip, offered up her house as an assembly point. After all, she has been the point of contact and coordination for getting the children’s gift bags, hot pads and eyeglasses together and was storing most of the stuff for us in her home already. Many boxes and plastic bags waiting. These included an assortment of tools requested by the Hands for Peacemaking field staff, several boxes of Spanish language Bibles, dental supplies, coloring crayons, notebooks, jump ropes, soccer balls, tennis balls, gifts for the village leaders, pencil sharpeners for teachers and other items.
At first it looked easy but we did have a weight limit to watch. We lined up all of the bags in one corner and began the pack job, weighing each piece of luggage as we filled it up to make sure it didn’t go over the 50-pound per bag limit. Each time we packed a bag, Dee Dirks would make a Post-It marking the weight and we’d slap it on to help keep track.
Ed Hong was the weighmaster, and figured out after a few surprises on “re-weighs” using our new electronic luggage scale that he had to re-set the device between weigh-ins or risk getting the wrong readout. Each time a bag went over, we would have to find another bag that was under and add more contents to that. It became kind of like a Tetris game until we reached sort of an equilibrium of nearly the exact weight. With only nine of the 11 of us able to carry bags, we could really only pack just nine but that would be a problem. That is until Ed volunteered to put all of his personal luggage in a single carry-on to allow us an extra. Even then we had to parse out a few items to team members to carry in their personal luggage so we could get everything in.
Meanwhile, Bil called the airlines and we learned that United now charges $70 per extra bag rather than the $50 in years’ past. There goes that budget item! Thankfully we have a little extra cushion to accommodate. We’re hoping we get some slack at the airport – perhaps whomever checks us in will cut us a deal because of our humanitarian work.
What are we doing? Our team will land in Guatemala City on Friday, April 13 and make a two-day jaunt to Santa Cruz Barillas, a small yet bustling city where the Hands for Peacemaking Mission House is located. There is also a manufacturing facility there, where local staff has already fabricated the 125 stoves we will install in two villages in the district. These stoves replace open- pit cooking fires that are traditionally used in village homes or their cook shacks. After we’re done, there will no longer be a build-up of creasote in the rafters as the smoke will waft harmlessly into the air outside rather than into children’s lungs.
After getting our stove installation training at the compound in Barillas, we will leave Sunday for the villages of Piedras Blancas and Nuevo Mirador Blancas, about another three-hours’ drive over mostly bumpy dirt roads by Landcruiser. We will work and stay in the villages for four days, sleeping on the floor of a school house. More about the villages to be detailed in future posts.
Although not everyone could make the “packing party” today, the team is ready and excited about the mission ahead. We finished the packing with Costco-made pizza, fruit, salad and soft drinks.
It seems like it’s been a long journey so far – we’ve had to collectively raise more than $50,000 to make this all happen. Thanks to members of the Marine View congregation, our friends and families and the willingness of each team member to did deep to contribute to their own expenses as well, the day of our departure is finally close. There’s been a tremendous amount of leg work too and volunteerism by far more than the team members themselves, for which we are all very grateful.
Tomorrow (Sunday) we will assemble one more time at Marine View Presbyterian Church for a congregational blessing, and then it’s just a few more days until our plane takes off just before midnight on Thursday. Nine of us are flying together – we meet team member Erik in Houston and Diane in Guatemala City.
We will try to keep posting these blogs from the field as often as time, technology and cell service/WiFi allow (mostly from Brian’s phone).
Next post: A formal introduction of the team.