It’s a grand day when we finish our stove and water filter installations, which the Marine View team did today in homes nestled amidst the beautiful hills and gardens that surround the school where we stay at Montenegro. Each of the five stoves teams installed their five remaining stoves and was in by 1 p.m., in time for another delicious meal by Mimi and crew.
The number of stoves we installed was actually a little below than the 135 we had prepared for – closer to 114 in fact. Marco explained the lower number was due to some home owners not responding to repeated requests to include them in our village stove coverage. But that’s okay, the funds we raised for the larger amount of stoves will go toward other village needs. Marco has met with the principal of the school and others to identify what some of those needs might be.
I am pleased to report that other than some bug bites and such all team members are healthy and really enjoyed their time in Montenegro, working in homes and especially interacting with the children. Besides the scenery I heard lots of comments about how well we were treated by the villagers and how grateful they were for our presence.
After some rest in the afternoon we again drove down to the local river to swim, just as many of us had done on Tuesday. It’s a bumpy drive down, especially while standing in the back of a pickup truck, but worth it as the coolness of the river flows over us after a hot day’s work. Marco and Alex took us to a pleasant park along the river, which involved crossing a long but sturdy wood and steel suspension bridge with a bit of a bounce to it.
This afternoon’s trip had a special purpose. Team member Nancy Voorhees decided to be baptized while in the village on this mission trip. Marco had invited the associate pastor from his church, Pastor Johnny, to preach to the villagers tonight anyway and the pastor was more than happy to perform the full-immersion baptism in the river in front of the team. A special and powerful moment for all who were there to witness, and possibly a Hands for Peacemaking team “first”.
Following dinner tonight the team assembled with the villagers in the large covered room by the school, where the villagers saw a stove maintenance video, heard a message from the pastor in their native Mayan language and were treated to a slide show Marco had prepared of team members working in their homes – always a hit.
On Thursday after breakfast we present villagers who need them with reading glasses, attend a closing ceremony where we say goodbye and the villagers formally thank us for our time here then head out. It will be a long day as we make a brief stop at the mission house at Barillas to get lunch and gather our things then drive another five or six hours to Huehuetenango.
I’ll write more later in the week. In the meantime, enjoy a few more photos below.
Best,
Brian
Curt with kids at tonight’s gathering
