Day 18 – Chicken Coops

We headed over to a small village just outside of town this morning to build to build the first chicken coop. Dirty floors, tin roofs, outhouses, stick walls, and no running water. The ladies cooked tortillas over a campfire… And yet the children were still able to smile without much hesitation. While a few of the men built the coop, the rest of the team handed out candy and crayons and coloring book pictures to the kids.

On the way over, I rode in the back of the truck to steady the wood for the chicken coops. As we drove through the mountainside full of crops and open fields, it reminded me of my childhood, working in the onion fields of Utah. In a way, it seems I have come full circle…

After lunch, we headed further up into the mountains to a town called Buena Vista (translation “Good View”) that over looked the entire valley of Guatemala City (pop. 14 Million). There, we were present for a “Key Ceremony” during which the Deep Stream team handed over the keys of a newly constructed home to a very emotional and grateful family. Though the home consists of nothing more than two rooms made of cinder block (no electricity, no running water, no bathroom), it is more than this family has ever had. As Brock presented the keys, he spoke about the church that funded the money… He said that is was a very small church that didn’t have much money, but that they wanted to be faithful to the call God had put on their heart. Then he spoke about his family, and how they didn’t know why they were supposed to come to Guatemala, but they came out of obedience. Lastly, he spoke about the team of workers who didn’t have plans to be doing this type of work a few months ago, but here they are. He closed with: “None of this was our doing, but moreso this house is a gift directly from God.”

Needless to say, I was a wreck. Quite candidly, it is tough for me to write these entries as my words nor my pictures can accurately describe the experience that is happening here. The emotions are overwhelming: extreme happiness coupled with a large dose of humility and shame. Either way, I will continue to do my best to keep this journal going.