The last day we piled into the pickup truck with 3 suitcases. One for Hector, one for JJ (Juan Jose) and one for our casa. We stopped at the clinic in Pastores where From Houses to Homes provides medical and dental care for the families of the FHTH workers, the families who have received houses, and the families whose children attend Escuela Kemna'oj. They have just recently added an OBGYN to their practice. Last year our group was able to leave over $1000 to cover antibiotic costs for patients.
We stopped in Parramos on the way through. Hector's wife met us in the central park to pick up the bag of stuff we had gotten for them. We had clothes and shoes for their children, extra work gloves, and a loaf of banana bread. We got a picture of Hector with his family and of JJ with his suitcase.
When we arrived at the house, it was time to paint. It was nice because dad was home and we were able to meet him. The boys were home from school too. We were a little conerned because they made us lunch and the chicken was missing. We were afraid our friend the chicken was our lunch! She showed up later though. :)
We painted the house green and gold. Packer colors! I guess if you are living in a cornfield, that's appropriate. They blend right in. We gave Byron and Elmer their soccer shirts and they loved them. It's nice to see those smiles.
The family served us a meal of chicken, rice and potatoes. It was good. They also made us a loco chili pepper that was roasted. Tim tried to take a bite of it and our driver said 'no no no no no'. He said 'maybe you take a little'. Tim said 'no seeds...I am fine'. He said 'maybe you just touch it?' Tim took a taste...I just licked it and my mouth was on fire for 45 minutes. Crazy hot. Hector took a piece and he was sweating nonstop.
After lunch we played soccer for awhile. We put a big bucket in the middle of a circle and everyone tried to kick the ball in. We had neighborhood kids..the crew from the other house and all of our crew. It was a blast. One of our boys finally made it in. So nice to see the kids coming together to play. The older boys took off for awhile down to the soccer field to play their last game.
The key ceremony as always was hard. Dad said first he thanked God for allowing this to happen. He said his wife said she had a dream that they would live in a cinder block house. He said when he heard this was going to happen 'yo no creo. Yo no creo'. I didn't believe it. His wife was crying. They thanked us again and again and again....and in turn, we thanked them for the opportunity. For the opportunity to get to know their families, their communities, and for allowing our kids to play with theirs. When it came time to hand the key over, we had Grace do it. She is the reason, after all, that we are all in Guatemala. The plaque at the house said 'Grace changes everything.' From Houses to Homes was kind enough to give me a wooden statue of a builder and a tapestry that thanked me. Those gifts mean more than anything we could find in the market. Memories are priceless.
We hopped in the back of the truck for our last ride home. We made a quick stop at the market again for some shopping and got some Guacamole to bring home for dinner. It was a good week. Thankful for this organization...and that I've been able to come down twice with some amazing people.
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