Beneficio

So here we are... a week away from heading home. I feel like this has been an incredibly informative trip. I can't begin to tell you how much I have gained after this experience. I hope to share more in-depth with everybody when I return.

As I mentioned in my last post, Julio is the Guatemalan in charge of everything going on down here. The picture above is of Les and Julio walking back to Julio's after a trip to the future site of the beneficio. From the beginning, Julio has had the vision for using this co-op to help out the community of Santa Maria. The next step in that process is the building of a Beneficio or Wet Mill. At the Wet Mill, they will be able to process, ferment, wash, dry, and store the coffee until export. Up until now, they have only been able to process a small percentage of the coffee at Julio's, about 25%. With the addition of the Beneficio, they will be able to process all of their coffee, as well as bring jobs to the community, and offer the farmers extra income for taking part in the processing. There will also be enough space to start a nursery to grow new coffee varieties for the farmers, and work on an organic farming system.

A large part of this trip involved meeting with people that will help make the Beneficio project happen. We have met a few road blocks on the way, but it seems that after discussing the project with people, they are willing to offer assistance. Our friends Jonathan and Nicole are down here filming a documentary-style multimedia piece to help provide us with a medium to help raise support and awareness to the project.

There is a need for either Les or somebody else to be down here to help get the Beneficio started before the rainy season begins in May. I am looking into the possibility of coming back to help out with that if Les is unable. I know it seems like pretty quick notice to try and make it back down here, but somebody needs to be here and I would love all the experience i can get if I hope to replicate something like this in Africa or somewhere.

At the same time I am down here feeling God speaking to me about a different way to do missions, I am reading a book about a different way to do church. I am realizing more and more that living out the gospel no matter where you are is God's mission for us. I am also learning that being a very outspoken Christian verbally isn't always the best way to further the Kingdom. What I mean by that is this. I am a pretty outspoken Christian, as well as most of the people I associate with. A couple of friends that are here may not be the most outspoken, but show more of God's heart and Jesus' character than most of the people I know, including myself. They simply know how to love. I want that! I don't want to feel pressured to evangelize at every chance. I want to love at every chance, and thereby live out the gospel. Mother Teresa said "Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary, use words."

that's all i have to say about that.

After Two Weeks...

We have been here for two weeks now. I am learning more and more about La Armonia Hermosa and the culture here. There is a lot going on with the project and the people involved are great! The poverty down here in Guatemala is sort of masked by the Tourism of Antigua. We leave Antigua and head up Volcan Agua to Santa Maria de Jesus and the reality of the "Third World" becomes more apparent.

The project is really interesting. The people involved really have a heart for Santa Maria and want to see them succeed. Julio is the Guatemala in charge of everything, he is Les's go-to guy. Without him, La Armonia may not exist. He said his family are farmers and he is a farmer too, it's in his blood. He wants to spend more time working the project, but he needs to be able to feed his family. We are trying to find ways to make that happen so he doesnt have to teach, which takes up more of his time during the harvest season.

They are in need of a truck. We have visited 3 of the farms from the project, and you have to hitchhike out to a spot, then hike a half hour through some mountainous trails to get to the farms. After the farmers are done picking for the day, they have to put the 100 pound bags of coffee fruit on their backs and carry them back up the mountains to the road where they hitch a ride back into town. A truck would help out substantially. An added benefit to the truck would be that Julio would be able to give people rides on his way into Antigua for a few bucks a trip.

I came here knowing that the type of ministry that I would do would be different. It is... but it is also just like it would be in the States. I simply work with the people and find out what their needs are and try to meet them, whether it is food, money, or spiritual. That is pretty much the same thing I do at home, only the Guatemalan people are much poorer. The picture of the girl at the top is Melissa, Julio's daughter. She lives with her brother Melvin and her two parents in a house made of corregated metal sheets. We would probably use his house to store lawn equipment in back home. Julio just told us that he could have a house built on his property for about 16,000 Quetzals, or $2,000. Julio may not need saved, he is an elder in the Christian Church in Santa Maria, but he needs ministered to as he ministers to others in the community.

Hello from Chicago...

Thank you to everyone who supported my trip, I was able to raise well over my intended goal!!!

I hopped on the Megabus in downtown Cincy this morning and rode up to Chicago where I am spending some time with friends until the trip to the airport tomorrow morning at 3:40!!! I was able to get a very cheap flight out of Chicago to Guatemala City, and the bus ticket up only cost me $10!!! Very exciting...

I will land in Guatemala City tomorrow at around noon where the brother-in-law of a friend will pick me up and rush me off to a soccer game in Santa Maria de Jesus!!! I'm jumping right into some fun! Les and Jamie are going to be down on Monday, then we will be staying in Antigua.

I'm gonna go order another cup of coffee... see ya!