This Café Rocks...

This month the cafe had been doing quite well. Of course the World Cup has certainly helped. We have been full and rockin'! Yea God!

San Pedro Las Huertas...

This afternoon I sat in a meeting in San Pedro Las Huertas. An aldea of Antigua. This had to be one of the most beautiful days I have seen recently for the valley. I guess the location and the purpose of the meeting are what I found the enigma.

Still reeling from Tropical Storm Agatha, the details of life - post disaster - are still with us. There are people whose lives will ever be changed from this storm. There were 14 homes destroyed in this aldea just kilometers from more death and destruction in the neighboring community of San Miguel Escobar. While the Mayor of Antigua has replaced the land to the home owners that lost everything - to a different location - the children living with their parents, the home owners are now out on the street (if there was one - figuratively speaking) because the new land space is smaller than what the parents owned before the storm. Their grown children have no place/space to live with their parents as they used to.

This meeting was with these families, some 21 or so (approximately 100 people), in the very river bed that their homes were once located in.

From this vantage point you can see Antigua in the background.

Rain and Sand Don't Mix...

This last week I visited a friend's church in Zone 21 of the Guatemala City. You can walk out the front door of their church and see the Volcano Pacaya in all of its fury. They received a significant amount of the volcanic ash that fell after the eruption. Before they could clean it off, Tropical Storm Agatha soaked the ash with rain. Bad things ensued.

The roof collapsed during services. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But this is a church that needs a roof. They have packed into a provisional roof half the size of what they need. A replacment roof is estimated at Q30k - Q35k - this is about $4500 dollars US. As of today , they do not have the means to replace it. If you would like to help, please contact me I will show you how. mike@iglesiadelcaminogt.com

Why Bother...

It makes you wonder why would someone spend money on a car that is not much bigger than a motorcycle. It's either that or they washed and dried the car on the wrong cycle. This car often parks out in front of our house. Thank you God for something to laugh at almost every day - and you bring it to me.