Every Stone Has A Surprise

The last few days have been a whirlwind, of travel, time difference, walking on cobblestone streets and getting used to life in Guatemala. We have had an incredible time learning about the God´s Child Project and all of it´s programs that it runs. Our orientation was kicked off by Jose Arevalo the Director or Programming in Guatemala.  He often reminds us that while we are building houses in Guatemala,  Guatemala is also building a house in our hearts, these words couldn´t be more true.  As our first day progressed we took tours, sorted donations, and did a little sightseeing. Including the infamous Hill of the Cross where you can see the entire view of Antigua! We also visited some beautiful areas in Antigua to see how people live, and a rare opportunity to see a Jade factory, where this blog title stems from. Listening to the man who managed the Jade factory, his stories were  filled with passion, and love for what he does.  Hearing him say again and again, every stone has a surprise was in this writers opinion a metaphor for this trip.  While we follow a fairly strict schedule for many of us these experiences are new. They come with tons of questions, unexpected experiences, and special moments.  It has been a wonderful experience to watch a lot of our newcomers react to these ¨"surprises"

As busy as yesterday was, by the end of the day our building teams were announced. This always builds excitement, and a little sense of competition, which can be good.  We have four teams this year. 

Team A

Arianna

Brennan

Taylor

Caroline

Ione

Pete

Team B

Walt

Bobby

Cameron

Colleen

Maisey

Antonio

Team C

Brendan D.

Zaine

Gabrielle

Kate

Liu

Kris

Team D

Mike

Grace

Brendan M.

Rachel

Patrick 

Our house building starts Monday! 

On July 4th, we started our day early at the Dreamer Center with our vegetable distribution, and it also happed to coincide with Field Day at the Dreamer Center. The Dreamer Center is the school/offices for the God´s Child Project, it´s best described as utopia for child, adults and educators. Open windows with lots of natural light, a large space to run around, an awesome playground area, and all the warmth and love of kids, teachers, and the great people that help run God´s Child Project. This also houses the Medical Clinic, the Dental Clinic, and now temporarily housing Casa Jackson.  This facility is where the Dream started for God´s Child Founder, Patrick Atkinson.  As our day continued we worked tirelessly to distribute vegetables, hang out with the kids, run around, dance, and just have a great time.  We brought a lot of joy, to so many kids today. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces, and while the spanish of our group isn´t that strong, the international language of play brought so many people together.  Parents, be proud! :) This day was also Ziplining day, at Finca Filadelfia. This place is a coffee plantation, serving up some great coffee, and also a ton of fun for our group! The majority of us wanted to zipline, a few of us took the coffee tour, and some of us stayed back to rest of for this evening and it´s celebration. Over dinner, we chatted about the various things we have experienced while we have been here. It was agreed that many of us don´t miss our phones, and love that we get to meet new people! 

While we can´t celebrate with fireworks, we undoubtedly make fireworks wherever we go! Tonight, we are at Monoloco or in english...the CRAZY MONKEY! It´s an American restaurant, a great place to hang out, chat, socialize and talk about our day.  Tomorrow morning we head to Lake Atitlan to no doubt have some more fun, and excitement before we start building our house in Guatemala, and Guatemala started to build more it´s house in our hearts!