Before We Go . . .

Day 7 Monday - June 14th, 2010

We visit Lake Atitlan (2nd biggest tourist spot behind the ruins) with the exception of the deathly-ill Lori (Frommer's exact diagnosis) and "Dr. J" himself. The rest of us head out into the lake and stop by a few of the local villages. The sight of the two (active) volcanoes is gorgeous.

One of these happened to have a celebration. Said celebration was a ritual designed to cure a few people of alcoholism. The method? The alcoholics drank themselves stupid in front of statues (idols) in the hopes that the saint for which the statue represented would cure them.

Not much of anything eventful occurred outside of John getting a brain freeze from a sunday and Loncar and Kelly taking turns at piloting the boat back to our shore of origin.

Steak dinner at the Leiva house (I have now consumed more steak outside of the US than in - there's probably something wrong with that).

Next Day, On the plane ride back:

Loncar's poncho-sun-glasses look resembles a South American uni-bomber.

And now, we are planning ahead to next year's trip.

Heading Back

Day 6 - Sunday - June 13 - 2010

Apparently, the rainstorm caused a mudslide on the road a ways away from the house. Greg W., Mike, Frommer and Lori go down to assist with the digging out of the road. The rest of us pack everything away minus the stuff we brought to donate.

At the gate, we figure a way for everyone to ride - with some of us riding on the vehicles. With the mudslide cleared away (It wasn't really that big, maybe two car-lengths of road was under mud) we pick up the others and are on our way to the nearby "bus-stop".

There, the bus comes along and we can all ride inside a vehicle with the exception of Greg W and Loncar. This goes on until we get to a point right before the popo have a trap set for motorists breaking the law (which happens frequently). (A.D.D. Moment: Espanol uses the term "popo" for poop.)

We have lunch at Saritas (again) and take a group photo.

Dinner at Karina's with awesome food, awesome coffee and some awesome fellowship. Zak at one point got tired so he curled up by the fireplace - pics were taken and Loncar become involved somehow.

Watched A-Team at the theater, it was alright considering the Mr. T character wasn't quite the same as the show. (Considering my age, I shouldn't know that, but with re-runs, I do.)

We then finish off the day with coke, rum and rap (we doubt if the missionaries who live in the house normally have that as their music selection, but, who knows).

Last Call

Day 5 - Saturday - June 12th 2010

Projects undertaken today:

A group went to finish the bunk beds.

Another stayed to do a VBS for the children.

Both Cory's, Frommer, Lori, Greg and I went with Armando and Paulino around the village area to talk to people, learn about them and find out just precisely how we can help improve their community. We also handed out Spanish Bibles. One lady had rocks in her yard that she needed moved out of the way, so we moved rocks from one spot to another (wait, what? . . . moving rocks again?). One rock was particularly heavy, but I happened to find that it easily cracked apart under a few strikes from a garden hoe. We chipped away at it until it was small enough to move.

Following:

A game of soccer with myself, Jeremy, Lori and the rest Guatemlans VS Waugs, John, Greg and Guatemalans with myself and Cory each teams respective net-minder.

Unfortunately, Lori suffered a minor foot injury and spent some time on the bench - only to return to play for the other team. Part-way through the game, a Guatemalan fellow named Julio came along and played for our side and really well despite wearing jeans and boots. John scored on me twice, Greg and Lori got off a few shots, but I kept those out.

Later that night:

Really heavy Thunderstorm. Dinner and packing for our morning departure.

There are plans to walk to the Church for a Saturday night service. The rainstorm is keeping up but we are going anyway. Going on this crazy venture are: Kelly, Mike, Zak and Natalie, Frommer, Lori, Paulina and myself. Lacking proper anti-rain gear, we wear trash bags. It wasn't too bad . . . until we get to the bridge where the stream is just below it or rather, I should say that the stream is just ABOVE the bridge. It's ankle deep and we hold hands crossing for safety.

Getting to the Church: We see that the Banos is still standing and also find that the locals appreciate that we would also brave the elements for the service. Karina expertly translates the message for us. I, unfortunately was still tired and missed parts of the message, but it was mostly to do with Genesis 39.

We make our way back to the farmhouse where we dry off and go to sleep.

The Road Is Finished!

Friday - June 11th, 2010

As the title would suggest, the trouble spots in the road are now finished!

This morning, Kelly notices the mosquito bites on my legs turning purple and yells at me for not using enough repellent. She then offers me hers and threatens to beat me up should I continue to neglect using the repellent. I'm glad I have friends that care that much (This is to be meant sincerely).

As for the rest of the day, we paved the area in front of the shack were we have been staying.

John helps wrangle a 6ft Boa Constrictor into a bag and thus earned some man-points. (Josh's side project for this trip is to turn John into a man).

I'm particularly tired today, also feeling kinda useless. Went to bed early.

And Now the Real Fun Begins!

June 10th 2010
Morning
Breakfast with coffee and fresh fruit - groups disperse.

Myself, both Cory's and Frommer work on the road. We are to go to the "trouble spots" and pave them so vehicles have traction going up. Others fix a roof and the rest have a VBS for the kids.

We dig out tracks then filling them with rocks and cement - this was after we originally put the rocks in the wrong spot, thus giving us Santos flashbacks.

At one point during moving the rocks, myself and Josh jumped from a moving truck.

Work is hard but productive, we will have the road finished sometime tomorrow.

We might be taking a walk to the Honduras border, but I hear thunder . . .

Since the roof and kitchen floor are done and the road work almost done, we will have time to go around the village and meet people, talk with them and maybe help with projects they may have.

Some people have gone to the waterfall for a shower, I haven't any swim trunks, so I am not one of them.

Not too long later . . .

A group of us took a trek to the border to Honduras. It was great, however, for reasons I won't go into here, I kinda walked into a tree branch and popped the lens out of my glasses. Everyone stopped to help me find it. It was foggy when we got to the border, kinda erie. A couple of people (Mike + John) decided to relieve themselves in the newly visited country.

Coming back, there was a downpour. Everyone got soaked. ALL of my clothing was drenched. My jacket, shirt, pants, socks, unmentionables, everything . . . except the pocket Bible I had with me. It was completely dry. Cory said it was because "You can't water down the Bible"

And sleeping comes waves - I fall asleep and wake up over and over again. Concrete isn't comfy.

¡Dia dos!

June 9th 2010 6:00 AM

Four hour car drive in hot van, at least there's room for everyone - more or less.

Breakfast at Sarita's - it's like their Eat'N'Park, we've been there four times over two trips to Guatemala, except there aren't any Smiley Cookies . . .

John Key has taken it upon himself to make a mark on his arm with a sharpie for every "That's what she said" moment he witnesses. He's currently got around 20 or so . . . Josh plans to "help".

Almost to the mountain: The Winiches get out of the car, into the van, then back into the car.

Soon after this almost-transaction, we take note that the air conditioner is off. The general mind sight of us all is a consensus of W . . T . . F.

Half-way up the mountain, the van breaks down. Justin and Zak choose to jog a ways whilst the rest of us wait for another truck to come along. It picks us up and we find Zak and Justin along the way - both very sweaty. We're now riding in the back of a pick-up truck, but we need not worry about carrying luggage up the muddy path to the coffee farm.

The plan was to take a hike up further to see the border between Guatemala and Honduras. However, there's too much rain.

Wanting to avoid idleness, we commence (and finish) with one of the "planned" projects - leveling the dirt floor of the kitchen and paving it with concrete.

Micheal and Lori have an accomplishment of their own: They have taught a few of the kids to say "oh no you didn't" - funny.

For some reason, a photographer has come along with us - I can't recall if I ever found out why this happened.

Dinner was awesome. Good food with some awesome Guatemalan coffee :D

Now for bed, fortunately, it's cool enough to wear full pants and a hoodie to help keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Happy 4th of July!

T'was the fourth of July this past weekend and it wouldn't be so without people drinking and playing with fire-works.

Much fun was had at the residence of Josh's relatives.

Included was food, drink and games along with the aforementioned firecrackers.

Josh and Kelly took on Frommer and Lori in a rigorous game of corn-holing in which Kelly attempted to apply the sub-standard Ohio rule-set which claims points can be scored via the bean-bag "rolling off the ground and onto the board". Said suggestion was unanimously rejected.

Later on:

-- In a conversation that shall live in infamy - John Key (the intern) earned three new nicknames: KeyJohn, KeyJ and ************ (The third nickname has been censored due to a political incorrectness violation)

-- The group of us set out into a field to set of some of the more expensive fireworks and it was loads of fun . . . until Kelly accidentally knocked over one of the tubes and almost launched the firework AT Josh's uncle. It exploded on the ground and fortunately no one was hurt.

Assemble the Team!

Monday June 8th 2010 - Day One!

The following occurs between the hours of 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM

Events occur in quasi-real time.

We mostly assemble at the Blue Violet. Mostly, in that Justin and John will meet us at the airport. A couple of us, myself and Cory included, have expertly packed all we need for the week into our carry on bag, and thus have an empty check-in bag for stuff to be donated. Said items include a few hundred tennis balls, so many tennis balls.

Mrs. Hustead is kind enough to drive us in the Hustead van - she also brings along Jimmy and a pizza.

At the airport:

As it happened, Justin fell from his attic ladder, bruising his arm, leg and body in the fall, but overall, he is ok.

I sit next to Micheal and John at the terminal and across the aisle between the seats, are Greg F. and Heather and Greg tells a story regarding a losing lottery ticket. Mike's solution is sell it to a blind man (A Dumb & Dumber reference - Jim Carey sells a dead parrot to a blind kid). After a bit of laughing, Greg comes over and informs him that the man sitting a few seats away is, himself, blind - awkward.

Not too long after, it occurs to me that there is a slight problem. After conferring with Mike and John (and Cory later), we all agree that there aren't enough single girls going on the trip (there were, in fact, zero).

We pray before boarding.

6:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Flight to Houston - on a small plane . . . with only one row of overhead compartments.

Whilst in Houston: Had 45 min to get to proper terminal and board. Made typical "cart jokes" and a couple of people grabbed some coffee in the interim.

Arrived in Guatemala City at approximately 11:00 AM Guatemala time (about the same as Rocky Mountain I would suppose)!

11:00 AM - 11:00 PM-ish

Cheerful reception from Armando, Karina and Mynor! They have a van from the school for most of us to ride in.

From the airport we paid visit to a local church and patronized a nearby hot dog stand (chefs note: Hot dogs with guacamole weren't too bad).

Our original plan was to climb a volcano the first day we were here - however, since it erupted the other week, we have to make alternate plans. These plans include some of us fixing up a house and the rest cleaning an area (Myself, Cory, Frommer, Lori, John, Greg F., Heather and Karina). This plan somehow went from cleaning ash to digging a drainage ditch near a compost site. We had barely begun to work when a rainstorm forced us to seek shelter. After a slightly too long period of wind-driven rain and thunder, we continued and actually accomplished quite a bit.

At the conclusion of the days event, we gathered at a house which is used by missionaries. From what I was told, they live there most of the year, but were away in the states visiting relatives. It was a nice house - really nice. It had electricity, running water (hot and cold), four bedrooms, four bathrooms (of which, only one did NOT have a shower), washer/dryer, dishwasher, inside a gated community and also had it's own wall, steel driveway door and security personnel.

To put this into a bit of perspective here:

1: Maybe half of the population lives below the poverty line.
2: Many people live in sheds, shantys and/or on slopes of hills due to lack of space that are vulnerable to earthquakes and mudslides.
3: Electricity and running water are, for the most part, luxuries whilst hot water is practically non-existent as we (in the states) know it.
4: Usually people claiming to be Christian missionaries will at least make an attempt to spend the most of the money spent toward helping the people of the country/community that they have traveled to, which usually doesn't lead to living in one of the nicer homes/apt in the area.
5: It was commented that this house is actually nicer than several apt/homes in the Beaver Falls area.

Devils advocate moment: While this house did (and for the most part was) on the extravagant side for Guatemala and what seemed like greed on the part of the home owners, there is still this part of me that wants to take a minute and make an attempt to see things from what may be their perspective.

(Note: These three points are speculative and not based on information gathered or learned.)

1: We did not know their income level or job status (or more specifically, the ratio of money used for this house - maybe $300 a month - to money used to help the people of Guatemala)
2: What possible requirements may or may not have come from the Church that may have been sponsoring them.
3: There could have been nicer/more expensive homes that we did not see.


Later on in the night - Laura and Edgar came by to visit. It was nice to see them and we had much to discuss.

(Travel note: I really haven't experienced the "culture shock" nor have I really felt like I have traveled over a thousand miles to a foreign country - I hope this means I'm at a point where I could go anywhere and do anything the Lord calls me to. I'm also hoping this is a correct analysis.)

From Sinkhole to Sinkhole

Tomorrow, this reporter will join 16 other people (almost 1/3 of Ignite Church) on a missions trip to Guatemala. The second trip to that country and third overall missions trip and all in the span of one year!

Going are: Pastor Cory, Josh, Kelly, Justin, John (who is also our intern), Jeremy (who is called Frommer), Lori, Zack and Natalie, The Winich family (Greg and Deb with son Michael), Heather and Greg, Corey Sobah (a co-worker of Kelly's at the infamous Olive Garden) and myself (James, who is called Quigs).

As it happens, two weeks previous to the scheduled trip - mount Pacaya erupted, sending ash into Guatemala city and temporarily closing the airport. Later, tropical storm Agatha, blew over, resulting in mudslides and a large sinkhole in the country's capitol city. The sinkhole, much like the one in East Rochester (between a Pizza Hut and Get-Go gas station) swallowed a three story clothing factory and caused an evacuation of the immediate area.

The group from Ignite will spend most of their time in a small village on a mountainside not far from the country's border to Honduras.

This reporter will document events in great detail as they unfold.

BREAKING!: President Obama Urges Congress to Outlaw Crime!

President Barrack Hussein Obama, in an emergency press conference at 4 AM this morning, urged congress to outlaw crime. The half-asleep press corpse slowly filled the room before White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs welcomed them a creepily-cheerful "Good Morning!" The Press Secretary then announced that the President would personally announce his request for Congress himself.

After the half hour that was required to set up the four tele-prompters Mr. Obama has with him at all times, the President gave this message:

"Good Morning, Due to the hour, I will be quick. Due to unprecedented amounts of crime, I have forwarded a 10,000 page bill to Congress in the hopes that they will disregard their own political parties and come together and outlaw all crime. Thank you and may Alla . . .um, I mean God, Bless America."

The 10,000 page bill, which Mr. Obama referenced during his 30-second speech, doesn't specifically outline which illegal activities will be outlawed. However, the proposed bill does make vague references to "guns", "drugs", "bad people" and "kryptonite". In a particular section, the bill also calls for all fines, jail time and other punishments to be doubled for criminals who commit crimes on Sundays. Our News-room has yet to discover what, precisely, the term "other punishments" refers to.

In the final 100 pages, the bill also enacts a special task-force to enforce this new bill. The task-force includes the following members:

RoboCop, Judge Dredd, Bobba Fett, Batman (who insisted on being the only person to enforce the new bill inside Gotham City Limits), Superman (who will enforce everything EXCEPT the section pertaining to Kryptonite), Freddy Kruger (who will assist with "thought-crime" punishment) and a contingent of 300 Spartans who will be lead by Chuck Norris, Master Chief and the spoon from "Beauty and The Beast".

The task-force will also be, occasionally, assisted by the "Super Best Friends", which, is comprised by Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Krishna, Lao Tzu and Seaman (who insisted everyone was mis-pronouncing his name).

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 15 March 2010: Day Eight

We have utilized some logic and have everything that need be checked go in one bag instead of multiples. I also met an interesting fellow from Philadelphia. He seemed to have read the Constitution and resembled a young Chuck Norris.

For some reason, Bernard accidentally grabbed the wrong cell phone when leaving the house and went to switch it back . . . he didn't make it back to the airport in time to make the flight.

Arriving in Florida, myself and Sarah grab some pizza and set out to finally find out what a "fancy" is. The person told us it was a muffin . . . we were disappointed. We then, having went out of our way to leave the 'secure' area, decide to get one of these "fancies". Being kind, she offers to let me decide which "fancy" to procure with the caveat that should I choose the Honey-Nut-Whatever, she would punch me in the face. My response was, of course, that should I choose that one, I would deserve to be punched. I chose the Double-Chocolate, to which Sarah agreed. We then headed back to the terminal, having the "fancy" x-rayed along the way.

Getting on board the plane takes way too long. In attempts to avoid paying fees for checked bags, many passengers take too much as carry on and the flight is delayed just long enough that when we get to DC, we find our plane to Pittsburgh has already left without us. Some people flip out and yell at the Airport workers.

After the situation gets sorted out, sort of, we look for a place to hunker down for the night. The Airline offers a free flight the next morning, but we either have to sleep in the airport or pay for a hotel . . . we chose the airport. Myself and Cory begin scouting for a spot when we come across a bar (that's closed) that has the Lakers game (that's really the only thing that Cory was worried about) on the TV. He pulls up a chair and watches while the rest of us gather in the airport chapel for the night.

In the morning, and after our new flight is delayed an hour, we finally make it back to Pittsburgh. Once home, I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 14 March 2010: Day Seven

Today we head out to Bernard's orphanage where we had earlier been invited to their Sunday church service. It was a unique experience. We each got up and gave a short testimony about our experiences in Haiti and then Cory got up and gave a sermon regarding how shakable the world is and how unshakable God is. Following, we played some games (or rather, we watched them play soccer) and distributed food to them. We then taught them how to play tag and monkey-in-the-middle.

Later that day, we decided upon going up a mountain (not particularly fun considering myself, Cory and Josh were in the very back of the SUV cramped together and bouncing with every bump and often hitting our heads upon the ceiling.) that overlooked Port Au Prince. Along the way we came across an elderly lady that had moved to Haiti in 1947. She was in great shape for being 80. She told us of a nurse who is also from the Pittsburgh area (specifically New Kensington).

Continuing up the mountain, we get to the peak where the French had built a fort in 1804 and from what we could see (without actually being able to enter) it had survived the earthquake mostly unscathed.

Riding in the very back of the SUV (as mentioned previously) has been and rather painful, especially going up then back down this mountain. Cory and I have been the volunteers to ride back there most of our time here. A few times it has been Cory and Josh and other times it has been all three of us. Occasionally, Kelly offers to ride in the back so one of us can sit in an actual seat, but we (being gentlemen) decline the offer.

Being that this is our last night here, we go to a local bar and try a beer called "el Presidente". It's alright - being a pillsner and thus, a light beer. There is this dance room in the back and Sarah and Bernard go and check it out. Upon their return, Sarah notes that it is rather lackluster. Later on, Sarah comments how North American and Northern European men can't dance very well. Despite the fact I don't dance very well, I accept the challenge and we dance for a bit in the dimly lit room. Next, Sarah and Bernard went in for some dancing.

Our next course of action, after dropping off Karen and Sarah at the house, is to go bar hoping for a bit (Bernard even let's me drive for a bit:). We find a few places and have fun. Despite a minor musical disagreement between myself and Josh regarding the radio, this is a mostly uneventful excursion.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Group of Beaver County Residents Take Advantage of Pirates "Buck Night"!

Wednesday Night, the Pirates had a special "Buck Night" - Tickets and hot dogs for a dollar each!

The group, which was mostly members of Ignite with friends and relatives invited along, enjoyed a clear day of aimiable weather as the Pirates and LA Dodgers fought out a close game in which Garret Jones hit a three-run homer before the Bucs went eight innings without another score. The game eventually went into an extra inning before Bobby Cedeno pulled off the base hit to send the fourth and game-winning run into home plate. After tonight's win, the Bucs are now 2-0 (They beat the Dodgers on Monday in their home-opener 11-5) and will face the Dodgers again tomorrow afternoon.

In other sports news:

-- The Penguins (45-27-7) will host the NY Islanders Thursday in what will be Melon Arena's final ever regular season game. The Pens have three games remaining (two of which are against the playoff-hopeless Islanders) and are currently 4th in conference standings (The current playoff scenario can be found here).

-- Tiger Woods returns to golf - and Nike Commercials.

-- Big Ben and Holmes still in hot water. Lawyers are hopeful that evidence will prove them not guilty.

UPDATE: Holmes has been traded to the "J-E-R-K-S Jets! Jets! Jets!" for a 5th round pick.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 13 March 2010: Day Six

Today, we plan out some relay games for the girls and then split into two groups. Sarah and Kelley have a lesson for the younger ones whilst Cory, Josh and myself have a Bible Study for the older ones. Karen has spent most of the week sewing clothes and helping some of the girls learn to sew. Bernard is mostly unseen.

For lunch, they make Haitian pizza for us and it really isn't anything to get excited about, but it's alright.

The rest of the day is spent hanging out and playing card games that didn't appear to be properly explained, have any winners or even a point. During this, the girl known as "Funky Cold Medina" made and handed out bracelets for all of us. Another of the games was a round of Uno during which the four AMericans that were playing (Cory, Josh, Sarah and myself) each finished 1st through 4th out of the group of 12 or so.

During that past few days, Josh has made it a point to count most of his mosquito bites and announce his findings to whom-ever happens to be nearby at the time. I think he said he has over 130, but that's not a scientific estimate.

Side Note: I have this crank flashlight that isn't that great of quality. It has two brightness levels (High and Low) and has a "Loncar Mode". "Loncar Mode" is basically the light blinks on/off repeatedly and makes people want to kill the operator. I'll be leaving it here.

NEWS FLASH: Local Man Makes Bold Lavitory Prophesy!

Late last night, local man Paul "SB" Gardner, made the bold proclamation that he would never fall through the floor of a bathroom.

This claim came around at approximately 11:30 PM following a night of Praise and Worship. The discussion had turned toward the house that members of Ignite Church had fixed up and is attempting to sell and more specifically, that someone who shall remain anonymous had accidentally stepped through a weak part in the floor. It was here that Mr. Gardner proudly stated that he would never fall through a bathroom floor. He then requested that wood be knocked upon for luck and that his prediction be written down - something this reporter was keen to do.

In Other News:

Later that same night, Jeremy, who is called Frommer, discovered that he had been accepted into West Virginia University's medical program. WVU made itself the second college to accept Frommer's application. Much jocularity was made about both the possibility of viewing the WVU V PIT sports games as well as the moonshine that is prevalent in the West Virginia area. Frommer has been accepted to two colleges and is likely to receive a third in the coming weeks.



Frommer, during last summers (fully documented) missions trip to the country of Guatemala.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 12 March 2010: Day Five

The mosquito bites on my feet and legs seem to be undergoing a peculiar reaction. Everyone is convinced this is an infection of some sort, but I've seen this before when we went to Guatemala, so I'm not as worried as they are.

At Greater Works, it's similar work to what we've been doing, but this time we are on what was the roof with the other workers. We get a lot of work done despite the heat and lack of proper amounts of sleep, food and water. For lunch, we have Haitian spaghetti and it wasn't that bad.

For the next while, we hang out with the girls and play some basketball. There is a tarp set up for shade purposes that gets in the way of the shots.

For some reason, Bernard sent a semi-truck to pick us up as opposed to the SUV. (I say he sent it because every day we've been here, Bernard has spent the day at "who-knows-where".) It's not a comfy ride, but we're not cramped next to each other. After driving for a bit, we notice another white person in the vehicle behind us (being a minority now, we both wave at each other. It is then noticed that this person is wearing scrubs. Now Karen takes it upon herself to write "Doctor?" on a magazine and displays it. When the doctor replies in the affirmative, I reluctantly display my foot for him to see. There is a look of surprise on his face before he motions for us to pull over. We introduce each other and it is found out that he is actually a French, Jehovah's Witness and with other doctors who are in Haiti to ply their trade in order to help. They inform me that the mosquito bite is an allergic reaction and not an infection. They give me some medical cream for the bites and another one for the sunburn on my shoulders.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 11 March 2010: Day Four

This day, we have breakfast and depart to spend most of the day at Greater Works. The majority of the day went this way: we worked till tired, then took a break in the shade. During the breaks, we talk with the girls and learn about life in Haiti. As it happens, the four girls that were trapped all want to come to America to go to college, we have taken it upon ourselves to find scholarships for them.

On the way back we stopped for rum and a apple cider beer called "La Benedicta" which meant "The Blessing". It was good. Sarah decided to utilize some logic and got some Apple, Cherry juice to mix with the rum. Sarah then followed by telling us of how she had been kicked off of a bus in Africa and Josh had a story about throwing someone through the back window of a bus.

Thus far, I have noticed that Cory has not removed his at. Not even once. He sleeps with it on.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 10 March 2010: Day Three

Awaking early in the morning, we learn that the (Haitian) Government won't allow us to rebuild a house (Bernard's original plan for us) due to threat of aftershock and for lack of proper building codes.

Our course of action, being plan B, was to seek out the Red Cross and find out how we can help out. They tell us that they need doctors - of which, we have none. Dejected, we drive around till we find the place we learned of earlier (Person one of us met earlier apparently). The place is Greater Works Academy. Turns out Sarah knew Denise, who just happened to be there on her own missions trip. The others that had come with her had already left that Monday and she was glad to see new people there to help.

The academy is an orphanage for girls, but also a school. The girls stay here, safe from the dangers of the outside. As it happens, four of the girls were trapped inside of the rubble for a few hours. Fortunately, no one died.

The bulk of the rest of the day was spent cleaning debris from the part of the building that had collapsed. It's hard work and it's hot (80's and 90's, but the bright sun adds to it the way a chilly breezes adds to the cold of winter). Technically, we are moving debris from one pile to another. However, unlike "santos work" this pile moving serves a purpose and makes a difference.

Afterwards, we took a trip out to Bernard's Church and saw the orphanage there. We met some of the children as well as the tent they were using as their temporary Church.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 9 March 2010: Day Two

In the morning, we pack up and eventually get to the airport. Me and Sarah spot an item on a Dunkin Donuts menu listed as "fancy" - we still aren't sure what this means. Later on, we find out the "not fun" way that Kelly forgot that her hammer and pry bar were in her bag. They were confiscated. This was due to the fact that at first she her bag would be checked, but then it wasn't. Speaking of forgetting, she also forgot where her passport was and actually ran back to the security screening area and back to the terminal just to find it in her bag. We make it to Haiti with not much else was note worthy . . . till we saw a huge moth on the ceiling.

There are U.N. troops everywhere. We even spotted some of "Tanaka's friends" at the airport. There was a horde of people outside the airport, mostly asking for handouts or offering to help carry luggage . . . at a cost. People drive worse here than in Guatemala.

We are staying at a friend of Bernard's house, they actually have running water. More excitingly, they have coconuts and mangoes growing on trees in the yard. We enjoyed some coconut milk. Everyone else liked it, but I'm not really a fan of coconuts. Bernard provided some rum for us to add to the coconut milk . . . this was an improvement. We then get in a trip to a local store for some food for the week. Bernard then takes us for a mini-tour of the damage and after that we got some food from some street vendors. It was pretty good.

We have decided to sleep on sleeping bags on the floor. This is not comfortable at all. We are technically not supposed to be inside at all (due to threat of aftershock), but we will sleep next to a door.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Haiti: 8 March 2010: Day One

Following the devastating earthquake near Haiti, Ignite Church is sending a group to assist with the recovery efforts. Going are: Cory, Josh, Kelly, Sarah, myself, a Haitian named Bernard Israel and his neighbor from the Zelienople area. We gathered at the Blue Violet at around 3:30 and departed for the airport (Zack Tanaka and Jason Orahoske volunteered to drive us to the airport and this was much appreciated). However, before we could depart, Josh had to drive back to his apartment to retrieve his driver's license. (As it turns out, he didn't really need it.)

Whilst waiting for our flight, Kelly shared with us a paragraph from a book that she was reading, I found this passage to be particularly motivating and felt pumped for what we were about to embark upon. The flight to NYC-JFK was uneventful, I slept through most of it.

We are pesently (8:30 - yes, I have a watch this time) at NYC-JFK and looking forward to 2 hours of waiting. Amongst discussion, Josh queried as to our plans in Florida for tonight (as we had a layover that lasted a day). My response was this: "what we do every night, Pinkie, try to take over the world!" This somehow triggered in Sarah's memory that "The Tiny Toons" theme song was stuck in her head at some point (she even sung it at Josh's behest). We are currently attempting to catch up on some lost sleep.

We make it to Fort Lauderdale where Sarah's aunt picks us up. After a brief visit to Bernard's relative's house (Sarah opted to stay with some of her relatives who live nearby) we venture off to Miami beach. Mostly just walking and talking occur, but we also found a pretty decent seafood place. Whilst on Miami beach, I found some pieces of coral for my sis and a seashell for Kayla.

Back at Bernard's relative's house, we relaxed and enjoyed some home cooking. We also took some time to pray for certain forseeable hardships to be smoothed over. The night's sleep was good. In the morning, while awaiting for transportation back to the airport, we chatted and listened to some tunes, courtesy of Josh's iPod.

Ignite Church Missions trip to Guatemala: Summer 2009

In the Summer of 2009, this reporter traveled to the country of Guatemala along with eight other members of Ignite Church from Rochester PA. Travelling were Pastor Cory, Zak and Natalie Covalt, Josh, Kelly, Jeremy who is called Frommer, Justin, Heather and myself, James who is called Quigs. This trip occurred as follows:

Day one – 8/20/2009 – 2:00 AM

We had our Wednesday night Bible Study as per usual with the plan of leaving together at around 3. Whilst waiting we also watched “Pan's Labyrinth” en espanol. It was weird and a bit graphic, but we heard a lot of Spanish words.

I'm going to chug a Red Bull at around 3-ish, just to stay awake better. I might try to give Christina a call when we get to Houston, mostly to say hi, but also a little just to see what her reaction would be to me calling her from a Texas area code. I would like to hang out with her as well, but it would be short notice, and that would be rude.

Edit: Natalie was almost denied passage due to the fact that her passport was in her maiden name whilst her plane ticket was in her married name. All was made well when the information on the ticket was changed to match her passport. (Thanks are to be awarded to Josh for reminding me of this.)

Day one – 8/20/2009 – Approx. 9-9:15 AM

It bothers me that this notebook is falling apart. Moving on. We crammed into the van [Church van that Heather's fiancé was kind enough to drive us in] at about 4AM and arrived at the airport with enough time to hang out and/or eat for about an hour. Justin has this extra bag that he is attempting to rid himself of and almost got into trouble when he left it unattended next to a garbage can. After much jocularity regarding that, amongst the usual discussion topic one would expect a group of young people would discus whilst awaiting a flight. We the boarded twin-turbo-prop plane and had further discussions amongst ourselves and a flight attendant. This was not without incident, however, as I unintentionally bumped into a lady whilst attempting to stow my luggage. I promptly apologized, but she appeared too flustered to care.

On the second flight from New Jersey to Houston, we were on a much bigger and nicer plane than the one previous. There are tv's in the seats, the movie I chose to view is the recent Star Trek movie. I decided against the headphones and went on memory, as well as taking the opportunity to add to the journal. I am pumped that we are able to go to Guatemala to help out. What's more is that not only am I able to help out, but that help will actually matter! I just wish I remembered to bring my watch – I didn't want to pay international and roaming rates for the cell phone, so I didn't bring it. It could turn out to be good, it could turn out to be bad, who knows. I hope I remember enough of the Spanish to at least semi-communicate with people there. Anyway, I haven't slept a wink and I am pumped and excited and maybe even a bit giddy. I think it may be the sleep deprivation that's causing hyperactivity in me. Lol. The geek in me is making those squiggly lines that mark misspelled words.

Approximately 10:30-10:45-ish

The movie is now over and I am told that we will be landing soon. I was going to get up to stretch my legs, but I can't do that now. Apparently 'soon' means 45 minutes, great. I hope I don't get a blood clot from sitting this long.


The following events occurred whilst spending the seven hour lay-over in Houston, TX.

We landed and found our way to the exit to find a typically hot Texas day. AT first, I found it refreshing. I suppose in the sense that I was reminded of both the four years I spent in South Carolina and the one week I spent in Texas a few years back (though, to be fair, I would assume a big difference between Texas in August and Texas in May). Later it became neutral to me, neither refreshing nor bothersome. Josh was kind enough to lend me his phone, thus I got to call home as well as Christina. Though we couldn't hang out, I could tell she felt bad, despite it being last minute and all, and I really shouldn't make it seem as though I'd expect someone to just drop everything to hang out with me for a bit. Now, we looked for a bus to take us to down town Houston. We found one that was $15 per person, we declined. We eventually found one that was $1.25 per person and after scrounging for quarters, we were on our way to a restaurant that had been recommended to us by a passer-by. It was called “the Flying saucers” and it was awesome! They had 152 beers on tap. We ate, drank and were merry. We then walked in the hot air in search of other things to do. We were told of an ice cream place, but it didn't exist. So instead of walking, Zak went into a fancy place and ordered a drink so we all could sit at a table without feeling too guilty. We then boarded our bus back to the airport. Along the way, Cory and Justin made conversation with other people on the bus. They took these opportunity to bring up faith. Since my conversation skills and overall confidence in interacting with people with whom I am unfamiliar are both quite lacking, I am not useful in this aspect. Somewhere along the bus route, Josh and Kelly dosed off – I took the opportunity to snap a photo (which can be seen on the Ignite web site).

All throughout each of the airports to which we paid visit, there are carts assisting travellers in reaching their respective gates of departure. It was the custom to clear a way through the pedestrian traffic by declaring; “cart!”. We took it upon ourselves to yell “cart” as well, though with a more jocular twist.

Around midnight I would suppose.

We flew over the Gulf of Mexico and I have to say that made me a bit nervous, ok, a lot nervous. So I don't have a watch and can't say for sure but I think I've gone about 36-40 hours with only a few minutes of dozing off here or there, I'm so glad I don't have to drive. We had to fill out immigration visa papers and there was some confusion on my part as well as a few others. Justin, by now, has given up on his attempts to lose his extra bag. We landed in Guatemala City at around 9-ish their time without incident. Our team dispersed to the homes of the families they each will stay for the first night. Even without hot water, the shower was much needed and appreciated. We will leave at around 4-ish, so I must sleep now. It seems traffic laws here are more like guidelines than actual rules.

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Day Two – 8/21/2009 9:30-ish (ok, I don't really know)

I wake up with just enough time to get dressed and gather my things. I approximate that I slept about three hours. Three hours of sleep over two days time. We assemble at the CAG (Christian Academy of Guatemala) and we took a look around [they had a huge soccer field]. At one point I thought I had forgotten my wallet, but I didn't. I made Edgar turn the car around twice before figuring out I had it in my pocket [it was a thin wallet – light and hard to tell if it's there]. We leave and see the architecture and the many traffic violations of Guatemalan driving. There are sights of hills, valleys and mountains as we drive. I fall asleep for about two hours, after I awake, it's about an hour before we reach a restaurant called “Saritas” for breakfast. They had really good pancakes. Cory spotted a lady with a philly shirt and whilst we were on our way out and stopped to converse with her and her group (they were really from NYC). We continued for a few hours more before reaching the destination. Most of us slept whilst Cory talked with Corinna [I'm guessing that's how it's spelled], about Guatemala, a Georgia Bulldog's game that apparently they had both gone to and other whatnots. On the way up the last hill, one of the cars couldn't get past a muddy part and we had to carry the luggage and other stuff up the rest of the way, we definitely over-exerted ourselves.

After a quick snack, we found a lime tree out back, complete with a guard dog. Afterwards, we dispersed into smaller groups. Natalie, Heather and Kelly taught some children's sermons to the local children, Justin and Josh went to work fixing a stove and the rest of us (Cory, Jeremy who is called Frommer, Zack and myself) walked over to the Church to put in the foundation to a new Bano [Espanol for bathroom]. They had an . . . interesting and unique method for mixing concrete. They piled it on the ground, made a hole in the middle and filled it with water. They then gradually and cautiously mixed the dry mix over the water. As it turned out, they used too much water, not that big of a problem, it just took a lot longer to dry. We measured the pvc pipes for the toilets and cut them to the proper sizes. We worked hard and got a lot accomplished. Me and Cory then went into the Church and experienced an espanol service/prayer. It was cool. We then left back for the nearby house we were staying at, but instead of the road, we went down a back way that was steep and very muddy. Many places had mud that was, in some places, two feet deep, possibly deeper in others. My shoes are now covered in mud, concrete – I might just leave them here. [Although, I didn't]. After dark, we hung out till dinner was ready, which was good. There was some guacamole that was made. It was commented that this was the best guacamole ever tasted. I, however, did not agree on this. The shower room wasn't much to speak of, so I won't speak of it. We slept on air mattresses on a concrete floor. I had a dream that I was on some college campus and this girl was chasing me all over the place. She also made weird noises. When I woke up, I found that the weird noises were really coming from a nearby rooster and it's sound had been incorporated into my dream. (A.D.D. Moment: This place is about 45 minutes walking distance from the border to Honduras.) (2nd A.D.D. Moment: Everyone agreed the rooster should have been shot).

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Day Three 8/22/2009 – Time unknown

Today we returned to the Church to continue construction of the bano. We took the “fun” way. Part way going up, a couple of Guatemalan's pass by with a horse. This horse, carrying bags, walks past us and bumps into me, knocking me over and almost under the horse itself.

Josh stayed at the house whilst Natalie, Kelly and Heather had a lesson and a craft for the kids. Meanwhile, the rest of us built walls and finished the PVC piping for the water and drains.

Around three-ish in the afternoon, me and Zak went back for snacks. For some reason, we took the long way and I became exhausted from the long walk in the hot sun. We ate at the Church whilst the rest of our group arrived and helped with the building. (We worked with the Guatemalan natives and not alone, for this is just all around better.) It rained a little, but it wasn't bothersome, more refreshing actually. After eating, the nine of us and the Guatemalans worked together to construct the bano. We accomplished a lot. At one point, the pastor of the Church climbed a tree and shook a branch to get the mangoes to drop, they were good. We trekked back to the house and some of the guys went to shower at a waterfall. I did not do this. I washed up in the shower-room-that-shall-not-be-spoken-of.

Then there was a worship service for a bunch of people and it was really cool. They sang songs and we sang them a song of our own. Heather gave a testimonial and Cory gave a sermon. After words, some of us ate with the Pastor and talked while the kids and us played with the toy balls we had given them. This is when I had my first cup of coffee. It was really good, kinda sweet and not at all revolting.

After a while, the Pastor and his family left for the night. We stayed up longer talking about our experiences; joking and discussing the plans for tomorrow. Later me and Cory looked at the stars and saw many. Horhay showed me how to turn off the generator so he could go to sleep. We used sort-of-sign language to communicate, it was cool. The two nights we spent on the mountain were cold and dark, as in there was no night vision.

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Day Four 8-23-2009 Approximately 8:30-9:00

Woke up, packed everything and ate breakfast with some people from the Church. We then left to return to the city. Cory and Frommer rode on the back of the truck for a bit. It was dangerous considering that the road was curvy, hilly and muddy. I slept en route for a bit, then we stopped at Sarita's for lunch. Another two hours of driving. We talked most of the way. Corinna, who was translating for us, is really cool. She has been to the U.S. and even went to a Georgia Bulldogs game (turns out, the game she went to was the same game Cory had gone to).

We arrived at the house of another family that will take us in for the next two nights. They fed us and gave us coffee (A.D.D. Moment: I think I've become addicted to it). We next discussed our plans for the next two days.

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Day Five 8-24-2009 Around Noon

Breakfast with coffee, then hanging out and discussion of the days plans. Then me, Zak, Josh and Paco (native Guatemalan who also speaks English and married into a Wisconsin family - thus he is a Packers fan and didn't want to talk about Brett Favre) went to the bank to convert our money. We next practiced our skit until we got to the school.

Our skit was Jeremy as Jesus, Josh was injured, Heather sad, Kelly sick, Zak and Natalie were fighting and I was blind. Jeremy went around and 'healed' everyone whilst taking on each symptom. We pulled it off swimmingly. We then sung the kids a few songs (although, admittedly, I didn't sing very well, at all) and then gave a lesson regarding recycling and being good stewards of the earth. The children were then presented with barrels to paint for the purposes of recycling. We spent the rest of our time playing soccer with the kids. I was a decent net-minder.

We returned to Paco's house for lunch and are now discussing Plans and chatting (if I recall a map was utilized in one of the subjects of conversation).

Day Five Supplemental

We went to a public school to help with a bench project. We gathered, cut and bent some re bar and other people moved some dirt. Altogether an unproductive couple of hours. We regrouped at the house, then hung out until deciding to view a movie at the mall. We wandered around the mall for a bit. We found a restaurant and had a beer whilst watching an NFL pre-season game. The time for the movie came around. Most of us watched "G.I. Joe" and a few people watched "The Proposal". We have been expecting someone to try to rob us, this hasn't happened yet. It was mostly just us in the movie theater. After, we left for the respective house each of us are staying in. At the house I am in, there was chicken lasagna, it was good.

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Day Six 8-25-2009 2:18 PM

Back to the public school for some more busy work. We gave up on that and went to a poor area of town to clean garbage off of the street. We then walked and handed out candy to local children. We returned to the house for lasagna and talking and joking around. Then Kelly tried to remove a black-widow spider from the cupboard with a pair of tongs.

7:00 PM

We went to another school to sing and perform our skit. along the way; Justin, Josh and Mario (Guatemalan native, spoke some English and had a cool hat) enjoyed the ride on the vehicle as opposed to in it - pics were taken.

At the school, we grouped up and went right into the skit. It was good. Being blindfolded kinda inhibited my ability to determine when my que was, but other than that, we pulled it off nicely. We then sung some songs and, once again, I had a mental blank and couldn't remember the words to the songs (I'm a terrible singer).

We moved on to the recycling lesson and after words we handed out notebooks, crayons and Bibles. The children crowded around us, each one wanting his/her own Bible. They also asked all about us as well as asked us to teach them several English words. Following this, our next activity was to play a couple of rounds of basketball at a local park.

Back at the house, we had many people come over for dinner of steak, rice and tortillas. It was awesome. After dinner, four of the Guatemalan's formed a quartet and sung some praise and worship songs. It wasn't long before we joined in singing in English. The combination English and Espanol was awesome. We then discussed possible plans for next years trip.

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Day Seven 8-26-2009 9:30 PM

For once; me, Frommer and Josh were awakened *before* breakfast was ready. This was thanks to Mario. Breakfast was pancakes-with-syrup-traps and coffee. We packed up, acquired petrol and got onto the highway before realizing we forgot Heather at the petrol station. We turned around, retrieved her and resumed our way to Antigua (tourist area). We saw many beautiful buildings and were near three volcanoes (all dormant). Our first visit was to a coffee museum which was very informative. We then explored the market area for sou veneers. Me and Jeremy tag-team-haggled the shopkeepers.

Me and Jeremy then found a Ronald McDonald statue at the local McDonald's and took some pics. The McDonald's here in Guatemala is actually much nicer than any I have ever seen back in the states.

Some of us then went over to a "local establishment" to try some of the beverages. We got a pitcher and as it happened, there was a mysterious chunk of something that had found it's way into Kelly's glass. The barkeep claimed it was part of the beer, but Kelly knew better.

Over at Tina's house (American living in Guatemala who helped organize our venture - also organized for us to have more food than we really needed) and had a bunch of other people over for a spaghetti dinner. It was then that Armando (Corinna's father) gave us each a coffee mug. After much conversation and a trip to a store for chocolate, people left for the night. The few of us that were still there stayed up, watched some B movie about some company espionage or whatever, then packed up and left around three in the morning.

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