July 7, 2008

Dear Friends,

Another month has flown by and I can hardly believe it is July already. I know that everyone in the U.S. is in full vacation mode right now and some of you are using that time to join a work team, and come here to Guatemala. We are anticipating two teams this month and have two teams planned for the month of August. Many of you are vacationing with friends and family, what a perfect time to plan a trip to Guatemala. There are still openings to join or organize a team for 2008 and the 2009 dates have been set so book early and get the dates of your choice.

During the month of June we had a team from Erbs Mennonite church in PA come and minister to the children of Nuevo Reto (one of the orphanages we partner with). Earlier in the year they raised money for a swing set/jungle gym and were able to put it together during this trip. They also were able to install a new roof on the phase two part of the home which houses the older boys. During the year off process the wind caught a piece of the tin and sent it flying through the air. Unfortunately it hit one of the team members and caused a laceration to the head, but thankfully Dennis our resident registered nurse practioner was with the team that day and was able to suture the cut immediately. I think it was the first time he sutured a patient on the back of a pickup truck with that many spectators. We are thankful that the wound wasn't more serious or in the facial area and that Dennis is on staff to deal with any accidents if they happen.

The team also poured a concrete floor and installed a new roof on the poor family's home that I mentioned in my last update. It was great to see the house rebuilt and transformed from a shack to a clean, dry, sturdy home. What was more amazing was to see the gratitude on the fathers face as he saw the home being rebuilt. Every time I would stop by the home he couldn't stop thanking, blessing, and hugging me.

Isn't this what the body of Christ should be doing for each other? The body of Christ and how it functions becomes very relevant when there is no government welfare or social services to fall back on. I believe this is why God wrote in his word "Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen...Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter...When you see the naked, to cloth him and not turn away from your own flesh and blood".

Over the past year we have been taking teams out to the poor indigenous villages to minister to the people there. When I speak of indigenous people I am speaking of mostly Mayan people who make up over 50% of the population and are mostly below the poverty level. Many of these people have been missed placed and severely missed treated during the 10 year civil war. This is also the group of people that was affected the most by hurricane Stan that caused severe flooding and mud slides and wiped out entire villages.

The purpose of going out to the villages is not to turn our focus away from orphans but to help people understand the needs factors and living conditions that contribute to the children being placed into an orphanage. It's easy to only see Guatemala City and the orphanage facilities and miss the underlying poverty that contributes to the social issues that we are faced with.

On our last excursion and when I say excursion I mean crossing a half dozen rivers and bouncing back through badly rutted dirt roads and hiking 15 minutes up into the village, we visited a school that consisted of a few posts holding up a tin roof with a mud floor and no sides. This was the school for 100 children who shared 4 teachers across 6 grades. The children had to carry their desk from a storage area, to school every day and their only complaint was that they would get wet from the rain when it blew into the school during the rainy season. Wow are we blessed to have the schools we do in the U.S.

As of last month's board meeting we have the consensus to move ahead with a new program to provide poor housing solutions. The vision is to utilize the construction of housing packages as a way of teaching orphan boys construction skills and also provide housing solutions to NGO's and other ministries who are constructing poor housing in various locations.

The housing will be constructed out of metal studs in a panelized system which allows for quick construction in the field. The panels are light and easy to handle and a team with little or no construction experience can erect it in several days. This will allow a short term team to construct the home and see the finished project.

We see a lot of need in providing these solutions because many organizations are doing housing projects but each one has to gather the supplies and handle all the logistics of preparing the housing. We have a lot of individuals who are excited about this are the time it will save them running around and buying all the materials.

We are hoping to have the model home completed by the end of July. This will serve as a visual for those who wish to see the finished product. It will also allow us to produce marketing literature and assist us in selling these packages. We are hoping this will generate some revenue to help sustain our programs here in Guatemala. If you would like more information about this please feel free to contact me or Rod Martin.

Yesterday, another container was loaded and shipped from our PA headquarters, which we expect to arrive here in about a week. It contains the rest of the milk that didn't fit on the last container along with construction supplies to hopefully finish the Fundaninos baby house. It also contains a lot of other items for distribution to the children's homes.

With the high cost of fuel and food the orphanages are increasingly asking for more assistance, especially in the area of consumable items. If anyone has any connection to corporate donations of consumable items or wishes to donate items, please contact the ORI office in PA.

Thanks again for all of you who have given to the work of ORI and continue to do so. In this time of need and the looming food crisis we need your support now more than ever! If you haven't been giving I ask that you search your heart and see what God would have you do. Its not the size of your gift that matters but the attitude of your heart. Thanks again for partnering with us!



Sincerely,

Randy Weaver

Director Guatemala