Here are the updates that we received from Team Two while they were in Guatemala ...

Sunday (October 23), 6:10 p.m.

We made it to our hotel in Panajachel. We spent Mid-day in Chichicastinego "stimulating the economy" as Rusty put it. Weather has been beautiful. Road trip to Panajachel was long and bumpy. Main road will be closed for a couple of weeks while mud and boulder is cleared. In the meantime we use the alternative route (adds 30-40 minutes). We are on mountain time but don't recognize daylight savings time. This week we are 2 hours difference from home. Work starts tomorrow. Pray for good weather and good health and that we accomplish all that God has planned for us. -- Wilbur Sutton

Monday(October 24), 9:23 a.m.

Well, we are all rising to sunshine and ready for our day of work. It isn't exactly clear what we are going to do today. Some stoves, some furniture, some putting things on all of the hangers we brought. What is clear, after having dinner with Tom and 3 of his staff is this: we are in good earthly hands doing good Godly work! I am AMAZED at what has been accomplished here already and OVERWHELMED by what is yet to be done here. We went to market day at Chichicastanenga yesterday and put forth our best efforts at the economic stimulus ministry that Rusty mentioned last week. Wow! So many people with so much to sell who need so much. One woman was weaving a scarf. Victoria asked if we could take her picture. She said we could, if we bought something. Can't wait for you to see our new scarves and Victoria’s picture of her. Well, we are off soon ... Will be working hard knowing you are home sending us prayers. We want to do you proud! -- Anita Abernathy

Monday(October 24), 7:54 p.m.

Well, team 2 is now team 2a, 2b and 2c. We started the day with a tour of the clinic and a play date at the preschool. We then went to a small village to deliver food. The village was displaced a hurricane last year. Then the recent rains and wind destroyed the crops they relied on for food. Baskets of statples were prepared for them and delivered. The clinic social worker called each family up one by one and they came forward the get the provisions. No words can begin to describe the experience. We all knew God was there. Team 2a went to install a stove. I am not sure if everyone knows why the stoves are so important. First, it helps them eat better. But it also replaces the open burning of wood inside the homes which an enormous health hazard. Breathing all the smoke causes lots of lung problems. The little boy in the house was couging when the team got there! Team 2b is constructing furniture for the woman Team 1 built the house for. We went there today to get the left over lumber to build the furniture. We were shocked at how far back and up and down hills the house was! We admired Team 1 even more after seeing the conditions they had to work in! What an effort that must have been! She told us she was very "triste" - happy. She is finally warm at night! Team 2c started unpacking 22 HUGE boxes that had donations for the clinic and for Christmas. All of it needs to be sorted and labeled so the mission can distribute them for Christmas. A beautiful day with beautiful people! And.... I am tired and dirty! I have sawdust up my nose :-) Off to shower! -- Anita Abernathy

Tuesday (October 25), 8:52 p.m.

Another blessed day! We began by going to a small community called Pacaman. Tom is looking to equip another feeding center there. This community is on a magnificent lake. It is such a contrast between the beauty of the surroundings and the poverty we see. The children were precious and we had a chance to walk through the village and they all came out, including Cindy and Wendy. We thought it was cute that they had American names. The 3 teams continued as we were yesterday. The team unpacking boxes for Christmas have finished sorting, resorting and labeling! Tom never expected them to get this far. Victoria is part of the packing team. Today she also became a laundry wench. She wants Team 1 to know that she lovingly washed all the dirty clothes they left behind. We remembered that Rusty has told us it doesn't matter what you do for God, it matters how you do it. The stove team delivered and installed one stove and delivered a second. The first house was made of bamboo. The second house was made of corn stalks! The second house is up a very steep hill, a very long steep hill! The parts of the stove weigh over 500 pounds! We were smart to have the strong people on this team! Tomorrow they go back up the hill to install! The building team completed construction of the table and shelving and got a good start on the bed. Tomorrow we varnish! We are off to dinner and hope to bed early again... –- Anita Abernathy

Wedneday (October 26), 12:06 a.m.

This morning we visited a Mayan village where Mission Guatemala is planning a feeding center for about 60 children in their grade school. We planned how to add additional "kitchen" counter space, properly vent their wood stove, add 2-4 additional wood or propane burners, build eating counters for 1/2 of the children, etc. We were the "gringos" who came to see how we could help. Their village was high above Panajachel and we could see three cities around the lake from their village. The road to arrive was so steep that upon leaving, the van couldn't get back up the long winding road until most of the volunteers got out & hiked up the switch-back mountain trail on foot. This village is a Mayan culture and they live in the same style 1-room homes as other families we have helped. I know Mission Guatemala will make a huge difference there. This afternoon our team split up. One group delivered stove parts up a steep long path. Young and old were out of breath when an elderly woman (60's or 70's) grabbed TWO of the heavy concrete blocks used for the high efficiency cook stove and took off up the path. They go back tomorrow to finish the stove. My group finished building a table and shelves and got a good start on a bed (all for the elderly woman that team 1 built the house for). Tomorrow we varnish all of it. The rest of team 2 finished sorting donated Christmas toys and did laundry for the muddy clothes Team 1 "left behind" (donated), ha. The people we are helping are so grateful and gracious. It is truly a pleasure to do God's work assisting them. Even when they have almost nothing they still want to honor us with a token of hospitality (a drink and bit of food). They are truly God's children and he is touching their lives with our efforts. This evening we went to a restaurant in Panajachel that was run by a Mayan and his family. They fed us traditional Mayan dishes and the family entertained us with traditional music. The owner praised Tom's efforts and told us how the "seeds" we were planting would affect his people's lives. All for now. I am dead tired and will be asleep soon. -- Wilbur Sutton

Thursday (October 27), 12:20 a.m.

This morning we split into several groups. Some finished building a bed for Magdalina, the elderly woman that Team 1 built a house for. Others started varnishing the Furniture built yesterday, others finished donations organizing & yet others finished a stove installation while a small team went to work on the dental clinic upgrade. The stove team accepted a pollo soup offering from their family. It is getting easier to accept a gift of hospitality after going on this trip expressly to give of ourselves. We had a hard time accepting a gift when our purpose was to give. These are humble people but happy people. We can sure learn from them! After lunch 5 ladies painted Magdalina's house. The "Painted Ladies" will be able to show you every color in the house in hair, hands, eye lids(right Vicki?) and feet. The stove team delivered 3 more 500# stoves. Alexandra was able to "boss dad around" as she was experienced and this was Matthew's first time. I think her dad was very proud of her accomplishments. The dental team is trying to make do with materials at hand. With God's help we'll all get done. Your Brother in Christ (and your missionaries), Wilbur & Team 2

Friday(October 28), 12:26 a.m.

We were up early and soon had beautiful sunshine (sorry Team 1). We always know when local residents are up because we smell the smoke from their wood burning cook stoves. Birds singing in the lush green surroundings almost lull us into forgetting we're on a mission trip and not relaxing in some tropical paradise. The walk to the Bomberos Voluntarious (volunteer fire department) for breakfast of banana pancakes & fruit. Today our team delivered the bed, table, shelves & bedding to Magdelina, the elderly woman that Team 1 built the house for. She was so excited! Almost every member of our tram had some work contribution to her home. We broke into small groups: the "painted ladies" gave her house a 2nd coat of paint; the stove team installed the stove that they delivered yesterday; the dental team finished their dental unit upgrade (thanks A-dec, for your donation & tech support). The painters were able to go to the tienda and get Magdelina a couple of weeks of food staples (shelled corn, cooking oil, soap, sugar, beans & toilet paper, etc.). After lunch the stove team made more deliveries. Today they felt they'd served one of the poorest families yet, who lived in an 8' x 10' hut that was the most modest & basic homes. Buried back in a cornfield with barely enough space on the path to walk with one foot directly in front of the other the stove delivery was difficult. The dental clinic X-ray was assembled & tested and the Patterson Technology Center helped get the X-ray software ready. We are ALMOST ready to bring digital radiography into fruition (we'll know tomorrow). The painters moved on to the clinic and now the school yard fence is a colorful red. Today was wonderful and filled with God's grace. Thank you, Lord, for a day filled with blessings. -- Wilbur

Friday (October 28), 11:00 p.m.

We were awakened by thunder this morning. OK Team 1, it's justice, right? Oops, the sun is shining and we see hardly any clouds in the sky. The booms must have been fireworks. People here set off fireworks to celebrate occasions. The paint team worked on the clinic playground fence today. They had to climb home-made ladders to paint the back sides. The stove team delivered a stove far down a valley and then high into the mountains (above the tree line). We over-heated Dave's 4-wheel drive pickup climbing the 2nd mountain's "road" and while waiting for the engine to cool Alexandra spotted this tiny elderly lady coming up the trail on foot. She had a load of fire wood on her back that reached from her waist to high above her head. She turned to the mountain side and climbed a trail that couldn't be seen. In moments she was out of sight (I couldn't even get a picture). These Guatemala people are very self-sufficient and simple folk. They really impress me. The team's goal was to install the two stoves they've already carried up the mountain trails. That's 8 high efficiency stoves installed for this week. Incredible! Some of the ladies went to the feeding center in Esperanza (sp?) to document the children's height & weight. We want to see if the center is making a difference in their health. The construction team started building lunch counters for the Mayan village we visited Wednesday. There's plenty left for the next team to work on. Lastly, we were able to get the dental X-ray installed at a working height and get the software & digital sensors all functioning. This should really help their on-staff dentist make an accurate diagnosis and allow for more fillings and less surgery. The Guatemala people continue to bless our team much more than we can ever bless them. Thank you, everyone, who supported our teams and made this mission possible. Please continue to pray for Rev. Tom Heaton, David, Noah, Robin, and the rest of their team that make the Mission Guatemala ministry possible. We leave Panajachel tomorrow and honestly feel like we are leaving a second home. Your Brother (and Mission Team) in Christ, Wilbur