Thurs night, Oct16
Hello, We made it. We are all in the City and about to go to sleep. We left on the 5:00 flight into Seattle, then they put us on two separate planes to get to Houston. 12 of us had to fly first class in order for us all to fit. It gets better. Because we were first class we could check 3 bags instead of 2, and they were free. So we ended up saving $700. A little inconvenient at first, but it worked out...almost as if God knows what He is doing and always working it together for good. I had more than one comment that the time in Anchorage helped bring the team together. There was a small problem in all of this--we only had 25 minutes for the second planeload of people to get to the connecting flight to Guat. It turns out they were 20 minutes late, but so was the connection, so in the end, all is good. Were any of you stressed?
♦ I don't think God was. ♦
Everybody is healthy, mostly. A few upset stomachs and at least one bad headache. Too much time in airports and airplanes I think.
We get a full night's sleep tonight, in beds! We leave in the morning (Friday ) for a long bus ride and short boat ride. We're almost there. I might be able to email tomorrow night, but if I don't, it means nothing other than that I couldn't get to the internet cafe, or that it was closed by the time we got there. We have cells phones with us (Pam and Ben) in case of emergency. If you hear nothing, it means all is well.
The kids are doing great. Morale is wonderful. It's a great team.
God does it again. I'm tired. Good night. Leo
Friday night, Oct 17
Hello All ~ We are safe in San Pedro. After a full night´s sleep, long bus ride, and short boat ride, we are here. Rested (mostly) and full of good food. Tonight pray for good sleep so that tomorrow we will be alert and ready to learn how to install the stoves. We need to be precise in our installations. Please pray we learn quickly and efficiently.
The team is doing great, and getting along very well. That´s all for now. Hopefully more tomorrow. Again, if you don´t hear from me it means nothing. Have a good night knowing your family is safe in God´s hands.
Saturday night, Oct 18
Hello, We passed our test! Thanks for the prayers. We went through training, and then assembled and reassembled until we got it right.
No one passed the first assembly, but by the end of the training time, everybody did. When we were done 8 of the women who are going to receive stoves came in for training, too. We got to meet them and work with them. That was one of the highlights of the day. Pam (our
missionary) said they will cry for joy when we get the stove installed into their homes. It is a drastic change of lifestyle for them. They didn´t like the precision with which the stoves have to be built (neither did a few of our team, either), but they have to be in order to work properly. We will install the first 4 stoves Monday morning. It will be a little different because we will be on dirt floors and they must be level and smooth for the stoves to work properly. We will also have to cut a hole in their roofs for the chimney. Keep in mind we can only use what tools they have, otherwise they couldn´t reinstall it if they needed to. Now that we´ve had a chance to build a few of them, I am even more eager to get one installed inside of a home. It will be most rewarding for all of us.
Everyone is in good health and happy. Pray for continued unity on the team (there have been a few small incidents, but nothing serious or out of the ordinary). It´s raining pretty hard right now, but it´s still a bit warm. Tomorrow the internet place might be closed. It may not be until Monday or Tuesday that I email again. Thank you again for supporting us and holding us up in prayer.
Monday Oct 20
Hi everyone, Leo didnt think he would have a chance to email today, so he asked me to let everyone know how things were going. I spoke to him this afternoon and he said that today was great. They were able to install a stove in someone's house and help them use it. He also said that the first day of VBS went very well. They did the story of the feeding of the five thousand, and the team brought pilot bread for the kids to try. Leo said that it was a big hit. When I spoke to him they were eating dinner and he said after dinner they were going to have devotions and then go to bed. It sounds like they were all very pleased with the day, and very exhausted. Leo will email again when he gets a chance.Thanks for your prayers.
Heather Masters (Leo's wife)
Oct 21, Tues night
Hello,
To say the least, we have been busy. My apologies for not writing
more often, but your kids are keeping me busy :). They are all doing
great. Tyler was a little sick yesterday, but he seems to be doing
fine now. Everyone else is good. Ben´s foot is doing well, although
it hurts a bit. The sun came out a little yesterday and a lot today,
so we have a few sunburns. Everyone is tired and, as I like to say,
riding the line of exhaustion. Our days are full, to say the least.
Yesterday and today´s schedule looked very similar. We broke up into
4 groups in the mornings and each installed one stove a day (that´s 8
total). We visited some of the families tonight and they were cooking
on their stoves and very happy (they are cooking stoves, not heating
stoves). It´s amazing how we think something that is so common is a
huge blessing to them. Imagine only being able to cook over an open
fire. That´s all these families could afford.
Some of the boys got to go out into the woods and chop firewood. Then
they got to carry it on their backs. Ask them about it--talk about
hard work. Some of the girls got to make tortillas. It´s hard work,
too. Then they got to deliver a basket of tortillas and a bundle of
wood to the families where we installed the stoves. It was great to
see the gratitiude.
VBS in the afternoons went better than expected, too. We did Bible
stories, crafts, mimes (drama put to music), games, songs, and over
all had a great time. We had about 200 kids come to the activities.
The team doesn´t want to leave San Pedro, but alas, there are other
villages that need stoves and Jesus, too :).
Tomorrow early we leave for Panyebar. We will install 12 stoves
there, and have VBS once. Thursday night we will relax a little and
watch a movie with the kids (in Spanish, of course). Probably
"Buscando Nemo." We will return Friday afternoon.
We will not have email in Panyebar. You will not hear from me until
Friday night. If you do not hear from me Friday, the internet cafe
was closed, or it was just too busy. If you were here you would
understand. Right now I´m racing to get to our team meeting on time.
We have cell phones and can call in case of emergency.
The team is one of the best yet. The kids are all getting along, even
more so than I expected. They are united and are working hard. I am
impressed. Many of them didn´t even know each other, but God is
bringing them together in a way I´m not sure I´ve seen. I wish you
could be here to see it happening. They are encouraging each other
and supporting each other (and snapping at each other from time to
time, but what can you expect from cramming 23 people together for so
long). They are working hard and doing a great job. Thanks for
letting God use them in this way. Feel free to ask if you have any
questions (even though I won´t be able to answer until at least Friday
night).
I need to go. I´m late to the meeting...
Leo
p.s. If I can´t email on Friday night, I won´t be able to again until
Saturday night, so no worries
Sunday Oct 26
Hello,
All is well here in Guatemala city. We are getting ready to go to the airport. Your kids did such a great job. Be sure to ask them lots of questions--if they feel like talking. Sometimes they need a day or two (or week or two) to process. Please be understanding of them these next few days. They worked really hard and God did a lot in their lives. Re-entry is difficult. Please talk to me if you have any questions or concerns. I need to go make sure they make the plane.
Adios,
Leo
