On our way home

A huge thank you to Tommy and Lee for waking up at 4 am to get us to the airport on time!!

Team Lifesong is traveling together (everyone got on the flight to Panama). 

Thank-you for all the prayers and support that allowed all of us to experience the New Life Children's Home.  We look forward to seeing everyone and sharing our stories.

Jim in the Kitchen

  

Taylor at the Ruins

If this duplicates - I tried uploading 2 at a time - trying singles...

Robert on the Ruins

Robert was willing to climb anywhere - the barbed wire stopped Andrew for a while but Andrew, Greg and Robert made it to the top.

Men at work - part 2

So my original "men at work" had the men working hard building and digging.  It never posted.
Greg is making pancakes, Bobby is cutting fruit, and Jim is making bacon! 

Breakfast will be good before the pool...

Antigua market

Dave Ramsey would be proud ...
Everyone bargained and experienced the Guatemalan culture at the market.
 

A Day in Antigua

Wednesday was our day to enjoy being tourists.  We went to breakfast at a five star resort, visited the coffee farm to learn how the great coffee we have been enjoying was made, got to climb on the ruins, lunch at a fast food chicken place and shop in the market in Antigua.

Daniel and Bobby stayed behind until lunch time because Daniel wasn't feeling well. 
They joined in for the market though.

Today we will be swimming with the kids that earned the day at the pool.  We are all looking forward to it.  I can't believe how fast the week has gone.  It will be difficult to say goodbye to all of the precious children we have enjoyed playing with and talking to tonight.

Busy Work Day for Everyone

The team got a lot done today!  Saturday and Sunday we woke to birds chirping and the peaceful sounds of being away from the fast paced USA.  Monday I woke to 400 children excited for a new day at school - they start arriving at 6 am and their school day is done at 1pm - a little different from the school schedule we are used to. 

We made some improvements to the play area by the children's home playground.  Jim, Taylor, and Elizabeth painted a room that will be used for storage.  Greg and Jeff painted benches while Jim and Bobby fixed shelving for the storage room.  Cathy and Michelle went grocery shopping with Wendy, Stacy, and Marilyn.  They are amazing at how quickly and efficiently they can maneuver the store isles and get everything done - and without lists!

In the afternoon, the kids scrubbed down the outside of all the metal trash cans on the school grounds and then we painted hands and put prints all over the cans - we will be doing more of this tomorrow to finish them up. 

We had black bean soup with rice for lunch and black beans, boiled plantains, and corn tortillas for dinner.  Both meals were very good.   Things we have in common culturally - kids love Silly Bands, playing games, and Facebook!

What's missing??

I attempted to post a bunch of pictures yesterday and they are still trying to load.

Sunday was a day of worship and play and fellowship - it was a blessed experience for each and every one of us!

We got some great pictures and I will post them in smaller sections so you can enjoy them as well.

This morning I am posting a picture from Michelle and Jeff to Lyndol...

Lots of play and fun time after dinner Saturday night

We separated into our small groups and had dinner in the 4 children houses.  Afterward we had a great time getting to know the children and playing card games and running around.  They love to play spoons and uno.  And the little girls can't get enough of chasing Robert, Daniel, David and Andrew!

We will rotate so we will all have the opportunity to eat with each family house. 
We brought an after dinner treat for the kids - it was a hit - goldfish in the shape of a carrot. 

Church today followed by an afternoon of crafts and more playtime with the children. 

More pictures

The kids had a great time playing with each other today. 

The men were hard at work repairing a roof and remodeling buildings.  Michelle and I got to escape for a little while to go to the local mall with Stacy I wanted to take pictures but security would have taken my camera. 

I am trying to load larger pictures so everyone can enjoy them! 

Will publish more after dinner.

Day 1

We couldn't ask for better weather. 

Michelle made a tasty  breakfast with oatmeal. 

Had orientation and a tour of the grounds. 

The lunch bell just rang so we will blog more later.

We arrived!

We made it to Villa Nueva, Guatemala safe and sound and ready for a good night's sleep.
Orientation and tour tomorrow and we will upload pictures.
Thanks for all the prayers for our travels. 

LifeSong in Guatemala - Spring Break 2012

LifeSong returns to Villa Nueva, Guatemala

 for a third time to work with 

New Life Advance International's Children's Home. 

We encourage you to follow along with the trip
by checking this blog on a daily basis. 

Team members for this trip are:

 Jeff & Michelle Frey, Jim & Taylor Rop, Bobby, Daniel & Robert McCarthy 

and Greg, Cathy, Elizabeth, David & Andrew Carroll. 

Please keep our team in your prayers.
The trip is from Friday, March 23-Friday, March 30.