SWFLSkins Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Good Graces be with you on your worthwhile journey. The lives you change will turn out to be more than your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 We're here!!! Seriously I feel like I'm home!! pics later tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 We're here!!! Seriously I feel like I'm home!!pics later tonight. Great to hear. Obviously I don't need to tell you this, but that's the great thing about being called to do something...the sense of peace and "rightness." Looking forward to your pics, bro. Be well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Day 1 Mimi's House; this is our mission home, it has taken more than two years to get this home to where it is now. As of now it can host up to 50 mission team members along with the 5 members of the Greene family and the 11 girls who are sponsored at Mimi's House. God has blessed this ministry so much and it has been amazing just to be part of that blessing. Here is the team house at Mimi's. When I was here two years ago this was nothing more than a hole in the ground and a few rebar frames and a couple dozen cinder blocks. Now it sleeps 24 and will soon double the occupancy when the upstairs in finished. Here is a futbol/basketball court at a school in a very poor village called Cerro Alto...not a basketball in sight. Mi esposa linda con unos muchachos! A very generous donation of toothpaste and tooth brushes, given by two dentists near our home in Kentucky, finding its way to those in need. A very excited 1st grade class (and teacher) for the many school supplies that were donated! A typical classroom This is an Onil Stove that saves 60-70% on fuel costs and is ultra efficient at delivering the fire heat to the cooking surface. Also notice the very common corn stalk walls. My wife making a new friend. I love this pic. Edgar (with backpack, our guide) is interviewing a family to asses their need as candidates for a new house to be built for them. $3,000 builds and furnishes a wood built tin roof 2 bedroom, 1 open room house on a concrete slab. Furnishings include bunkbeds, full size bed, dining table and chairs and a couple other items. This is the home that the candidate's family currently lives in. The kids know the mission truck and whenever it stops they all come running hollering for candy. LoL! My wife gave them all of our snacks, and all of our water bottles, needless to say it didn't take long for us to get VERY thirsty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Beautiful. And just a touch heart-wrenching too. I'm a little (pleasantly) surprised to see how happy the kids look. Gotta be a great feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Wow look at those smiling kids! Great picture What is the story behind the little girl with the walker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Awesome pictures. Keep up the great work over there. Good to see such bright examples of hope in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Beautiful. And just a touch heart-wrenching too. I'm a little (pleasantly) surprised to see how happy the kids look. Gotta be a great feeling. Wow look at those smiling kids! Great pictureWhat is the story behind the little girl with the walker? That's the amazing thing, the kids are never bashful about a smile, they haven't caught our "I dare you to impress me" attitude from the states yet. As for the little girl with the walker, one of her legs is severely turned in and the other didn't work hardly at all, palsy maybe? But her problem is that the walker she is using was made for an adult so it doesn't fit her at all, not to mention that nothing around their village is paved or has sidewalks. One of the best things I saw yesterday was her 10? Year old brother carrying her down a steep incline on a hill after school. I was dumb struck by that moment. ---------- Post added March-6th-2012 at 09:19 AM ---------- Awesome pictures. Keep up the great work over there.Good to see such bright examples of hope in the world. Thanks so much, it is a lot like trying to empty the ocean with a tea cup, but we just keep telling ourselves that we can help this starfish. I'm sure if you google a starfish story about a girl helping starfish on the shore you'll find what we mean. Thanks all for you continued prayers!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbear Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Wow. As for the girl in the walker, wouldn't some crutches work better? Are those hard to come by/make there? Those are some awesome pictures. They remind me of what my wife and I found when we went into town in Placencia, Belize. I keep trying to tell my kids how rich we are. They see kids at school who got x,y and z, but they didn't. I've tried to explain all they have, how rare it is for kids their age to have traveled where they have, how rare it is that we have and take care of 3 dogs. The idea of pets as a luxury is foreign to them. The idea that even in the U.S. very few people, much less children under the age of 7, make it to St. Croix, Disney World, Arkansas, Seattle, Portland, West Virginia, etc. I hope to some day take them somewhere to see what so many people do without and how happy they can be with so much less than we take for granted. Major props to you and your beautiful wife. Thanks for the pictures and the stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Nice post, g. Spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 I'm not sure about the crutches, seemed that four points of contact worked better than two for her. As for medical care in the area, it is pretty much non-existent. The women still give birth at home and we met one man who's legs were severely mis-shapen, his mother said only that he never walked as a baby, and at 45 years old he was bed bound. My assumption was that he hadn't left the bed in a VERY long time. For dignity reasons I decided to not take his picture. But, it was just another stark reminder of the realities of life here. After we left my wife kept repeating that in the states he'd have 100% disability coverage an would most likely receive the care he needed in a nursing facility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbear Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I only thought crutches because it would be possible to make them her size. Medical care is another of those things I point out to my kids whenever they feel needy. I point out both of them are miracles who wouldn't be alive had they been born in other parts of the world. Though I do tread a little lightly on that one as my daughter has some pathological fear issues creeping into her life. I point out more often that I would not be playing with them, hiking with them or reading to them nearly as much if I lived elsewhere and did not have my medication. "For your messed up brain Daddy?"... "Yes, and I am sure I will hear ever more about how messed up my brain is even with the drugs as you grow to be a teenager." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Guatemala Day 2: Today was pretty much a "daily life in Guatemala" day. We got to explore the Christian Academy of Guatemala (CAG) where I might be teaching someday, and where Ethan and Bailey would attend school. (can post photos of the CAG tomorrow if anyone would like to see it, but it is late now and I need sleep!!!!) I also got to go with Fontaine (mission director) and Edgar as they checked out a 15 passenger van to purchase for Mimi's House. We had a big laugh when Edgar said 15 Guatemalans, 10 Americans. LOL!!! We also had a chance to check out one of the neighborhoods where a lot of the missionary families live, Andi really liked the open layout of the community, but I liked a bit more privacy. More prayer on that. =} Tonight, we finished with a wonderful in home worship and Bible study at Mimi's House with several wonderful new missionary friends, we had church and it was good. Some good news to report as well, through our network we have received enough contributions to buy the little girl in the photos who uses the adult walker a child sized walker of her own!!! Plus others have contributed enough to buy and install at least two new Onil stoves!!!! God is so awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superozman Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 For my church, I co-organized my first mission trip to West Virginia last year though ASP (www.asphome.org), and I would like to tell everyone here that ASF is definitely seemingly the perfect personality and even though I don’t know him except on here – has to be what Missoinary groups need. I found out quickly, that running a mission trip with 2 people leading it was pretty much next to impossible, with how busy my schedule is. I then presented an idea to my church to have more people involved, and ran a separate way this year. The pastor and my co-leader shut me down, and well, the mission trip isn’t happening this year. And I have backed out because they may go forward with something, but I can’t work with them because of what’s happened over the last year or so. So after 2 years of hard agonizing work for a mission trip for 21 people within the US – ASF, I applaud you deeply for your work outside of the country pulling it off with whoever you brought along. God is indeed using you for the betterment of these people, and I’m glad you listened and accepted the challenge. Please keep this thread updated, as many may be shocked at how much work, but how awesome it is when that work is completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks superozman, that is incredibly nice of you to say. Guatemala Day 3: Wow, today was busy, and hard and good and tough all at the same time. Today Edgar took my wife and I into Antigua for some shopping and lunch, but while there we had a chance to meet another missionary family who runs a girls home for troubled and at risk teen girls. In visiting with them we got a chance to see how a similar mission can take shape with differing visions. It was a good visit, but also very eye opening. They ran their home much more like an institution rather than a home and a family like what we see at the Greene's (Mimi's House), they are still doing a very good work, but the philosophy is just very different and actually kind of cold. It was good to see though because it give us more information about mission life in Guatemala. After that, Edgar took us to a nursing home in Antigua, and it was so far removed from a "nursing" home that you'd never confuse the two. It was basically a care home for the elderly but there was no sign of "nursing" at all. My wife was in shock for our visit because of all the things we consider a necessity in a nursing home were simply non-existent. To top it all off the entire facility runs off of donations. Tomorrow...mas trabajo, I'm pretty sure we build stoves tomorrow!!! If you'd like to look through my entire facebook album, please just click below. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150565675936846.369828.540021845&type=1&l=9041e03e75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Man, it is awesome to see God's people at work spreading the Gospel. I'll be praying for you & your wife as you do God's work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Yesterday was a fairly relaxed day, got to tour the city a bit more and got to see a home comparable to what we could rent, I also got a chance to catch up on my reading (Simply Christian by N.T. Wright). Today it is back to work as we are planning to build two new stoves in Cerro Alto. The guys I'll be working with speak little to no English...this should be fun!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Wow, what a day. Today I spent an entire day installing Onil stoves in homes in Cerro Alto (a small rural community outside of Chimaltenango), and for the first time in my life I was the only one who spoke English. Ramero, one of the full time builders at Mimi's House and I were out on our own...and he didn't speak English either, and my Spanish isn't very good, so needless to it was a very interesting and awesome day!! We ended up building three different Onil stoves for some really awesome families, things like this are why come to Guatemala. I love this so much, and although I'm completely exhausted this was one of the richest days I've ever experienced. Below I've posted the step by step process of building the stove, plus some of my favorite pics from today. This is the view from the pathway to some of the homes we were working in today...seriously does it get better than that!? Looks like there was a really big fire in an industrial part of Guatemala City tonight, a fire in the city can get very out of control very quickly considering the close proximity of the homes and buildings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Holy smokes what a 48 hours!! All is good had a fantastic but very busy weekend, I'll try and post pics tonight but I'm about worn to the bone. I want to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers over the past months as we prepared and the past week as we've served and explored this beautiful corner of God's awesome creation. Sadly, tomorrow we fly home but in the words of Gen MacArthur "We shall return!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWFLSkins Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I feel so much richer in spirit reading this thread. Forget the material goods, it makes me feel richer to know that your out there doing this work, God's work. I don't like the stove I have right now, and yet it humbles me to think I need or deserve one better after seeing those pictures. How much do they cost to build? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 The stoves that we install are $150 to build, they cost about $120 but we use cement as mortar to hold the cinder blocks together to create a more strudy base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Ok, new photos are uploaded from yesterday and today...I have a couple more on my iPhone, but I'm too lazy...or tired....to go back to my room and get it. That'll give me something to do after clearing customs in Houston tomorrow.... ='( I don't want to leave, I love it here so much! Oh, new pics start at #179 I think. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150565675936846.369828.540021845&type=1&aft=10150576634936846&l=9041e03e75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Ok, new photos are uploaded from yesterday and today...I have a couple more on my iPhone, but I'm too lazy...or tired....to go back to my room and get it. That'll give me something to do after clearing customs in Houston tomorrow.... ='( I don't want to leave, I love it here so much!Oh, new pics start at #179 I think. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150565675936846.369828.540021845&type=1&aft=10150576634936846&l=9041e03e75 Thanks for the upates and pics from what you all are doing over there. It's good to see some positive news every now and then. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Three hour layover in Houston....ugh. I so want to be back in Guatemala. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Darn, I forgot to ask you to pick me up a few bags of coffee. Oh well, maybe next year Good work ASF and nice blog. There are a lot of these same types of opportunities in our country as well, especially in appalachia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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