Adventures in the Jungle

Greetings from Guatemala!
Today we finally got to sleep in until 8:15 (our normal bugle call is 6:00). We got dressed up in our Sunday clothes and walked across the street to a church. Carlos gave the sermon and most of the service was in Spanish which was very interesting. We sang two songs with both English and Spanish verses and were greeted individually by all the church-goers. Later in the afternoon we went back to the worksite and continued to make progress. The bridge is coming along quite well, the process of welding, scrubbing, and painting the panels is so efficient they are put on the bridge the second they are dry.

The water team has been making good progress as well. Friday was a big day when we poured the concrete for the first filter, hung the gutters, and moved the tank down the river to the house. We will pour the concrete for the second filter tomorrow. Diego first carried three huge loads of gravel and sand and Manuel and his brother mixed the concrete on the ground. This was no Quikcrete that we had used at school and was quite a site to see!

I have had quite a time getting to know Diego’s family (the house of which we are installing the water system). Manuel and I have worked hard together as well as shared many laughs even though we don’t always understand each other. He jokes about a crooked cut I made in the wood constantly as well as our adventures with the tank. Today he was at the bridge site where others showed him how to weld and use power tools.

The kids have also been quite a pleasant surprise. There are about six kids at the water house who I have connected with and learned all their names. A new game was created when they learned the words ‘excuse me.’ Now the kids will walk up to you and say excuse me and motion for you to move over. They have also learned other English words such as good morning, thank you, hello, and tickle. My gloves are usually taken out of my back pocket and I have to chase them down to retrieve them, although they know when I need to work and will give them to me right away when I ask. Today one of the kids (Nicolas) returned my glove to me and motioned for me to put my hand in, and when I looked down I realized he had put a baby chick in it! All the kids got a good laugh out of that one. Every day I now look forward to walking to the water house where I will be greeted by all the kids with “Hello, good morning. Excuse me!”

Tomorrow starts another big day as teams are returning to the bridge site, water site, and back to the schools.
Adios for now,
Nathan Harless


Diego cutting wood with his machete.



Me with the kids at the water house.



The water team installing the gutter on the house.