YWAM Guatamala

We got to the ywam base on Thursday night and spent most of Friday doing projects for them.  Brian fixed broken legs on a fusball table and I cleaned out and sterilized kitchen cupboards.  It was much more fun than wandering aimlessly around the city of Antigua.  The city is very colonial with solid wooden carved doors set into thick stucco walls.  It is beautiful lots of bouganvillea  and dozens of ruined churches.  We got to help with a kid's club this morning .  I sat with a twelve year old girl, Gladiz, the size of an 8 year old.  We colored  and talked about her family.  She has  2 older siblings and 4 younger.  She has never been to school because she works.  Her most recent job was arranging and packaging tomatoes to sell.  Her father lives and works in the United States.  She hasn't seen him in 6 years, although he calls and sends money.  I tried to tell her about a local organization that gives child street vendors an elementary education while allowing them to also work part time.  Here's the link: http://www.matthew2540ministry.org/outreach.shtml a quote from the website:"If a child graduates from this school, they are awarded a 'green card' certificate which enables them to find work in a business or store. Without this certificate, their only option remains street vending, selling in the market, or maid and child care employment. The children this school serves are considered the bottom of the class system, but the teachers believe they have value..." The base is in a small town at the base of two volcanos, one to the west and one to the south. They're huge.  All day and all night long firecrackers are going off and the pre-recorded bells of the church ring sort of on the hour, sounding distorted by speakers turned up too high.