I was able to take my first trip to Guatemala last week.  I have heard the stories, talked to some of the people involved, but never been able to be apart of the work that Plywood is involved with in the actual country of Guatemala.  For a week I spent time helping build a couple widow homes, meeting the women who make the bags and wallets we sell, spending time with a great friend, and gaining more insight and understanding into the purpose we serve.

I was moved by the level of gratitude the women had as we would present them with the keys to their own home.  They were so gracious to host us while we barged onto their land, getting their children and grandchildren all wound up, all the while they fed us full of crackers and coke, learned to use electric drills, and then wept with us as we stood with them in their new house.  The second home we built, there was a huge dark ominous cloud, and sure enough it would have soaked us had we not gotten the roof on the house just in time.  We all huddled inside trying to stay dry, and enjoying spending the first hospitable moments with Manuela in her new home.

Meeting the women who make the bags and wallets we sell was also an adventure!  It’s Guatemala’s rainy season, so it rained on and off through the course of the week.  The morning we were headed the factory, we had to drive through a river to get there.  The streets were all pretty severely flooded.  Every time we’d meet another car, waves would roll onto the hood, but we got there.  The women shared how much it meant that we shared their story and helped to provide work for them. They had watched the video of them making the bags, and loved it.

I wanted to share with you one of my most favorite moments.  It’s the picture of the boys in the bottom picture playing with bubbles.  We had fun chasing them through corn fields and trying to teach each other words we’d understand before the rain rolled in and we were all huddled inside the house to stay dry.