Pray for Rain

When 50% of your country's children already suffer from malnutrition and there's a drought during what is supposed to be the rainy season, you've got a disaster on your hands. And that's exactly what's happening now in Guatemala.
The United Nations is reporting that Guatemala is suffering from their worst drought in 30 years, with up to 70% of their crops destroyed. This has led Guatemala's President to request international aid to help the 2.5 million affected indigenous Mayans.


Carey and I had been told that it would pretty much rain here every day May through October, so we knew something was up when it didn't rain hardly at all for the past three months. It's finally started raining periodically, but it may be too little too late (the "rainy" season ends in one month). If it is, Guatemala may be in serious trouble.


The Ugly Facts:
- 75% of Guatemalans live below the poverty line (World Bank)
- 58% of them in extreme poverty (meaning they can't buy basic foods day-to-day)
- Guatemala has the 4th highest rate of malnutrition in the world (and highest in Latin America)
- 200,000 Guatemalans were killed during their 36 year Civil War (1960-1996)
- 30% of pregnant women are malnourished
- Poverty level in Quiche (where Carey and I work) is 80%


The extreme malnutrition in Guatemala is being blamed on: 1) price of eggs and beans has risen over the last few years (best source of protein for the indigenous), 2) no clean water = severe diarrhea, 3) lasting effects of the civil war, 4) the government can't help due to low tax revenue, and 5) cycle of poverty within families with too many children to feed.


How to Help:
1. Pray for people to respond to tragedies like this with generous hearts.
2. Read the book, "The Life You Can Save," by Peter Singer. I've read it twice and I promise it will rock your world. I'll never spend my money the same or feel apathetic again toward world issues. $15 on Amazon.
3. Donate. You and I are very powerful people. All we have to do is take a piece of plastic out of our wallet and type on a keyboard. It feels good to save a life.
Some charities that are highly rated and helping with the crisis in Guatemala: http://www.unicef.com/; http://www.savethechildren.com/; http://www.oxfam.org/; http://www.wfp.org/countries/guatemala (United Nations). *Note: not all of these organizations guarantee that the money goes directly to those in Guatemala, but generally "where most needed," which in part will be Guatemala. Go to http://www.charitynavigator.org/ to research your favorite charities or those listed above.

Have a blessed week and thanks for checking in.
Love,
Jay & Carey

Feliz Dia de Independencia!

I think Guatemaltecos may cherish their freedom even more than Americans. September 15th is Independence Day in Guatemala, and it is a BIG deal. The party starts the night before with fireworks (the kind of bombs that are illegal in the States), streets packed with "torch-runners," and bratty little kids (and some adults) throwing water on said torch-runners. The celebratory atmosphere carries over into early Independence Day where all schools close to participate in the village parades.
Carey's school got to walk in the parade with the local Camanchaj school, and it was certainly a sight to see...

Each grade gets to have a "float." Think Rose Parade without roses and a very limited budget. And of course in Guatemala a TOYOTA truck is always there to help out.

The preschool's theme this year was Payasos (clowns!)

The dad's stepped up big-time to help with the float and the face-painting.

This is either super-cute or super-scary. KISS rocks!

I've heard of clown cars, but...

Each grade elects a "princess." Our princess was Jade and she got the first-class Toyota treatment for the parade.

In all their glory!

The proud Director with her minions ; )

In other news... "I really shouldn't have gone in there!"

I'm hosting a big surgery team from Colorado this week, and I've learned and seen things that few people should see. I saw a tubal ligation performed - very cool. But I also saw something called a prolapsed uterus - disturbing. In short, and I had no idea this was possible with the human body, it's when a woman's uterus comes outside of her body. I immediately regretted going into the operating room, but maybe it will make for interesting sermon material one day!

Peace,

Jay

Spending Your Money

Chances are if you're reading this, you may have donated some money to Carey and me. For this, we will be forever grateful.

I must admit, however, though we've gladly accepted your money, it hasn't always been easy for us to spend it. The first few months we were here in Guatemala were sheer torture. And it wasn't due to the culture shock or the upset stomachs, it was because of the guilt Carey and I felt for spending your money.

Here's the deal: when you're a 34 year-old man the last thing you want to be doing is mooching off of others (or worse yet, living with your parents while mooching off others, which we did for 2 months before coming here - geez!) You want to feel financially independent! You want to feel like your career and earnings trajectory is headed upward, not come to an abrupt halt! Yet here we were - no paychecks - reduced to sending out letters to ask for money.

When we first arrived in Guatemala, we were hyper-sensitive to how we spent your money. For example, it was three months before I would even buy a snack (something I considered a "non-essential" to our mission here). Over time, however, we've lightened up a bit, which we hope is okay with you. We're still pretty cheap when it comes to handing over our Quetzales, but we've recently discovered an unexpected blessing from spending someone else's money: it's made us extremely generous people.

What I mean by that is before, when I considered it "my" money, I was slower to give it away to people who needed it more than I did. Now, I find myself looking for opportunities to use "your" money to help others. And here in Guatemala, you don't have to look far. When one of my neighbors tells me they need medicine, I walk to the pharmacy with them and buy it for them. When we see a child with a need (milk, lunch) we but it for them. When we hear of a worthy cause to donate to (shoes for children, water purification systems), we give money towards the project.

By giving us your money, you have changed me. You give us your hard-earned money in order that that money would bless others. And it has. Thanks to your faith in us, I now see money differently. When I return to the States next year, and am receiving paychecks once again, I will see "my" money differently. In fact, I will no longer see it as "my" money. It's money given to me (I believe by God) to bless others. I will continue to be generous with money, because, in reality, it never really was mine in the first place.

So thank you for your trust, and thank you most of all for changing me.

Guatemaltecos use Quetzales for currency. A quetzal is the national bird here (see it in the upper left corner of the bill?) Q100 is the largest bill here, and is worth only $12 USD. When I go into a bank to get money for our teams (usually around $2-3,000 USD, I emerge looking like a drug dealer b/c of the huge pile of quetzales they give me. Nothing screams, "rob me!" quite like a gringo carrying Q24,000!

The Relative Cost of Things:

Here's how much we spend on common things here in Guatemala:

Rent: $230 (includes bills)

5-gallon jug of pure water: $2

Gas: approx. $2.70/gallon

Breakfast at a restaurant: $2.50

Head of broccoli, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 4 squash, avocado & bag of rice: $2 total!

Jar of peanut-butter: $9 !!! (we have teams bring it to us)

Dozen roses: $2

New pair of tennis shoes: $22

1-hour Spanish lesson (one-on-one): $5

"New" shirt: $1.50

Bus ride to nearest town: $.75

Each of these prices is about 30% higher for gringos - we get a "special" price! ; )

Have a blessed week!

Peace,

Jay

Websitemala

We just upgraded our old Salud y Paz website and had a professional video done to promote the work we do here in Guatemala.

*Check out the 8 minute video on YouTube (Carey's a star in it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfm8T-41bBQ.

*Check out the new website at www.saludypaz.org.
Click on the 'About' tab and 'Meet our Staff' to see pics of the people we work with.

Have a great Labor Day weekend (and Hook 'em Horns!)
Peace,
Jay