Inside of new church building in Chuchipaca.
On Wednesday we continued with the UT group to a village called Chuchipaca which is also a location of one of the mobile clinics. This a location that many who have traveled with Health Talents on mobile clinics have visited for clinics. However, most probably do not know that this village and the surrounding villages is the largest apple growing area of all of Guatemala and possibly Central America. In this area they also grow peaches, plums and avocados.
The purpose of this visit and the visit on Tuesday to Paxot 2 was to visit with members of the community to discuss issues they have with their orchards so that we can see if there is a need for some classes in the future to assist them in improving their product. In both Paxot 2 and Chuchipaca we had a real good turn out from each of the churches and everyone is extremely interested in this type of education. We learned quite a bit about their process and the different varieties grown and now the UT group will take this information back to develop a program that students will be able to do with these communities. Once the program is started with the church, the church will in turn open the program to the community and then eventually try to take to other communities. See one, do one, teach one concept so that we can propagate this type of development.
Checking out some of the trees.
The tricky part will be working with each of the growers as most people here operate on their own. There are no coops, etc. so everyone competes with one another. However, from what we have learned of the men we work with, they will be very willing to share the information with others.
On other news, here is the before and after pictures of the church in Chuchipaca. They tore down the old church and have now built the new church. They still have more work with stuccoing the church, completing the floor, etc, but they at least have walls and a roof now. The exciting news on this new building is that it has been done with 100% of local resources (meaning Guatemalan resources) with no influx of US or other foreign dollars. They have probably received some funding from other churches in the area but most likely no more than 10% - 15%. I was speaking to one of the young men of the church, Cesar Daniel, and he was telling about how the church has become united in this endeavor and how some of the members decided to give their money they were saving for some other thanksgiving services which gave the church enough funds to purchase the remaining material to finish the roof. This is exciting news for this church and they will have a sense a pride about the building that they have put their hearts into.
Before
After - much larger.
These members have found the joy in giving in this situation and I pray they will continue to do so in hopes to increase the kingdom of God in their community.
God bless and have a great remainder of the week and weekend.
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