Update July 30, 2021 (from Eric):

A year ago some of the worst rains and flooding in memory hit this area. Flooding and mudslides swept away houses, gardens and jobs as plantations were hit hard. This has left many in dire straits. There is little government help available and what help there is in the private sector is stretched very thin. We are pitching in as we can.

Things are getting organized on this project. Several local groups are going to be part of this. Rita, one very busy woman, among other things looks out for people in bad spots. She found a grandmother whose daughter left her with three grandkids, 1.5, 5 and 9. They were missing a lot of meals and the house is rotten and termite eaten.

 They are now getting basic food so that they aren't hungry any more. She at least owns the land.They were sleeping in a wood frame with woven strings so she got them a thin mattress. While bringing it in they bumped a door support and it turned to dust. Then it was discovered most of the house is in this condition.

 So after getting several of us on board this is going to be addressed. There will still be a dirt floor but concrete footers and five runs of concrete block for lower walls. Then a new metal roof and framing. It will be 8 by 4 meters. To many in the first world it would look like a shed but for them it will be a big life change.

 This is going to be our first like this. We are providing a lot of the funding. If you would like to contribute to this and other things we are doing please consider a donation. We have the information on our blog or you can contact Fiona Burky and she can help.

 We also were able to help with a vaccination clinic who put out a request for help as they had no blood pressure cuffs. A local group was able to get ten headed this way and we were able to fund two of them.This might not seem like a big deal to many but to those out here in this more remote area it actually is!

From the home office:  

 Eric posted quite a few photos of this family's situation on the IMS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/444644079017550

 If you want to donate to help this family,  please go to the "Donation Information" link at the right side of this page.  Should you wish to donate in a manner other than mailing a check to the home office, or using Paypal, please use the Contact Form at the side of this blog and we will return your message.

Update July 24,2021 (update from Mary):

IMS Update: July 22, 2021

 The house project is in the information gathering, planning stage and we are waiting on the Lord's guiding and timing. There are many small groups, organizations and individuals doing their own particular charity works. Feeding programs are one of the main focuses here due to past flood damage from the hurricanes just over a year ago. The floods and mudslides wiped out whole crop plantations and personal gardens. The people lost their livelihoods as well as mud/water damaged homes.

 Although our ultimate goal is the South Pacific, it will be some time before it is open. Due to covid, the island nations are still shutting their doors to any and all travelers. We will do whatever the Lord has in store for us here in Guatemala and prayerfully do only what He shows us. He has been repeatedly bringing a scripture to our attention, 'Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain'. So while we are here, waiting for the South Pacific to open, we need your prayers that we only move and do the works we are supposed to. The needs here are so great that it would be easy to get distracted by rabbit trails.

In the meantime, Eric is working on more boat maintenance...

 

 

 

  

 Update July 9, 2021:

Mary sent an interesting photo of a shopping excursion.  Purchasing food sold out of a boat, with the proceeds from the sales going to the orphanage/school, Casa Guatemala: 

And the really good news...that sneaky rat has jumped ship!  Hopefully it decided that it had better prospects elsewhere and left without doing any damage to the boat.  Measures are being taken to try to "rat proof" the boat, with Penny's approval, of course!

 Update July 7, 2021 (update from Mary):

Recently IMS donated a large amount of art materials to a local artist by the name of Kathi.  As you will read from Mary's account of her, Kathi does a lot for the community: 

Kathi has lived in Rio Dulce for 8 years.  And when the need arises, she has raised money in this local community for organizations such as the Bomberos and Centro de Salud along with the school children of Cayo Quemado and relief for victims of the volcano (in Antiqua) and two floods locally. 

Her current project is upcycling bottles with her personal artwork and selling to the local community.  This, as all previous fundraisers, ensures that 100% of the donations received, goes to benefit her favorite Guatemalan organization, the Rio Dulce Bomberos (EMT, Rescue and Fire Fighting).

 Government support for this fire station is minimal compared to that in the United States. Funds need to be raised on a monthly basis regarding operational and maintenance costs for the fire truck and ambulances. And there are no provisions for training, personal fire gear and supplies for the wound care room and ambulances.  Thus, without additional funding, it difficult to provide urgent care for births and medical care enroute to hospitals for victims of accidents, heart attacks, strokes, etc.

 Currently there are 6 paid positions and 50 volunteers who, on average, respond to 150 calls a month covering 100 communities throughout this region.

 

 Above is a photo of Kathi...

 Some of Kathi's beautiful bottle art... 

 

Donations made to Kathi from IMS consisted of:

1.)    Approx. 40+lbs of mixed variety beads, shells, crystals, jewelry pieces

2.)    (2) tubes E6000 glue

3.)    Small/scrap Fiberglass

4.)    8 skeins Vintage yarn

5.)    1 large bag various scrap fabric

 

 Update July 4, 2021:  update from Mary,  the boat repairs are almost complete:

The windlass rewiring is successfully completed! While we had the V-berth open, Eric repaired a bowed out section of wooden slats along one cabin side. It was that way when we got the boat last year. Due to fluctuating expansion of heat, humidity and cold, It was pretty warped. Eric did some creative shaving with a hand plane and corrected the warping as best he could. 

 

The last big project was cutting ventilation holes in several doors. One for the refrigeration compressor and the other two for the inverter and battery compartment. The heat had no way to escape through the solid doors, but now there is plenty of air flow.

 

The last small item to be addressed in the morning is to attach more pad eyes for support line to hold storage in place. We had some very heavy bags that flew off the place where they were stored during the intense rolling on the worse part of the journey down. I am amazed that something so heavy could be thrown about like that. Strong tie downs will remedy that situation. 

 

This will complete the projects and repairs that needed to be addressed before we were free to move forward into ministry projects. The Lord started stirring our hearts toward our first ministry project this morning. We are praying for clarity and focus and will share information and details once He makes everything clear to us for our next steps.

 

And we still have not caught the rat!!! We bought old-fashioned traps, baited them and he stole the bait off two, tripped one of the two and ignored the others. This time we put the bait on more securely in hopes of better results.   

 

 

 

 Above are a couple of photos Eric took that shows the typical transportation of the area. Given most people are living near, or on the water, different boats are used for different reasons. Some are used for transporting people and are used for water taxis, some are floating shops where families or small shops go about selling their goods.  And bigger ones are used for transporting much larger items, things that would be used, for example,  by a local business.  Long gone are the days that Eric and Mary need a vehicle!