Work before lunch, party after!

Guatemala Partnership
Cathy is always the life of the party!

Today, we headed to the Association office for an all-day meeting. Usually we only have half a day together in the office and always feel rushed. So this time, it was lovely to be more relaxed, get more accomplished, and have some really good laughs together.

For the first part of the morning, we made formal introductions and then heard two impressive year-in-review presentations by the staff. It is truly mind-boggling how much they achieve in a year! They planted 15,100 trees, delivered seedlings for 170 family gardens, installed 100 new fuel-efficient stoves, delivered 2,040 chickens, graduated 93 sewing school students, added two new revolving funds groups (for a total of 19 now), launched two new adult literacy classes, and held multiple bible classes and empowerment trainings. Not to mention checking in often on all of these projects in the communities; keeping accurate records and accounts; holding two annual assembly meetings, monthly Zoom meetings with us, and weekly Board meetings; and writing a number of funding grants. They are busy!

Jenny, the revolving funds coordinator, shares the success of this project – hear for yourself!

We then discussed a number of business items and prayed over the checks that we brought to fund these projects in 2026. None of this would be possible without your generous support. Rest assured that your donations are in good hands and will be put to good use.

Blessing the checks so that they may make a real difference in the lives of those who receive the benefits.

We also brought several new laptops that are up-to-date with Windows 11 (thank you Westminster!) and were delighted to hear that two of the Board members have signed up for a course to learn how to use a computer. Very exciting!

After a pizza lunch and a birthday cake for Board Member Yoli, the party really got started. To show our appreciation for their work and to get them suited up for the year ahead, we brought a few special items:

Each year, we make a special calendar for the Board, staff and some of us in the US – so we can thinking about each other often.
Executive Assistant Yohana received a new mousepad celebrating her recent Master’s Degree
Eddy the new agriculture and livestock expert got a new water bottle for his travels into the field.
All board members now have official purple sun hats (the color of the Association)
Also new rain jackets – since it rains about six months of the year here!
Thank you also to Ana Finch, Aldersgate United Methodist Church and Bishopsville Presbyterian in North Caroline for these gorgeous handmade blankets, prayer squares and hats! They were a hit!

Finally we made our first delivery of the medical supplies to Rosario and Edy for their clinic. Thanks again Mustang Expediting!

Tomorrow we are heading to the most remote village of Las Barrancas to see the projects there – stay tuned. Thanks for following!

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