February Goes Fast

As I write this entry on a day that hasn't appeared in our calendar for the last four years, I couldn't help but to turn to Justin and say, "Damn, February was fast!" And it truly did. We've done a crazy amount of traveling over the last few weeks, and our pocketbooks show it. With each place, however, we've been able to gain yet another unforgettable memory, and I still find myself having the time of my life.

After returning from Antigua, Justin and I spent two weeks at the monastery… the only full two weeks in all of February that we'd be there. During those two weeks, however, we accomplished huge steps with computer donation project. After several trips to and from the sites (which is about 45 minutes away), we have over 25 computers set up and delivered in two different schools. We have about 10 more to clean up and install, and then (save the "instruction on usage" part) we are complete. The delivery and physical installation project took longer than you'd expect, but we had help. Not only did Giovanni come to help with programming, but Casey and Connor (lead volunteer coordinators from HELPS) assisted us with our project. After the January HELPS mission, Casey and Connor decided to visit Semuc Champey (tourist hotspot near Cobán) and then preside in the monastery with us for a few days.

(ASIDE: Anyone that makes it to Cobán, you've got a free place to stay and eat! Gotta love Benedictine hospitality).

Setting up our Computer Army

Casey, Justin, Connor, Me

They got to see the "inside edition" of what living in a monastery is like. We even had a classic American Super Bowl Party in the Gringo Room! While visiting with Connor and Casey, we determined that we would try to help translate for one HELPS mission per month if our schedule could swing it. This included us giving the green light to the then upcoming February HELPS mission in Tecpán! Our experience with the last HELPS mission was so in-depth, effective and priceless, that we are doing our best to make HELPS a major part of our service work here. 

Alan shows Bernie his "new work shifts" on the schedule

Connor and Casey left to prepare the next medical mission in Tecpán on Wednesday, February 8. We had further work to complete during the following Thursday and Friday, so we planned to meet them at Hotel Barceló at 8:00a.m. in Guatemala City on Sunday February 12. In the meantime, we completed more computer work with Giovanni and Fr. Bernie, and prepped for another week of intense medical mission work. We also got a cool tour of Alan's Cardimom farm (Alan Kress, friend of Father Bernie, has a farm very near the schools receiving our donated computers).  Prior to leaving, we met up with our friends Guiseppe and Sasha for dinner at a Cuban Cuisine restaurant. It was great catching up with them prior to heading out for another big adventure.

Lots o' Cardimom