Let the building begin!

After months of planning, fundraising, and subjecting myself to mild sexual harassment from the mayor, last week we were finally able to start the building of the stoves!  Enjoy some pictures from the big day!



Breaking ground on stove #1!

Carrying water to add to the concrete mixture

I made all the ladies help out.  Women's empowerment!



Each women had to come see a stove being built, so she (or her husband) could then build hers

Materials--Check!

Wednesday was an exciting day, as we handed out materials to all the ladies!  Here is the day in pictures.


Handing out the stove tops at the Health Post to the ladies from Tzanabaj



Picture in front of the blocks and bricks...seconds before chaos ensued.....  You can tell how excited everyone
is because they are all smiling.  Guatemalans never smile in pictures!



Okay everyone, grab 35 blocks and 22 bricks!  Not surprisingly, a few went
missing in the process.  But, we worked it out.



Repeat in Las Vegas, the other village.  The ladies sitting with their piles of materials

Carrying the materials home

Cutie pitching in!

Thank you, Gracias, Maltiox!

Although we are technically behind the optimistic schedule I had planned, Things are moving right along.  Thursday and Friday, the cement and stove tops that the mayor ordered for us were delivered!

Friday, I ordered the portion of the materials that are being paid for using the money I received from donations.  A HUGE thank you to everyone who supported the project.  The amount donated exceeded that which was necessary for the projects!  The materials are being delivered tomorrow, which means, barring any of the million setbacks that could occur, we should be able to start building Thursday!

So, thank you!  Gracias!  Maltiox! (that's thank you in K'iche')

And the muni comes through!

This afternoon, I paid yet another visit to the muni to turn in the latest set of papers that they had asked for.  The first time I went, of course, the person who I needed to talk to (the treasurer) wasn't there.  So, went back a couple of hours later and managed to catch him. 

At first, things seemed to not be going so well.  He asked for some papers that I had already turned in to the secretary and pulled a few "fijese ques" (how every Guatemalan starts the sentence when they are giving bad news).

But then, something amazing happened.  He got on the phone and called the hardware store and told them to deliver the cement and stove tops to the health post!!!  For TOMORROW!  We'll see when we actually get them, but things are finally happening!  Yay!