We have seen mothers day come and go, Ryan's birthday, and a couple of friends do the same. We are glad to be able to get into a routine here, to help and enable everyone else to accomplish more under the light of the sun.
Ryan has become more involved with dispensing corn to families who are enrolled in the 'corn project'. Every Sunday he travels to the town North West of here, San Andreas, and in front of the orphanage where the Ficker family first served in Guatemala, he gives out 100 lb. bags of corn to families who are suffering from the drought.
The corn truck is finally licenced after another fight here with the Guatemalan government. We were hoping to have all the final touches completed to make a trip to the coast for corn, but unfortunately, things are progressing slowly.
There are some repairs that need to be made on the font end of the Peterbilt corn truck before it is ready to haul, but as those wrap up this week, we are ready to get the corn hauling under way. We are realizing we might need to wait until next week for more time and resources. Every week Ryan sees at least 25 people in San Andreas, and with over 400 enrolled in the feeding program or corn project, we are lucky to have enough to go around. Often, having to turn away a dozen families because he does not have corn to give them. As I write this, Jacob is eating his cereal for breakfast. He is asking for more, a regular occurrence for anyone who has raised a boy with an appetite. I can't imagine telling him, "Sorry Jacob, but today we will not be eating breakfast.... lunch.... or dinner, and I honestly don't know how or when our next meal will come." How hard that would be on a parent and a family.
We are very blessed to have food on our table, and so many great cooks here to prepare that food. We enjoyed another volleyball game down at the river yesterday on our day off. Jacob enjoyed playing in the sand and riding the four wheeler up and down the mountain.
Ryan has been focusing on getting the grain bin up and running. After many wild goose chases in the city, Duane was able to find the paint and hardware we needed to finish cleaning all the pieces and get all the motors running. The Guys have been able to get all the rings up, and all that remains is the roof, which I am told will be a challenge. Tuesday night after lunch, all the guys came back and help with the last ring. By the end of the day they had their own method streamlined down to a science.
The roof shouldn't take too long, and I don't expect them to put it up until the corn is paid for and David is hauling it back to the house.
God willing this will all happen next week.
We miss you all.
