This is Tio Juan's Orphanage and the children were most interested in my nose, every band-aid, my hearing-aids, etc. Older people are too polite to notice, but kids are curious and question, freely.

Diana and Mario Astorga have become dear friends. They are like our grandchildren at home and we love them dearly. We are the home teachers for this couple and we have done many wonderful things together. We are so blessed to have such good friends.

This has been a great 10 days, but there are a couple of highlights. Hence, this blog is printed a little sooner than usual. Last Thursday I had made an appointment for any senior missionaries who wanted to join us for a tour of the SAFE-PASSAGE School in Guatemala. I had heard much about this school since our arrival last year. Finally, we had time to set it up and a group of us were able to take a tour of this amazing school. A young woman, who had been travelling with a group saw people scrounging for food in the Guatemala garbage dump. She was stricken and called her parents and told them to sell everything she had and send it to her. She never went back! She began a little program for the children of the people who, for 20 Quetzales, are permitted to comb through the dump. They live there, eat what they find in the dump, use cardboard and plastic for walls and roofs and use plastic sacks for fuel for their little fires. Most can't read and 80% are without fathers. She started with a few students in a small house which, in the last 8 years has expanded to about 400 students. This is a school labelled "Safe Passage" and if one googles it they can find quite a few sites.

This will be difficult to see, but the dump is way down the slope. If you look closely, notice that the grass in the foreground is the place where we are standing. Way down the hill are a number of tiny buses, tractors and the many people who live and work in the dump for a few Quetz. a day. I was shocked to learn that families with 5, 6, 8, + children work for the amount we pay for a McDonald's hamburger. Hunger is prevalent, education opportunities almose zero, options for other work are totally out of reach for these people.
This school provides a place to study, learn English, learn study skills, eat one or two meals, and provides a safe environment. There are two shifts and the ages of the children range from 5 to 21 take the opportunity this neighborhood school provides. It is difficult to describe the miracle this school has become for this area. As we took the tour we looked through windows of the classrooms and saw many of the older kids studying with their high school textbooks on the table. This school is a resource for them. All of the children go to neighborhood schools, but before Safe Passage, the kids might go one day and not the next. The students have to sign a contract that says they must go to school if they want to be part of Safe Passage. And everyone does! It is an encredible learning environment with a gifted staff of permanent educators, managers (mostly Guatemalan)and volunteers. The volunteers come from all over the world. The can come for a few weeks, a few months ->even longer. The young woman who began the school died in a car accident a few years ago but the staff decided to continue. Therefore, all the staff and they are all young, andI mean young, at least they look so to us. The teaching staff is all under 35, I'm sure. The two in the photos are both working on PhDs in the United States, but they are permanent educators on staff. (pictures below)

A year or so ago some of the mothers of the children wanted to learn to read just as their children were doing. There are now classes for these women. A week ago, one of the fathers asked if he could come and learn to read. This is a remarkable event as many of these families don't even know where the fathers are located. As well as learning to read, the women have learned to make brilliant and gorgeous beads from the paper they find in the dump. They are making beautiful jewelry. The school has taught the women how to set up a business, with a board of directors, etc. Now they are not only learning to read but learning about opportunities and possibilities. A very prominent hardware store (sort of like Lowes in the US) is going to feature their jewelry in September. This has opened up many doors for these women.
This school is also providing scholarships for colleges for students who show they are working hard.

al Elder Albert with a friend in the school library.

The staff is so young, but incredibly accomplished. Their passion for this project makes me want to help. I am planning to call them this week. Perhaps I can help in some way. The young woman in the dark blue shirt is Karen in the photo on the right. She is the volunteer manager. The young women in front is a PhD and is in charge of all scholastic efforts. The young woman in the left photo has set up an amazing library and supports and teaches study skills. She is from California, she is a PhD candidate. These women are on the permanant staff.

This is the school as it is now. What began as a small house is now a building with a couple of stories. There are quite a few little classrooms and a large cafeteria. The meals the kids get here are the only meals they will have during the day.

Dr. David and dad. He is my dermatologist in Guatemala and has become a good friend

This bridge was in Texas, but we were awed by the amazing structre and mathematical arrangment of cables.

Dad is holding the little shorts and a little backpack for Tammy and Jame's baby. We couldn't go to the shower, so here is our gift. The shorts are sooo Guatemalan, but they could fit in anywhere.

As always, it has been an amazing week. We learn so much everywhere we turn. There is much sadness, much poverty, but the humanitarian work in Guatemala from all sorts of agencies and many churches is very helpful. Remember the starfish story? We see that metaphor everywhere. A starfish here, a starfish there...and little by little there is progress. This is social change, but the most significant change occurs as people join the church. It is here that we see changes that affect families, then communities, then cities and finally these changes will change Central America. Why do I say this in the future tense? In dynamic ways it is already happening. Right now we are a tiny part of it. How could we be so blessed?