Merry Christmas

Right now we are just counting down the weeks until we depart for Guatemala. Airfare purchased, reservations and transportation arranged. So all the things that can be done, to this point are done.

With that said, I just wanted to wish every one a Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

Feliz Navidad, Prospero Ano y Felicidades!

Muchas gracias every one for your continued support!

Fundraiser wrap up

We had a lot of fun at the Fall Festival. Daniel really enjoyed all the games. As for our fundraiser; we did pretty well. With the sales from the September event and Fall Festival, I would have to say we had a pretty successful fundraiser. It went better than we had thought.

I just finished boxing the leftover items and getting them shipped back to Melinda at Heart of the Sky. Thank you Melinda for working with us on this.

I can hardly believe just a little over 4 months we will be on our way to Guatemala. Time seems to have really flown by. As the time for our departure grows closer, I hope to have more details to share.

I want to send out a big Thank You to all who have supported us through our fundraiser. Also a Thank You to those who have supported us through prayer.

Fall Festival- coming soon

Well the hacky sacks and chocolate bars arrived this week. We are very excited about getting to set up a table at the Fall Festival. Thanks Anita and Ramona! We also extended the internet sales fundraiser for a couple of weeks. So you can still go online and shop at www.heartoftheskyfairtrade.com. Don't forget, if you decide to make a purchase, use our promo code 'Shiloh UMC' so our fundraiser gets credit. Just type the promo code into the promo box on the check out page.

As far the trip planning goes, we are in process of trying to decide on a place to spend the night in Chicago before our early morning flight on the 24th.

Thanks to everyone who has given us their support!!

Slowly progressing

Not a whole lot new to tell. We did pretty good with the fundraiser, so far. We will have a table at the Fall Festival, also. I'm expecting to receive some chocolates and hacky sacks, to add to our crafts, to sell then. The online sales is still going on, you have until Oct. 11th to check out the stuff online and use our 'promo code.'

Last week and Monday, was spent busily searching for the best airfare and getting that locked in. I'm happy to say that we got a really good rate on airfare and will be flying out of Chicago on March 24th to Guatemala. Trent at Velocity Tours has helped us so much in getting our itinerary set. We have rooms being reserved in Panajachel and Guatemala City. The only thing we have left to get set is a room, for the night before our flight out, in Chicago. Yes, we will be driving to Chicago, the airport there had the best deal on airfare, less than half the cost of the other airports we checked.

Hope to see lots of you at the Fall Festival.

Updates

We are still working out details for our stay in Panajachel. I spent part of the week looking for answers to a question that was asked of me, regarding concern over mosquitoes. I am happy to report, that after talking with several people and finally talking to the right person, I was told there is no problem with mosquitoes in the Highland area, where we will be traveling. The only time this may be an issue is during the rainy/wet season. There are so many choices but we have narrowed our search for lodging down to two places. The details are really starting to come together.

Just a reminder; don't forget to check out www.heartoftheskyfairtrade.com , our online fundraiser is still going on. If you make a purchase, please use our 'promo code' Shiloh UMC, so that it will go towards our fundraiser.

Thank you for all your support through prayer, donation or purchase from the fundraiser!

Good day

Our fundraiser was on Sunday, despite the weather went pretty well. We will be setting up a table at the Fall Festival, so I will have the stuff available over the next several weeks, if any one would like to look. You can contact me through my e-mail address, listed on the blog. The online sales fundraiser will continue for the next four weeks so you can also go online and check things out. For information on where to go and how to make a purchase, that is a part of our fundraiser see the previous blog post.

Now we continue with the planning for our lodging, airfare, work and all the little details that need worked out. So we continue to move forward little by little getting every thing set for our mission trip. Thank you to every one who made a purchase or said a prayer of support during our fundraiser on Sunday.

Fundraiser

I can hardly believe that it is finally here. Our fundraiser begins in 2 days. For those online shoppers, on Sunday, you can go to http://www.heartoftheskyfairtrade.com/, use our 'Promo Code' at check out so that they know it is for our fundraiser. Our 'Promo Code' is Shiloh UMC.

Those who will be attending service and/ or the Pork Chop dinner, we will be setting up tables for our Guatemalan Craft sale just outside the dining area. Hope you come and check out the beautiful items, we will have to display and sell.

Pictures of the Guatemalan Crafts

Pictures of some of the beautiful

Guatemalan crafts that arrived

yesterday

There wasn't enough space on the bed

for them all.

Guatemalan Crafts have arrived

I know I posted in an earlier post that our Guatemalan Craft Fundraiser will be on September 14th. We will also be having an online sales fundraiser, starting that same day and running for 4 weeks. Just wanted to take time to let everyone know that our Guatemalan crafts have arrived. The UPS guy delivered our box, yesterday. Checking out all the items in the box, seemed to make our upcoming Mission trip more real. We've been planning and planning but it has been just that a plan. Now that we are preparing for the fundraiser, we are doing and planning, so it seems more of a reality. Sorry if it seems I'm rambling.

I tried to post a couple of pictures but there seems to be some sort of technical problem. So I will try to post them a little later.

Here's the latest

As I posted in my last post, we are going to be having a fundraiser, selling Fair Trade Guatemalan Crafts, on September 14th, after the 10:30am church service. There will also be a Pork Chop dinner going on to raise money for Missions. For those who are unable to attend our fundraisers, we are also having an online sales fundraiser.
The online fundraiser and the crafts I have to sell are from Heart of the Sky Fair Trade. In order to make an online purchase and it benefit our project, you can go to: http://www.heartoftheskyfairtrade.com/, shop and select you purchase. Then go to the check out page, there you will see a box that says 'Promo Code.' In that box you can type 'Shiloh UMC.' That will let Melinda at Heart of the Sky know that the purchase is for our fundraiser and she will set aside a precentage of the sale for us. The online sales will also start on September 14th, at that time the 'Promo Code' will be effective for 4 weeks.

In other mission related news; we are busily working on getting the final details of our travel set and hope to have our airfare and lodging finalized in the coming weeks. Larry and I are so excited to be blessed with the opportunity to go to Guatemala. As we finalize details I will be sure to post.

Review

Yesterday someone asked about when we were planning to travel. Not sure if I ever really posted a definite date. At this present time, our hope is to depart from the U. S. for Guatemala on March 24th and return on the 29th. We will be having a fundraiser, selling Fair Trade Guatemalan Crafts on September 14th, in conjunction with a Pork Chop Dinner that is being held at Shiloh, to raise money for Missions. The dinner will start around 11:30 with carry out orders starting at 11am, at least that is what I think I remember reading. Along with our Guatemalan Craft sales that day we will also be having an online sales through the site that is supply the Guatemalan crafts. The online sales will begin on September 14th, as well, and run for a month. We will be receiving a promo code, to use so that they know the sales are for our group. As of yet I have not received the info on the promo code but will pass it along as soon as I have it. Our hope is that God's blessing will be on this fundraising event and we will be able to raise enough money to purchase at least 2 or 3 onil stoves for families in Panajachel/Highland area.

Moving along

Things are moving along.  We have a date set for our fundraiser.  It will be on Sept. 14th.  I have been in touch with the person providing our fundraising items to sell and we are all set to receive our box early next month.  We are also planning on doing internet sales with this same group.  I will post our promotion code, as soon as I know it but it won't be effective until Sept. 14th.  Melinda, at Heart of the Sky Fair Trade, has been wonderful in answering our questions and helping us get things set up for our fundraiser.  Has more details are worked out I will update here.  I'm am so excited and looking forward to the fundraiser.  I am praying that it will be successful and we will be able to provide onil stoves to at least 3 Guatemalan families.  

Still working on the details

As many may know there are lots of details to work out, when planning a fundraiser or anything. I haven't posted a lot of details regarding the fundraiser, in case it all falls through. So, we had a date, which received approval from all required persons. But the date didn't work for the persons putting on the dinner. So, now we will shoot for September or October. Hopefully we will have a set date, for the fundraiser, soon and I can post the details.
This weekend was a great refresher for me, we went to our adoptions agency's annual Celebration of Children Reunion Picnic. The joy and noise, was fabulous, from all the children. It was just a great reminder for me, that this mission, I feel called to, will hopefully help many families and their children.
Sorry for getting off track. There are so many families around the world in need. As many know, Guatemala captured my heart because of my son and the people we met while there. I pray for the people of Guatemala everyday. Though there is more to say, I will end here, not to leave my thought open ended but because I'm having trouble putting into words what it is I wanted to say.

General

We are still awaiting the final go ahead for our fundraiser, but I just wanted to post some of my thoughts. With each day, I feel more excited about our upcoming trip. It is kind of scary too, since we will be traveling to a part of Guatemala that we haven't been to before. On our previous trip to Guatemala to bring home our son, we visited Antigua and toured Guatemala City. The upcoming mission trip is heavy in my thoughts and on my heart today. In thinking about it, I feel such peace and joy, that we have been truly called to go on this trip. My son's birth mom, also has been in my thoughts. She gave us such a precious gift. I pray that our Father, fills her with peace that our son is happy, healthy and very much loved.
Though this is a bit scary for me, stepping way out of my comfort zone, I know that this trip is what my family has been called to. Since my first visit to Guatemala, I have felt such a connection to this beautiful country and its' people. I can't help but give thanks and praise to the Father for blessing us with this opportunity. We pray that our fundraiser will be successful and enable us to help many families. Also we pray that our Father may work through us to do his work on this mission trip.

Planning continues

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I last posted anything to this blog. We continue planning for the trip. Over the past couple of weeks, I was researching possible fundraisers. I finally found one, thanks to a very kind person, whom I had contacted for informaiton, who put me in contact with someone else. I have received an e-mail from Anita, saying that we are good to go with this fundraiser. It took a while to find the one that would work for us because we decided to do something a little different. We wanted to have a fundraiser that had Guatemala has it's focus. So now that we have found the fundraiser we want, now the dates just have to be worked out. When everything is worked out with the dates and details of the fundraiser, I will post more.

children with 50lb sandbag, used

in the installation of an onil stove

a family, from the Highland area of Guatemala

Stoves

example of old cooking stove

photo of an onil stove

Since we have decided to work on the stove project, I thought I would post photos of an example of an old stove used by some families in Panajachel and a onil stove. With the onil stoves it decreases the risk of burns. They also are more efficient and use less wood.

Decisions

In my last posts, I mentioned the ideas we were discussing, to do for our mission project. After looking at the estimated costs to build a home, put on a roof, or do a cement floor, we are back to our original idea. Our original idea was to raise money for and help install onil stoves for families who need them. As I said after looking at the estimated costs for the other project ideas, we feel the stove project is the best choice. Working on the stove project, we, I believe can help more families, than with the other projects. I also hope to be able to spend some time helping in the medical clinic.
The more into the planning we get the more we feel that this is the service, we've truly been called to do. Since visiting Guatemala, the country and the people have been very much on my heart. It just seemed to fit, when I started thinking about what area of service He was calling me to, especially when the first thoughts that came to me was 'what can I do to help the people of Guatemala.'

Project Ideas

We are trying to decide on a project to work on for our mission trip to Pana. I would really like to spend at least part of a day or even a whole day helping in the medical clinic. We are also talking about working on some type of construction/reconstruction project, ie... a home, or putting on a roof, or maybe doing a concrete floor, to replace the dirt floor in a home. Many of the homes have dirt floors which for those families, who don't have beds, it can get very cold at night. Also, it is a very difficult situation for these families, during the rainy season, as many live on the side of the mountain and the rain waters run right through their homes. So that is where we are with making a decision about our project.
As far as researching flights, transportation, lodging, etc..., we are making progress and should have an approximate expense total soon.

Progressing forward

I met with my church's Outreach/Mission chairperson, last week. We discussed all the things that need to be done. Right now I'm getting information on the hotels that Sharon mentioned to me to decide which would work the best for us. Also, I am awaiting info on airfare from my contact at Velocity Tours. Hopefully they will be able to get us a good deal. The people at Velocity Tours were such a great help to us, when arranging, our very short notice, travel to Guatemala, to bring home our son. So far I have been able to get tons of information from my friend Marlene, regarding transportation, food, and hotel costs. Thank you Marlene! I hope to have an outline compiled of the approximate costs for the trip soon. Once I am able to get my husband still, we will be discussing and deciding on what type of project we want to work on while we are in Pana. I really would like to help out in the clinic at least one day or part of a day. There is also the possibility of helping with concrete flooring for a family or replacing a roof for a family, the possibilities go on and on.... So definitely something we need to sit down and discuss.

On a different note, I want to say Thank you Nikki, for designing this blog! It looks great! Now that we are starting to get our plans together and get a date, for our trip, set, I am really getting excited! When I started thinking about doing some type of service project, it seemed like Guatemala, though very much in my heart already, was placed on my heart even more so. That we will be able to follow this journey, that we've been called to go on, fills my heart with joy. It is such a blessing for us to be given the opportunity to return to Guatemala and do something to help the families.

The planning continues

So far we haven't had any response to the article in the Faith Promise booklet about the mission trip. So it looks like it could be a family trip after all but still a church sponsored function. I've checked on how it would affect the cost of airfare if we moved our date back to the end of March. Makes a considerable difference and the cost, flying out of Cincinnati seems to be the least expensive. Anita and I are going to get together next week to talk about all the things we need to do. I have also emailed Sharon, per Anita's request, to check on the feasibility of having one of the onil stoves at the church on display. So things are starting to move slowly.

Faith Promise Weekend

I just spoke with Anita, via e-mail. She is going to put an article in the Faith Promise booklet, that will be given out this weekend at church, about a possible mission trip to Guatemala. The following is the paragraph for my project:

Possible Mayan Family Mission Trip slated for Feb. 2009

Cindy Uhrick is looking at the possibility of putting together a mission trip to help Mayan Families in Guatemala in Feb. 2009. The Mayan Families organization is the one for which we raised money for chicks at Easter time. Cindy and her husband are hoping to go to Guatemala to help with placing much needed small, fuel efficient stoves into homes and maybe do some light home construction. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of going on this type of mission trip, please contact Cindy, Anita Murphy or the church office. Dates and costs are not set yet.

So it looks like we are about to get on our way to planning, Yay! Hope there is at least a few people interested.

Brief note

Just a brief note. So far our progress has been slow. Anita has been very busy with school stuff so hasn' t had a chance to work on the things we talked about yet. She is hoping to do it over spring break. It looks like we will be shooting for February, as December is extremely busy at MF.

Meeting

Though the whole family had been sick for a week, I did make it to my meeting with the Outreach committee chairperson on Sat., Mar. 1st. We discussed the many aspects of projects that could be done. A.M. is checking on if there are any UMC activities going on in Guatemala. Also is going over the possible expenses and planning to get some more details from Sharon of Mayan Families. Hope to hear from her soon as to what she thinks the church can do to help. We set a tentative plan of being ready to travel by Feb. '09.

Still working

Today, I was finally able to set up a time to meet with my church's Outreach Committee Chairperson, to discuss the possibility of the church becoming involved in my mission trip plan.
Hopefully the meeting will go well and I will have church support for my trip.

Update on mission trip planning

Just wanted to update: So far I have met with my pastor and have tentative plans to meet with our Outreach committee chairperson. There is a possibility this could be made a church project, which would mean we could make it a mission work trip. I have also received some input from my former pastor/friend, who thinks their VBS leadership might be interested in dedicating the offering from VBS to a project to help with my mission. Just had to send him some information to show that Mayan Families is a legitimate organization. I have done this already, so am hopeful that he will present the idea to the VBS leadership. As you can see things are starting to happen. It is difficult to believe that just a couple of weeks ago this was only an idea, I discussed with Larry. We do plan to make a mission trip to Guatemala regardless of the pending decisions of the Outreach committee, it will just be on a smaller scale. Larry and I are planning to do at least a clothing/blanket drive because that is something we feel we can take on by ourselves. But we hope that our church will want to be involved so more people will be involved and we can accomplish so much more to provide help to these wonderful people. As soon as I know more I will update again

Planning a mission trip

I am in the beginning stages of planning a mission trip to Guatemala. I have been given several ideas of areas that I could work on to be of help to Mayan Families. As soon as I make a decision on what project I am going to work on, I will post an update. I am really excited about the opportunity to be able to help even in a small way, the people of Guatemala. My family has been so very blessed by our son who was born in a small town there. So we want to do something to give back. That's all for now, will post more later, as my plans start taking shape.