We had the privilege of watching and learning from Paso a Paso’s longtime friend, boot maker, Marcial.  Jenni wanted some boots to take home to her daughter, nephew and niece, so Marcial let us help with the process of making their boots.  First we had to learn to work with the leather… “you have to understand your material, before you can cut it.”  Before cutting the leather around his template, Marical reminded us multiple times not to “cut my paper” (his template for the boot size). You can see he looks a little worried in the picture of Jenni cutting the leather.  After Stephanie began cutting, he added, as a side note, “and don’t cut your finger.”

Marcial had several deadlines on the day that we got to “help,” so we didn’t do as much as we might of liked, but we got a dose of his enthusiasm and good natured humor.  He is always smiling, although he only makes about 20Q or $2.80 per pair of boots.  A pair of boots take about 8 hours to make.  He often outsources the soling and/ or embroidery, which increases the cost of his production, but gives jobs to other people in the community.  You can see a picture of a piece of leather embroidered for the side of a boot below.

This last picture shows Marical delivering the boots to us in the market of Antigua.  We wondered if he slept, but what a joy to take home to my kiddos, especially my nephew who is battling neuroblastoma cancer.

Marcial is saving to open his own boot shop.  He is the perfect example of someone that we would like to be able to give a microloan to someday, as Paso a Paso grows.

Look for some pictures of the kids in their boots in the coming updates.

I’ve been in Antigua, Guatemala  for 10 days, but it feels more like two… the time has just flown.  My name is Jenni and I came to help and encourage Paso a Paso’s founder and missionary in partial residence, Stephanie.  We’ve spent most of my days working in Barrio La Cruz—a  smalll community with an overwhelming mixture of
tropical beauty juxtaposed with the despair of poverty..

How can I describe Barrio La Cruz to you?
…Ancient, rusting  U.S. school buses carting people to and from work and the city
…The sound of pigeons walking on the metal roofs of the shacks that house far too many families
…Kids playing around their mother’s legs as she cooks over an open fire.
…The smell of fire, food, and other less appealing smells mixed together
…Inclines that make you wonder how far you would roll if you fell down
…The sound of women washing in open wash basins filled with dirty water while their children play

Barrio La Cruz touches all my senses and lingers. As I head home, I
am grateful for the opportunity to have been here and for the welcome I
received in the community.

Today we learned to make tortillas with Rolando’s mother and sister.  They laughed as we attempted the continuous patting motion required to produce a round, thin tortilla.  They are one of the few families in the community who have a stove and they use it to make and sell 400 tortillas a day.  After they buy the corn and pay to grind it, if they sell all of the tortillas they make, they profit about 30Q or $4. They spend about 6 hours a day to profit this little.

During a break from tortilla making, Rolando’s mother, unwrapped her wound from her recent surgury and infection.  I was amazed at the massive scaring from what should be a small surgery (for a hernia).  If you’ve read the earlier posts, you’ll know that complecations from diabetes increased her chance for infection.  She got a massive infection, that has now healed, but has since run out of her diabetes medicine.  Changing diet is tough when you are just scraping by and doctors and medicine are often only sought when problems become extreme.

Saturday we hosted a party for Sandra, a student Paso a Paso sponsors.  Sandra brought her cousin, who was also celebrating her 15th birthday, and 11 other family members.  Paso a Paso has been connected with Sandra’s family for several years.  Last year Paso a Paso helped Sandra’s dad, Marical, put in a concrete floor in their home.  At the birthday we cooked a traditional American meal of hamburgers, fries and veggies. The kids had their first experience swimming in a pool.  Even though the water was cold, the kids loved it.  The family was grateful for the celebration, money is tight and they would not have been able to afford to have a party themselves.

Watch for our next post where we learn about boot making from Marcial.

Friday we got to experience the daily life of a Guatemalan woman, Veronica.  She graciously welcomed us to help her cook in the morning and then to accompany her to the places she sells her food.  We made Tipico food including: tortillias, tostados, tacos, and rellanos.

Veronica has 8 children.  Paso a Paso sponsors 4 of her kids.  She begins each day at 6 a.m. and cooks until shortly before 10.  She then travels to different locations around the community to sell the food.  At the end of the 4-5 hour morning, she profits approximately 25Q or $3.50.

It was a priviledge to be included in the life of this family for a short time.  The best part of the morning was tasting some of the food:  tostados with quacemole, beans and repollo (cooked cabbage with hot sauce).

This past week Paso a Paso had the opportunity to donate the materials for a floor to the family of 2 sponsored students who had been living on a dirt floor for many years. Marcial and his family worked tirelessly all week, amidst lots of rain and leaks, to mix and pour 3 layers of concrete. Today 5 friends of Paso a Paso worked alongside the family to paint their walls. The result is beautiful. The whole family was grateful and very content with the results. What was once mainly a shelter, now looks like a home.