Home in San Pablo destroyed by fire

Fire destroys home On Tuesday night the home of Gaspar and Anna with 9 other family members living in San Pablo La Laguna was completely destroyed by fire. The cause of the fire has not been determined but the family is now homeless and has lost everything that was inside the home. All clothing, school books and notebooks, beds, blankets etc. was consumed in the blaze. The home was made of wood and was built for the family after Hurricane Stan struck Guatemala in 2005. No one was in the home when the fire started and we are very thankful for that. The family attends Canaan Assemblies of God church in San Pablo and the church is housing them in their Sunday school classrooms until other housing can be arranged. It has been a very tragic event for the family and the community and we are praying that many people within the community as well as people like you will be able to help them recover their losses. Please keep the family in prayer and if you would like to make a donation to help them rebuild their home I know they would greatly appreciate it. The home that was burned down was similar to the one in the photo on the left. The family like most families in this community is poor and does not have the resources to build a new home. We have been bringing teams to San Pablo for several years and have built a dozen or more homes for families who would never have been able to build a home with the income they receive which on average is $4-5 per day. A typical home we are able to build using cement blocks and a metal roof costs about $1800-$2000. We also build bunk beds for the children so they can have their own bed and not sleep on the floor or have to share a bed with several others. We always provide windows and doors for the home as well. It is a very simple home but provides adequate shelter for the familes and is much healthier to live in than the adobe homes that are made of clay bricks and have dirt floors. If you have a team coming to Guatemala that would like to build a home for them please let me know. Donation information is noted below. If you want to donate please make your check payable to YWAM Antigua and send it to the following address with a note attached stating it is for the Home Construction Project. All monies sent will go directly for the project and are tax deductible. Thank you for your help! YWAM Chico 15850 Richardson Springs Rd Chico, CA 95973

March Update

Last month we hosted a team from Faith Harvest Helpers based in Washington. They came to Guatemala to help distribute a shipment of canned salmon, soup mix, dried peaches, medicine and books to areas of need in Guatemala. The shipment came into port in December but it was not released for distribution until the team left on February 16. It was disappointing for them to not be able to do what they had hoped yet they used their time in Guatemala to minister to many people. The food has been distributed since they left and many people have been blessed by the hard work these people put into the shipment. Our YWAM base has in storage some of the food that we will use on various outreaches we conduct as well as with the feeding program we have in Antigua.
Currently we are hosting a youth group from Connexus church near Toronto. They are doing ministry with local children and working in several other ministries that we are involved in. This is the third year the group has come and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with them.
We are receiving applications for our DTS which will begin on July 24, 2011. We are anticipating a group of 10 students and are looking forward to the 5 months of training with them.