We woke up pretty early yesterday morning (about 5am) to head to the Trash Dump School in Gautemala City. The team had prepared sandwiches, cakes, and juice boxes to give to the kids and we were on our way. We went through several towns that morning, all covered in fog and scattered with locals heading to thier designated locations. Covered with hills, the guys riding their bikes were barely down at full speed. “Those guys are legit!” Well, I think it was the third guy, we came around a turn and he was ahead of us flying down this hill and at the bottom of it was a chicken bus. The chicken bus was stretched across the entire road because it was trying to make a hard left turn. Someone said, “Look a this guy! He better stop of he is going to crash into the chicken bus. That would not be good.” Everyone laughed and then all of a sudden we realized that our brakes went out. Just that fast we were slamming into the front tire of the chicken bus at 30 mph. I was just behind the front seat and I saw the van hit the front tire and then all of a sudden I was flying with my face into the front seat of the van. Everyone ended up flying into the seats in front of them, as the van did not have any seat belts. Me and Michael got the brunt of it since instead of hitting the people in front of us we hit the protruding floor and the drivers and passengers seat. Michael was somehow designated cake holder, so when we hit that thing went flying everywhere. It looked like someone put an m80 in it because it exploded.
Everyone for the most part was fine. I have a giant carpet burn on the side of my face, a hurt knee, and major shin damage. Michael’s glasses cut his eyebrow and he also got some rug burn on his forhead. Nathan got a big gash on his leg. So we waited around for about two hours for the insurance agent to come, the agreements to be made, and all of that. The military came and stood around to protect the gringos. From there some of us went to the police stations so that paperwork could be filled out, while the three injured guys went to the hospital. The hospital was nice. It was a private hospital so we were seen immediately and the facilities where clean and everything.
When the first team got back (they got back before us) everyone from the orphanage was standing outside waiting for them welcoming them. So where crying and it was super sweet. From there the orphanage bought us Pollo Campero (which was also sweet of them). It is the Guatemalan version of KFC.
That night the team treated the kids to fajitas and cake and ice cream. Then the kids put on a show for everyone to show thier appreciation for what we did for them. All in all it was a very eventful day. Definitely one that is going to go into the memory books. Praise God that no one was seriously injured and that everything went smoothly.
Today we head to Antigua and a coffee plantation. Hopefully I will get to take a couple good shots of some Mayans. Pictures from the trip so far will be uploaded later.
April 23, 2010 - 7:17 amMom - Still praying for you and your team...the enemy likes to work overtime when we're on missions to prevent the work that the Lord has for you to do, but I'm sure that something wonderful came out of the incident and that God will use it for His glory!
June 20, 2010 - 6:54 pmBrittany - hey i think you should post more often :)
June 22, 2010 - 8:41 amDan - Your right Brittany. I actually have been convicted of that for a couple days now. I got content I just need to start putting it up.... my goal is 2 times a week... no less than once a week.
This week has been crazy. I myself have been working about 14 hours a day… and that is just me. Unfortunately I have not been able to spend much time with the kids at all. But the times that I have been able to spend with them have been great. They are amazing kids coming from all kinds of bad backgrounds, and even with thier backgrounds they are the most well behaved kids I have ever seen. A testimony to how well the staff are doing here.
I with I had some experiences to write about, but the reality is that I have been sitting at a computer all week. I get little times here and there. More than that, I know I am building a means for them to be provided for. This lack of kid time just gives me more of an excuse to come back.
April 22, 2010 - 9:14 pmKristi Holman - LOL! They are sooo cute!! :D How fun. :) I'm so glad you are all there helping to provide for these sweet kids.
April 25, 2010 - 9:05 pmSarah - I totally expect you to teach us this dance in Small Group. This is great!
Here are a few of the pictures I was able to take/process yesterday. It is very peaceful and relaxing here, and I will have all afternoon to work on stuff.
April 19, 2010 - 9:58 amBrice Foster - Thanks for sharing these photos w/ us. Look forward to many more ... Praying for you all!
April 19, 2010 - 8:06 pmKristi Holman - I love the pictures!! The kids are sure adorable. How exciting that you are in Guatemala! It's sort of hard to believe. I've been thinking of you guys a lot and praying for you. I can't wait to hear about what you all have been up to so far. :)
April 21, 2010 - 9:53 pmKathy Huffer - So good to see a current picture of my little Edgar. Those children have no idea what a big part of our family they have become. I have been, forever changed. My tears are in pure joy tonight, seeing what you are giving them...A chance to live. Blessings to all of you. Kathy
Today was a long but good day. I just have to say to start off… flying on a private 9 seat jet is one of the coolest flying experiences I have ever had. Yup, that’s right… private jet. We were able to score this sweat deal through a family member of someone of our team… and man was it a sweet deal. The internet is down so I will post video of it and all kinds of other stuff tomorrow. Michael is going to get it up and running in the morning.
So the flight was effortless. No stressful checking in, paperwork, people breathing on you for hours, etc etc. We landed three hours later and were to go as soon as they checked our passports. Then we commenced the waiting for the rest of our team. Nathan and Allen flew in from College Station and where going to meet us at the main station. We stood there for 2 hours… and not team members. We tried to ask if they landed… sorry no. What about making and anouncement… no. What about going in and looking for them… no. So realizing we couldn’t do anything and they didn’t seem to be there… we decided to head to the orphanage, drop stuff off and come back later. We headed to the orphanage. Got there, ate, and dropped off our stuff. We headed back about an hour later hoping that they would be there. Sure enough, they were. They had been waiting about 50 feet from us on the other side of the glass the entire time, even while we were standing outside waiting for them for 2 hours. Feeling relief and loading them into the van we headed back to the orphanage, dropped off thier stuff, and headed back out to go to Walmart to get food and exchange money. By the time we where done with all of that, it was dark outside. We headed back, fixed food, and now I am here typing it to you.
Hopefully this was not too condensed. I will post videos tomorrow hopefully.
All this to say… we made it, we are safe, and it is all good. Thanks for you prayers. We head to church tomorrow and then we get to hang out with the kids. It will be good. I don’t speak a lick of spanish… so we will see how all of that goes.
April 18, 2010 - 1:49 pmBrice Foster - Glad you and the team made it safely to Guatemala. The entire Church is lifting you guys up today in all 3 services! I look forward to seeing all the videos as you go through the week. Enjoy the kids! In Christ, Brice
April 18, 2010 - 8:19 pmKristi Holman - I am soooo thankful you guys had a smooth and safe flight! That's a bummer about the mix up with the other team members. I'm glad it got worked out though. I can't wait to hear how your time at church and with kids went today! I love you Dan! I'm praying for you and the rest of the team. :)
April 19, 2010 - 12:15 amConnie Stine - I'm very glad you finally got a chance to do what you had been wanting to do for so long, Dan! Looking at your pics reminded me of when we used to live in Guam way back in the 80's; it was also a slower-paced lifestyle there, too. God Bless you all and the children, and i'm happy that you arrived there safely!
April 14, 2010 - 8:48 pmMom - The video quality here on your blog was much better than in the e-mail! Cool! Praying for you and hope you have a great, productive trip!
Love,
Mom
My mom and brother came up this last week to help us with all the the stuff we needed to do for the little one on the way in July. It was a great time, but really short. So, while they were up, I went ahead and shot his Junior High School photos. It was fun. He wanted to showcase his chucks, so we tried to throw in a couple shots that show his trendy but classic shoes. Had a lot of fun, and it only took about 30 minutes or so. It was fun bro. Hope you had a good time too.
Passport… check. Shots to the point where I am a human pin cushion… check. Prayer and support letter… check. Funding to go…. CHECK!
Image from eKnitabeth.typepad.com
As most of you know, I have been working as a photographer/ web designer for the past 6 years. It has been a blast, but my heart has been yearning to use these skills for Him. Well, it has finally happened. The Lord has opened up an opportunity for me to put my abilities to good use. I will be going down to Guatemala City, Guatemala at the end of April to minister to an orphanage called Fundaniños. This orphanage is home to around 65 children. They minister to unwed pregnant women by giving them a place to stay during their pregnancy, while they consider what to do with their children. They try to encourage these women that there are other options other than abortion.
What will we be doing there? I am glad you asked. The main project will be to develop a website to promote their ministry. Our prayer is that this website will link the orphanage to people who would like to give support through funding, time, resources, and prayer. Hopefully we will be able to set up a direct sponsorship program for Fundaniños, a model a lot like what Compassion uses. It really depends on what the staff says they need and how it will best minister to them though. In addition to gathering photographs and information for this website, we will be helping around the orphanage to give the full time workers a break. Most of them only get about 4 days off a month. We would like to ease their work so they can get some much needed rest.
The great thing is that today I am officially fully funded! A multitude of wonderful people are joining together with me in prayer and support to make this happen. I am super excited about seeing what the Lord is going to do.
What to Pray for
1.) Michael (another on the team) and myself are currently looking into/building a CMS (content management system) to be able to provide a structure for child profiles and an adopt-a-child program if that is what Fundaniños wants to do. Pray that the Lord will lead this process, as there is a lot of little things here and there that need to be taken into consideration. That way we can ensure the safety of the children and the orphanage.
2.) Pray for everyone else as they embark on this process of funding and shot and passports as well.
3.) Pray for the orphanage. Pray that the Lord will use us in a mighty way to minister to the staff and kids. To love them and partner alongside them in helping these kids.
I was sitting with my friend the other night talking… and lo and behold I heard thunder for the first time in months! I have always loved storms. This passion started when my father and I would stand out on the front porch whenever a storm (no matter how big) would pass by. Even if it was a tornado. We were sure to get inside when everything got dead silent… even the crickets. I remember one time when it was raining so hard in Arkansas that we couldn’t even see the house across the street. It was like someone upstairs decided to pour His bucket of water right on top of our house. This is one memory that will never leave my mind.
Here is a shot that I came across as I was going through my catalog. It was from the first season that I started shooting lightning. I am determined to “chase me some storms” this season… because I have a feeling they are going to be bad.
Found a great article from the Photojournalist Association on using music legally on your photography websites… or just websites in general.
Here is what I believe the be the meatiest part of the article:
“Unfortunately, a large number of wedding photographers use music on their sites illegally, whether through a lack of familiarity with the law, a rationalization that their use is “promoting the artist,” or blatant disregard. This is ironic, since like photography, music is creative property, and the legal rights of its creators need to be respected.”
by Dan
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