2016 European River Cruise

For our fortieth wedding anniversary we took ourselves on a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.  We travelled on three different rivers: the Danube, Main and Rhein.  We also passed through five countries, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.  Walt's dad always said how beautiful Germany was and how he would like to go visit again.  He was absolutely right.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and we took over 2200 photos.  That has been trimmed down significantly for this blog, which will just capture a small portion to get a taste of the scenery, especially in Germany.  Most impressive is that most of the German heavy industry is along these rivers and so was heavily bombed during World War II but it all has been restored beautifully  This blog will progress along the tour by day with links to photos for that day.  When the album comes up, click the first photo to get a larger photo plus to see the captions on the right under "Info".

But before showing the countryside what was intriguing was the fact that we had to climb from an altitude of 380 ft in Budapest to 1,332 ft before descending back down to sea level in Amsterdam.  To accomplish this requires passing through 68 locks.  Each lock raises or lowers a boat some amount.  The largest displacement was 82 ft.  If you think of 82 ft, that is an eight story building!  It is difficult to show the enormity of this lock in a photograph.  However, we took some interesting photos that give you a feel of traveling through locks that you can see here.  Here are two videos to give a feel of what it is like when the water drains out of a lock, video1, video 2.

The trip began in Budapest.  Photographs of our time there ares shown here.  We were two and a half days in Budapest.  Walt was there two years ago so could give a little bit of a guided tour for Nancy around the Chain Bridge areas.  The second day we visited the countryside and a horse farm and saw a horse show  The third day was ur first cruise day.

Next stop was Vienna.  Of special interest were the Hapsburg summer and winter palaces.  Totally awesome.  Photos are here.

The next day we cruised up the beautiful Wachau Valley.  Photos are here but don't have captions since the photos are just of the beautiful scenery as we cruised.   All suites have a balcony so that made taking photos easier.  A sun deck was available to take photos on either side of the boat.

The next port of call was Melk.  The feature here was an Abbey up on a mountain.  Photos are shown here.

Next on the list was Passau, which was another quaint medieval town.   The interesting feature, besides the church with the more than 17,000 pipes on a pipe organ, was a fortress across the Danube from where you could see the confluence of the three rivers surrounding Passau. Photos are shown  here.

Next stop was Regensberg, which is another of the many medieval towns along the river.  We always found the narrow streets and unique medieval architecture very fascinating.  Again, remember many of these towns were bombed out during the war.  Photos can be seen here.

This is followed by another cruise day through the beautiful river valleys,this time along the Main-Danube Canal.  Photos, because it was a cruise day, are not captioned but are shown here.

The next location is Nüremburg.  Walt was particularly interested in taking the WWII tour since he is somewhat of a WWII buff.  Nüremburg was the center of Nazi propaganda that ended in this location with the Nüremburg trials at the end of the war.  Because it had such an important place in the Nazi era, it was essentially totally destroyed by allied bombing at the end of the war.  But today you can't tell.  Photos are shown here.  Hitler definitely was an egomaniac, judging by the size of everything.

Bamberg was founded in 902 and remains a medieval-looking city known for its symphony orchestra and rauchbier.  The winding streets are filled with baroque patrician houses and are the home to the breathtaking 11th century Cathedral of Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich II.  Photos of the side streets, houses, cathedral and the palace of the prince-bishop, a rather large edifice, can be found here.

We took a one and a half hour bus ride to one of the last remaining walled medieval towns in Germany.  The towns name is Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  The trip was well worth it because this town is beautifully preserved and was absolutely gorgeous.  Because of the 30 year war, a major siege and then the plague in the 17th century the town came  to a standstill and did not grow.  This allowed the town to be preserved until it was rediscovered in 1802.   Not much was done to it so it does reflect the town as it was in the 17th. Century.  Photos are shown here.

On our return from Rothenburg ob der Tauber we toured the Bishop´s residence in Würzburg.  It is one of German´s largest and most ornate palaces.  The photos, that we were allowed to take, are shown here.

We then cruised from Würaburg to Wertheim.  Since this was just a cruise, we again just snapped pictures of the beautiful countryside.  Photos without captions are shone here.  Of interest was the wall built on my birthday except 79 years before I was born

The next stop was Wertheim.  It is at the confluence of the Main and Tauber rivers.  Noteworthy is Wertheim Castle that sits on top of a hill overlooking the town.  Photos are shown here

Next was an all day cruise along the Rhein narrated by the cruise director.  What was striking was that every town has a church unique to that town and almost every hill along the river had a castle, some of which have become hotels or hostels and others are simply ruins.  But most significant is the Lorelei that inspired Heinrich Heine to write the Lorelei.  There is a photo of the Lorelei.  Walt memorized the words and the tune some 50 years ago and remembered them all.  The photos, without captions, can be found here.

The next day we were at Koblenz where we had a tour of the Marksburg Castle.  We really enjoyed the castle tour as it took you back to medieval times.  The photos are shown here.

We then arrived at Cologne.  Of particular note was the city's 14th century cathedral, a stunning example of Gothic artistry.  It was spared allied bombing during WWII.  Photos are shown here and the captions give more details on the cathedral.

Our final stop was in the Netherlands in a town called Kinderdijk.  The main features here were windmills.  Photos of this port of call are shown here.

GMP trip in Quito, Ecuador 2016

We just came back from a very interesting GMP music missions trip to Quito, Ecuador.  It was a little different than the usual in that typically we have about a dozen worship services on our itinerary, this time we only had four because our time was spent every afternoon with music camp for kids and masters classes that were open to all.  We did get to see a lot of Quito, and at 9,500 ft, it was very picturesque and interesting.  The photos are all captioned so, again, it is like a travel log.  The intent is that after our last GMP trip in 25 years, we can look back and be reminded of what we saw.

The Team

It is always good to see who the team members are.  Here are photos of the team.

Worship Services

Photos of the services can be found here.

There are also some videos that were made available, taken with a smartphone.  The first full service was televised and the plan was to have it streaming.  However, until then, here is a link to one interesting feature we observed..

          Videos of panderistas, or worship dancers, here.
          Worship team at Verbo is here.
          Full orchestra on Joyful, Joyful is here.
          Orchestra playing Majesty is here.
          Leading and singing Te Alabare is here.
          Trumpeter extraordinaire on Amazing Grace is here.
          Wild trombone solo on Jericho is here.

Music Camp

Photos of the music camp can be seen here.  There were some videos made so you can get the flavor of the music camp.

          Video of trumpet demonstration at music camp is found here,
          Video of kids singing "I Believe" is here.
          Video of kids singing "My God is So Strong" is here.
          Orchestra playing Ecuadorian National Anthem is here.

Ecuadorian Food

An important element of any GMP trip is food.  We had breakfast at the places we stayed every day and lunch and dinner were typically served at Alliance Academy International (AAI), the location of the music camp.  However, there were several special dinners we had but ending with a banquet at AAI.  Here are photos of various food venues.

Scenes Around Quito

Even though we were kept quite busy, we did get to see a little around Quito.  Of course, being at 9,500 feet and in the mountains, it is very picturesque.  Here are photos of various locations.

Basílica del voto Nacional

One of the special places we visited was the Basílica del voto Nacional.  Construction of the Basilica was launched in 1884 and finally consecrated and inaugurated in 1988.  The Basilica remains technically "unfinished."  Local legend says that when the Basilica is completed, the end of the world will come  Here are photos of the Basilica.

Excellent Public Transportation Concept

The first time I saw this concept was in Curitiba, Brazil and doing research on it, apparently other cities were using this as a model.  The concept is providing busses total use of the center lanes of main streets.  Guadalajara in the last two or three years has begun construction of this nature.  The concept can be seen in Quito in the photos presented here.

Market

There always is time for shopping, especially when there are deals to be had at a market.  The trip to Quito is no different.  Here are photos of the market that we visited.

         Here is a video to give a feel of the market

Bulgaria GMP Trip, October 2015

We generally post our GMP trips within a week after returning.  However, the more we are retired the less time we seem to have.  We like to put the blog out in the form of a travelogue because then when we are old and gray and in our rocking chairs we can reminisce without having to think about it. The travelogue is on a day-to-day basis.  We essentially covered all of Bulgaria so we spent a lot of timing viewing the countryside from the bus. Included is a map showing which cities we were in on which days.  To cover all of this, we stayed in a different hotel each night amounting to eight motels.  We did perform seven concerts with smaller groups going to a children's home and other places.  Captioned photos associated with each of the days are linked to the following:

Map of Bulgaria and our itinerary

Flight from Guadalajara, Mexico to Sofia, Bulgaria

First Friday evening - first time meeting other orchestra members at one and only rehearsal

Saturday in Sandanski - Concert at Sandanski Baptist Church

Sunday in Plovdiv - Concert in Sandanski Church

Monday in Kazanluk - Concert in theater near Old Town

Tuesday in Varna on the Black Sea - Concert at Second Baptist Church in Varna

Wednesday visit to Veliko Turnovo and ending in Vratsa - travel day, no concert

Thursday at Learning Center in Borovtsi with a concert and hotel in Montana - Concert om City of Montana

Friday, our last day - concert in Roma (Gypsy) community and then short program for Bulgarian Baptist Congress

We also took videos of some interesting sounds.

This video is of a shepherd playing his sheep stomach bagpipe.  We thought this was an instrumented needed for the orchestra.

This video is of a Bulgarian serenading us after our final dinner in Sofia, Bulgaria.  This guy can play!!

Upcoming trip for Nancy

This is Nancy writing.  This April I am going with an orchestra group to Cuba.  The country is very poor, but as the US starts relaxing travel restrictions we hope that money that tourism brings into the country will actually benefit the people. As things currently stand, we will be traveling on educational visas.  They allow us no more than 25 visas per trip, and we are still waiting for approval. We will be working with local musicians, teaching workshops, continuing to build relationships started on other trips, and giving concerts.  I am going as the sound tech, and will also be doing training sessions.  Sometimes groups bring sound or musical equipment and donate it here, and as happens in our own little church here in Mexico, there is often good equipment that is not being used or maintained properly, because someone has just figured out the basics on their own, and doesn’t really know how to get the best out of what they have.  I also bring a unique perspective of service and worship to being a sound tech, which is hard to find among the personalities that are generally drawn to technical ministries.

I ask for your prayer support for my trip. This is the first time I will have gone on a music trip without Walt. I ask for prayer for good Spanish, for love for the people I will be working with, for health, and for physical strength (sound equipment is heavy!)  Walt and I try to budget for at least one music ministry trip each year, and are joining a group to Curitiba, Brazil in the fall. While I feel that the Lord is telling me that I am supposed to go, this particular trip is not in our budget.  If you would consider helping me with the cost of the Cuba trip, which is about $2,000, not including the cost to get to Miami (the meeting place for the charter flight), and the cost of the visa, you can click this link  https://www.globalmissionsproject.com/givetoparticipant.php , enter GMP-238 (Cuba) under Project, and my name under Participant.  Thanks, so much, for being one of our blog readers!  We try to share our lives a little bit with you, and hope you enjoy knowing what we are doing in retirement.  We sometimes think that God hears the word “retirement” and says, “Oh, you have new tires?  Let’s go for another 50,000 miles!”

 

                                    

 

                                                                                                                                                              

GMP Israel Trip October 2014

We just returned from a splendid 17 day trip to Israel.  Part was to visit with our friends, Climmy and Mollie, and work with them to get the right equipment and then return it.  Eight of those days was with a group of excellent musicians providing musical concerts and training in Israel.  This blog consists primarily of a pictorial travelogue.  All the photos are captioned.  There are two accompanying videos.  In the pictorial travelogue are photos of a Bar Mitzvah and a cruise on the Sea of Galilee.  One of the accompanying videos, found here, is of the Bar Mitzvah and the music that goes along with it, and the other is of some of our team dancing to Hebrew music on the Sea of Galilee boat ride. This video is found here.  Here is a link to a compilation of song excerpts at various venues of our orchestra that you can listen to as you view the pictorial travelogue.  The travelogue can be found here.

Uncle Walt's Hungary Traveblog

On 3 July I flew to Hungary for another Global Missions Project Orchestra (GMP) missions trip.  I returned on 12 July.  As far as flights go, it was perfect.  Landed 15 to 20 minutes early at 3 stops on the way out and 2 on the return.  Planes were full but the flights uneventful.  The purpose of this blog is to summarize the trip with photos.  I took over a thousand photos but only selected the most interested for this blog.  All the photos are captioned with information as a help to understand our time in Hungary.  The "traveblog" will be on a day-by-day basis.  The following is a map of the area of Hungary that we were in.  The cities we visited are in red and will be referred to in the blog.  All in all, Hungary is a very beautiful and interesting country.

First of all let me begin by explaining the "Uncle Walt".  As usual I made my presence known pretty quickly, I have a strange habit of doing that.  Allyson, who we have been with on other GMP trips, and our concert mistress, Ardis, soon asked if I minded being called Uncle Walt because of either my goofiness or my wisdom, as manifest by my white hair, or both or neither.  A few days into the trip Camp, our director, happened to join the lunch group that we were in and said, "Uncle Walt, since you are in the middle, why don't you say the blessing?"  So he had heard - thanks Ardis.   Then, when taking role call on the bus, when he came to strings he asked "violins - all present, violas - all present, celli - all present", and then, instead of the usual "string bass" he said, "I guess its official now, Uncle Walt, are you here?"  And so it became official and stuck.  

Since I was one of the first to get to Budapest, 10 am Friday morning, there was a waiting period as others came in with the largest group arriving at 4 pm.  This gave me a chance to meet some of the others that arrived at 12 and at 2 as well as our sponsors who were there to meet us.  When everyone arrived we drove to the hotel in Bicske and checked in.  Then we had our first Hungarian meal, spaetzle and pork.  After dinner we walked to the church and had our one and only real rehearsal.  This can be intimidating as most of the 45 members of the orchestra met for the first time and then ran through 16 songs.  Having been on a number of GMP trips before, this was my tenth, I have to say I was impressed with the professionalism of this group.  Actually, to begin rehearsal we all stated our name, where we are from and what church we go to.  Now to remember 45 names.  Fortunately I knew almost half of the orchestra members from the previous trips.  Photos of our first day can be seen here.

On Saturday morning we returned to the church and ran through some more of the songs.  We then went for lunch in a local shopping center.  We did have a little free time that afternoon so I walked to a village that had a stork's nest on top of the power line poles.  There was a mama, papa and two baby storks.  This is the first time I had seen something like this.  Later that afternoon we had a musicians call at the church in order to get ready for our first concert.  Then after the concert, we ate home made goulash.  Someone provided us all with the recipe.  It was delicious.  Photos for this day can be seen here.

On Sunday we drove back to Budapest to attend morning service at the International Church of Budapest.  The service was all in English but translation was still provided for any Hungarians that may have been in the audience.  After service we drove to downtown Budapest and walked around.  This was the first real closeup we had of the Danube River.  I didn't realize it was this wide.  The first thing I noticed was all the Viking River Cruise boats docked up.  One of these days we plan to do that.  Downtown Budapest looked like any large city with Gucci type stores all over the place.  What is impressive is the transformation that must have occurred in the last 25 years.  After spending time in Budapest we drove to Nagykanizsa.  The closest pronunciation is Nagee-kah-nidja.  Photos of this day are given here.

The plan for Monday was to begin with music classes for anyone who signed up.  We had one boy on trumpet, some recorders and a guitar.  This meant that only a small subset of our orchestra was required for the classes.  Camp brought out some arrangements and we had a flute ensemble play for a while, then woodwinds, then strings and finally brass.  So those of us not involved were treated to some good music and those involved had the fun of playing in ensembles.  We then went to lunch and toured Nagykanizsa.  It is a beautiful town and we enjoyed it immensely.  Then, after eating again at dinner, we held an outdoor concert in the park.  Photos for Monday can be found here.

On Tuesday, since the numbers of students was small, plans were made for small ensembles to visit an orphanage and a home for mentally disabled.  The rest of the orchestra not involved got to see more of Nagykanizsa and do some shopping.  After lunch we traveled to Zalaegerszeg for another outdoor concert in the evening.  The photos for Tuesday can be seen here.

Wednesday began for small ensembles to visit an old people's home.  Others had the opportunity to visit a museum in Nagykanizsa.  After lunch we drove towards Lenti for another outdoor concert.  On the way to Lenti we stopped by the Zalaerdo Arboretum.  It was very picturesque.  Some of us went to the top of a hill that had a large tower where we had a beautiful of the surrounding area.  Others went to a lake.  I chose the tower on the hill.  After the Arboretum we ended in Lenti for dinner and the evening concert.  During the day the sky was threatening rain and lightening.  Sure enough, about two songs short of the end of the concert we had to quickly pack up all the equipment and instruments to protect them from the rain.  However, a rather large crowd hung in there until we packed up.  Photos can be seen here.

We checked out of the hotel in Nagykanizsa on Thursday and departed to Velence to meet up with the missionaries in Budapest.  These are different from the ones that helped us throughout our stay in Nagykanizsa.  When we got to Velence and ate lunch I saw a sign for Langos.  Knowing how good that was, I had to have some and now wish I had seen more places that served this, it was that good.  After lunch and with our missionaries on board, we drove for a more extensive tour of Budapest.  The missionaries arrived in Hungary 24 years ago when there were still Soviet soldiers around.  I sat beside the missionary wife and she was able to tell me how much Hungary has changed in those years.  It is quite phenomenal.  We had an excellent tour of Budapest and is fascinating how a city that was essentially bombed out in World War 2 could be restored to its previous glory in only 70 years.  The Hungarians have done an incredible job, you really can't tell that there was any damage.  After our tour we checked into our hotel in Budapest and then went to the Kispest Baptist Church for dinner and our evening concert.  Pictures of Thursday can be seen here.  The folks at the church recorded the entire concert.  It is in two parts.  Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 here.  This will give you a taste of what the orchestra sounded like.  It is best to use good speakers or earphones.

The last song of the program was the Hungarian National Anthem.  When we began playing they would all stand up and sing with full voice.  This was always very moving, you don't see too much of that any more.  After ending the song they remained standing and it became totally silent to the point you could hear a pin drop.

After breakfast on Friday morning, we were suppose to go tour the Shoes on the Danube promenade.  However it was still raining pretty hard so we went to the very large Budapest market.  On our way there, we passed the square where the Soviets held there military parades.  Our pianist's mother, both of who are Hungarian, sat beside me and told me what she saw in this square during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.  The stories she told me of what she saw here and in other areas of Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution were mind boggling - very difficult to believe.  But, she was an eye witness.  At the Budapest market we were able to purchase all sorts of stuff.  After the market we went on a tour of the Dohany Street Synagogue, the second largest to one in New York City.  They had a holocaust museum on the side and going through that and realizing this was Hungary were Hungarians actually experienced it, I broke down.  It is difficult to imagine humans doing this to fellow humans.  But it reaffirmed in my mind that satan is alive and well.  We then went to Castle Hill and toured the Fisherman's Bastion, a very large castle.  Again, the reconstruction after World War 2 is amazing to behold.  After our tour of Castle Hill we went to Budarok Baptist Church for our final concert, of course, preceded by dinner.  The photos of our last day in Hungary can be seen here.  The interesting thing of this concert is after the program they would clap in unison, which meant they wanted encores.  We usually did the Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms.  At this concert they asked for more so we played one more.  But then they asked for another encore.  At this point Camp said, "this has to be the last one, we have no more music".

I learned an important lesson at this last concert.  A single string bass in an orchestra of this size, you might not think it can be heard and I could ask the question "why am I here?".  But after the concert a young guy in his thirties came up to me and thanked me profusely, in broken English, for coming to play.  He said he just loved to hear the string bass, his favorite instrument.  I asked if he could really hear it.  His comment, "Yes I could hear every note.  I just sat back, closed my eyes and enjoyed every note you played".  Lesson learned is that on a tour like this, you never know what kind of an impact you might have.   I was reminded of Hebrews 11:8 where it talks about Abraham "He went, not knowing where his was going".  The important thing is Abraham's responsibility was to obey and go, the rest was God's problem.  So not knowing where we were going, what we were doing or what impact we had - not our problem, that is God's because He simply called us and we are to obey - that is the lesson.

Finally on Saturday morning some of us got up at 3 am to go to the airport.  Some others decided to stay up.  I had long flights back to Guadalajara so I decided, and I think wisely so, to catch a few hours sleep prior to leaving.  The hotel gave us monster sack breakfasts and we left for the airport, said our goodbyes and returned to our homes.  Was it a successful trip?  God called us to it so the answer is a resounding "YES".

Thailand 2014

We took our yearly January trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand to visit our kids and grandkids there. All but the two youngest girls are in school now so the days are quite quiet around the house. The oldest, Pan, is in her third year of college and is doing well. We had lunch at her apartment the first Sunday we were there. Walt also had the privilege of playing bass at Adam and Cindy's church that Sunday so now he can add Thailand to the list of countries in which he has played his bass. Cindy is very busy teaching at the school that the kids attend, plus teaching a large number of dance classes. Next month she has her school's dance recital - we just wish we could be there to help out on that as well as see it. This blog will again be mostly photos with captions.

But before we went to Thailand we had Christmas with two of our boys, Andrew and Eric.  We didn't get up to see Jason, Caryn, Alexa and Cassandra but we did get to see Kirsty and Brian in October for the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival.  We posted in our blog on that event and it can be found here.  The photos of our Christmas in Mexico with Andrew and Eric can be found here.

Now for our trip to Thailand, let us first of all introduce you to our family there. Photos of all of them, but one, plus some of their activities can be seen here. The "but one" is a teenage girl who doesn't like her pictures taken. Sounds familiar.

We had the privilege of attending Cindy's classes one morning.  It was an English class so we helped with group activities.  Because almost all of the students are Thai, the level of English understanding varies so her class is made up of students from first to sixth grade.  Not only does the level of English proficiency but of course the learning abilities and maturity levels vary.  Here are photos of her class that we helped out in. By the way, we had a blast working with these students.

One special item we wanted to share was our little miracle girl, Asia. Some of you may remember that she was born early and placed in oxygen which is believed to have damaged her brain as well as her eyesight. She is essentially legally blind but can tell light from dark objects. She will come and caress your cheek and, for example, say "Opa?". She came to Adam and Cindy four years ago this summer. At that point she was two but couldn't walk or talk and was very picky on what she ate and had to be fed. After three and a half years in a loving, caring and safe home her progress has been absolutely amazing. Here is a video showing her four years ago and some of her accomplishments now. 

While we were there a friend of ours began a photography class that included a tour of interesting places in Chiang Mai, as well as teaching how to use a camera properly and how to take quality photos. Walt had received a DSLR last year so wanted to take advantage of this opportunity so that he might add photography to his bag of tricks. Turns out Walt was the first paying student and for this class, was the only student. He had excellent one-on-one time and learned a lot. He learned a significant amount of composition and lighting plus getting to see more of Chiang Mai. He ended up taking close to 500 photos, a sampling of which is here. 

While we were with Adam and Cindy, someone began construction on a house right across the fence from where they live. Since living in Mexico we have been interested in the way construction takes place in different countries. So we took photos as the construction took place over the four week period that we were there. They do apply very interesting techniques and are not squelched by OSHA as you can see no hardhats and, in some cases, workers wearing flip flops. A glimpse of construction can be seen here. 

And as we say goodbye to Thailand we include a few absolutely gorgeous sunset shots. These can be seen here.

GBF Christmas Visit to Hope House

We had two visitors from GBF, the church we helped plant in CA, visit us bringing Christmas gifts to the boys. The fact that GBF has chosen to join us in one of our ministries has been very rewarding for us. The visitors were Bob Douglas and his son Grant. They brought presents for each of the boys, individually boxed with a boy's name on the box. This makes it very special and personal for each of the boys. Clearly the biggest reward was received by Bob and Grant as they saw the reaction of everyone at Hope House.

 This blog will be short since the pictures and video will speak for themselves. The pictures can be found here. The video is just a short clip of the boys giving their appreciation for Bob and Grant and GBF for remembering them this Christmas. The video can be found here. Everything is translated into English for Bob and Grant.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Kirsty and her fiance, Brian, moved to Albuquerque, NM to work in the Bassett family business, New Mexico Piñon Coffee. We have to say its the best coffee we have tasted. We were invited by Brian's parents to come meet them during the balloon festival. Walt was at the balloon festival 18 years ago so it was nice to go back and see and for Nancy to see for the first time.

We arrived in Albuquerque at 10 pm and stayed awake chatting until 11:30 but then had to get up at 4:00 to catch a shuttle bus to the festival. The balloons typically are launched early in the morning when the wind is the least. We stayed with Kirsty and Brian and pictures of their house are shown here.

Saturday morning we got to the shuttle bus and met some of Brian's family and then spent the time at the balloon festival and were awestruck by how many and how large the balloons are. We took a lot of pictures but here are some just to give a flavor of the festival. Saturday evening Brian's parents invited us to their house for dinner with the Bassett family.

Sunday evening we went to the Twilight Twinkle Glow where they fire up the burners at dusk and the balloons are glowing. It was a spectacular site to see. Here are some photos of the Twilight Twinkle Glow. 

Monday morning we went to the Piñon coffee plant. We had been to a coffee roasting place on our trip to Guatemala a couple of years ago but it was nice to have a small group and everything explained in detail to us. We learned how sensitive coffee is not only to the country where it is grown but to the plantation and part of the plantation that the coffee is grown. We find the Piñon coffee to be the best flavor we have had.  Trader Joe's does carry it in their stores.  Here are photos of the coffee factory.

Sandia Labs was one of the places where the atomic bombs were developed. So they have a nuclear  history museum that we went and visited. It was interesting to see the history of this period. Here are a few photos of the museum.

Aquaponics Update

We now have had the aquaponics systems operational for a year. The first year we had a tremendous lettuce and tomato harvest. There were some challenges with the tomatoes but we feel that all of this is a learning process. First we have to learn and then understand how an aquaponics system operates. Aquaponics is a blend of hydroponics, the growing of vegetables in water, and aquaculture, the farming of fish. One of the key elements is keeping the system in balance so that the hydraulic system is balanced and works, that is, the bell siphons do their jobs as advertised. We believe we have mastered this. There is also the balance of nutrients from the fish and the cleaning ability of the plants. If the ratio of fish to plants is wrong the result is possibility of too much ammonia, nitrates and nitrites in the water. Too much of any of these is detrimental to the fish. On the other hand, there needs to be sufficient nutrients in the water to feed the plants. So far testing has manifested zero ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and a well balanced pH level. Another challenge we are facing is which plants grow best and when is the best growing season for a particular plant. This last challenge is an ongoing process and something that is learned by each growing season.

Our first lettuce crop was bountiful to the point that the boys were tired of eating lettuce. We in fact were able to sell some to another local orphanage. So it was a win/win situation. Unfortunately our second and third lettuce crops were wiped out thanks to the birds. We were surprised how they managed to clean off large lettuce plants in no time at all. In fact, they wiped out an entire lettuce crop in a matter of three days. So  not only were we faced with balancing the operation of the system but now we had to counter the birds harvesting the crops before we had a chance to. The plan now is to envelope the entire system with shade material. The photo below is the beginning of this construction phase. To save cost, all of the material for the walls are being sewn by Nancy, a formidable job with the largest piece being over 24m (72 ft) long – the long wall shown in the photo. We have also purchased a tool to put in the grommets. Interestingly enough it is difficult to find grommets in the local area – just another challenge in the long process. (Although we can find people who will put in the grommets, they won't sell them to us)

On the positive side we had our first fish feast last week. The boys managed to catch a large number of fish. However, only those greater than 300 grams were kept. We ended up with 20 fish amounting to approximately 7 kg or roughly 15 pounds. The comment back was that the fish were very tasty. However, again there is a challenge here. The fish of choice is tilapia since they grow the fastest and are a favored fish in the area. The challenge is that the water is 22C and should be 27C for maximum growth rate and size. So now an approach to heating the water needs to be developed and implemented. We have a concept in mind and now need the funds to accomplish this task. This photo is of our “fishermen” and their catch. Go here to see them catching the fish.

The biggest challenge we face, and one that tremendously impacts completion of the total system, is sufficient funding. We use volunteer labor whenever we can but materials and various special purpose elements, like the metal structure, require money. We are slowly but surely getting to a complete system that we feel is fully functional and producing the desired results. There is always an opportunity for anyone willing to contribute time or funds or both whenever they can!

Curitiba GMP Trip June 2013

This was Walt's 9th GMP trip and Nancy's 7th. Curitiba is special since this is where, in 2004 on his first Brazil trip, God originally touched Walt's heart about going to a foreign country someday and three years later we ended up where God wants us to be in Mexico and serving Him. This trip was a little different in that rather than performances at churches and masters classes in these churches, we were part of a program called Life and Music Space (LMS). This program began in Primeira Igreja Batista de Curitiba (PIB), the church we were working with. The program is designed to teach music to young people with the thought that focusing on music will help them take their focus off harmful distractions. The program was begun three or four years ago in the church and has since progressed to at least five schools with more to come. An important thing about the schools that are being contacted is that they are in the poorer parts of Curitiba, or the favelas. Currently there are approximately 500 students in the program. The sad part is that there are more students than instruments so the only opportunity they have to play is during lessons with no practice time at home. Our group, especially those from the US, were able to bring a large number of instruments and paraphernalia that was left behind for the program. We performed 13 concerts with six in church and the rest in the schools and locations associated with the program. Additionally about five masters classes were conducted where members of our team would work with instrumentalists in the various schools and at PIB.

There were a total of 21 of us in the group. Two were from Nairobi, Kenya, the two of us from Mexico and the rest from different states in the US. As usual, we all met for the first time when we got to Curitiba, had a two hour rehearsal and then off to the races. Here are some photos of our team.

To get a feel for PIB, the church we joined forces with, here are photos of the church. It is not only the size that impresses us but the fact that the building of the church is not complete, yet they worship and serve faithfully each and every day. They are so busy on a daily basis that there is someone at the front desk all the time and many people are continually coming and going. There seems to be something going on all the time, regardless of day or time of day that we were there.

In working with the people from PIB we made some new friends and renewed previous acquaintances in Brazil. Here are some photos of our Brazilian friends.

In support of the LMS program concerts were given at a number of the schools, some of which were already in the program and others that are interested in being part of it. The schools generally are in the poorer areas in Curitiba. All in all there was a large number of students and teachers, in some cases more than 200. In some of the schools that were in the program, the students gave us a sampling of what they had accomplished, which was very impressive. In each school we were very warmly welcomed. Here are some photos at some of the schools. 

We also gave concerts at PIB and at a Seventh Day Adventist Church. The concerts at PIB can be found here and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which is a very large, are here. The orchestra at PIB easily consisted of 200 members or more making it a very enjoyable experience.

Again, the major reason we were in Curitiba was to support the LMS program. To give a glimpse of the program here are photos of working at the various schools with students participating in LMS. From these photos it can be seen that the students demonstrated what they have learned, we gave them concerts and worked with them as they gave public concerts. As part of the LMS program our group was involved in providing music instruction for the various instruments the students were working with. Here are photos of the Masters Classes and here is a video showing Masters Classes in session. 

A special treat for part of our group was to work with a local Christian jazz band. This band is the result of GMP Jazz Band trips to Curitiba in the past. So it was a great feeling to see something like this continuing. The band consisted of 13 saxophones, 10 trumpets, 8 trumpets and rhythm. Our brass and saxophone folks loved it because they could play for the whole concert. Since there is only one drummer, bassist and keyboard, the rhythm section had to trade off. Here are photos of the band and here is a video of the band playing. The trombone soloist was part of our GMP group.  Walt is not in the video since he was shooting it, but he did get to play some of the songs. With that many instruments, the sound level was measured at 102 db. However, needless to say it was an unforgettable experience. For musicians, note that the Doxology goes from a brass chorale sound to a pegleg waltz - cool. 

In spite of the busy schedule, we did manage to get around to see some of the sites in Curitiba. For Nancy it was great that she could now also see some of the sites that Walt saw nine years ago on his first GMP trip. Here are some photos of parts of Curitiba. 

Something that has intrigued us every time we have been to Brazil is the graffiti, it really is art rather than the type of graffiti we are accustomed to. Curitiba did not let us down and here are some of the graffiti that we saw. 

And, of course, one of the key things of a GMP trip is experiencing the food in various countries. Brazil is especially noted for this. We ate at several Pizza Rodizio restaurants. This type of service is where they continually bring on slices of various types of pizza until you say "enough". Then they bring on the dessert pizza. Needless to say you are satisfied at that point. The best known Rodizio type of Brazilian restaurant is the Churrascaria, where it is various cuts of meat that are brought to the table. They also have a tremendous salad and dessert bar. Here are some photos of us eating.

Thailand Trip 2013

This photo is the reason we spend the first month of each year in Thailand.  This is our family over there.  From left to right in the back row are Pan, Sarah, Cindy, Josiah and Adam.  In the front, from left to right, are Sam, Lutiya (Sam is on Lutiya's lap), Isaac, Joel, Anica (in Cindy's lap) Nathan and Asia (in Adam's lap).  Pan is a second year college student in education, Lutiya, Sarah, Sam and Joel are in school and the other five are still at home during the day.  It is getting quieter each year.  (A relative term with 10 children) Next year only the two little girls will be at home during the day. With Cindy teaching at the kid's school, and more next year, plus homeschooling and teaching dance classes, and Adam working almost full time writing and working on a computer game with former coworkers from the US, we are so glad that they have a helper every weekday! As for our trip this year we took a large number of photos, since Walt has a new DSLR camera, but only show a subset in the album that can be found here.

Early Christmas at Hope House

Just before leaving CA for Mexico we helped plant a new church in Mountain View, CA. As founders of that church it was our dream that they would join us in the work God has provided for us. As we became more deeply involved in Hope House we kept up contact with our CA church, Grace Bible Fellowship (GBF). Last summer they sent a team down when they conducted a sports camp for the boys. After returning to CA they were so enthused a decision was made to make Hope House there first and main mission outreach. To kick start this goal they decided to provide presents for all the boys at Christmas. This resulted in 25 large boxes filled by various members of the church. The challenge now was one of delivering the packages. With shipping costs to Mexico being high and getting through customs, it was decided that the most efficient and cost savings way was for one of the church members to fly with the boxes as additional luggage. All of this to say that this was a real learning experience for all of us and there are several things that we will now do to improve future generous donations of this sort. This past Tuesday evening, Bob Douglas, the assistant pastor, flew down. As we waited for Bob at customs, we could see him slowly move towards the final doors. Then the doors remained closed for almost an hour and we never saw Bob that whole time and we became quite concerned. Clearly one passenger with 25 extra pieces of luggage raised a few customs officials eyebrows. Bob eventually did come out but it was too late to deliver the packages and we decided to do it Wednesday evening. Wednesday morning we all met for breakfast with Rodney and Kina because of GBF’s desire to know how better they can help not only Hope House but the staff and especially Rodney and Kina. Breakfast lasted four hours during which a wide variety of constructive suggestions arose. As a result we are looking forward to a great relationship between Hope House and GBF. Already on the books is a return visit in July to conduct another sports camp. God is indeed more than good, in fact, He is awesome and we are so thankful that we can serve in the capacity He has so generously provided for us. The blessing for us is to see God at work. For Bob, the blessing was to see the look on the boy’s faces as they carried their individual boxes into the house. Now comes the anxious waiting for Christmas to open the boxes. Here are photos of this event.

Israel October 2012 GMP trip

This was our third GMP trip to Israel. This posting will primarily consist of a photo album with appropriate captions and a few videos. The album is presented in chronological order of the places we visited this time. The blog on our first trip can be found here and our second trip blog can be found here.

The photo album for this trip can be found here. We were given a demonstration of how they fished on the Sea of Galilee in Jesus' time. The video of that is here. The interior front of the Church of the Nativity is quite ornate. Here is a video that shows the altar area of the Church. We were treated to two excellent views of Jerusalem, one was from the Shepherd's Field in Bethlehem and the second from Herodion. Here is the view from the Shepherd's Field and here is the video taken from Herodion. While we were in Old Jerusalem some people were celebrating a Bar Mitzvah. It was rather loud but interesting. It is a special honor for a boy to have his Bar Mitxvah in the Holy City (and expensive). The video for this Bar Mitzvah is here. We managed to take our harpist's harp in the Garden of the tomb. Just before having communion we had the luxury of hearing her play "In the Garden" and a few other numbers. Here is the video of "In the Garden".

Second Aquaponics System

Our first aquaponics system, described in our posting at this location, has been a resounding success. After completion of the system described in that post, we planted a variety of plants: lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini and even a papaya tree, and added fish to the fish tanks. All plants are flourishing and the fish continue to grow so the system is beautifully balanced. Since we had a small amount of funds left over we decided to build a second system much like the first. This brings Hope House closer to the point of being self-sustaining. We also have approximately 50 lettuce seedlings that need a place to grow as our first grow boxes are full. So it made sense to move forward with a new build. The one ingredient missing this time was volunteer labor to help in the construction. We put a call out to our sons in CA to see if they would be interested in coming down to help. We received a resounding "yes".  The visit was made even more attractive by scheduling the time for construction around "Dia de Independencia" celebrations in September, especially the "Regata de Globos" which is a fiesta of hot air balloons made out of tissue paper and the heat source being a cloth ring soaked in kerosene and then lit. You can get some of the flavor of that at this posting.

Our sons Andrew and Eric and friends of Eric's, Lexi and Tyler, arrived during the night prior to the regata. So we started off with a big bang. Sunday we toured Tlaquepaque in Guadalajara with them and then put them to work on Monday. Lexi and Tyler were able to work Monday through Wednesday and Andrew and Eric continued the remainder of the week. In anticipation of their arrival, we decided to have much of the basic construction completed so that they could finish the project in the week that they were here. Their labors were also supplemented by a local friend of ours, Charles.  After much mixing and carrying of cement the Mexican way, shown in this video, we did get the project complete except for a few odds and ends, like the sidewalks around the beds and the plumbing. We anticipate the second system to operational by the end of September. Here are photos of the construction of the second aquaponics system and the current status. However, we have to hold off on finishing the area around the new system and construction of the sunshade over the system. Once we get sufficient funds again, we will complete the second system to be on a par with the first system. By the way, this is the Mexican way of construction, when funds are available - build, if no funds are available - stop building. Until we get the funds, we already have 50 lettuce plants ready to transplant into the new system since the first system is already full. Fortunately we believe it is sufficiently cool at this time of year so the plants should be fine.

We kept the kids busy with the construction but they also had time to play an aggressive game of Ultimate Frisbee with the boys. Our sons' comment by Thursday was that as much as they were glad to spend time with us, they were looking forward to getting back to CA and recovering. Mixing and carrying cement by hand is hard work! Here are photos of the ultimate Frisbee game as well as the boys that played, which is not all the boys in Hope House since some were in school, and a photo of our youngest little two year old. When you see him, your heart melts.  

GBF Visits the Heines in Mexico

After five years of waiting we finally had the privilege of having our church from CA, Grace Bible Fellowship (GBF), visit us on a missions trip. It was with great anticipation that we waited for them. Their trip began with the whole group attending our little Spanish church, which has grown to approximately 150 adults from 60 when we first arrived. God stepped in again so that Nancy happened to be leading worship that Sunday, in Spanish of course. This was special since Nancy was the first worship leader at GBF. The team appeared to enjoy the service, although by US standards it is very long, and they got to meet a lot of people including connecting with the pastor. Some of the team members plan to keep in contact with our pastor as an encouragement to him. This is one of the many benefits that we appreciate resulting from a team visit of this nature. 

The overall trip was short and the team only had two and a half days to spend in a sports camp with the boys. The activities included basketball, ultimate Frisbee, and hockey. Yes, hockey in Mexico, although it was regulation hockey but on concrete. The boys were excited when they heard it would be a sports camp. This enthusiasm carried over to their involvement in the sports activities. The team members also had the opportunity to conduct Bible lessons with groups of the boys as well as special one-on-one times. When saying goodbye to the boys, clearly the boys would have liked to have more and took more time then scheduled to say goodbye. One of their questions, "are you coming back next year?" We definitely hope a team from GBF will be returning next year with an even much larger team and staying for a longer period of time. Here are photos of the basketball camp. Here is a video of the basketball portion of the camp. 

The last night in Mexico was dinner at our house followed by a summary discussion of their visit. Here are photos of the visit. We could see that even after three days, the boys really touched the team members. A trip like this will do that to you. Several of the team also became quite attached to our church and our pastor. This really touched us. As some of the team's family members had been concerned, one of the questions we asked was "Did you feel in any danger while you were here?" The answers from essentially everyone were very enlightening and interesting. Answers like: 

- "Although coming from broken and abusive homes, all the boys were cheerful and real gentlemen and we never felt any danger being alone with them whatsoever. "

- "Each evening at 9 or 10 pm we would walk down to the Ixtlahuacan plaza to get street tacos. Not only were they excellent but we survived the tacos and the walk." 

- "Rodney and Kina, the local missionaries, have four little girls and they live in the center of the village and feel totally safe." 

- "Another intern missionary has a little girl and they feel no danger." 

- "Contrary to what some people thought, the bottled water was just fine." 

Hopefully and prayerfully the team coming down and experiencing our little part of the world first hand will allay any fears for future teams. So now we are prayerfully anticipating a much larger team for a longer period of time next year.

Guatemala - July 2012

We joined Global Missions Project on another missions trip, this time to Guatemala.  This likely has been one of the best we have been on.  We had approximately 14 concerts and 6 workshops in the 8 days we were there.  Fortunately Guatemala is a Spanish country so we could conduct the rhythm workshops in Spanish without a translator.  One of those 8 days was committed to touring Antigua, Guatemala.  Because there was so much activity this blog will be organized by day and events for each day.

To begin with, here are photos of the group of 20 that met in Guatemala for this adventure. Our orchestra was supplemented with local musicians and the largest combined orchestra was 40 people.  So it was exciting. Before getting into the individual events there are some generic photos. These photos are of Casa Emaús, the guest house that we stayed at.   Here are photos of typical street scenes of Guatemala City and surroundings. One of the things we have always been intrigued by in each country we visit  is graffiti, shown here. In Guatemala it is very reminiscent of Brazil. The first few are just a series of graffiti but the last group is a mural of people holding hands and rolling a ball along. Another thing we noticed was the variety of buses. Besides the standard tour buses, there appeared to be two types, dull red old Bluebirds or Mercedes Benz, and very colorful. The dull red ones seemed to concentrate within the city and the fancy ones for intercity travel. In fact, these colorful ones always had the luggage loaded on top. Here are representative photos. We called the fancy ones "parties on wheels".

Of special interest were the volcanoes around Guatemala. Typically they are covered with clouds but we did get some good views as these photos show.

The highlight of any trip of this nature is eating, generally local food.  However, we ate a lot of fast food on this trip because we were always on the run and this was the easiest.  We are not used to that much fast food, and half way through the week we got tired of pizza.  Here are number of "eating" photos.

The rest of the blog will be by day and then location during that day.

Friday 13 July

Our first and ONLY rehearsal at Union Church.  This included some Guatemalan musicians.  Photos of this rehearsal are shown here.  We then went to the National Conservatory to conduct workshops and then give a concert but ended up hearing a Marimba concert and then giving ours as seen here.  A video of the Marimba concert is at this YouTube site.  We then visited Coro Filarmónico, which was very interesting.  Two Guatemalan brothers, Pedro and Manuel, felt called to reach out in a poor community to try to bring kids off the street through music.  They have been successful because they simply trust God to provide and He always has.  Here are videos of the choir singing alone,  the boys playing the piano, all of them playing hand bells and all singing with the piano. Understand that these people live in a bad environment and come from abusive homes and found Coro Filarmónico to be a place of refuge.  Many notes on the piano no longer worked so our group decided to help out.  Here are a couple of photos of the choir, a welcome sign and Manuel and Pedro after receiving the gift from our orchestra, which was almost enough for a new piano.

Saturday 14 July

We began the day by giving a concert at Universidad de Valle.  However, we did not get any photos as we rushed in and out.  After lunch we went to Centro Cultural Cristiano. Their website is at http://cccguatemala.com/. Apparently the leader of this organization felt led to go to an extremely poor and violent part of Guatemala City to reach the youth.  According to their website they are working with upwards of 1,200 young people.  What caught our attention was that they have an auto mechanics workshop, a metal workshop, art studio and English classes to provide centers of life skill training.  We then noticed a Rotary Club symbol and asked about it.  60% of the funding for the workshops comes from local Rotary Clubs who are in contact with a large number of clubs in the US and Canada.  Since we are Rotarians in our local club, this was of special interest.  His next project is a carpentry shop!! At this location we put on a concert on the street.  The local police blocked off the streets for us.   Here are photos of this opportunity. That evening we ended up giving a concert at Bethania Baptist church. Three photos of this concert are shown here.

Sunday 15 July

On Sunday we gave two concerts at Union Church.  These were our only English language concerts. Here are four photos of our time at this Church.  That afternoon we held workshops and gave a concert at Vida Nueva Church. We didn't get photos of the workshop as we were busy instructing the rhythm section in Spanish.  We rotated instrumentalists on each instrument to give them all a chance.  At the end of the class, with Nancy singing, we had a "near" perfect worship band.  As instructors this was extremely gratifying.  We did get pictures of the concert, which can be seen here.

Monday 16 July

This was our one tour day and so we went to Antigua, a historic city in Guatemala.  Here are photos of this adventure.

Tuesday 17 July

In the morning we headed off to the Alfredo Colom Music School to conduct workshops and give a concert.  Here are the photos of this opportunity.  In the afternoon we went to the Universidad Galileo.  This is one of the most prestigious universities in Guatemala.  Students are not allowed to work and so their parents have to  provide total support.  Cost is approximately $1,000 USD per month so by Guatemalan standards very expensive.  But it is an extremely beautiful campus.  All students have to take English and those in medical and dental school have to add at least one indigenous Mayan dialect because they are expected to work in the outlying communities.  Our director, Camp Kirkland, gave a lecture on music composition followed by Nancy lecturing on Sound Tech. These lectures were followed by a concert.  Here are the photos of the time at this university including the lectures and concert.  Here is a video of Camp and Nancy lecturing, at least small parts. Nancy found out just prior to the lecture that half the audience knew nothing about sound, so she started with the basics.

Wednesday 18 July


The whole day was spent at a very interesting orphanage, Camp Bernabé.  This orphanage has about 150 orphans on a well maintained and beautiful campus.  They have their own school, several houses with from 10 to 15 children in each with house parents, a garden, a carpenter shop and a well organized structure.  We met several short term interns and some folks that are there for a longer period of time.  This orphanage is part of a larger international organization Friends of Children Everywhere (FOCE).  It is not government supported so relies totally on private donations.  However, it is one of the best if not the best orphanage in Guatemala.  In fact, it has a waiting list of 1,000 children.  So there is a real need.  We did workshops and held a concert here.  However, there were no rhythm instruments so no rhythm workshop. So Walt found a guy named Tony who essentially does exactly what we do at Hope House so Walt had to compare notes.  Tony's next project is an aquaponics system!!  Just what we are trying to do in Mexico, Tony is trying to get Camp Bernabé to be self sustaining.  Here are pictures of Camp Bernabé.  One of our gals, Barbara, put a whole program together for us to interact with the kids.  So you will see photos of that.

Thursday 19 July


Thursday began with a ministry that really touched everyone.  It was in a place called Potter's House.  Their website is at http://www.pottershouse.org.gt/. Apparently 11,000 people scavenge the Guatemala City garbage dump to make a meager living.  This has been going on for generations. It is not just the poverty that is an issue, it is that they are considered second class citizens so they have no apparent hope.  Potter's House has been working to change that for the last 25 years and have been quite successful.  We went to listen to an orientation briefing and to give a concert.  Here are photos of this opportunity.  Later that day we were joined by a choral group, Virginia Voices International, who joined us for the last two days.  Our first combined concert was at Jesús El Buen Pastor church.  Here are photos of the concert.

Friday 20 July


This fantastic trip ended with workshops and a concert at Seminario Teológico Centroamerica (SETECA).  The concert was on live radio and the very large church was packed with a very enthusiastic crowd.  It was an excellent way to end this incredible trip. Here are a few photos of the workshop and concert.

Future


We are signed up to go to Israel in October of this year and to Curitiba, Brazil in June of next year.  If you would like to help us out on these ministry opportunities God has given us, you can do so by going to https://www.globalmissionsproject.com/givetoparticipant.php and supporting either one of us for Projects GMP-190 and/or GMP-200.  Although they can be quite exhausting they are extremely rewarding and we are convinced this is a ministry God wants us involved with. Any support would definitely help us in serving where God is leading us.

Aquaponics

A major goal for the boys home that we work with is to make it self-supporting. This can be accomplished through systems that offset operational costs, such as solar electricity and water, or by systems that provide food both for use at the home and selling of any additional products. Hope House already has a chicken coop for raising chickens. Other systems can include standard gardening for produce or hydroponics, growing produce in water. Also, aquaculture, the growing of fish in tanks, is attractive. However, a combination of hydroponics and aquaculture is a system known as aquaponics. In this system the fish fertilize the water with nutrients and the water is pumped to the hydroponics portion and the produce extracts the nutrients as fertilizer. The cleansed water is then pumped back into the fish tank. A very neat closed loop system. A year or more ago we began considering building such a system. So we had a dream and prayed that this dream might come true.

 Over the next year following our dream, we began networking with various people. We found some people in Guadalajara that were considering installing aquaponic systems in orphanages in the area and they had already constructed some, such as barrelponic systems. They visited our facility and from what we envisioned they came up with a design. So now it was a matter of funding and, to minimize cost, find volunteers to help build the system. We had materials in the workshop that we could repurpose plus we had a large aljibe, which is a large underground tank, that was no longer used. So the first step was to cut the aljibe in half providing us with two tanks that would be perfect for fish. Our friends in Guadalajara contacted a group called "Adventures in Missions" or AIM, that sends out teams to various countries for 14 month periods to help in projects like this. Six of them were available to help. The group included someone from New Zealand and another person from Mexico City, so it became an international endeavor. Three days prior to beginning the project a gentleman from TN retired full time in our area. He too joined us. To help with Mexican construction we hired a local contractor to assist, which was a real Godsend. The team became even more international when a friend of ours, Phil Wang, felt led to bring a missions team from The King's Academy in Sunnyvale, CA, the week prior to Spring break. Phil is on staff at this school. This team consisted of 8 high school students and three staff. At Christmas we talked to our son Andrew and he indicated that the company he works for, Duarte Design, Inc., was looking for a place where the employees could participate financially to help an organization that takes boys off the street and gives them hope for a future - where else, but Hope House. We sent a planning document that went to the president of Duarte Design and the company not only committed to help but reached their goal in a very short period of time. We now had the volunteers and funding to see our dream fulfilled for the aquaponic system itself. However, we still had one item - the greenhouse to provide shade.  St. Andrews Anglican Church one  of the local churches in our area, has generously donated the funds for this last piece.  So now we are complete.  We are planning on building two systems but to educate ourselves on operating such a system, we chose to build only one and then operate it until we become comfortable. After this learning period we plan to build a second system comparable to the first.

 Below is a sketch of the system we built.

A "single" system consists of two grow beds, one with gravel for plants such as the non-leafy variety, tomatoes, radishes, onions and so forth, and the other a free flow for leafy plants, such as lettuce and spinach. The free flow bed will hold upwards of 200 lettuce plants. There are two fish tanks, each of which are anticipated to support 400 fish. The "Bell Siphon" is a unique mechanism to control a fluctuating water level from full to empty in a cyclic pattern.  It has no moving parts and operates solely on the siphon principle.  The greenhouse is shade material supported by a structure. This part still needs to be built. The rest of this blog will be a series of photos and videos showing the construction as it took place. Needless to say, given how a dream of a year or more ago became reality, God was in it the whole way - bringing a team together and providing funds and completing the dream in a period of one month. God is awesome! God hopefully is working on bringing another team sometime in the future and AIM has a new crew coming to Guadalajara in May for 14 months. We have several volunteers trained to maintain the system. Plus several other people have expressed interest.  So God is again at work getting things ready for completion of this project.  We are anxious to see how part 2 will go.

Day 1: Construction photos and video of taking repurposed pallets apart for concrete forms and felling a tree. 

Day 2: Construction photos and video of Hope House boys and The King's Academy team mixing concrete Mexican style. Also testing the "goodness" of the concrete and then The Kid's Academy guys doing what they  couldn't do in the US - riding in the back of a pickup truck. 

Day 3: Construction photos and video of fish tanks being placed in their holes. 

Day 4: Construction photos only this day. 

Day 5: We took The King's Academy crew to see the Passion Play in our village of Ajijic. This video shows Jesus carrying the cross, which he does half way up the mountain. 

Day 6: Photos of the final wrap-up meeting and what was accomplished while The King's Academy team was at the Passion Play. 

Day 10: It is coming together. Status photos. 

Day 13: Plumbing has gone in as seen in these photos, including the infamous Bell Siphon. This video shows the first operation of the plumbing system. Here is a video of the Bell Siphon working, give it a couple of minutes as it sets up and then it will be seen in its full glory. There are no mechanical, electrical or moving parts, it operates entirely on the siphon principle. 

Day 34: The intervening time was spent making the area look professional and culminating in a "planting party" with all the boys of Hope House and other visitors present. These photos and this video show the current status and first planting.