Colegio Mesoamericano-Patzicía

WE NEED YOU

2011-12-31T06:03:00.002-06:00

If you have ever once thought about rescuing a child from poverty and ignorance, and of giving them the opportunity to learn, and thereby have the opportunity to finish high school, and maybe even go on to the university, we ask you to think about Sponsoring a child with us. We have many families who want to help their children. They need you.

We have seen first hand the change an education makes in the lives of our children and their families, and that excites us and gives us hope.

SANTA CLAUS

2011-12-31T05:44:00.002-06:00

It was fun playing Santa to some of our children. Pictured (top row) are Edy and Yenifer Ajquejay, Kellyn Choy with baby brother Spencer, Glenda and Bryan Mich, (bottom row) Ingrid, Veronica, Sergio and Glenda Samol, twins Juan David and Juan Carlos Mich, who all received books for Christmas from their Sponsor Victoria.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!
And, thank you for your love and support.

Dear Friends of Patzicía Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-14T14:11:00.048-06:00

We want to take this time to wish you the very best this marvelous holiday season.

Click on to view a bigger version

THANK YOU FROM OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF

2011-12-13T07:24:00.000-06:00

Thank you Friends of Patzicia for your love and support. It is nice to see that this year two of our teachers are former students who were blessed to have received help from our Sponsor Program. It is working!

OUR STUDENTS DO WELL!

2011-12-12T08:47:00.000-06:00

As we close out 2011 and reflect back, we are happy to report that our students are doing extremely well. Due to the addition of computers in each classroom, and with the addition of the internet, our teachers are even more prepared, and the students have at their fingertips the information they need. We have seen a big improvement in our English Program that is science based. In fact the students say they learn more about science in English. For that reason the coming year we are improving our Science Program. This will be made easier due to the generous donation of equipment from some Friends of Patzicia. We are also very pleased with our Math Program where we insist that all students have the times tables memorized and where we have instituted Pre-Algebra in third grade, and strengthened math in all grades. We struggled a bit with our Language class (Spanish) this year so we began daily quizzes in spelling in all grades Prepa - 6th. By the end of the year teachers happily reported a huge improvement. We continue to teach the use of Language Maps and teach how to write well. We also opened up the Library and insisted that all children read every day. We have even allowed children to take home books to read. So as we close out the year we are extremely happy with the education we provide.

Thank you to all those who help us help these precious students.
May the Lord bless you.

CURTAINS!

2011-09-03T13:47:00.002-05:00

Thank you to all of you who contributed to our need for curtains. Our students can now see the computer screens because we can close the curtains, and the teachers can use the overhead machines without the problems of the glare of daylight. The students also like to periodically close them so I can´t see what is happening.

Thanks again Friends of Patzicía!

THANK YOU DORENE HUMPHERS & BOBBIE WEGGAR

2011-08-23T05:54:00.002-05:00

Dorene Humphers

Bobbie Weggars

What a marvelous six weeks we have had having Dorene Humphers and Bobbie Weggar here teaching English to our students. We consider ourselves greatly blessed because they taught not only with skill, but also with enthusiasm, leaving deep imprints in our English Program -- and more importantly, in our hearts. We hope you know Dorene and Bobbie that you have made friends here for a lifetime. Thank you so much for the English you taught us, and for the difference you made in our lives.

We hope you will return to us again soon!

THANK YOU FRIENDS!

2011-08-18T13:50:00.011-05:00

A group of Friends of Patzicía stopped by to donate a bunch of equipment for our new science lab that is under construction. And while they were here they got to meet some of our children.

Thank you so much Friends for all you do for us!

We hope you come back so you can spend more time with us.

SPORTS EQUIPMENT!

2011-07-04T06:44:00.008-05:00

Jake Evans

Thanks to JAKE EVANS for donating balls and cleats to our sports program. We barely unloaded some of them when the Choy kids ran in, grabbed some cleats and balls and got to the work of playing. (They were lucky at the unloading because the rest of school was out for vacations.) Thank you so much Jake for your kindness and generosity. They will certainly be put to good use. We hope you will come and visit us and maybe play some ball!

APARTMENT FOR RENT

2011-06-13T17:07:00.014-05:00

The apartment has:

Living room kitchen.(Has a stove, sink, and fridge)
Bathroom with hot water shower
Bedroom with four beds

And When this apartment isn't being rented to volunteers, it is available for rent. (Situated in secure location.)

Call Denise at 011-502-5851-6087

HONOR ROLL

2011-06-10T04:59:00.000-05:00

We are very proud of our kids on the Honor Roll. Maybe you will recognize some of the children you sponsor.

Thank you Friends!

THANK YOU FRIENDS!

2011-06-09T14:25:00.000-05:00

THANK YOU for the clothes, sheets, curtains, towels and shoes, etc., that came in the container. The people were very grateful this last weekend as Bishop Choy began the huge task of inviting people to come take "as they needed". It was a very humbling experience. Thank you again.

REBEKAH ZARKOU AND BEKI NYE

2011-06-05T02:20:00.004-05:00

Rebekah

Beki

We were so privileged to have had Rebekah Zarkou and Beki Nye with us as volunteer English teachers. They are both students at BYU Idaho and brought with them a wonderful spirit of love and service. The children will greatly miss them and already hope for their speedy return. Thank you Beki and Rebekah for all you did for us.

The children, and friends you made here,
will never forget your warmth, hard work and service,
and the love you left with us!

OUR LIBRARY

2011-06-03T04:02:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all the volunteers and friends who have donated reading books in Spanish (and English). As you can see we now have a library and can begin lending books to our students on a pretty regular basis. If you come across Spanish books, please let us know, we are still in great need.

Thank you friends!

THE CONTAINER HAS ARRIVED!

2011-06-01T16:39:00.005-05:00

We are so grateful to all of you who sent us computers, memory sticks, school furniture, school supplies, books, white boards, projectors, toys and clothes, etc. We truly are profoundly grateful and want you to know how much this helps us in our goal to educate these children, giving them the opportunity of getting a good education so they can eventually break the cycle of poverty and ignorance that surrounds us.

Thank you so very much!

QUETZALTENANGO TEMPLE - OPEN HOUSE!

2011-06-01T15:43:00.008-05:00

We are happy to share the news that our new temple in Quetzaltenango will have their open house 11 to 26 of November and the dedication will be 11 December. If you are planning on visiting, we would be happy to have you stop by and visit us.

THANK YOU, LESLIE WOODWARD AND FAMILY!

2011-04-10T12:02:00.002-05:00

Leslie Woodward and mom and dad (David and Pauline from Franklin, Idaho) visited us donating school supplies, money to buy Spanish Readers, all kinds of different balls for PE, and clothing. While Leslie taught English, David painted tables, and Pauline scanned books. In just two days, Leslie and family made close friends with many of our children.

Leslie we hope you return again. Thank you so much for your generosity, time, and love.

TOOTHBRUSHES AND TOOTHPASTE!

2011-03-09T11:42:00.001-06:00

Thank you so much for your donations of toothbrushes and toothpaste. Unfortunately nearly all our children have dental issues so your generosity and kindness is greatly appreciated. Each day after recess our younger children enjoy brushing their teeth.

THREE NEW CLASSROOMS!

2011-02-22T14:53:00.003-06:00

We are continuing with our construction of three classrooms. The children are excited, and we are all extremely grateful.

HEALTHY DRINK - ENCAPARINA

2011-02-04T07:10:00.021-06:00

Thanks to the love and support of some of our "Friends of Patzy" we are able to provide our children with a nutritional healthy drink that keeps them going. We have children who come to school all day without anything to eat and so we are profoundly grateful that our Friends have returned to help us once again. One day we will be able to look back on this and know what a marvelous thing it is that we do. Thank you Terry, Janet, Jacque, Mary, LaFaunda, Bruce, Yves and Kathleen, Brent and Trish, and Morris!!

THANKS TO THE KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY...

2011-02-02T02:34:00.004-06:00

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of one of our "Friends of Patzy" we will be getting two new classrooms and a laboratorio! The children are already thinking of their science projects; some of which have me worried. :-) Today workers began the work of destroying some old storage sheds in order to make room for the new buildings. In the pictures the large wall belongs to our neighbors, and the building of tin is the house of another of our neighbors, so we have to be very careful with the destruction work. We feel extremely fortunate to have such wonderful Friends. We will keep you posted with our progress.

ANXIOUS TO LEARN ENGLISH

2011-01-29T13:14:00.001-06:00

Our students are anxious to learn English and at our "giveaway" this week it was exciting to see how many wanted books.

SCHOOL BEGINS!

2011-01-22T13:56:00.008-06:00

We are happy to announce that a week ago classes began for our students. The children are delighted, anxious to learn, and grateful to be in school.

Thank you to everyone for your support! We certainly couldn´t do it without you. (The pictures above are of second graders practicing their times tables.)

QUETZALTENANGO, GUATEMALA TEMPLE

2010-12-07T08:52:00.011-06:00

Although a public announcement has not yet been made, we are anxiously awaiting the opening and have heard it may possibly be in August 2011. If you are planning to come to the Open House, we hope you will stop by and see us.

FAMILY HISTORY AND LAPTOPS

2010-12-04T12:16:00.016-06:00

We are so grateful to JOANNE MARTIN who has been instrumental in helping us get computers. With the laptops we are able to help people research and compile their family histories. Although we only have 6 laptops to date, we are hopeful that Friends of Patzicía will continue to help us in this regard. As you can see with the accompanying photo there is a lot of interest, and the laptops are in almost constant use. Thank you Joanne!

WE HAVE COMPUTERS!

2010-11-25T10:21:00.021-06:00

We have been in desperate need of computers for some time now and were seriously concerned about what we would do for the upcoming school year. And then along came JADEN STORRER who is a 12 year old scout from Lindon, Utah. For his Eagle Scout project he collected 32 computers and other technological supplies for us. We will put the majority of them in our computer lab at the school and some we will use to help Denise and her friends and neighbours work on a Family History project they have with their church. Jaden spent countless hours seeking computers and funds to complete this project, and we are profoundly grateful. He could not have done this project without the help of his faithful scout leader, PATRICK LEICHTY who we heard spent countless hours formatting and working his magic on the computers. Thank you so much Jaden and Patrick! (Also thank you to Jaden's family who were a great support to him.)

TRYING TO GET TO HIGH SCHOOL!

2010-11-18T16:03:00.014-06:00

We previously only went through ninth grade because we didn’t have enough classrooms. But, with help from our Friends: The Rose Foundation, Ericka Olschewski, Aimee Wetzel, Courtney Nebeker, Elizabeth Ferguson, Catherine Johnson, Laci Tagge, Jorie Haynes, Rachel Barker, Sara Wetzel, Mercedes Barker, and Saskia Warner we have been able to build another much needed classroom. This building will be here blessing the lives of our children for many many years to come. A huge sincere "Thank you!" to all those who contributed. We hope you will return to visit our children in this classroom.

ELIA and DECKY! - Former Students

2010-11-18T15:15:00.010-06:00

We are happy to announce that we have hired two former students, ELIA JULAH and DECKY PER. Both of these former students graduated from ‘Diversificado', Elia as a secretary and Decky as a tour guide. Elia will now go on to the University to study English on Saturdays, and Decky will prepare to leave on a mission in November 2011. They have both been hired to teach English at the school. We are happy to see former students working hard to improve their English and with aspirations to graduate from the university.

ALL THE WAY FROM NIGERIA TO TEACH ENGLISH!

2010-11-18T12:36:00.015-06:00

JOHNSON IFEANY ONYEMETU came all the way from Nigeria to teach English. We were extremely fortunate this past year to have Ifeany teach English to our older students. Not only did he teach us English, but he was also an unbelievable example of patience and kindness. As he moves on to Momostenango the coming year we certainly will miss his warm and friendly nature, and his dedication to our students. We wish you all the best Ifeany and hope you will come back to visit us! (Ifeany comes from a family of 5 children, one of them being his twin. He also speaks 5 languages: English, Spanish, French, Igbo and Arabic!)

WE WELCOME DAVID BECK TO OUR TEAM

2010-11-18T08:36:00.026-06:00

We are happy to announce the addition of DAVID BECK to our list of volunteers. He is a capable, self-taught Web developer and will be in charge of keeping our website up to date. We are extremely grateful for his support and for the countless hours he spends keeping the site fresh, and full of information and pictures. (David lives in the city of Leeds, in the county of Yorkshire, in England, UK!) Thanks again David for your much needed support. If you would like to send David articles for our 'News Blog', please send them to david@beckweb.org.uk, or use the 'contacts' link to the right to communicate through our Website.

Thanks Michelle!

2009-08-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

She´s currently a junior at William and Mary College. Her major is in International Relationships, She came to Guatemala for the first time in March of 2008 on a service experience with Habitat for Humanity, on this trip the kids in a small village on the outskirts of Jutiapa brought her to the school they attended. The school had 3 classrooms for grades kinder to sixth, broken doors and windows, and was clearly starving for resources. When she returned back to the states, could not forget about the conditions and she had witnessed. She joined a group called Students Helping Honduras and has since had the opportunity to travel to Honduras and work with children several times. She could not, however, forget her first trip to Guatemala and her love for the culture and people. For this reason when she was given the opportunity for a research grant, she immediately knew she wanted to learn more about education in Guatemala. Her experience with Colegio Mesoamericano Patzicia has without doubt been one of her best experiences she has had. Not only have she has been able to delve into the topic of indigenous education and improve her Spanish skills, but she has had the opportunity to meet some of the most genuine and amazing people both at the school and within the community, she has gained a great understanding of Guatemalan culture and hope to someday have the opportunity to return.

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Thanks Caitlin!

2009-08-28T13:36:00.000-05:00

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Caitlin O'Reilly came to us from Massachusetts. She is currently an English as a second language Instructor for an adult evening program in Massachusetts. She has always wanted to travel and teach english in a new country. Whe she found out about The Rose Education Foundation, she was very excited. And she says that her experience here has been amazing. She has taught from 4th to 9th grade and and has been amazed at how eager the children are to learn. They absorbed everithing she said and worked very hard. Trough this experience she was able to teach english in a new way. She learned about Guatemala and made life-long friends. She will never forget how welcoming the people were to her as a volunteer. Her friends at the "Colegio Mesoamericano" and in patzicía, miss her a lot. Thanks a lot Caitlin!

Thanks a ton Daniel!

2009-05-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

Daniel Bradford spent two weeks here in our school, time in which he did so much work, he served his mission here in Guatemala back in 74-76 and he really loves this people that he has come several times. In this case he helped us make better the cafeteria and build a shop for the kids to practice arts. He also helped us to repair a lot of things in the building. Thanks Daniel. We'll hope tou see you again around here! We need more people like you in the world.

Welcome again dear Kiley!

2009-05-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

This april we had the visit of Kiley Christensen and a group of friends that came to help us begin the construction of the two new classrooms we so desperately need. They tore down walls and prepared the area where the classrooms will be built. They also found the time to paint a mural. Thanks guys for your help.

New volunteers!

2009-02-05T13:10:00.000-06:00

Sally Johnson has really enjoyed being a volunteer in Patzicia. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and loves having the opportunity to utilize her English skills in a foreign environment. She especially loves teaching songs in English to the younger kids because they have such a strong desire to learn. In her free time, Sally likes to immerse herself in the wonderful Guatemalan culture by visiting different places in the country. The cities are beautiful and unique and the lifestyles of the people are extremely busy all the time. Sally´s favorite things about Guatemala are the food and the new friends she has made.

Dan Scribner came to Guatemala for the first time when he was fourteen to visit his brother who was one of the first volunteers to teach in Patzicia. He has always made it a goal to return and be a volunteer himself. His outgoing and accepting personality has made him a great asset to the students here as they learn grammar and speaking skills. Not only does he help the students, but because he speaks Spanish, he is able to help the teachers improve their language skills as well so they can be more helpful to their students in the future. Dan especially likes eating banana bread muffins that are sold in the town on Mondays and Thursdays

Thank you everyone!

2008-10-24T22:52:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone from all of us here at Colegio Mesoamericano - Patzicía for making this such a great year. Our lives have been made so much easier because of the computers and surge protectors you have sent us. We are happy to report that each teacher now has a computer. Thank you also for the books and school supplies, donations of all kinds, and especially for your children who came and served as volunteer teachers. We are also extremely grateful for those of you who sponsored one or more of our delightful children. We are convinced that the way to change the cycle of poverty and ignorance is through education. We are happy to report we are seeing some great successes. This has been a marvellous year for us in large part due to your generosity, kindness and love. A profound thank you to everyone!

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DOLLS TO LOVE

2008-10-12T15:11:00.001-05:00

Thank you so very much to the person who sent us dolls! We just found some among some medical supplies that were in the container. The families here do not have disposable income, so the children rarely have toys. What an absolutely wonderful and delightful surprise this was, and how marvellous it has been to see how much they will be loved. Again…THANK YOU.

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WELCOME GINELLE!

2008-09-10T14:27:00.000-05:00

Ginelle comes to us from Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah where she is studying ESL and Spanish, hoping one day to become an ESL or Spanish teacher. We know Ginelle will find success in whatever she does because Students and teachers alike have instantly fallen in love with her. And it is easy to see why. She has a tremendous interest not only in teaching (and teaching well) but also in people. Her easy, loving, selfless, pleasant, and fun nature is a magnate for everyone. She has instantly made numerous friends with children and with families in the school and in the neighbourhood. Most afternoons her house is full of students reading, drawing, painting, cooking, swinging in her hammock, and just hanging out with her. It is an absolute delight to have Ginelle with us! Thank you Ginelle – we love you! (Note: We have been so fortunate this year to have had the most delightful group of volunteers. Thank you everyone – and come back and visit us again soon!)

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THANK YOU DEAR FRIENDS

2008-08-19T08:41:00.000-05:00

Four years ago Ashlee Cutler was a volunteer English teacher here for six months. She returned last year to help us with some humanitarian work. And again this year she returned as Ashlee Cutler-Morris bringing with her, her mom Cindy Felt. How extremely fortunate we have been as they have donated their time, money and efforts to help those in need. They brought clothes, school supplies, shoes, sheets, curtains, and much more. While here they painted our wall, and painted around the school. But that wasn’t all; they visited the poor -- buying more needed items, and even bought beds for them! We are so very blessed to have such wonderful friends as these. A profound thank you from the families you met here -- and from us too.

WE HAVE MORE HELP!

2008-08-13T09:33:00.000-05:00

Michelle Holmgren, Micaela Jensen, Julie Manning and Wendi Rock, all from the Logan, Utah area, have come to help us with our Pedro Choy Family and Raul Samol Family building projects , and at the same time they are donating money and time building some tables and chairs. Michelle who currently works as an architectural drafter, served an LDS mission in Argentina and so speaks Spanish. She loves to play racquetball, spend time with her family, and backpack. Mikaela works for an insurance agency while attending Utah State University, She likes to play piano, read, travel, play sports, and spend time with her family. Julie enjoys blowing bubbles, singing in the shower, eating, playing soccer, and spending time with her two brothers, sister, and family. In her spare time she teaches swimming and works. Wendi enjoys spending time with her two brothers and family. She is currently attending Utah State University studying exercise science and Spanish. She enjoys photography, piano, eating, and eating some more. All the girls came to practice their Spanish, learn new skills, and serve others. Certainly they are doing this as they work on these building projects and spend time with the children in the College. Thanks so much girls for your kindness, service, and your loving support! Wendi has been here twice; maybe she will come back again. We certainly hope so.

THE COMPUTERS ARRIVED!

2008-07-28T09:27:00.000-05:00

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Thank you to the friends and family of Mary Bangerter, and the Josh Proulx family, our teachers are enjoying their computers and surge protectors. Now our teachers can find information from the Internet, put it on the computers, and the world is in our classrooms! Thank you again for your love and support!

HELLO COURTNEY CLARK

2008-07-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

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We are pleased to have another volunteer English teacher. Although she can only be here for a month, we are grateful for the love and support she is giving to the children here. Courtney, who is always loving, pleasant, kind, and giving, has already graduated from Brigham Young University in teaching and will be moving to Las Vegas to teach there this fall. Thank you so much Courtney for coming to spend time with us, and for being so faithful in your assignments. We love you and wish you all the best in your future plans. Please come back and visit us again – the children love you!

THANK YOU HEATON FAMILY!

2008-07-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

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We were extremely grateful for the visit of Angela, Thomas, and McKay Heaton, and Leonora (Angela’s mom). They came and worked in the library organizing and cataloguing books, fixing computers, AND building cement benches so the children had some place to sit and eat during recesses. Not only did they engage in this laborious work, but they also donated all the materials and labour. Thank you Heaton’s, we are tremendously grateful for your love, labour, and support! We hope you had a wonderful time here and will come visit us again.

HELP INTERNATIONAL AND OTHER FRIENDS

2008-06-24T10:13:00.000-05:00

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Thanks so much to our friends from Help International (In photo: NICOLE, NICOLE, RACHEL, JENNA (Colegio Patzicia), CRAYTON, DANA (Colegio Patzicia), GENEVIEVE (the fearless leader of HELP) and DENISE (Directora Colegio Patzicia) and others who are not in the photo but have also come to help us from time to time (HILARY, KAT, ANNA, and DAN). Some have come to help us teach English and some have come to help our maintenance man PEDRO CHOY and his family (see photo) build some desperately needed rooms onto their existing house. The school, and the Choy Family, is extremely grateful to Help International and to our own Volunteers who are working hard in the classroom AND with the Choy Family. This truly is a work of love.

We would also like to express our most profound gratitude to LAFAUNDA, JACQUES, VICTORIA, LIZ, and LYNETTE for their generosity in sending donations so that the rest of us could help with the labour of building these desperately needed rooms for the Choy Family.

A most profound thank you to you all!

GIFTS OF LOVE -- IT WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS IN JUNE!

2008-06-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

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Thanks to the Christensen Family who brought wooden cars from THE HAPPY FACTORY located in Utah, we were able to make tons of little boys deliriously happy this last Sunday. Thank you for sharing Happy Factory! We appreciate so much your kindness and generosity. Please let us know when you want to come visit us.

Thanks also to the Brad, Laurie and Melissa Kitchen for donating the cutest ceramic dolls. The little girls (okay, all the girls -- including the Mom´s) loved them.

Thanks to everyone for your love — and for sharing!

CONCERT by THE CROOKED BEATS

2008-06-23T14:24:00.000-05:00

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On April 26th of this year Skyler Smith and Melissa Bambrough organized a benefit concert at the Edith Bowen Lab School in Logan Utah. The Crooked Beats (Ty Mortensen, Andy Jordan, Marc Nielsen, Steve Neilsen, Michelle Thome, Chris Larsen, Dustin Olson, and Skyler Smith) played so they could donate enough money to put two children through school for a full year. Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness Crooked Beats – what a marvellous thing to do! Maybe one day you can come here and play for us, we would love that!

HUMANITARIAN PROJECT

2008-06-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

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Thanks to all of you who have donated underwear, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, socks, etc., we were able to make packages to donate to the needy children and families in our area. Denise Francis, Dana Dickson, Anne Sidwell and Jenna Porter put together the items and then along with Kiley and Taren Christensen they presented the items to the youth and children. Again, thank you Friends for your kindness, generosity, and love.

TWO NEW VOLUNTEERS - JENNA AND DANA

2008-06-02T09:30:00.000-05:00

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JENNA PORTER came to us from Idaho to help teach English to the younger grades. The children love her because of her kind and gentle nature, and the constant love she shows towards them. As you can see from the picture Jenna uses her talent of creativity to help the children with art projects around the school, and around the neighbourhood. Jenna plans include going to college to become an elementary school teacher. Thank you Jenna for sharing your love with us, you truly are a sweet, kind, and loving person. The children already love you!

DANA DICKSON came to us from Cal State University where she is studying elementary education. Dana’s genuine character, creativity and outgoing nature has been a positive influence on the children and has quickly become one of their favourite teachers. Dana is very talented and is an inspiration to us all. Thank you Dana for coming to spend this time with us!

THANKS SO MUCH KILEY AND FRIENDS!

2008-05-19T15:43:00.000-05:00

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Some of Kiley´s family came to visit and while they were here…they worked. They painted some of our security wall, pulled weeds, moved rocks, fixed a couple of cars, and made tons of friends. Thanks so much for your help love and support Kiley, Taryn, Ryan, Kali, Gaylen and Sherry, and Shirley and Bill Christensen all from Utah. We hope to see you all again soon.

2008-05-15T12:54:00.000-05:00

Gracias Angelita, Aubrey, and Haley!

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Angelita Hendricks, aged 20 is from Lynnwood, Wa. Angelita is a student at Brigham Young University, Provo, where she is studying Exercise Science. She came to spend 10 days with us teaching English, and while here she painted a couple of messages on our wall. (We are always happy when volunteers share their artistic talents with us.) She came with friends Aubrey Jensen aged 19, from Issaquah, Wa, and Haley Jones also aged 19, from Bellevue, WA. Aubrey also attends BYU in Exercise Science while Haley is majoring in Mechanical Engineering at BYU. Thanks so much to all of you for you love, support, and for sharing your talents with us. We do hope to see you again some day.

WALKING TALL

2008-04-08T13:53:00.000-05:00

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Thanks to Bill, Laura, Melissa Kitchen and family, our children are walking tall. Melissa’s family came to visit their volunteer daughter and brought with them a suitcase full of shoes! Thank you so much Kitchen family - you have helped numerous families with your love and generosity! (And, thank you for sending Melissa to us.)

THEY PAINTED THE SPORTS COURT!

2008-04-08T13:36:00.000-05:00

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In March, CONNOR KENT, a Boy Scout from Utah who is working on his Eagle Scout Project, and his friends, came to paint the sports court. Besides donating the money to buy the sealer and paint, they also brought soccer balls, basketballs, tennis balls and all kinds of sports equipment for the children’s sports program. Thank you so very much to Connor, family and friends, and all those who donated, for their love, generosity, support, and sacrifice. The children are tremendously thrilled. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And, thank you again to all of you who built the sports court.

NEW VOLUNTEERS

2008-04-08T10:58:00.000-05:00

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We are so pleased to have ANNE SIDWELL join our group of volunteers. And as you can see from the photo, she got right to work teaching English where she is having tremendous success. The children love Ana because of her energy, interest, and caring personality. It is obvious to the children that Ana loves them. Anne is from Washington DC where she works with an organization that helps immigrant women. When she returns home this fall she will be entering Law School. We are so happy that Ana and all our volunteers chose to be with us this year. Thank you so much Ana!

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We are also pleased to have JOSIE NEWELL join us. Josie works with an orphanage in Chimaltenango called CLARA FANTASIA, but while the children are in school Josie has been kind enough to come up to Patzicía to help us teach English. Josie comes to us from Tooele, Utah. In the fall she hopes to enter Brigham Young University Provo where she will study either International Relations or Linguistics. We are so happy that Josie decided to come help the children here in Patzica. Thank you Josie for sacrificing your time and energy to help us. How very kind of you!

Feeding the children

2008-03-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

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In January Terry & Sandy Martin and their friends Mary & Dee Bangerter, Jacque & Boyd Butler, Jan & Eric Nelson, Lee Ann & Garner Meads, and La Faunda & Mark Curtis came to Guatemala on vacation and stopped by our school to visit. Terry noticed the children were hungry and asked how he and his friends could help. They went home, talked … and then donated. Because of them, their kindness, generosity, and love, our children are now able to drink a cup of Incaparina each day. The drink helps provide many of the vitamins and minerals they so desperately need, and helps alleviate the hunger pains. Thank you so very much Terry and friends. We are so very profoundly grateful!

WE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF CLASSROOMS

2008-02-27T14:17:00.001-06:00

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We are in desperate need of new classrooms and an auditorium that can serve multiple purposes such as rehearsals for music lessons, art classes, cultural events, theatre works, gym classes, school meetings, community and health seminars, and such. The amount of $85,000 dollars is estimated for such an auditorium and we are not capable of producing these funds ourselves. We have big dreams for our children here and we hope that you are willing to help us make them come true. If you can help, won’t you please contact us on our contact page, or at denisefrancis1@gmail.com. Please know you will be making a tremendous difference to the lives of these children.

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OUR VOLUNTEERS HELPING AT THE MEDICAL CONVENTION

2008-02-26T11:14:00.000-06:00

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Doctors, nurses, and medical personal (over 70 of them) from DOCARE INTERNATIONAL came to Patzicía to provide medical services.Colegio Mesoamericano - Patzicía facilitated two days here and two days in Tecpan.Thanks to our volunteers Melissa, Jennifer, Kiley, and Leah and Ali from Momostenango, we were able to help with the translation from English to Spanish. Thanks so much to all the wonderful doctors and medical personal that came, and thanks to our volunteers. (The doctors were able to see almost 700 patients a day!)
Note: We are always looking for doctors, nurses, nutritionists, others, and dentists to come help us.Please contact us if you would like to come to Guatemala and do some Humanitarian Service.

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OUR VOLUNTEERS

2008-02-20T16:10:00.001-06:00

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KILEY CHRISTENSEN is a Utah State University graduate in Early Childhood Education and Spanish.Her love for the Latin culture began when she served an LDS mission in Spain. She is now with us in Patzicia where she is a Volunteer Teacher teaching Social Studies and English for grades 2-5. Kiley is amazing. She is not only beautiful, but intelligent, caring, kind, and gets the work done. Kiley is also sponsoring and helping children here. We are extremely blessed and so very grateful that Kiley came to us. Thank you Kiley, we love you!

JENNIFER BILLS is a Sophmore in History and Spanish at Utah State University. Having previously been involved in other humanitarian efforts, Jen jumped at the chance to come with Melissa and volunteer her time here in Patzicia. Jenn spends the majority of her time teaching English and Gymnastics to the younger grades at Colegio Mesoamericano. Jenn has a love for life and energy that is unmistakable and for that reason is popular with the children. Jenn and her family are also sponsors and helping one of our children. We are deeply moved! Thank you Jenn for sharing your love with us! We love you!

MELISSA KITCHEN is a Sophmore studying special education at Utah State University. She first heard about Colegio Mesoamericano - Patzicía by word of mouth and came to help us last June. Her love for the Mayan culture and the people drove Melissa back to Patzicia this year where she is now working as a Volunteer English Teacher. Melissa is not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside too. She is popular with the students because it is obvious she loves them. Melissa has one word to describe her experience with us Patzicia, she says it´s her "home". Melissa and her family are sponsoring two children here and for that we are profoundly grateful. Thank you so much Melissa for coming to spend time with us and teaching English to the upper grades. We love you!

MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS A BLAKE ALLEN & LDS TOURS.

2007-10-30T12:23:00.000-05:00

Whenever Blake Allen is in Guatemala on one of his Book of Mormon Tours he stops by with his group to say hello to the children and to bring us supplies. We are so very grateful to him and his groups who have been so kind as to bring us books, school supplies, backpacks, health supplies, and suitcases. Thanks again Blake and Friends! We couldn’t survive without the kindness and generosity of people like you. We look forward to seeing you again in November, December, and in the coming year. See LDS Tours on our website or find Blake at blake@ldstours.com

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THE SPORTSCOURT!

2007-09-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all the people who helped with the fundraising and the building of our sportscourt. It is finally finished – well almost. (We are still looking for donations to paint and seal it, but it is finally built and it looks beautiful.) The last group to help us was a group put together by Sherry Ellsworth including: Tyler, Billy, Mark, Rachel, Ashley, Jennifer, Andrea, Christian, Shelly, Jill, Stacey, Jamie, Lindsey and Tresa. Not only did they work hard replacing dirt, moving sand, rocks and cement, but they also painted us a beautiful message on our newly built security wall, taught the kids some English, played with them, and gave them lots and lots of love. We also want to thank Tom Branch for his donation towards buying soccer balls. Thank you to everyone! Please click on any one of the pictures below to see more pictures in our album

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THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS, VISITORS, AND GROUPS

2007-08-27T13:22:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much to all our volunteers, visitors and different groups that have come this year to help us teach, build, and visit the sick and the poor. Not only did the children at the school benefit, but mothers and children in other communities benefited too. We handed out hygiene kits, toothbrushes, toothpaste, school supplies, blankets, sheets, shoes, games, underwear, suitcases to missionaries, shirts, ties, tee shirts, and other clothing, books, music instruments, and more, and of course we got to hand out lots and lots of love. A special thank you to all our Volunteers at Colegio Mesoamericano Patzicía, and the following groups and people who worked with them: Help International, Gordon Carter and the Charity Anywhere foundation, David Daines and the Yo Soy Chapin group, Blake Allen and LDS Tours, and Randy, Silvia, and Sherry Ellsworth and all those at The Rose Education Foundation. Thank you!

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YO SOY CHAPIN

2007-08-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

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Thanks so much to David Daines of the Logan, Utah area who helped organize a group of college students raise funds and come and help us build a sports court. This wonderful group consisted of Rick and Alisa, Sarah, Chelsea, Dave, Shayna, Brad, Jess, Katelyn, Emily, Kirk, Erin, Lexie, Ericka, Alicia, Maddy, Garrett, and Lindsay and Kellen the organizers and leaders of the Yo Soy Chapin group. Besides working on our sports court, the group worked with other organizations building two houses (one in Santiago and one in San Antonio) and worked in an orphanage near Lake Atitlan. Not only did they donate funds and work on the court, but they also brought much needed supplies for the school and the children. Thank you so much Chapin group; the children are anxious to pump up the balls and get playing! We wish you all much success in the coming school year, and hope to see you again soon!

OUR VOLUNTEERS

2007-08-08T19:00:00.000-05:00

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Audrey Bell came to us in May 2007 for a couple of months. Audrey goes to Washington State and is majoring in Elementary Education. Her favourite class here at Mesoamericano Patzicia was Kinder where she taught English and enjoyed playing with the children. She also taught in the older grades where she had the talent of exciting children with her English stories. Everyone at Colegio Mesoamericano loved her because she was always smiling. We hope she comes back soon!

Jake Johanson came to us in May from Las Vegas, Nevada and stayed with us through August. Jake taught English, worked on the security wall and sports court, helped us in the office, and showed the different visiting groups all around Patzicía. We will sorely miss Jake, his wonderful personality, and his way of making everyone feel at ease and special. Jake taught in almost all the grades and especially loved 5th grade where he said the students were willing and interested in learning English. Come back soon Jake!

Grace DeLeon came to us from Ogden, Utah. She is just about ready to graduate from BYU Idaho with a degree in Sociology. She then wants to either get involved in humanitarian work with a non-profit organization or go on for her Masters. Either way she is sure that she will continue with her humanitarian work. Grace taught English to our younger grades and was very popular because she was able to speak both English and Spanish. We will sorely miss her help. Come back Grace!

HOUSE FOR RENT IN COLONIA ZARAHEMLA, PATZICÍA,GUATEMALA

2007-07-27T19:13:00.001-05:00

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This cute house in Patzicía which comfortably houses 6-8 persons has two bedrooms, a living room (which is often converted into another bedroom), one bathroom with a hot water shower, toilet and sink, and a kitchen with stove, sink, and refrigerator. The house is enclosed by a high wall and has a security gate. If interested please contact Colegio Mesoamericano – Patzicía by email or call us at 001.502.5217.6000, 011.502.7830.5266.

2ND GRADE CLASS AT COLEGIO MESOAMERICANO – PATZICÍA

2007-07-26T20:43:00.000-05:00

SECOND GRADE GETS TO KNOW MS. JENNY HATCH AND THE SECOND GRADE STUDENTS AT CORONADO ELEMENTARY IN GILBERT, ARIZONA.

Hola Ms Jenny Hatch y los alumnos de segundo grado. ¡Esperamos que el año escolar 2008 sea un buen año para todos ustedes! (Hello Ms. Jenny Hatch and students of second grade. We hope that the school year 2008 will be a good one for you all.)

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Students: Allan Barillas, Brandon Choy, Maria Choy, Adolfo Conquero, Diego Corona, Pablo Cumes, Liza Curruchich, Gleidy Gabriel, Ana Julaj, Christian Muj, Jonathan Per, Mario Polanco, Loida Ponón, Karen Rojché, José Ruíz, Marcela Santizo, Noyari Sacbajá, Heidy Toj, Jennifer Tuy, Nelson Xicay, Abniel Xico and their Teacher: Ms. Darly Vela.

LATTER-DAY SAINT MISSIONARIES SERVE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

2007-07-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much to all of you who have visited and donated extra suitcases for the LDS Missionaries in Guatemala. As we have reported they can not leave for their assignments unless they have at least one suitcase. In May Vanesa Coc Can left for Ecuador, Oscar Choc Xico left for Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and in August Danny Per will leave for Peru. Colegio Mesoamericano Patzicía, Bishop Adelaido Alonzo (see Photo), and the missionaries express a huge thank you.

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HELP INTERNATIONAL

2007-07-18T09:17:00.001-05:00

This year we have been fortunate to have a number of volunteers from Help International come teach English to our students two days a week. This has been a wonderful experience for our students and our own volunteers as we have gotten to work together. Thank you so much Help International, Jessica, Rachel, Kate, Chelsea and Ali for all your love and support. We will miss you, but hope to see you again next year.

THE SECURITY WALL - CHARITY ANYWHERE

2007-07-18T09:11:00.000-05:00

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On June 5th 2007 7 volunteers from Charity Anywhere -- Rachaal, Wendy, Jenny, Melissa, Wendi, Kristi and Alisha came to help us build a Security Wall around part of the school grounds. Little did we know that they would do so much more. For the school they brought suitcases of supplies, books, music books, puzzles, toys, beads, games and more. They also brought keyboards, and a sewing machine! For a local orphanage they brought toys, games, sheets, shoes and more. For a local church they brought rings, pictures of Christ, and tons of music books.

For neighbourhood children in the Colony they brought shoes, toys, games and beads.
But this is not all—they also taught English to the children and played with them. It was a wonderful three weeks and we certainly have missed them already. We are so very grateful to Gordon and Susan Carter, the Charity Anywhere group, and of course the girls. We hope you come back again and again to see us!