Wedding gift for Iztapa

I had heard of wealthy parents providing a house as a wedding present to their children but I had never heard of a young couple who would ask all their guests not to buy them any wedding gifts but rather donate money to build a home for a poor person who lost their home in a hurricane.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting a newlywed couple just like that, Ben and Elizabeth, ranchers from Wyoming. Their wedding gift was one of compassion for others. We built a home for a family living on the sand under plastic and leaves in Iztapa, right on the western coast of Guatemala where hurricane Stan waters rose and flooded the whole area devistating the lower, poorer areas. I have some friends ministering there, the Braun family. We ave constructed a couple homes with them there already. As far as anyone knows, the Brauns are the only people providing housing aid to the Stan victims in Iztapa.

The construction went fast even though the scorching heat and humidity made us break often. The evenings were rough because sleeping was hard in the heat and with the mosquitos. The interns Matt, Josh and Jonathan joined Ben, Elizabeth, the Brauns and I in the construction.

After the house was ready to be stuccoed (our finishing point) we took a break and went to the old abandoned pier at the ocean for a swim. On our way home we had a couple breaks or should I say breakdowns. The van overheated several times until we could get to a gas station to put more water in the radiator but if the trip went too smooth...it wouldn't be Guatemala!