Work team leaves homes snug, solid & warm

SOLOLÁ — Three Viña Studios staff families will be warmer, face fewer mosquitos, less dust and have all-around improved living conditions as a result of the recent work by a St. Louis church team.

South County Christian Center sent its Youth Pastor Ryan Stoops, his wife, Katy, and 10 young people here for a week, beginning July 8.

They put their hands and backs to work at the homes of three of Viña’s staff members, in addition to doing some studio work on a promotional Deditos finger-puppet video and some sprucing up at our offices.

Earlier this week, I wrote about the team’s work at Isidro’s house, but we were a bit rushed to finish in time last Saturday and I forgot to take any photos of the completed work until today. (My dad would never have heard of such a thing on one of his projects.)

“Now, it feels like the house is finished,” Isidro told me.

Prior to the team’s work, a crooked, wobbly wall divided the family’s sleeping area.

Now, it’s straight and solid with doorways into the two bedrooms. The ceilings also look much better with narrow trim boards covering the sheathing joints and perimeter.

A couple of days ago, I hiked a shortcut mountain trail to visit Carlos and Pedro’s homes to photograph the finished work there. The families are quite pleased with the work. At these brothers’ homes, the team installed ceilings to protect the families from the cold, humid air; the wind and the racket. Noise reduction was an added bonus.

“It’s already much better. Now, when it rains, we hardly hear it,” Carlos said.

Their homes are protected by corrugated tin roofs, which can create a deafening roar during the downpours we frequently get here.

Carlos and Isidro are Viña's main Scripture recording tandem, frequently traveling far afield, leaving their families for two months at a time. Sometimes they get weekend visits every two weeks; sometimes not.

Pedro works in Viña’s video-editing department, mastering original videos or films that have been dubbed into one of Guatemala’s 21 Mayan languages and dozens more dialects.


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For some reason, the photos come through clearer if you click on them individually. I couldn’t find any other way to sharpen them up as they appear on the blog.