Re-terracing the Garden - what does that look like?

Those of you who have been around farming very much are probably already familiar with terracing, but if you don't spend much time in the country or on a farm, you may not be. Lucky me. When I was in 6th grade I had to do a project that included making a model of a farm, and it had to include terracing. Terracing is what some farmers choose to do if their land is hilly. The objective is to keep the good black top-soil from eroding down the hillside. The soil underneath the top-soil is typically harder and more stony, so plants don't grow as well in it, so it's important to keep the top-soil where it belongs. So - if you see a hillside that looks like it has giant stair-steps - that is because it has been terraced. [If you know more about gardening than I do, and that is entirely possible, and can give a better explanation, feel free to leave it in the comments.]

To the right you can see a picture of the terraced garden at Casa Bernabé. If you look closely, you can see that the upper terraces, all except the lowest one, are made of wood. Because of the moisture in the climate of Guatemala the wood terracing rots out quickly, so a lot of time is put into maintaining and replacing the terracing. If you look closely at the lowest terrace, you will see that it is made of concrete block and rebar. This was done as an experiment to see if it would be more durable. So far, that has proved to be the case, so now our friend, Tony, would like to replace ALL of the terracing with concrete block and rebar. Part of the objective is to free up the time that has been spent maintaining the terracing so Tony can work on other improvements at Casa Bernabé.   This is the big project that the men on our team are hoping to accomplish while we are in Guatemala. Tony has estimated that it will cost about $6,600 to complete the job (remember - the garden is 2 acres!). We are still in the fundraising process, so any funds you choose to designate for this purpose would be a great help!

And now...introducing Mary Jackson!

Q: What is your motivation for going to Guatemala?

A: I've longed to go to Guatemala for years. I want to travel out of the country, see new places, spend time with you all, and make a difference in children's lives.

Q.What do you hope to accomplish while you are in Guatemala?

A: I want to reconnect with God. I've been struggling with a lot of unsettling questions about God and Christianity, and I've been praying that He leads me to a place where I can leave all that behind. I want to rediscover what I loved about God in the first place.

Q: What else would you like people to know about you?

A: When I was six years old, I was convinced I was Spanish because I was born in California. "Never mind my blonde hair and blue eyes, you may call me Maria."

Prayer request of the day:

Pray that we will have enough space to carry all of the donations that are coming in. Donations are a very good thing - we just don't want to leave anything behind due to lack of space.