The Neuvo Reto orphanage had a fire in one of their bedrooms the previous week, so a group of volunteers helped to clean and paint that room and the hallway.
What a difference a coat of paint makes!
Nick and Ben worked with another group at the Miguel Magone orphanage.
They helped move cement block to the work site.
The group built a retaining wall to help prevent erosion.
We had his favorite meal: chicken fajitas, chocolate cake, and ice cream.
And, of course, after Ben opened his gifts, Charlie and the guys set off fireworks.
It was nice that Ben could celebrate his birthday while our guests were still here. (They left the next morning.)
Karen's oldest brother, Glenn, his wife Elaine, and their four children flew down from the state of Maine and stayed with us for one week.
Karen's parents came from Pennsylvania and stayed with us for two weeks.
Maria and Tony loved the extra attention they got from Grandpa and Grandma.
Tony relaxing with his cousin, Kenny.
Grandma and Alisha enjoyed working together in the kitchen. Here they are making "pretzel dogs" for lunch - hotdogs and cheese baked in soft pretzel dough.
ORI currently delivers food (powdered milk, rice, beans, sugar, and flour) to 38 orphanages every month. On this day, we made deliveries to eleven different orphanages.
Charlie did an excellent job driving the box truck - over some rough roads and in some tight spots. 
Nick also went along, and he helped to unload the food.
These two boys at the Casa Shalom orphanage were delighted to help carry sugar.
At the Miguel Magone orphanage there were many willing helpers.
We visited Parque Central (Central Park).
We enjoyed a tour of the National Palace. It was great, because the tour guide spoke both Spanish and English.
This is the courtyard of the palace. The huge building is basically a museum but is still used for some government functions. In fact, we had to wait until afternoon to take our tour because the Guatemalan president was in attendance in the morning.
This statue was built to commemorate the 1996 signing of the peace treaty that ended Guatemala's 36 year Civil War. Every morning a foreign visitor places a fresh rose between the hands. In the background is an 'eternal' flame in the glass case, also symbolizing peace.
We also visited this cathedral. Catholicism is the major religion in Guatemala.
We needed to take a ferry to reach the beach. The ferry was just large enough and wide enough for two vehicles and one motorcycle. We spent the 30 minute trip inside the van, except for Charlie and Nick who chose to ride on the roof.
It was interesting to see another part of Guatemala. The coast is about a two and a half hour drive from our house. It was very hot, and we saw lots of palm trees and thatched roofs.
The sand is black, and we discovered that black sand gets very hot! Charlie "planted" some palm branches in a vain attempt to create shade. Despite the heat, Tony loved playing in the sand. 
When we tired of the beach, we took a guided boat tour of the nearby mangrove swamp. We saw several fishermen casting their nets from small boats like this one. Unfortunately, our guide spoke no English, so we didn't learn very much about the swamp.
