....and We're Back!

I am so happy to be back, and so excited for the next months of preparation before our founding team of Program Directors and my wonderful co-country director comes down to also discover the wonder that is Guatemala.  Right now I am in Panajachel, a lovely town on Lago Atitlan, staying in Hostal Montufar.  It is a cute, homey place run by a friendly family.

My DELICIOUS first breakfast in Panajachel... You can see how excited I am for it.

As it stands, Miss Annie Freyman is due to arrive on June 3rd to help out with the initial site set-up.  Annie is newly graduated from none other than Vanderbilt University and served as VP of Global Initiatives for Manna's largest campus chapter there.  In her experience she organized eleven spring break trips to either Nicaragua or Ecuador!  We will definitely be putting those organizational skills to use, and are so lucky to have her help for 2 weeks till she sets off to teach English in Colombia as a Fulbright Scholar.

Next comes Kat Mueller!  June 9th I will finally meet the legend and I couldn't be more excited!

On a heavier note, if any of you have been reading the news about recent Hurricane Agatha and Volcan Pacaya, I am safe and dry.  These past two days, Guatemala has received almost two feet of rain... the most since 1949!

More news soon.

Dana

Lift Off!

If you have not already heard, the Guatemala final feasibility trip report has been green-lighted by the Manna Board of Directors and we will be moving forward with MPI Guatemala!  This will be Manna's third international site, after Nicaragua and Ecuador.  Big moves for the organization and myself.

On the list of exciting things, we have found a wonderful co-country director for our first year's work in Chaquijya.  Her name is Katherine Mueller and she will be graduating from Vanderbilt University in just a few short days.  She brings along a great set of Spanish skills and a long history with Manna's campus chapter in Nashville.  I couldn't be more excited to begin our work together, oh, and meet her.

WOOOOO!  How exciting!  Feel free to get up a do a little dance if you'd like.  I just did.

Now that you're seated once again, you may be asking yourself about our next steps.  Well that is a great question.  We're looking at a lot of good, hard work in the coming weeks like assembling a great founding volunteer team of 4-7, fundraising, and keeping good people like you updated.  How can you help?  That is very kind of you to ask.  If you know any proactive, enthusiastic self-starters that are perfect for us, please contact me for more information, or check out our volunteer roles and guidelines. Also, please consider becoming a founding donor of MPI Guatemala by clicking the piggy bank at the right of this post.  No gift is too small.  If you would rather not give online, please send donations to:

Manna Project International

PO Box 121052

Nashville, TN 37212

(Checks made payable to Manna Project International; don't forget to write my name in the notes section!)

Well, that's all for now.  I'm headed back down in only a couple weeks.  I cannot wait to begin this two-year adventure... I hope you're on board.

Dana