Dear friends and family, brothers and sisters,

I am writing this letter to officially announce my intent to go to Guatemala to do mission work.

Guatemala is one of the 10 poorest nations in the world. Our specific mission is to take the love and glory of God and the saving power of jesus to the orphans in the city of Quetzaltenango; a five hour drive into the mountians from Guatemala city.

My specific skill for this mission is plumbing. I am a journeyman plumber by trade. I am a foreman working for Mckinstry company for going on six years. This is my second mission to this orphanage in 2 years.

Last year upon arrival we surveyed the condition of the plumbing in the building. There were 150 orphans living in this orphanage, split between boys and girls dormitories. Each had 8 toilets, 8 showers, and 6 faucets draning into 2 trough sinks. The girls dorm had only 1 toilet working, 4 showers working and 3 faucets working. The trough sinks were draining into buckets underneath because the pipes were clogged and they cut the p-traps off. The boys dorm was only slightly better. The buildings cistern pump was broken and none of the hot water heaters were working.

I was able to replace or repair 15 faucets, replace 3 sinks with faucets and p-traps, in the girls dorm, I repaired 4 out of 8 toilets( for a total of 5 working). For the boys, I repaired 3 toilets( for a total of 6 working). We were also able to fix the cistern pump which is very important to them: the city turns off the pumps that supply water to the city between 7pm and 7am. If you do not have a cistern or a pump for it, you do not have water for 12 out of 24 hours. For the girlsdorm, that meant they had 1 working toilet that could not be flushed for 12 hours of the day. Think about this: the approx. 75 girls using 1 toilet that will not flush for 12 hours. Now, you may understand the importants of that pump and the repairs that our team made and the quality of life that they provided.

When I left last year. L left with the feeling of dissatisfaction. I know that we provided many necessary repairs, but it seemed like there was so much more to do.

This year I will be better prepared with the knowledge of the building plumbing and the local suppliers. I feel that I will be able to accomplish as many if not more repairs than I did last year.

The second purpose for this letter that I write to you. Is to ask you to become a partner with me in this mission.

I understand that most people do not feel called to do mission work. By partnering with me you can be involved in helping me do what I am called to do.

1) You can partner with me and other team members of this mission by actively praying for us, the children, and the success of this mission. By checking in on my daily blog you will be able to pray for specific challenges as they come up. You will be able to share in the joy and triumph of this mission to the children who need to know the Lord.

2)You can become actively involved in the preparations for this mission. There are several ways.
- you can help with the international mission auction.
- you can donate something to the auction.
- you can buy tickets to the auction and bid on things being autioned off

3)You can help me raise funds to offset my $2,500 portion. I know times are tight. I am not asking any one person to do a big part of this. I am asking everyone to partner with me by being a BIG part of this mission by helping in small ways.

Last year we took every child to see the dentist. We were able to take corrective measures with the worst cases. We also found 3 children wit perfect teeth and were able to take preventative measures with them by getting there teeth sealed. There were children taken to the eye doctor for treatment and new glasses. And every child recieved 3 new pairs of underwear and 3 new pairs of socks ( that does not seem like much but it was big for them). We treated them for lice and treated there feet for fungi. We bought new shoes for boys who's feet were suffering from extreme foot fungi. Others members of the team were able to repair doors that where falling out of there frames or off there hinges.They built partition walls to divide the sleeping quarters from the bathrooms. Think of a light switch that is broken in your houe- the wires are exposed and it is the switch to your childs room- would you not want to fix it right away? They do not have the means to pay for all of the repairs needed to the building, so "trivial stuff like this is left for more important things. Our team was able to replace the switch to eliminate the danger!

We are making a difference to the children and the community around them that will be unfolding for years to come. Plkease partner with me and my team. Even David a young shepard boy was able to defeat the largest of giant(Goliath) by throwing a small stone with precision. In doing so he won the battle for the kingdom. Please become my partner in this mision by doing a small part. Partner with me to win Big for the kingdom.

Thank you for considering this partnership with me.
Grace and Peace
Barret Hartman
barretthartman@gmail.com