Rotary Rounds April 12, 2017

Tim Hunt offered the invocation and with our pianist back, Kathy Austvold led us in singing.  President Katie reviewed who was signed up to take the Josh the Otter books to the different kindergarten classes after the meeting and announced the date for the Second Annual Duck Derby as July 13.  She then invited Stan Carignan and his sponsor, Steve Leitte, to the front to present Stan with his Rotary badge.

Dan Johnson left a scooter dollar to lead off the brags and fines.  Steve Leitte then talked about attending the President Elect Training Session ("PETS") in Fargo.  Keith Olson talked about his Easter and John MacFarlane acknowledged our speakers and announced that Wally Cole won a door prize at Otter Tail Power's annual meeting.  Wally Cole acknowledged his good fortune.

Bonnie Denzel introduced our program, Evan Westra and his daughter Page, who went on a mission trip to Guatemala the second week of this past February.  This was Page's third trip and Evan's first.  They were at the House of Hope and the group that went down consisted of 13 members of Federated Church, including John MacFarlane's granddaughter, Abby.  The House of Hope grounds sit on approximately 28 acres and they began constructing the facilities in 1992.  There are now five houses for children, a team house and a central cafeteria and gathering area.  The grounds also have two basketball courts and four fish ponds in which tilapia are raised.  Anna Hanson, Doug and Nancy's daughter, has lived there full-time the last four years teaching English.  When the Federated group was in Guatemala, there were ten children at the facility but soon after they left another seven arrived; apparently there had been some issue with the government over the orphanage's license but that has now been straightened out. 

The church services were long but replete with a rock'n roll band.  One day they all went to a water park that had been built by a drug dealer but confiscated by the government; there were no lifeguards on duty.  The people were wonderful but some were camera shy, worried that if they allowed a picture to be taken of them it would steal their soul.  While there service trips were made into the high country and in that process they installed four stoves with pipes to funnel the smoke out of the living quarters.  Before the smoke was simply entrapped in the structure, leading to coughing and illness.  The last day of the trip the group went to Antigua, which was described as a vacation trap.  Evan reported they all came back very refreshed and realizing the value of the experience.