Katelyn's Christmas break adventure

While we were all living our ordinary lives, Katelyn headed off on a trip that she has been anticipating for a while!  For a long time she has wanted to do some kind of a service trip or study abroad.  She found an affordable option with Village Book Builders and headed out with them to Mexico the day after Christmas.  It was a perfect fit for her, being the lover of books that she is and being fluent in Spanish

The goal of Village Book Builders is to "empower villages by establishing libraries to create hope in ending the cycle of poverty."  Her trip would take her to two remote villages in Yucatan, Mexico:  Chicán and Kinil.  What's cool about this organization is that they work with the locals and involve them in the process.  The locals actually build and/or prepare the building before the group arrives.  The group then helps them paint/decorate and fills the library with books!  They actually buy the paint and books when they arrive to help support the local economies.

Before the trip Katelyn was asked to be in charge of creating the color scheme and design for the mural they would paint in one of the libraries.  Also, right up her alley being the art lover she is. :)

Here are some pictures at the school and of them working on the library:

 

And the finished murals:

  

Before they headed home, they also had the opportunity to enjoy Mexico a bit.  They played at the beach and visited Chicén Nitzá.  I'm so glad she had this amazing experience!