There were many incredible milestones met by Habitat for Humanity in 2014! Take a look back at the work we did around the world in this Year in Review video: 

During our Global Village trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia with Habitat Para La Humanidad, we worked on building a home with the Moya Family. When completed, the home will measure 624 square feet and cost $14,240 US. The family made a $2,000 deposit, so their mortgage will be $214 per month over 6.5 years. The couple has one son and is expecting a baby in December.

My team helped shovel, wheelbarrow and place thousands of pounds of sand, stone, brick and gravel over five work days. We moved, cut, bent and twisted countless feet of rebar that will be used to fortify the walls of the home. Each task, though at times tedious and strenuous, was a labor of love.

For our cultural activities, we toured a center for abused and abandoned children, saw a breath-taking traditional Bolivian dance performance, visited the famous Cristo de la Concordia, viewed the Habitat national office, shopped at the Main Plaza and La Cancha markets, toured the Natural History Museum and the majestic Palacio Portales.

Habitat Para La Humanidad Bolivia has served more than 50,000 families and built nearly 11,530 homes over 29 years. Utilizing Global Village teams, like ours, helps to offset their costs and increase progress on the homes. For example, our team raised almost $15,000 in funds, almost the total cost of the home, using peer-to-peer fundraising for our trip. That doesn't include the offline funds submitted by our volunteers and their supporters. Also, our team of 14 people was able to move enormous amounts of materials on the site in a short amount of time, saving the small construction staff at Habitat and the Moya Family time, money and energy.

I'd like to thank my team members Jerald, Karen, Jim, Andy, Tommy, Amy, Marci, Lori, Kate, Meriem, Ashley and Pieter for accepting the call to service and putting love into action during this trip. I'd also like to thank my supporters, especially my top donors, Bob and Roderick, for their generosity and helping transform lives in Cochabamba. Your compassion has helped make the dream of home ownership come true for the Moya Family!

Please take a moment to view my short video recap of our experience in Cochabamba.

If you can not view the video, watch it here.

On day two of building in Xela, we arrived to find that the mason workers had made some significant progress on the homes. The weather was hot during the morning and turned cloudy, breezy and cooler during the afternoon. We continued with the tasks that we began on Monday and spent more time laughing and enjoying each other's company. Group #1 had some special interactions with nearby children who came to visit their site. Group #2 met the husband who will live in the home they're building. We are on schedule to posssibly have roofs erected on both homes by Friday! The video clip above gives you a glance of Group #2's build site.

During the Casa 50,000 celebrations, this house was built in under 25 hours, and is  Hábitat para la Humanidad Guatemala's 50,001 partner family served. This was a record-setting event! Watch the 1-minute video below.

"La 50,001"
En el segundo día de nuestra celebración de la Casa 50 Mil...
Trabajamos día y noche sin parar para demostrar que estamos dispuestos a seguir construyendo una mejor calidad de vida junto a las familias guatemaltecas. 
Quisimos romper nuestro propio récord y levantar la "Casa 50,001" en 30 horas. Lo hicimos en 24 horas y 23 minutos.
Ahora, ¡vamos camino a la Casa 100 Mil!

Get the latest information and current photos of Habitat's work in Guatemala by liking the Facebook page managed by our National Office in Xela.

See updates on homes that were damaged in San Marcos in the November 6th earthquake, upcoming special events, and watch some amazing video footage of our Habitat partner families in Guatemala.

The link is www.facebook.com/hfhguatemala.