Roof completed, but more work to be done
Greetings,
Nancy and I ( along with 11 others from San Diego) just returned from two weeks of volunteering at New Dawn Christian
School in San Juan La Laguna , Guatemala. It is always a pleasure to be there and renew friendships with the local folks in this Mayan village on the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlan. When we were there last summer they were preparing to start the construction on the basketball court roof. Now the roof is completed but work is still being done on the walls around the court and the next step will be to build a Stage at one end of the court. Thank you once again for the financial support you gave to make this project a possibility.
Gracias, Ricardo Y Nancy
The roof is raised
Work on the roof covering the basketball court at New Dawn Christian School is nearly completed. Here’s a picture documenting their progress.
Thanks again to all who supported us in raising the funds to raise this roof.
Coach Ricardo
Prayers for Joplin, Mo.
Members of the newly formed Joplin Mo Fan Club cheer us on as we make our buckets in Missouri.
It was just over a year since we (the 48 stater crew) drove into Joplin, Missouri and met this great group of folks at the park where we shot our Missouri hoop. They entered into the spirit of the 48 stater, and were excited to hear that their picture would be on the blog. In light of the terrible tornado that struck Joplin a few days ago, we are hoping that all of the members of the Joplin, Mo Fan Club are safe and sound. Our prayers are with them and all of the people of Joplin.
Roof in Progress
Here’s a few updates from New Dawning Christian School and the new roof they are erecting over the basketball court. This is no small project: the components are hand-made and local members of the community are providing the majority of the labor. But as you can see, the roof is coming along nicely. Thanks again for your generous support of the Children of Lake Atitlan.
Coach Ricardo
Raising a Roof
We did it! Thanks to your generous gifts and a recent anonymous donation, we have reached our goal of raising $26,000 for Children of Lake Atitlan and the new roof over their basketball court and outdoor assembly area. Groundbreaking has already begun, and Nancy and I are headed down tomorrow to deliver the good news to the people of San Juan la Laguna (we’re also going to participate in some service projects with a group from Grace Evangelical Covenant Church).
This has been a wonderful experience, highlighted by many new friendships, a notable mention in Sports Illustrated writer Chris Ballard’s online column, a new world record, and now another goal accomplished: a rooftop for the children at New Dawning Christian School.
Thank you for your support along the way. It’s been an incredible journey.
Coach Ricardo.
Crossing thresholds
We’re still receiving donations for Children of Lake Atitlan, and our total amount received surpassed $15,000.00 this week. Again, we are so thankful for your generosity and interest in supporting our friends in Guatemala.
Thanks,
Coach Ricardo
Many thanks
Our trip around the USA was successful and amazing…We finished our trip with a total time of 8 days 5 hours and 33 minutes. That represented 7,716 miles of driving. We now hold the World’s Record for fastest time to drive around the USA and make a basketball hoop in each of the 48 contiguous states. More importantly, thanks to many of you, we were able to raise around $10,000 to help the kids at New Dawning Christian School in San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala. We are hopeful that more contributions will continue to come in to get us closer to our goal of $26,000.
We want to thank everyone (and there were many) who greeted us along the way. We have seen old friends and made new ones. The outpouring of friendly greetings and support we received along the way makes us want to sing along with the great Louis Armstrong: “What a Wonderful World”. May God bless each one of you who have given support and followed us across the country via the Internet.
Special thanks to my son Brian who designed and ran this blog! Great job, Brian!!! Also special thanks, to my retired highway engineer brother in law, John Baker, and my long time friend and driver par excellence, Jack Davis, for completing this journey with me..I couldn’t have done it without them along. I also want to thank our wives (Nancy Paff, Melanie Davis, and Elaine Baker) for giving their blessing on this trip!
I am extremely tired as I write this, BUT, it is a “good” tired. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!
Coach Ricardo
Donations for the basketball court and stage project are still being accepted…Checks should be made out to Children of Lake Atitlan and sent to :
Children of Lake Atitlan
9140 Akard Street
Spring Valley, CA 91977
Tracing our route
Here’s a map that will show you all of the cities we visited on our 48stater tour. Click here to download the map in .pdf format. Enjoy!
One for the record book
John Baker watches with finger on stop watch as Richard "Coach Ricardo" Paff squares up on a court in Umatilla, Oregon, to sink his 48th and final hoop of the 48stater tour, 8 days, 5 hours, and 38 minutes after shooting his first hoop in Nipton, California. Baker, Paff, and Jack Davis (not pictured) set the world record for fastest people to drive to all 48 contiguous states making a basket in each state along the way.
11:38 a.m. PST on Wednesday, April 21, 2010–We made it!!!
8 days, 5 hours and 33 minutes (Erin, we’ll get you a t-shirt when we get back to San Diego; Joel, you win the international competition, the prize for which is dinner at Jollibee) after we sank our first hoops in Nipton, California, we made baskets on a court in Umatilla, Oregon, the 48th and final state of our journey. And what a journey it was…
More to write later, but we’re just trying to savor the moment for now. We raised over $9000 for Children of Lake Atitlan (it’s not too late–you can still donate!) and met so many wonderful people along the way. Stay tuned for additional pictures, thoughts and memories from the 48stater. Thanks for following us every hoop of the way!
Coach Ricardo
A growing NET-work
John Baker shoots on an outdoor hoop at Ross Point Camp in Post Falls, Idaho.
We made our Idaho hoop at Ross Point Camp & Conference Center in Post Falls. Two states remain. The caffeine from our coffee breaks at Papa’s in Freeman and at Wall Drug have worn off, so we’re tapping into our fresh supply provided compliments of Pat and Marge from Covenant Roasters. Terrific coffee and a excellent reminder of the many friends–some whom we haven’t even met–we have gained throughout our trip. Thanks to all of you who have rooted us on in one way or another. We’ve raised over $9000 for Children of Lake Atitlan, have the record in our sights, but most of all have found ourselves embraced by so many people along the way.
Coach Ricardo
