After a long day of travel we made it to Guatemala! Praise God! Even though everyone is a little tired, spirits are high. We were greeted at the airport by Eswin who has been a tremendous help in organizing some of the work that we will be doing here for the next week. Once we arrived at Semilla, our home away from home, he shared a verse with us as he welcomed us to this beautiful country. The verse is 2 Corinthians 6:6, but it starts in verse 4, “as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: (v.6) in purity, understanding, patience, and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love.”
It is amazing already to see the hand of God in everything and we know that great things are still ahead. As we left the plane after landing in Guatemala, instead of getting the usual greeting from the staff on the plane, one of the crew said to us, “God bless you in the work you will be doing.” What a wonderful way to begin this journey!
Our prayer for tomorrow is for health and strength as we begin work at Potter’s House. It also has been raining quite a bit lately in Guatemala, so a little sun would be nice.
Thank you for your prayers!
It didn’t rain today! Well at least not until we got back to our “home”. Today was a very full day and as you read the journals from the students, you will learn more about things that occurred. All of the adult leaders have been very impressed with the work ethic of the students. I know you may not believe this but they worked very hard and not a single one complained (try that the next time you ask them to take out the trash). The plan for tomorrow is to finish the wall so that it can be painted on Thursday, go on prayer walks and do a brief “VBS” with the children. Also we will do Redeemer for the first time. Pray for strength and that God would open our eyes to walk He wants us to see.
As you read the journals, you will read about the many things that we did today so read them…I leave you with one thought: During our evening times together, some students prepared devotionals for the group. Last night Sarah and Larissa spoke about the need to trust God. Tonight Torie shared about suffering and how miracles can happen when you enter into someone else’s suffering. We were encouraged to “snuggle up” to suffering. As we go through the many experiences here in Guatemala we will encounter many people who are suffering, our prayer as a group is that we would take the step to snuggle up to someone and make a difference. Thanks for your prayers, they are being felt!
We had a great day! As you can see in the pictures, we finished the wall today! We measured it and it is 65’x11’. It was a huge accomplishment for the team. It was also a sad day because we had to say goodbye to the community. The children were very sad to see us leave and the students had a hard time as well. One boy asked Josh if he could take him back to the states. Everyone is so kind and warm to us. The trip isn’t done though and a lot of ministry opportunities are in store for us. Tomorrow, Friday, we will be visiting a school. Our students will be visiting classes as well as putting on two assemblies for the school. Later in the afternoon, we will be helping serve food at a homeless shelter called, Lord’s Kitchen. As always thank you for your prayers!!
Today we had two extremely different experiences. In the morning we were able to visit a private Christian school called, “Lluvias de Gracia” (Rain of Grace). Students that attend are from middle class families. Both assemblies went great. The assembly with the high school included the play Redeemer, testimonies and a song performed by our group (it was the Guatemalan version of Power and Light, we call ourselves, “Luz y Poder). At the assembly with the elementary age students, we put on a puppet show and also had a devotional. Students visited classrooms and were able to talk to the students in English.
The stark contrast was in the evening when we visited Lord’s Kitchen. Students served food, prayed for people, held babies and smiled a lot as close to 490 homeless people ate dinner. Words cannot describe the emotions that were experienced. In spite of the language barrier, ministry took place. Prayers were said in English and conversations were held with only Spanish 1 knowledge. It is amazing how one can communicate though with a smile and a warm gesture.
God is doing some amazing things that only eternity will reveal to us. We are so proud of the students, some are being stretched beyond their comfort zone and that’s ok. This is when trust in God comes out. Enjoy the pictures and journals!
Greetings from Guatemala! Today we went to the town of Pelin about 45 minutes from the city. We participated in a children's program at a local church. We had about 125 children waiting for us as we arrived. Instantly we introduced ourselves and performed both of our plays. We had a chance to do salvation bracelets and play with the kids. The big event was a soccer game. It was fun to see the students running around in the rain(especially since parents were not around). It has rained most of the day today, but it is another way to experience God's beauty. The church was located in a beautiful valley with a stream by it. We chose to put pictures of the area on the website so that you can see for yourself how pretty it is here. Tonight we are going to church at one the city's biggest churches, La Fraternidad Cristiana. Everyone is healthy except for a few bug bites, so praise God...keep on praying!
The last two days have been busy so we have not had time for journals or updates. We spent all of Sunday in Antigua. We were able to see some beautiful places and eat some delicious food. Shopping at a local market was an added bonus and the students did quite well in supporting the Guatemalan economy and barter at the same time. We experienced a torrential downpour while in the market, but we were under cover so it was fine. Today we went with a missionary from Colorado, Alberto Mendoza, to a feeding center that he works with called, “Jesus Te Ama”. There we played with the kids and did the puppet show. In the afternoon we were given permission to visit a nutrition center that is directly behind the place we are staying. About 50-60 children from all over Guatemala live there because they are malnourished. The ages of the children range from less than a year old to 13. Once the children are healthy they are returned to the parents. This was a difficult experience for the group. Students played with the children and many spent the two and a half hours we were there holding a baby. The hardest part was to hear the cries of the children when they were put back in their cribs. There were not many dry eyes in our group either. We were not allowed to take pictures so sorry that you could not see the children.
God has truly blessed us and has opened our eyes to new things. We can’t wait to share more at the Stakeholders Meeting. Thanks for your prayers and support! We could not have done this without you! |
