Good Bye Guatemala

Many of the team members shared at our last evening devotions tonight what they will be taking from their Guatemalan Experience. For me it is much more than an experience. It is living the way God has intended. Waking to bible study, prayers, visits with people sharing our love for the Lord, sharing the love of God with the children with bible story, puppet shows, crafts, and coloring pages, dinner prayers and Godly discusion around the table, evening devotions and reflection of the day in our journals, evening prayers and to bed so we can get up and do it all over again the next day. Every bit of work done was done to the Lord! We are disconnected from TV, radio, cell phones, computers (except when blogging), work (at least most of us), and other distractions that pull us away from God and our task in life of making more and better disciples.
Now we head for home where loved ones wait. We miss you all and thank you for all your prayers and support. We will see you soon.
Larry said to say hi to all (he never blogged). Many are in bed preparing for an early rise the rest of us will follow soon. Good night! God Bless!

Last day with the Guatemalans

We had our last VBS with the kids today at the Mission House. We had maybe around 30+ kids here. A breath of fresh air after the 300+ kids we had on Thursday. But it was also our final day with the Guatemalans. It's always an emotional day for the team… or for those of us who show our emotions, right Pastor? The team enjoyed having lunch again with the Guatemalans, and shortly after we started our VBS. When the VBS was over we only had a few hours left with our Guatemalans. So everyone is getting their picture taken with everyone and gifts are being exchanged with those who sponsored Guatemalans. Then the hard part comes when we have to say goodbye. Getting hugs from most of them before they headed out. Its amazing how close we get to each other here only being with them for such a short time. It is so hard to say goodbye because we do not want to leave. The week here has gone by so fast. It's been so nice being away from the busy, hectic life back home. Things are much simpler in Guatemala and that is a breath of fresh air… not that the air is clean here, because it‘s not.

We do long to be home with our families and being able to eat meat again! We will not miss having to go fishing anymore, or sleeping with snorer.

-Ashley

P.S. Rick- mom says she Loves You and will see you and Daisy soon!

And Jess- We Miss You and Love You!

More Greetings From Guatemala

Joyce & Oscar (one of the Guatemalan missionaries)

Greetings from Guatemala! The team is a bit tired tonight after a day in the sun, making home visits, and presenting to over 300 children this afternoon. Randy and Joyce got to meet their sponsored children today and give them a few gifts and a lot of hugs. The Guatemala mission team took us to the “Lake” which is set in a beautiful volcanic valley. Boaters could be seen enjoying the day sailing on the breezy green sea. Yes, green! Ask anyone on the team all about it.

On a more spiritual note…God has been working here among the team and the Guatemalans’. Growing in faith while sharing ours, growing in hope as we believe and see all that is possible, and growing in love for God, His work, and all people. Ten very different people came to this city and country to witness to the Guatemalan’s. Ten will return changed by the grace of God in way too difficult to explain. We have seen Jesus, we have seen hope among destitute people, joy among those who have next to nothing and are content, love willing to give from what little they have all because they hold tight to the Lord and his love and forgiveness. It is this mission team that has been changed. It is through this place and God’s ability to work in the hearts of those he has chosen to serve. We have been given a great privilege, one we hope will last for a lifetime. God’s work will continue here when we leave. My prayer is that it will also continue in each person touched by the love of God and the Guatemalans.

My Time-Out in the Corner

I am a very impulsive person. Often I act before I think. And, many times I suffer the consequences of my actions in an unpleasant way. Today God gave me a “time-out” for my misbehavior. But, keep it in mind that our God is a good God, and is gracious in so many ways. For instance, my time-out is in a sunny corner of our ’gathering” room on the uppermost floor of the mission house. It has windows on three walls, which are all open to allow a nice breeze to flow through. No 20 degree weather here! I am surrounded with a view of blue sky, some puffy white clouds, mountains and an awesome volcano thrown in for good measure. Of course, I think God wants me to remember that I am on a time-out and shouldn’t be thoroughly enjoying this. Thus, the sounds of dogs barking relentlessly and the roar of busses passing below (not to mention the fumes), are a constant reminder that I am here to reflect on the actions that put me here.

Okay, I’m not going to bore you with all the details of what led up to my time-out in the corner today. I’ve been dealt a number of “opportunities” in the past month that started about the second week of December and led to the “opportunity” presented to me this week. In order to reflect on these happenings and to recognize the reason why, God put me in the corner for a time-out. In other words, everyone went out to do God’s work today, except me.

In the sermon last Sunday, the minister was speaking about a guy complaining about all his woes. I was fortunate to sit by Sarah (I only knocked over two chairs and stepped on one person’s toes to get there…. Just kidding). During the sermon, Sarah would translate the speaker’s words and I was writing them down as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I can’t write as fast as the Guatemalan’s speak… or Sarah translates. Consequently the sermon got narrowed down into seven sentences in my journal. I guess that would be called summarizing.

So, while I’m in my corner today, I am going to reflect on last Sunday’s sermon (and, believe me, it was much longer than Pastor’s sermons can get.)    Here are a couple of the sentences that were food for thought for me today. (Please excuse my grammar, these sentences were written in haste.)…



1. “The things in this world don’t matter.”

2. “Look at bad luck as opportunities from God.”


Ah yes, those around me the past several days have heard me grumble about the three falls I have taken the past month and a half that have caused me to be trussed up like a Victorian lady in a corset. Each of these falls have given me the opportunity to embrace the thought that things in this world really do not matter.
For one instance, each fall made me give up on some things I thought I absolutely had to do before going on this trip. Actually, I learned that the things I didn’t get done really didn’t have to be done before the trip (they can wait for me to get back, and my pets won’t love me any less), or were taken care of with the help of others when we got down here. I had a ball with several of the team members as we finished the “Jesus” puppet and props for our skit. That was an opportunity I would’ve missed out on if I hadn’t had the “bad luck“ of throwing my back out. Si?

Also, while letting go of the things that didn’t have to be done, I was given the opportunity to reflect on how “lucky” I really am. After my first fall, I spent considerable time flat on my back to let some inflamed disks heal. This truly was an opportunity to count my blessings, since it hurt to do much of anything else. For what it is worth, whenever you are hurting for any reason (physically, emotionally, spiritually ,or whatever), dwelling on your blessings from God is a good pain reliever.

One thought that was uppermost on my mind at that time was how I would be able to get up and walk again as long as I took care of myself and let those things go that didn’t matter. That fall was only a temporary setback for me, not like the multiple of things faced by so many others in our world. At the time my thoughts and prayers were especially with Jane Harris‘s mom. Now, on a global note, I have been given the opportunity to pray for the husband and father in a Guatemalan family; who has injured his back at work and will probably have to live with that pain until he dies. The chance for getting any significant relief for a back injury down here is minimal. We met him on Tuesday, at one of our home visits. 

Oh dear, I just looked at the clock. The team should be arriving home soon from their day’s work in the mission field. I guess I should tell you what put me in the corner today. It wasn’t my back… that was just my God-given opportunity to reflect on my blessings. I had to take time out today because I was having trouble breathing, and I can’t talk. It seems like my lungs and sinuses object to the air everyone breathes down here. Actually it is a reminder of how I’m blessed to live in Coopersville MI…. in spite of the landfill across the highway. As for losing my voice;for those who know me well, I can be quite a motor mouth. I believe it was God’s way of getting me to shut up and listen to Him speak for a while. (As the Guatemalans would say…. Ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja ja.)



Over and out. I’m going to jump in the shower before the real workers get home.
Uh oh.  Too late.  They are coming in the door now.  I can't wait to hear about their day.  Maybe someone will share that with you later.

Wednesday

Pastor J again for Connie.  Keep her in your prayers.  Between her back and throat, she was all in today.  Not much but a wispy croak comes out of her.  So we put her to bed early.

Was an early morning departure 7 a.m. for Buena Vista, a tiny cluster of tin homes in the middle of sugar cane fields.  A two hour ride - the last 30 minutes on a very rough road (?).  Home visits in the morning.  I got to shuck some corn as we talked with one lady who poured out her heart to us about her neighbor who had fallen into the creek face first and was hurt badly and hospitalized.  She also was very concerned about the youth and what was happening especially to the boys in the community - turning into thugs and theives.  This is a common problem in Guatemala, the men are typically not godly men, more interested in making children then being a father to them and giving them a guide for life.  In our lessons with the children, there are always a few older boys that obviously think they are way too machismo for this kind of thing.  They want to hear the lesson and do the crafts, but they are afraid they won't seem "cool".  Once again, not so different with our kids in the U.S.

Commercial break:  Men, please consider coming to the "Courageous" sessions that Mr. Luke is setting up at Grace.  We'll be watching that great movie about being a godly father and working through it for about 7 weeks.  Talk to Mr. Luke for more information about dates and times.  We need godly men in our society who are ready to mentor our young men and women.

Back to home visits - an interesting experience with dirt floors and usually one room with some mattresses and maybe a shelf or two for their few clothes.  Chickens will be running back and forth under your legs and several flea-infested dogs lying around.  Water is a big issue for most.  We took school supplies to a school that had been set up for the Buena Vista people and their well was almost dry - just a muddy sludge left.  Last year the Guatemala missionaries connected with Groundwork Guatemala were able to offer about 120 water purifiers free to a number of different places and there was one there, but you can't purify what you don' t have any of. 

The school only goes up to 6th grade and most of these folks will not continue beyond that, although Kevin introduced us to one young man who will be the first high school graduate from Buena Vista in anyone's memory.  He has to travel two hours to get to a high school.  Many also do not continue their schooling or interrupt it for a year or more because someone must always stay in their homes.  They are all just squatting on land they do not own.  If they leave their place, someone else may move in and take it over.  The farmers let them be in most cases and sometimes they keep worse things from happening to their land.

The Guatemala missionaries are awesome.  They always seem to know the right Bible passage to use in the right instance and are not afraid to hold their people accountable not just to believe in Jesus, but to walk with Him as His true disciples.  We've all very much enjoyed getting to know them - the two hours in a hot bumpy van packed with people went quickly with good company both ways.

Must heap praise on one member of our group.  The most heard word on this trip is sure to be: "Sarah" - what's the Spanish word for this or that - "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah."  Don't want her to get a big head when she reads this later.  She is just a poor miserable sinner like the rest of us...however...  She has been an absolutely awesome translater and never seems to run out of patience as everyone is trying to use her to understand something better.  The kids of course love her and I would say she certainly is choosing an area of giftedness as she studies to be a Spanish teacher.  She also has connected with Manuel's family who lives at the Mission house where we are staying.  They have 5 children ranging from 16 to 3.  It could be hard for both sides when we have to leave...

Enough for now.  A shorter trip tomorrow with same format when we arrive in Amatitlan.  Home visits (people are usually quite ready to drop whatever they are doing and visit with us for as long as God intends) in the morning, then we set up to do a lesson with the children - singing songs we learned over the last few months, doing a cute little puppet skit about Jesus calling the disciples to be fishers of men, then working with the kids with a simple craft of fish necklaces where we show them how to scratch away part of the outside to reveal pretty colors below - so they scratch scales and designs and some of them get very creative.  Then some coloring pages and crayons which they are very grateful to receive.

Those of you who are reading this blog, please pass the link on to others and family members and friends, please post notes for us.  We are all committed to what we're doing here, but miss you very much and think of you often.

Dios te Bendiga (God bless you)

Sarah's thoughts for the day....

We woke up earlier this Monday morning than we have in the few days we’ve been here in Guatemala. We were on the road by 8am and headed towards another mission house. This organization, started by an American who, like us, felt the call to go to Guatemala, is called Only a Child. It is a house and a workshop where young men, usually at least 18 years old, come to escape life on the streets. There are very strict rules in the house, in part because the situations that the young men come from have left them with some bad habits and irresponsible tendencies. They are often from homes in which their entire existence has been one of neglect, abuse, and violence. For many, Only a child is the only home or family they have ever had.

At the carpenter shop they learn to make wooden boxes of all shapes and designs. The founder of the mission, George, said that after they started the mission it became clear that the boys would need something to keep them busy as well as something that they could take pride in. After living at the bottom of society for so long and after having nothing to take pride in, these boys and men gain self-confidence and learn about dedication and what it means to work honorably. The goal of the mission, as George puts it, is to give them the chance to grow up to be able to support themselves as well as wives and children, and to reflect the characteristics of good, Christian men.

We got the opportunity to share a little bit about ourselves and our families, as well as to hear a little about the young men that live there. All are continuing their education, even if they are 22 and still at a 6^th grade level, and they are working hard to meet their goals. They have dreams of being everything from cooks to lawyers to publicists to pharmaceutical representatives.

After we got back on the bus we headed towards the cemetery. On the way we saw all kinds of shops. There were wood-working shops, mechanics, clothing stores, trophy stores and stands with any kind of fruit or vegetable you could imagine. When we got to the cemetery we were that we would have to pay a toll. Apparently grave robbing is a significant problem in Guatemala. As we walked through the tombs, all above ground because no one is buried underground, a quote from the Lord of the Rings jumped into my mind. “The kings built houses more splendid for the dead than for the living.” The tombs of the cemetery were very beautiful, if not a little run down, and after driving past houses made of tin sheets I could not understand how they could afford such splendor. But this is Guatemala, and sometimes things just don’t make sense.

On the edge of the grave yard there was a cliff face. It looked down over a valley that might have been very beautiful, like the ones we see in pictures of the Amazon. But one peek over the edge and all of that evaporates in the smell and the sight that greets you. Below, at the bottom of the valley huge trucks pull in and dump trash in great piles. Among these piles are men and women, picking through the garbage just like the vultures that flap next to them. These people come to the dump to make a living, a lot of them in the only way they know how. They sort out glass, plastic, wood, cardboard and food and bring it back to town to either use or sell. Many Guatemalans, even the ones that we work with at the mission, have family or friends that work at the dump. It’s not hard to imagine what effect this work has on their health and well-being.

Kevin joked with us earlier this week about how he avoids the locals giving us food. (Guatemalan food is unsanitary in a lot of cases and would make us very sick.) In order to not be rude he tells us that Americans are a very weak people, not strong like the Guatemalans, and they are not strong enough to eat the food. After seeing what these people live through, and really we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far, it seems there is a little truth to that.

Our last outing of the day was to the house of someone who had actually graduated high school as a result of Groundwork Guatemala. His name was Edgar and we got to meet his little brother as well as his new wife. We learned a little bit about his family and his situations and he shared a favorite verse. When we asked if he and Nancy, his wife, attended church he said no. This started a whole conversation that included ourselves and our Guatemalan guides about how easy it is sometimes to not go to church. Manuel, our driver and a leader of the adult bible study, was very firm with Edgar in telling him that he must remember his responsibility as a husband and as a Christian man to attend church and participate in a community of Christians. It was very inspiring and was really a lesson that all of us can relate to.

Monday, January 23rd

Okay, I suppose you are wondering what happened to Sunday.  The internet was down most of yesterday and through the evening.  So,  here's Sunday's post....

Worship today. Manuel’s church. Not quite what we have to offer in Coopersville. Lively, contemporary, good quality liturgical dance with young girls. Two hours. Would be good for all to experience - if only to make the one hour service seem short - and the pastor’s sermon seem the same. (In case you’re wondering, yes, it’s Pastor J blogging tonight for Connie - whose back is suffering…along with other backs in the group…in fact prayer for backs might be appreciated on behalf of quite a few…)

The group was well received in worship by very expressive worshippers. Joni would probably have been a little jealous of one lady who snuck in a little kiss on my cheek…the fact that she was probably Mom’s age not withstanding.

Continued working around the house in the afternoon. One thing bleeds into another. About the time we would finish one electrical project, someone would mention another, here a toilet seat, there a light switch, here a blind that needed cleaning, there a room that needed painting. (Joyce is a painting fool! Couldn’t stop her.) Was nice to be of service and hopefully set some things in place in such a way that they won’t be continuing problems for the folks coming and going here. Also just good to see everybody chipping in and using their gifts - or discovering new ones to do what needed doing and happy to do it.

Kevin and Ginny have been wonderful hosts in so many ways that I’m sure others can also express. One thing our loved ones might appreciate is that they are always very careful to keep us safe. We don’t wander outside the mission house and when traveling, again there are safety measures in place. The guys have made a couple of trips to Ace Hardware, and just being out and about I see a fast and self-absorbed culture with everybody in it for themselves… not unlike another culture I know… Perhaps more dramatic here, but people are people and “people need the Lord” and “their souls will be restless, searching, until they find their rest in God.”

(Well, there it is for Sunday.  It is now Monday and we are about to eat lunch.  We have already done the "introduction tours" of our mission this morning, and this afternoon we are starting our home visits.  Hopefully I will be able to post this day's adventures sometime tonight.  Adios.)
 

Saturday night, and all is well.

Sorry about not finishing my blogpost last night, to let everyone know we arrived in Guatemala safe and sound. I was super tired after being up for almost 40 hours... so, I hit the hay without blogging.

Passing through customs yesterday was a breeze for everyone... except Randy. He was traveling on a different airline than the rest of us, due to getting his ticket late in the game. He got a FULL body scan... AND, after a dog sniffed his carry-on luggage he had the opportunity to show all the contents to the customs officials.

What do they say about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, instead of rattling on, I will send you a few thousand words in the form of pictures. Enjoy.

Larry is pointing out that this is the last chance for a meal with meat, as we are waiting at the Miami airport to board our plane to Guatemala.

As soon as we arrived at the mission house yesterday, God let us know why He had to send us down here early. We met three ladies from Indiana who were trying desperately to make good on a promise to provide 300 foam stars for a children's lesson before leaving Guatemala on an early morning flight today.  We offered our help and their mission was accomplished.  We gained some new friends.



We also got a head start in preparing for the children's crafts we are doing.  Crayons were being sorted on one end of the table as stars were being being produced on the other end.  It was a rather colorful event.






Our early arrival also gave us the opportunity to help Kevin and Ginny (our missionary hosts) with their ToDo list....

Ashley painting

Larry fixing an appliance.

Sue cleaning windows.  (BTW, Jim... Sue wanted me to tell you she is feeling fine.)

Pastor fixing the plumbing. 

And a host of other tasks were completed for our hosts throughout the day!

For lunch we had our peanut butter sandwiches out on the rooftop....

While soaking up the sunshine, we wondered what the temperature might be up north today. (Just kidding... I had to throw that in.)

Anyway, we even had time to work on our props for our puppet skit after the chores were done.

I would like to close tonight with thanks to God for sending us down here early.  Now, like everyone else... I'm going to bed now.  Talk to you later.

We are in Miami!

Hi everyone! We have landed in Miami and we're just chilling out in the 77 degree weather. We have about a 2 hour wait until our flight leaves for Guatemala.

I just checked the temperature for Coopersville and see that you are really chilling out in 7 degree weather. :-)

Here's how Pastor chills out....

We are almost ready!

Hey folks....we're counting down! Just three nights from now we will be leaving for Chicago to catch the "red eye" to Miami and then on to Guatemala. Tonight we packed up most everything but our personal items into suitcases.... you should've seen it. Really, you should have. But, I forgot I had a camera with me and didn't take a picture of our packing. However,I did get a picture of all the suitcases lined up in the gymnasium after we were done. Then, I accidently deleted that picture from my camera. Hmmmm. And they put me in charge of communications. For what it is worth, I did salvage one picture of a plastic bin of leftovers that we couldn't get into the alloted number of suitcases we are allowed to check onto the airplane. So, here's that picture... :-)

In case you are wondering... we hope to pack the rest of that stuff in our carry-ons before we leave on Thursday night. If anyone is interested in seeing us off on our journey, we are leaving about 9:00 pm on Thursday night. Thank you all for your support, and please keep us and the Guatemalans in your prayers while we are gone. We will keep in touch through this blog. Stay tuned....

To God Be The Glory!!

8 days and counting and we are on our way!!