Gracias a Dios

Friday

Today was our last day here in Guatemala. We started the morning with an incredible time of devotion out on the patio.  The sun was rising and we could already see God at work!

 Soon we were at Mama Carmen’s orphanage. There are 98 children that are given a loving, caring home. Mama Carmen’s incredible heart for the Lord has resulted in her taking care of children for over 20 years. 

Our team played with these children at the orphanage and then took a van load to the park to play soccer, jump rope, and lots of chalk.

After lunch we were off to the dump. Our team once again worked at the rec-center in three groups; carpentry, home visits, and games. The carpentry team constructed and installed folding tables. The home visit team went to deliver quilts and pray with the families. The people at the homes were so appreciated and kept praising Jesus! The third group loved the children at the rec-center by coloring, playing games, blowing up balloons and just holding them!

The last thing we did was hang a piñata!  The kids loved it and so did we!

This has been an amazing week filled with God’s amazing love that we were able to share and also receive from the people here!  Guatemala, we will miss you!

Thursday

Thursday

After a long couple of days we had the great fun of zip lining in the rain forest. Lake Atitlan was on one side and the rainforest with beautiful waterfalls embraced us on the other side. It was exciting to watch our team members scream through the air! God’s creation is amazing!

For the next 2 hours we drove through the windy mountainous area to Chichicastenango to check out the work that Pray America and our very own Tammy Huizenga were doing. We met in their new home that was constructed for trafficked girls; the vision of this ministry is inspiring.

The afternoon was filled with a windy, bumpy ride to a village.  We arrived to children singing and dancing in their bible classes.  Walking into their classrooms the children, who were sitting on blue wooden benches jumped into our arms. 

We completed our time there by helping the Pray America team serve these 200 children dinner.  To our amazement, most of the children scraped the tortillas, eggs and beans into a small plastic bag or container to take home to their families.

We spent this day with three wonderful students who have stayed with families in Michigan.  Luis, Rossy and Marvin joined us in all of our adventures it was a blessing to be reunited with them.

Thank you Father for giving us time to play and rest in the midst of serving you. We praise you for Tammy and her team in Chichi. We ask for you to increase their influence in this community and that your Glory and love would be shown.

pictures

Jann tickling boys

The boat ride to Santiago

The truck ride

Panajachel

Panajachel

Wednesday,

Today the alarm clocks went off early (5 am) for our team as we tried to beat the traffic through the city to Panajachel.  After a 3 hour drive through the beautiful countryside and mountain we arrived, where we checked into our hotel.  We then loaded in boats to cross the bay for the village of Santiago where HRI has a connection with a small group of families.   These families were living in shelters provided by a local church for those who lost their homes, their clothes and all their meager belongings in the mud slides.

In the village we gathered up 11 of the children took them to a wonderful lunch of fried chicken, rice and guacamole.   Ashley shared with us that most of these children have never been to a restaurant before.  We needed to help them with eating with silverware.   The kiddos were so cute!!  Some of them watched us carefully to see how to eat.   The really cool thing was that these little children who were eating the meal of their lives actually didn’t eat much.   They ate and enjoyed some of their meal but saved a large portion of their meal to take home to share with their families.

After lunch we returned to the village where we split into three teams:  team 1 did home visits and handed out donations,  team 2 played soccer with the kids, and team 3 played other outdoor games with the kids.   While visiting the families we met newlyweds, young families with little babies as well as the very elderly.   We met a sweet 80 year old man who spoke a little bit of English and loved the Lord all his life.   We were privileged enough to also buy him lunch for a mere $1.25.

We had a wonderful day in the village.  The team was loading up into our trucks to head back to the boat.  We were saying our good-byes when we realized we had more candy in our donation bags.   As if in a parade we began tossing candy to the kids.  They were so excited!!   We watched one little boy who was maybe 3 share his little piece of candy with his friend who didn’t get one.   We watched in amazement that this little child who has nothing, is so willing to share what he has with his friend.  

Can’t we all learn something from these little ones!!  God is so good to show us these things in the everyday.

                                    

HolA

8/2/11

Hola from Guatemala!!

It has been another full and exciting day here in Guatemala.  We left early for the dump where we picked up about 18 children and took them to McDonalds. It was probably their first time in a restaurant and eating fun fast food.  The laughter and smiles that we saw as they played in the play place was awesome.

After McDonalds our teams split up and half of us went to the dump and the other half went to another women’s prison. At the dump, some of us worked in the community center building tables, and some of us played with about 50 children downstairs. We organized crafts, games, and snacks for the children. Again, the joy and happiness was clearly seen on these children’s faces.

At the prison, our team had a wonderful time praying with them and encouraging them. The prisoners also ministered to us by sharing their life stories, their coffee, their cookies, and their laughter J.

God is doing a wonderful work in us and through us. It is a privilege to serve the Lord in this wonderful, needy country.

Blessings to you all, The 2011 Guatemala team

Monday morning: New Adventures for the Lord.

8/1/11

 We began our day by stopping at the bakery to pick up bread which we were able pass out to the families who live at ”The Dump” along with clothing, shoes and toys.

We were so thankful that so many donations were given to us to bring so that the families could be blessed.  Pastor Kevin shared that the gifts were from God and that He was blessing them not us.  It was a blessing to see the smiles on their faces as we shared them with them. As each family received their bread, Beth lovingly hugged them and expressed to them that Christo te ama ( Jesus Loves you). 

Once the gifts were given the mission team was split into two groups so that some could stay and help with construction on the community center while others went to the prison to share God’s word with them and play with the children.

What a joy it has been to be here to assist the missionaries of Hope Renewed International.  It is so obvious their love and compassion for the families and children whom they serve.  We are so blessed to walk along side of them in their calling this week. 

God has helped us see the joy in the hearts of the children and families wherever we go.  We have learned so much about how children can make fun for themselves.  All we need to do is just give them the little things in life to be creative. 

Today at the community center we were sawing boards and the children used the saw dust to draw pictures.  How creative they were using the tools they had to show us smiling faces and hearts drawn in the saw dust. 

     How helpful the families were to us.  When the wood arrived for the projects we were going to make in the community they began carrying the wood up the stairs to us.  They wanted to show us how thankful they were for our help.  Before we could even pick up one board, they had delivered all of them to us. 

 In Romans 12: 12 – 13 Paul writes “Be glad for all God is planning for you.  Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.  When God’s children are in need, be the one to help them out.” 

Women’s prison-Ministry

In this prison there are two groups of women. Eleven Christians who have been separated because of their faith and 33 others heard a message, the team prayed for them and many responded with tears and a desire to change their life to follow Jesus.

 God’s plan for us to be here this week has been a blessing for our team.  He has taught us about the great need for prayer and for new ways to pray.  We are seeking to help HIS children as they are in need.  Please pray that we have eyes to see and ears to hear where He wished to use us each day to meet the needs of HIS children.

Written by Catherine Botts

A day in the Ghetto

7/31/11

At morning devotions there were confessions of trepidation regarding our going into the ghetto today.  Uncertainty of what would be required of us.  Would the language barrier be an issue? Would our own fears and self-consciousness keep us from stepping out of our own comfort zones?  Would we be safe in the ghetto?

2 Timothy 1:6-7 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 

Claiming this passage we set forth and the flame of God was fanned, both in our hearts and those that we encountered.  We split into teams to minister both to both physical needs as well as spiritual ones.  The first team lead by Ashley took donated items to minister to families/individuals in the La Limonada community through the hearing of testimonies, the laying on of hands, and praying over their lives.  This team was accompanied by two prayer warriors from the local church.  We met teenage mothers whose husbands were imprisoned gang leaders; glue sniffing drug addicts who know they need to quit, but can’t; and various others we met just walking through alleyways.  We would listen to their stories, ask questions, distribute donations, and then pray over them.  (While here we have been introduced to a new prayer style which we are terming “Waterfall Prayer” where everyone prays aloud at the same time.) 

A highlight of this time was when we were taken into the G-HOP (Ghetto House of Prayer) where the there are three amazing prayer warriors who daily stand in the gap for the lives of their community.  God is using them in mighty and powerful ways to meet needs.  Their intercessory prayers have resulted in countless miracles, prophesies spoken, and lives changed for the glory of God.  Before we concluded our time with them, they prayed over each one of us individually, almost all received a word of prophesy over them, things only the Holy Spirit could have given them.  It was very humbling and powerful at the same time.

               Meanwhile, the other team worked on stuccoing a house.  This project allowed for team-building between our own members.  It also served as a visual/tangible demonstration of God’s love for His people in action, through providing for a physical need that this family could not meet on their own.

             At noon, the teams met together for lunch at the soccer (futbol) field where the Hope Renewed sponsored team was scrimmaging against another ghetto team.   Our team won the match 4-1.  The highlight of the game, from our perspective, was when the coach asked if one our group would like to play.  Corrie readily jumped at the opportunity to play with the team and another player traded shoes with her so she would be better able to play.

               Following this break, the teams traded activities.  Throughout the day we truly felt the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence, keeping us safe, and giving us words and opportunities to minister to his beloved.  With this as the start of our time here we are anxious to see how much more our Lord has in store for us.

             

Written by Robyn and Verald Stevens