CLC Guatemala Mission Trip Updates

Friday in El Maguey

2011-02-03T08:54:00.001-08:00

Friday in El Maguey
This has been the most difficult blog to write, because Friday was such an emotional day. The team awoke and dressed in our team polo shirts for the house blessing ceremonies to be held. Three blessings, three emotional families, three opportunities to praise God for what He has provided. Pastor Gerardo led us in singing, praying, and dedicating the houses as homes for not only the recipients, but also as places for God's love to live and grow. The American team presented each house recipient family with a beautiful handmade cross (thanks, Dave Reed!) a framed certificate giving all glory to God, and three wonderful quilts sewn with love by the women of Carmel Lutheran Church. The services were heartfelt and emotional, and the house recipients had an opportunity to share their feelings at the wonderful gifts that God has given them.. Doña Hermalinda read from Psalms, number 100, to express her joy. Sister Reyna also shared a Bible passage in giving thanks. And Sister Mercy, overwhelmed with emotion, was able to share Psalm 127. Her daughter, Monica, blessed us all by singing in English, "Jesus Loves Me." I guarantee that there was not a dry eye in the house, and some of us (no names, here) were reduced to sobs.
Romiro shared that these houses were Miracles of God numbers 40, 41, and 42 in El Maguey.
The house recipients were gracious and grateful for the hard work of the American team this week, and gave us mementos to bring home with us. Sister Hermalinda saved for weeks to purchase perfumes and colognes for each of us, which we accepted in the love that it was given (and did not comment upon the fact that we must have smelled especially bad to her!). Reyna and Robin presented us with beautiful bracelets (mine looks like it is made of Spree candies!), and Mercy made hand-made fabric bags for each of the women.
There are no words to describe the goodbyes -- we hugged as many children (and adults) as we could, and through our tears wished them God's blessings, and vowed in our hearts that we would see them all again soon.
Bill C. led devotion in the bus on the way to Guatemala City, reading from the Wall Street Journal Christmas Eve edition, an editorial called "In Hoc Anno Domini" which has appeared in the issue of the WSJ preceding Christmas Day since 1949. What a wonderful reminder to us that we are fighting a battle daily to keep God in our hearts and to share His love with others, and as much as the world has changed in the past 60 years, that has not changed at all. In the darkness of our days, there is a light, and that light is Jesus Christ who gave everything to save us all. Bill's devotion reminded us that sharing the truth of The Light should always be our focus and our goal.

Thursday photos - Bible school!

2011-01-29T08:31:00.000-08:00

Thursday photos - haircuts!

2011-01-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Thursday in El Maguey

2011-01-29T08:24:00.000-08:00

1/27/11
Thursday, the final day of work on the houses, was a little lighter day for us. We started the day with devotion led by Paula, who talked about keeping God as our focus throughout our days, not only when things are difficult, but also when things are going well. She read from the book of Psalms, chapter 127, which reads,
"Unless the Lord builds a house,
its builders labor over it in vain;
unless the Lord watches over a city,
the watchman stays alert in vain."
Electrical work and other finishing touches took place in the houses, and Nicole spent the morning cutting hair for several of the local ladies, kids, and Romiro. We took a trip to Maxi Bodega and picked up snack food in preparation for community movie night at the church, and spent quite a bit of time picking up trash around the church courtyard in anticipation of our event. Bible school was the story of the boy with the loaves and the fishes. We wanted to reinforce to the children that every one of us can help Jesus, if we give what we have with love in our hearts. To remind the children of the power that they have, we made necklaces with two fish beads and five other beads (representing the five loaves). They also made a service coupon offering to help a family member or friend. We ended with parachutes and balls, of course, and we were sad that it was our last day of class. Kids are hard to count, as they are always in motion, but we are pretty sure there were more than seventy kids!
After dinner at the hotel, we packed up and headed back to El Maguey for movie night! We showed our Guatemala 2010 video - a big hit! - and then the feature film, Toy Story. It was fun for us gringos to see the familiar film in Spanish, and the community turned out for the film. More than 100 people packed the church, and based on the applause at the end, I think they all enjoyed the movie. By the way, 100 people out of a town of 900 was pretty great, don't you think?

From high quality H2O to Gatorade, we stay fully hydrated. (Why does Tony get to break at two different houses?)

2011-01-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

John and Tony learn how to roll cigars from the experts at the Cultural exhibition

2011-01-28T18:37:00.000-08:00

Wednesday in El Maguey

2011-01-28T04:31:00.000-08:00

1/26/11
Wednesday we started off the morning with devotion led by Larry, who talked about the difficulties he encounters in his industry sharing his faith with non-believers. He shared that the verses that he falls back on to support his faith are those that remind us of God's love. He read from 1 Corinthians, listing what love is and what it is not. We got to work after that, mixing more cement (most of us) and doing more work on the houses. After lunch the women of the group were led by the children to see one of their houses, where the famous Mickey Mouse lives (Mickey is a pet rat). We followed along to the basketball court/ soccer field and played for awhile, and the girls collected bouquets of flowers for us during our walk back to the church. Bible school was the story of the Prodigal Son, and we reinforced the lessons of the previous days (not sure the littlest ones will remember - when I asked if anyone could name one of the fruits of the spirit, one little girl called out "strawberry!"). After talking about how God always forgives, and welcomes us home with open arms, we brought out the kids favorite game - parachutes and beach balls! Wednesday was our night away from official activities, so we all went to our favorite Zacapa restaurant, El Establo, for pizza and cervezas. More photos soon!

El Maguey - Tuesday

2011-01-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

1/25/11
Maurya led devotion this morning, and talked about strength. Sometimes we do not feel strong enough to tackle the tasks we are faced with, or strong enough to respond to God's call to a ministry or a cause. But we are called to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, and with all our strength. We know that it will be difficult, but we can be comforted by several verses in the Bible that remind us that our strength comes from the Lord. Day two of work at the houses can be summed up with one word - CEMENT. We mixed, shoveled, hauled, poured and smoothed cement floors most of the day. We have become familiar with the "nest" method of mixing cement, and our muscles are feeling the burn! After lunch today, half of the group took a trip to Zacapa's version of Wal-Mart, Maxi Bodega. Larry paid $14 for a small bottle of saline solution (note to self, never forget saline solution when traveling to Guatemala!). The rest of us took a stroll down to the rio (river) with several of the kids. The water was a little higher than last year, but still low enough to wade across. It was really beautiful, and watching the kids play was as refreshing as the cool water. The walk back up was a bit tedious, and the kids went off to clean up before bible school while we got things ready at the church. The theme today was The Good Samaritan, and the kids loved watching the Americans act out the story while Karla read from the Bible. The kids had their chance next, and we reinforced the story by reading it again while some of the kids acted it out. It was a bigger group than yesterday, with about 60 kids.
Again after a quick dinner and time to clean up at our hotel, we returned to El Maguey, this time for a cultural presentation by some of the residents. We learned a bit about El Maguey's history and its typical foods, including different types of vegetables, beans, and eggs. We also learned that an industry in El Maguey is rolling cigars called "puras". A few of our team members were able to try their hand at rolling the tobacco, a pretty tricky task. The evening's presentation was a wonderful way to learn more about the traditions and culture of the people of this town, and we all enjoyed it very much.

Playing in the Rio

2011-01-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

Day one work, VBS

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Team shirts for house recipients

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Sunday service in El Maguey

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Margaret and Joselin - our friends

2011-01-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

El Maguey - Before pictures of houses

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El Maguey - before photos of houses

2011-01-26T16:57:00.000-08:00

Lunch with House Recipients in Zacapa, at the Lutheran School

2011-01-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

Pastor Miguel and Ron, view in Guatemala City outskirts

2011-01-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

The Team at the Cross

2011-01-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

First day of work in El Maguey

2011-01-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

1/24/11
I don't even know where to begin. JoAnn led devotion this morning, and spoke of the qualities that are required of potential participants in a future mission trip. Among the ones she listed were a willingness to abide by rules, and the willingness to embrace strangers.
After devotion it was time to get to work. The theme for the morning was "sweaty shirts moving dirt" as we needed to add fill dirt to two of the houses. The third house was a little farther along, and Bill C.'s team was hard at work chiseling out the outlets and doorways, and putting the roof on. The lunch was brought to us at the church by Professor Carlos, who will be in charge of feeding us all week. He is the director of the Lutheran school in Zacapa, and the money earned from catering meals actually subsidizes students' tuition. In the afternoon, we kicked off Escuela Biblica (bible school) with The Fruit of the Spirit. The kids enjoyed doing a craft, and each received a scratch and sniff sticker and some tootsie rolls as they left. We hurried back to the hotel to clean up and have dinner, then returned to the church for an adult bible study led by Ron Hart. There was a good turnout of locals, about twenty-five people joined our team in talking about Personal Discipleship. God is truly blessing our time in Guatemala, and we are all enjoying spending time with old friends and making new ones.

More Antigua photos

2011-01-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

More Antigua photos - how the locals get around town

2011-01-24T14:56:00.000-08:00

Photos from - A very Mayan wedding!

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Photos from Antigua - weaving demonstration and coffee grinding

2011-01-24T04:19:00.000-08:00

Day 4 - from Antigua to Zacapa

2011-01-23T20:05:00.001-08:00

1/23/11
Devotion Saturday evening was led by Tony (aka Antonio). Tony spoke of his word for the year (inspired by KLOVE) which is "service". He read from Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 11, which spells out that some of us are called to be ministers, but all are called to serve in some way. Our team has been called to serve in Guatemala, and keeping this verse in mind will help us to remember that we all have a role to play in the Body of Christ.
Last night we had a fancy meal out in Antigua at a restaurant called Don Rodrigo's. A fun time was had by all, as we enjoyed very good food and company and were entertained by native dancers in masks shaking maracas. Several of our team were pulled out onto the dance floor to help with the festivities, and they shook more than their maracas!
This morning we said goodbye to the Lutheran Center. We took our busload up to the cross that sits on a hill overlooking Antigua. What a beautiful location to hold our morning devotion and to have a team photo taken. Our fearless leader, Ron Hart led devotion, talking about John 3:16 and John 3:17. Although many of us are quite familiar with John 3:16, and we see it held up on signs at sporting events, the message of the following verse is equally essential to the Christian faith. Jesus was sent to save the world. This gives us hope when the situations we face seem hopeless; the plan for this messed up world is for redemption, not destruction.
After devotion, we sadly said goodbye to Pastor Steve and Pastor Miguel, who have been such a blessing and inspiration during these first days in Guatemala. We will miss Pastor Steve's warm and welcoming presence and spiritual guidance and Pastor Miguel's unfailing enthusiasm and steadfast faith, but we know they are going forth to continue building up the church and the people they meet.
We left Antigua for a bus ride to Zacapa, where we plan to have lunch at the Lutheran school before checking in to our hotel.
Lunch at the Lutheran school in Zacapa was very nice; the house recipients joined us, and it was a pleasure to meet Dona Hermalinda, Robin and Reina and their daughter Reinita (2), and Mercy and her children Monica and Chriss (11 and 4). We were able to visit the worksites for their homes, which are near the church, Jesus the Good Shepherd. These families are so gracious and thankful for the houses being built for them. After dinner catered in at our hotel, we returned to El Maguey for evening church service, led by Pastor Ared. It was wonderful to see all of the familiar faces this afternoon, and we received many hugs from our brothers and sisters in El Maguey, especially the children. They have grown since we saw them last! They send their love especially to their friends Amy, Shelby, Bob, Stacy, Jason and Milt! We assured them that you all wanted to be here, too, and that you would see them next time. They were happy to be introduced to our new sisters, Paula and JoAnn, who were initiated into the family with a rousing game of Duck, Duck Goose! We are tired but happy, and ready for the challenge of three houses and VBS tomorrow. Love to all reading this blog!

Photos from Antigua - carrying heavy loads!

2011-01-23T19:36:00.000-08:00

Day 3 - Antigua, Guatemala

2011-01-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

1/22/11
I need to try to paint a more poetic picture of our trip... Let me just say that we are surrounded by three volcanos, whose presence is nearly as consistent as the mountains of black refried beans on our plates at every meal. It is very beautiful here. The people are beautiful, too. Last night our group had dinner at the Lutheran Center, and several members of the group ventured out to enjoy some Guatemalan night life.
To quote from a member of this splinter group,
"Last night Tony, Nicole, LD, JoAnn and I went to a bar. A live band played the only two English songs they knew. Creep by Radiohead, There Is by Jason Mraz and a song by Jack Johnson. The Creep song was the last song before we left and part of the chorus goes "I don't belong here". So as we we're getting up, someone said it is time to go, "we don't belong here". It was strange as we were surrounded by teenagers."
We traveled to Santiago this morning for a cultural presentation by some of the women of the town. This is a town of about 1500 people, and is of indigenous origin. The native language is Kachiquel (no idea of the spelling, that is a phonetic approximation), and the women create and sell beautiful textiles and other hand-crafted items. They explained and showed us a traditional offering ritual, which involved burning incense and pouring whiskey and rum, and leaving fruits and vegetables and bread as offerings for a plentiful harvest or other request for prosperity. These women no longer believe in or participate in this activity, but explained that other people of the village still follow this custom. Inside, they showed us a traditional dance, taught us a few words of the native language, showed us how they weave a dried reed called "petate" into mats and fans, showed us the process of drying and grinding coffee, explained the customs surrounding the different textiles and showed how they are painstakingly prepared, taught us how to carry heavy loads balanced on our heads (women) or strapped around our foreheads (men). They even held a marriage ceremony to show us how this is done. As the only married couple of the group, Bill and Maurya were dressed as the traditional bride and groom of Santiago, incense was burned and flower petals were sprinkled, and they once again became hombre and mujer. The entire experience was really informative and fun, and we all learned a lot about the culture of this group of people.

Photo from El Refugio

2011-01-21T16:29:00.000-08:00

Day 1 and 2

2011-01-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

1/20/2011
Guatemala 2011 team arrived safely in Guatemala city this afternoon, and we met up with our two new teammates, joanne and Paula. Our friends from CALMS met us and loaded us up for a trip to Pollo Campero, a local food chain known for its fried chicken. From there, we traveled down the road a ways to visit El Refugio (the Refuge), which is a shelter for women and children who are escaping domestic violence situations. We had a nice visit, and were moved by the testimony of one of the residents, who is safe in the shelter with her one-year-old son after escaping two abusive relationships. We were saddened to hear that her two daughters, ages 6 and 9, are in the custody of their father in Nicaragua, and she only gets to see the girls once a year. El Refugio offers these women shelter, security, and sustenance while helping them to gain their independence by learning marketable skills. The women make beautiful, unique jewelry out of coffee beans and other kinds of beans, and they also sew aprons using traditional, colorful Guatemalan textiles. We enjoyed spending time there, and Pastor Miguel read from Psalm 37, sharing God's word in a place that is clearly doing God's work. We continued on to Antigua, where we settled into our rooms at the Lutheran Center. After listening to the CALMS director share the ministry's mission, specifically regarding empowering Guatemalans and avoiding creating dependencies, we enjoyed a dinner out together at a restaurant in downtown Antigua. Several of us have commented about how "at home" we feel here. Love to everyone at home, and thank you for your continued prayers!

1/21/11
Hello all! Hoping that our Internet connectivity will remain consistent enough to post updates frequently, but so far it's been a little spotty. This morning we had breakfast and morning devotion at the Lutheran Center. Bill W. spoke about the importance of action, and quoted St. Francis de Assissi, who said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words. The Bible confirms this in 1John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. We are seeing this already; even though most of our team does not speak Spanish, we still are able to share God's love. After devotion, we traveled into downtown Antigua, Jade Factory, bank, lunch, market, and back to the Lutheran Center. Dinner soon! I'll try some photos...

We're heading back to El Maguey!

2011-01-17T04:49:00.000-08:00

This year's mission team is gearing up this week for another trip to Zacapa, Guatemala, to visit our sister town of El Maguey! We are excited to see some familiar faces and also to experience some new adventures. We would appreciate prayers for traveling mercies as we will be flying out of Indianapolis on Thursday morning, January 20th. Good Lord willing, we'll be in Guatemala by lunchtime! Our trip will last ten days, and we'll be on our way home on Saturday evening, January 29th. We will keep you posted about our experiences via this blog -- check back often!

Day 10-Travels back to the United States

2010-02-28T12:36:00.001-08:00

We were all on our own for breakfast this morning and met back up at a pizza hut at the Guatemala Airport. We were not ready to part from our fellowship and bonding so we played a few more rounds of cards before we boarded the plane. I gave the devotion this afternoon. I spoke from Philippians 2:1-11 and spoke about Imitating Christ's Humility. Most of us really had to step outside our comfort zones in order to take this trip. We all left our families in order to do God's work and many of us left small children. It was difficult at times and we were forced to experience a loss of control over our own world. How humbling to put all our trust in the Lord and see all that He allowed us to experience while in Guatemala. We had a long day of travel and finally arrived safely back in Indianapolis around 11 pm.

I am writing this last entry from the comfort of my own home and I can hear my children laughing and playing with their dad in the other room. I am tired, a little crabby, but most of all I filled with such thankfulness for all that the Lord has blessed me with. My eyes and heart were opened to a whole other world this week. It is a world in which we all came together in community and shared the gift of God's great love. I will carry the memories from this past week with me all my earthly days. I am so very thankful to have had this experience and it has made me want to continue to experience God's love in a much deeper way. For all of those that read the blog updates and prayed for us, we appreciate it more than you'll ever know. For my mission team members who may be finally getting around to reading this last post, I love you all.

"Well done, good and faithful servant..." Matthew 25:23

Day 9-House Blessings and travel back to Guatemala City

2010-02-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

Our last day in Zacapa started with a BANG! We all woke up at 4:30 this morning to the sound of fireworks nearby. Some of us were not so sure they were fireworks and begged for comfort from our husbands, who were so tired they kept sleeping through the noise (thanks Shelby and Bob) We found out later this morning that the military school nearby was having a anniversary celebration...at 4:30 in the morning! Since we were all early to rise we packed up and "enjoyed" our last breakfast at Hotel Fuerte. I can't speak for all but I am pretty sure it will be a long time before I feast on fruit loops and warm milk.

Later in the morning we had the house blessings for each house. The dedications and blessings were beautiful and Orlinda and Elsa were so sincere with their gratitude. As expected it was very emotional saying good-bye to our dear friends that we have grown to love this past week. Our ride back to the hotel from El Maguey was the quietest ride of the week.

We left Zacapa around noon and began our drive through the mountains back to Guatemala city. I did not think the drive was all that bad until about half way through Shelby nudged me and asked "should we be worried that the driver just put on his seat belt" No one wears seat belts in Guatemala and I am not sure we even had them in the van we were in. After a few traffic jams we made it safely back and enjoyed warm showers and great dinners at the Crowne Plaza.

Day 8 pictures

2010-02-25T21:54:00.001-08:00

Day 8

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Today we started out with a devotion from Jason. He spoke to us about rest and shared with us scripture readings from Mark 6:30-42 and Genesis 2:2-3. There was very little work to be done at the church today and Elsa's house finished up early this afternoon. We held our last day of VBS and I think the kids had as much fun as we did. They seemed to really like the beaded bracelet craft they did today and they especially like all the goodies they received at the end. This evening we were all back at the church for the leadership workshop that Ron led. There had to be about 35 people there for it. There were more people there tonight than were at church service on Sunday night. Ron really knows how to draw a crowd. We played games outside with the kids during the workshop and passed out food to the church families after the workshop. They were so appreciative!

Both houses have steps and electric. Elsa's home is complete with windows and I suspect that by the house blessings tomorrow Orlinda's home will also be close to completion.

I am pretty tore up as I write this post. I never would have thought how attached I would get to the people of El Maguey. The kids have stole a piece of my heart and I know I will never be the same. We have experienced so much with this community this week. While we were here a member of the community had a fatal accident. The funeral was today and the family gathered a few doors from where Orlinda's house is being built. Ron and Shelby went to show our sympathy this afternoon and had an experience I know they will never forget. We have been embraced by this community and while we were here to serve and do God's work, so much more happened. Our hearts have been opened to a totally different way of life and changed forever by all that we have experienced here.

This will be the last post from Guatemala. We are leaving the computers here so we will have no access until we arrive home on Saturday night. The house blessing will be in the morning and then we are off to Guatemala City. Hot showers is all some of us can talk about right now. Keep us in your prayers tomorrow and Saturday as we travel back to Guatemala City and then home to all of you.

Day 7

2010-02-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

We were all moving pretty slow this morning and you could tell that another day of working in the heat was not what we wanted to do. Nicole summed it up best this evening when she said that the houses would get done with or without us but it is God that needs us to be here and do His work and build community in His name. That is what really keeps us going. The relationships that are being built here in Zacapa are everlasting and far more important than the structures we are building.

There was great progress made to today. Both homes have all the floors done and the sidewalk is done at the church. Tomorrow we will do electrical work and windows at the homes as well as windows at the church. We had another great day of VBS and Larry led a dental clinic for the families of the community. They all left with bags filled with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss.

Devotion was led this evening by Milt and he spoke to us from Romans and shared about service and the importance of doing God's work. We gathered this evening with another CALMS group that is working near Zacapa and were entertained by a Mariachi band. Giovani was with us for the first part of trip in Antigua and he played in the band tonight. It was a very special treat for us to hear him play with his band. They were amazing!

Day 6

2010-02-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

Much of the day was spent mixing and pouring the cement floors for both houses. The sidewalk at the church is ready for cement tomorrow. We had a little bit of down time today and took a long walk with some of the children to the river. We enjoyed the beauty of the trails leading to the river and had fun watching the kids run and play. They want to be with us all the time and love hanging and hugging on us. They are some of the most friendly people I have ever met. So welcoming, generous, and appreciative. Nicole held her hair clinic this afternoon and it was a huge success. They loved seeing new things to do with their hair and they all received shampoo and soap. VBS was more calm today and they enjoyed learning about Daniel and the Lions Den but most of all loved all the crafts. You can see them in the picture above wearing foam hats they made. The heat is getting to most of us and although the high today was 102 it felt a little cooler due to the breeze. Stacey and Bill did devotions this morning and they touched on compassion and serving. Both were great reminders of why we are here!

Day 5

2010-02-22T19:33:00.001-08:00

Today we began with a devotion from the Pastor at the El Maguey church. He read from John 3:16 and blessed us all as we departed to our various work sites for the morning. Bill, Shelby, Jason, Ron and Amy began work on the Orlinda home. Milt, Bill, Maurya, Nicole, Stacy, and Jon began work on the Elsa home. Elsa's home has little shade and major work needed to be done to fill the floor so they spent the morning digging and filling. Milt thought it should be noted that it was 100 degrees today (but the felt like temp was 113) I am sure they would know, like I said there is little shade at that site. The children flock to the work sites and the boys really want to help. This was great at Orlinda's site as little Lester and Jose helped to bring us what was needed. At Elsa's site the girls wanted to be with Stacy and Nicole and took them on a journey to the river. I made a new friend in Margaret who lives next to the house for the Orlinda family and she introduced me to all the neighbors. I have a feeling it will be hard for us gals to get much done on the houses. Bob, Larry and Tony worked all day at the church preparing the sidewalk from the church to the bathrooms. They had an early set back when Larry hit a water pipe, but they seemed to going strong this afternoon. We held the first day of VBS and had about 40 kids. They were enthusiastic and loved playing with the parachutes and balls. We made it through our bible lesson and craft pretty well. We wanted to hold off on the parachute games until the end, but they kept asking to play ball and so we did. Totally crazy is the best way to sum up the rest of the afternoon at VBS. By the end of the day both houses had roofs and are ready for floors and windows.

Day 4 pictures

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the church in El Maguey

Before picture of Orlinda house

Coin toss for Milt and Bill to pick their house site, Bill won the toss.

Before picture of Elsa house

Day 4-Visiting homes and church in El Maguey

2010-02-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

This morning we traveled into El Maguey to visit the homes we will be working on. Elsa Molina and the Orlinda family met us at the homes and it was such a pleasure to meet them. We also visited the church to see what repairs we will be working on there and where we will hold the VBS. We had lunch with the Pastor and the families receiving the homes. With the help of Maurya and Karla we were able to bridge the language gap and formed some new friendships. This afternoon we visited with a few of the families that received homes in the past. It was moving to see them welcome us and some of the team were able to visit with their old friends from past mission trips. Nicole was able to see some of the little girls that she had developed friendships with two years ago and Ron, Bob, Jason, and Milt all seemed to be right at home visiting with old friends.

This evening we attended worship service with our new friends and for some of us it was an emotional experience. Most of us have never met any of the congregation, but because of our common faith we were able to follow in service and feel an instant connection. They are so appreciative that we are here so help in their community. The kids were beyond excited to see new faces and sing songs with us. They grabbed onto us right away and when we left this evening I thought some of them were going to get on the bus with us.

Upon walking out of church we saw a bright streak in the sky. Some of us thought it was a meteor but Elsa said "no it is just a plane" and she was closer than we were. It was the space shuttle on it's way to land in Florida. Something I don't think I will ever see again. Very cool!

Day 3 pictures

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This is the main wall of the hotel

The beginning of the open air food market

We met this little friend, Fernando, while shopping at the market. He loved to play ball and wanted to show us his car.

Day 3- More of Antigua and travel to Zacapa

2010-02-20T20:39:00.001-08:00

Our day began with a devotion from John. He shared with us the importance of celebrating God's blessings and to stop and take in the beauty around us. He also shared with us some reflections from Psalm 118. After devotion and prayer we packed up the van and headed to the main market in Antigua. Some of us bought more than others (we won't name any names)but I think we all enjoyed taking in more of the culture and the beauty of the people here in Guatemala. After seeing the open air food market that the locals shop at we have a better understanding of the simple way of life for many Guatemalans. It was an eye opening experience to see how another culture lives.

After a long afternoon of travel we made it safely to Zacapa. We are staying at Hotel Torre Fuerte in Zacapa. The hotel has a wonderful open area for us to gather and was home to some fellowship and friendly Euchre games this afternoon. Yes, there is no better way to bound in fellowship than over a game of Euchre. This evening we had a delicious meal and enjoyed the company of one of our new friends, Giovani.

I asked the others to let me know what they wanted to add to the blog posts. The only answer was from Tony...he wanted it stated that his roommate Larry locked him out not once, but twice. Larry, I would watch out if I were you.

Tomorrow we will visit where we will be building houses and some of the houses previously built. In the evening we will be attending church in El Maguey and passing out Spanish bibles and food packs.

2010 Guatemala Mission Away Team

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The mission team includes:

Ron Hart, Milt Volosyn, Bill Culbertson, Bob and Stacy Jacobs, Shelby and Amy Bultemeier, Bill and Maurya Wendling, Jason and Nicole Lopez, John Meyer, Larry Vincent, and Tony Seyfried.

Day 2-Touring Antigua

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Our day began with warm showers and a wonderful breakfast for all. Our morning devotion was led by Nicole and she offered great words of encouragement for our week ahead and the work we will be doing. Our shirts for this mission have the verse "We are His hands" Ephesians 2:10 It is amazing to be surrounded by this group of individuals that all have the passion for His work and are ready to encourage each other every step of the way. I feel so blessed to be on this journey with all of them. I love how God knows exactly when and whom to place in your life for a certain journey...just awesome!

Today we spent the day touring Antigua. We learned so much about the city and the culture here. We enjoyed a tour of a coffee plantation, a jade factory, and a climb to the top of the "Hill with a Cross" I could never describe it and do it justice so I posted a picture above. When we were finishing up our afternoon near the main square a procession began. Since today marks the first Friday of Lent we were privledged to witness a Guatemalan custom during Lent. I hope I get this correct, but this is what I got...Today they processed through the streets carrying a statue of Jesus with the cross and each day they honor a different saint. Today it was done by the children at a local church in which they carried the platform and stopped at points along the way for prayer. Simply moving!

Tomorrow we will travel to Zacapa and settle in for the week. I think I can speak for the group when I say we are all eager to get started. Just cannot wait to see what the Lord has planned for us this week.

Also, please forgive typo's and spelling errors. Grammer is not one of my God given gifts and the blog keeps spell checking in Spanish.

We have a long bus ride ahead of us tomorrow...please pray for safe travels.

Day 1-travel and Antigua

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We arrived in Guatemala City around lunch time and headed straight to Pollo Comparo (much like KFC in the U.S) where we enjoyed lunch. Our travels were uneventful, accept for when Ron sat in gum during the first leg of the trip. No doubt he'll be hearing about that one for a while. We arrived in Antigua later in the afternoon. Some of us took naps while the rest of us ventured out to see some of Antigua. It is a beautiful city and the cultural heart of Guatemala. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner here at the Lutheran Center and then resorted the supplies for the week. The bonus so far has been that we had a pleasent surprise when we discovered the hot water for showers.

Mission Trip 2010

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Our next Mission Away trip will leave for Guatemala Thursday, February 18, 2010 and return Saturday, February 27, 2010.

The team will be working in El Maguey, Zacapa. They will continue to build houses for the most needy. The Elsa Molina family and the Orlinda Ardon family will be recipients of new houses (see photos of families below).

In addition, our team will do repairs on the local Lutheran Church as well as conducting afternoon VBS, distributing Spanish Bibles, distributing meal packets, and teaching English as a second language to some of the local church leaders.