EMCRC Guatemala Mission Trip

February 7,2012

2012-02-08T18:32:00.001-05:00

Today meant our last day at the orphanage for this trip. Because of our flight schedule on Thursday, it is necessary for us to head to the city tomorrow.

After breakfast we reported to Fundacion Savacion, ready, actually, to work on a project. One needing attention was sealing the walls of the food bodega (storage). From Brooks we learned that rats could get in and eat the food stored there, like rice, beans, corn, flour, etc. This, of course, meant loss of important food staples. Yesterday John purchased expanding foam sealer, and today he located a really tall ladder and began smearing the sealant in the cracks. Antonio helped with placement and steadying of the ladder in the two sections of storage. It appears that no openings remain for the little varmints to gain access, so we hope that the orphanage will no longer lose foodstuffs.

Since Juanita suggested we hold another movie night to conclude our time at the orphanage, we set out a little early for lunch, to purchase popcorn, oil, juice, and cups for serving. Also, we needed to locate a movie, and we wanted to buy two soccer balls for the kids. The food portion of our shopping list created no problem, but finding a movie proved a bit more difficult. In the end we purchased the Narnia films at a stand in the market downtown. We also found two nice balls, and then we headed back to the orphanage.

Of course, by this time all of the kids had returned from school, rushing to greet us as we drove through the gate. At this point we unloaded our purchases, and a number of those little eyes spotted the pelotas! But we needed to talk to Carmen, Sandra's daughter, as we wanted to let them have one now but for her to hold the second for when needed later. Plus, we wanted to connect with her regarding a project for the baby room.

In the office we discovered that she had just left for a late lunch, but the staff member in charge of the pharmacy needed help sorting through a bag of meds, as he was unsure of what they were. So John began taking them out, one by one, and Antonio marked them so that it was clear as to their use. This consumed a fair amount of time, during which Merrie Beth played with kids.

Then it was out to grab dinner and dash back to the orphanage to set up for the movie. At show time we also wanted to play the video from last summer's trip. Before we could begin, though, the kids thanked us for coming, presented us with a gift, and read a psalm. Then the video began, and the kids really enjoyed seeing the pictures, even if they did not understand the words of the song. Already the popcorn elves began distributing the crunchy snack, and the show began. All of the boys and girls enjoyed The Voyage of the Dawntreader, although we needed to stop about halfway through, because they needed to head for bed. The littlest ones already had been taken to their dorms by the leaders. While this produced some groans, the announcement that they could finish watching tomorrow night made them okay with the plan.

Then began the cleaning up of the popcorn and a little bit of juice that made it to the floor. And we needed to put the chairs away. No matter how many times we go to Fundacion Salvacion, it is never easy to say goodbye. However, we could share with them how much we loved them and that we would be back in August.

Monday, February 6, 2012

2012-02-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

Today brought surprises in that, when we arrived at the orphanage, there were very few children. All of the pre-schoolers were off the premises, and even the older ones in the baby room went to day care. So John found three soccer buddies and worked up a sweat. Merrie Beth stayed in the baby room rocking a five-month old. Antonio took the car in for some repairs. Later, we met with Brooks Baumgartner to tour the orphanage, checking out needed projects and probable cost.

Our consultation proved most valuable. Also, the board meets tonight, and some options and/or clarification should come from this. East Martin's team first met Brooks last August, and since that time his role at Fundacion Salvacion has really grown. For a number of reasons this morning's discussion was exciting. Very importantly, it represents a coming together of a number of "stakeholders" for the orphanage, a beginning of multiple groups working together to create more efficiency and long-term benefits. One project developed by Brooks is the creation of a bilingual school for students at the orphanage that will after one year include students from the community. The tuition paid by outside students should not only cover the cost of the school but also produce "profit" that will fund education for the kids at the orphanage. The prospectus is well thought through and extremely solid.

As a result of our conversations this morning, we can at our next Guatemala Mission Team meeting present some good options to our group. Also, tomorrow morning John plans on taking on one of the projects with some immediate need. Once we see how this goes, we can report in tomorrow night's blog.

After lunch we returned to Fundacion Salvacion to the kids! Smiles and hugs all around. Playing on the playground--slides and swings, running and chasing. For John this meant more soccer, and today Merrie Beth declined the invitation to return to her post as goalie. With a small group we read a Bible story and completed a craft, followed by snacks and a Christian video (animated) that presented miracles from the Bible. The kids really enjoyed this, and our little band grew in size, with our added participants enjoying the animal crackers.

Clean-up went pretty quickly, and John took more photos to help the 2012 team consider projects. Some of the older kids now will greet us in English, so that they can practice. Sometimes it comes as a surprise when someone sits down next to you and says, "Good afternoon. How are you today?" Today we also hoped to take the twelve portrait photos we need for one school's art classes to paint. Last year when we brought the paintings and drawings with us, this was well received. And this year two schools again are using the kids' photos to create pieces of art.

Tomorrow we will need to wrap up our time at Fundacion Salvacion. We have another animated video we can show--or leave for later. We still need more portrait photos. Mainly we will enjoy loving on the kids. Also, we hope to show them the video from last year's trip. This is an amazing place--because the Lord is here and His Spirit permeates everything. Again, thank you for your prayers.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

2012-02-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

Today God again gave us beautiful gifts! After breakfast we headed up into the mountains to view the city of Huehue from up above, with plans to listen to a sermon enroute and then have our worship time up there. Well, the car's CD player would not play the sermon, so that was disappointing. Once we reached the top, clouds rolled in, affecting our view; nevertheless, we were awed by His creation. At the top, Mirador, we encountered quite a few children from the village who, we supposed went there to receive something from tourists.

We snapped pictures and then sat down on a bench for our time of scripture and a devotional. Antonio conversed with some of the children. Then he said, "Sometime we need to come up here and do VBS with these kids," and in the trunk of the car we carried our VBS supplies from the orphanage. So we decided to take out our children's Bible story books, and Antonio read about creation and Adam and Eve, as the kids sat attentively. When he finished that story, then he read about how Jesus saves the world, and we remembered that in our "stuff" was the extra craft from the story of Jonah yesterday. A count of the boys and girls of varying ages came to 17, and we had 35 packets of that craft. So Antonio asked the kids to form a circle, and we passed out our simple craft. Each child could place a butterfly sticker (symbol of the resurrection) on a colored flower, along with a sticker that said Jesus me ama, Jesus loves me.

Well, as we guided the kids through the craft, more came. In the end, mothers came up to the lookout from the village, and we had forty children participate! Yes, we ran out of crafts. At the end, we gave out the Jesus loves me stickers, because that was all we had. As a result of this experience, we saw Antonio's mantra come to fruition: My mission is where my feet touch when I get out of bed in the morning. We all agreed that when the team comes, we must go up to Mirador fully equipped to hold a VBS. Interestingly, our scripture passage for our worship talked about how Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God will bring the harvest. Today, we planted seeds. and the Lord provided quite a worship experience, one quite unlike we expected!

We drove back down the mountain, ate lunch, and then headed for Fundacion Salvacion. The succeeding hours brought more blessings as we enjoyed the kids, read more books--the same ones as before. Next came the movie, which we showed before dinner, because after dinner the younger ones generally head for bed; and the older ones need to get up early for school. So "Ratatouille" played and we three served popcorn and citrus punch, with much help from the staff and the "leaders," the older children responsible for much of the smooth operation of the activities.

After the film, and everyone helping to put away the chairs and clean up, we enjoyed time with the kids. John and Antonio hosted a Bible question game with several of the girls. At long last we left Fundacion Salvacion, where tomorrow we will meet to review the orphanage's needs and the cost to meet them, so that upon our return to Michigan and the team's meeting we can evaluate what East Martin can do this year.

Eagerly we anticipate God's blessings again tomorrow!

Guatemala in February 2012

2012-02-04T21:00:00.001-05:00

Friday, February 3

We spent all of Thursday just getting here, so today we went to the orphanage for the first time. it was so good to see the kids! at first we just reacquainted ourselves,and then we brought out the books...children's books that we could read to them. Actually, John mostly showed kids videos and pictures from our trip last August, while Merrie Beth read in Spanish. Many of the children asked if they could take a book, and they sat on the ground reading. we also had a yearbook of our 2009 trip, and everyone truly enjoyed looking at the pictures.

In the afternoon the boys played soccer. Merrie Beth pulled up a chair to watch, when John said she should play, too. Now, she knows virtually nothing about playing, and John put her in as goalie. thus began her brief and "illustrious" career in futbol. The fun began in beautiful sunshine. Then our goalie blocked a vicious shot...with her face! yes, her hands were up, but somehow the pelota (ball)made its way directly between her eyes and into her nose, knocking off her sunglasses! Needless to say, she retired to the sidelines, surrounded by concerned players and the kicker of that blocked goal saying, in English, "I am so sorry!". She assured them that she was OK, but that headache was a good one!

After dinner we met with Antonio to discuss the needs of the orphanage. This was a good and productive time, as we can see that now many people and groups can come together to move the orphanage forward.

Also, in the afternoon, Cesar, Sandra's husband, stopped by and made a point of talking with us. This was difficult, as we expressed our condolences and he had tears in his eyes. He is still recovering from his injuries, broken ribs, broken sternum, and a gash across his forehead.

It felt really good to go to bed, and we awoke refreshed on Saturday morning.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

After breakfast we drove to Fundacion Salvacion, and while the first request was for the pelota, the kids were also super interested in the books. The reading soon began in earnest, with the kids very forgiving of Merrie Beth's mediocre Spanish. Lots of hugs and lap sitting. Yesterday afternoon all of the older kids, the leaders, left for an overnight trip to a water park, so today the staff appreciated our being there to help with the younger ones. A beautiful sunny day made activities really enjoyable.

As part of our activities, we held a mini-VBS. Antonio divided up the kids into groups, and Merrie Beth read the Bible story, Jonah and the Big Fish, in Spanish, while John and Antonio gathered the kids for the craft. Each child received a colored boat cut from cardstock and stickers to place on it. We also handed out little packets of candy fish. With three of us to do this, we kept it simple, but everyone enjoyed the story and the craft.

Then it was back to books and playing on the playground. Ah, of course, the camera kept busy as John "shot" quite a few of the boys and girls. We actually left a bit early today, because a church group came with activities, adults and kids from Huehue. Tonight John printed pictures which we will give out tomorrow.

Probably the one thing that just "sticks out" about being here is the love the kids show. As Merrie Beth read today, little Israel sat on her lap and fell asleep. Others then came with books in hand and asked her to read. Even John got into the reading act today. Everywhere groups of children reading and looking at books dotted the landscape. No one minds that we cannot speak Spanish. Just a word or a phrase suffices to communicate, and Claudia, book in hand, took Merrie Beth's hand and led her to a place to read. Later she patted a spot on the bench for Merrie Beth to sit and didn't like it when Merrie Beth left because the church group began its presentation.

So tomorrow John, Antonio, and Merrie Beth will have their own worship, with activities at the orphanage to follow. We appreciate your prayers.

Huehue 2011 - Day 6

2011-08-27T23:45:00.001-04:00

August 19, 2011

Well, today was a day to which we had not been looking forward. We have all made so many incredible friends at Fundacion Salvacion, and the thought of leaving the children brings much sadness to our hearts. However, we know that we serve a loving, powerful God, and that He will take care of our friends here in Huehue and give each of them what they stand in need of. He is the Almighty Provider, Comforter, and Prince of Peace; He lives, He reigns, and He will care for us, always.

The day began with all nine of us grouting, and finishing the tiling project. After a few hours of hard work, we were able to stand back and be proud of what we had accomplished and what we were able to give the orphanage. Throughout the morning we had many visitors who provided “oooh’s and ahhh’s” in excitement for the new space. It was very rewarding to complete this project for the children and staff.

In the afternoon we had our last day of VBS. Today we sang our songs while standing in a circle outside in the midst of a beautiful day. It was extremely fulfilling to look around the circle at each face we had come to love. It is incredible how attached we have become to these children, God’s beautiful children.

Each night throughout the week the team worked on designing Panda Mania shirts for the final craft for VBS. Several members of our team spent hours making cute pandas, writing fun “Panda Mania” sayings on the t-shirts, and just using the gifts of creativity that they’d been given to make awesome t-shirts for the children. The children had a great time picking out their shirts, and then using many colored Sharpie markers, they decorated them. They were super excited to have all of us sign our names on their new favorite tees! Our final snack was a good one: doughnuts! The children loved the doughnuts and many of them wore the chocolate frosting on their faces for quite awhile after. J

We were then treated to a program put on by those at the orphanage. It was a time of celebration of Guatemalan culture. The children danced and performed for us. Children of all ages participated in the entertainment and it was a beautiful display of their heritage. We also had time of thanks. The staff at the orphanage gave each of us a gift, and we did the same for them. It was such a nice way to wrap up a beautiful afternoon of giving thanks for all we have been given.

We prepared and served this evening’s dinner. We grilled over 190 hotdogs (all of which were individually wrapped and took many hands to unwrap) that evening for dinner, and enjoyed our final meal with our friends. While our dinner was wrapping up and ice-cream-pops were served, Manuel and Antonio began the fireworks display! It was quite exciting! Some of the younger children were not fans of the booms and loud crackling, so that gave us an excuse to hold them extra close and love them even more, especially knowing that this would be the final embraces of the trip.

The time came to say goodbye. For many of us, perhaps all of us, it was everything that we anticipated. It was very difficult to look into those eyes and say good bye. Many tears were shed. Many hugs were given. More tears were shed. It was very sobering to get into our van and leave for the final time, knowing that hearts were breaking, and that our time with these children had come to an end for this time.

I do not think any of our hearts will be the same ever again. I know mine will not. I know that Lane’s will not. I do not think anyone’s will. All we can do now is pray that we will one day be reunited, and that God will protect and provide for us all in the mean time. We know He will. We believe in that God, our God that is so loving and so giving. The Protector of the weak; He will provide.

Thank you for reading this entry. We covet your prayers, your thoughts, and your love as we look to safely reuniting with our families and loved one in Michigan. Until then, we bid you adios.

Lane and Anna

Huehue 2011 - Day 5

2011-08-19T00:57:00.000-04:00

August 18, 2011

Whew! What a day! Up at 4:30, to the orphanage by 5:00 A.M., and we just settled down for the evening... long, tiring, fantastic day!

We served the children breakfast this morning which consisted of cereal/milk, and fresh fruit (kiwi, strawberries, and grapes!), and it was a new experience for us, one that we enjoyed very much. Seeing the children's faces so early in the morning was delightful - their joy and thoughtfulness shined through even at such an early time of day. God is good.

After breakfast we resumed our tiling project. Ally, Laura, Holly, and Kristi grouted the tile we laid yesterday while Chase, Lane, John, Merrie Beth, and Anna prepped the dining area and began to mix concrete and lay the tile in the room. We all worked together as a team, and as of 3:00pm the tiling was finished! We look forward to grouting the dining area tomorrow, and will most definitely be working as a team - all nine of us is needed to finish this task! The green tile with grey grout looks great!

Day 4 of VBS was another great experience. The theme of the day was "God Loves Us No Matter What." The story was of Jesus' death and resurrection. For the second day in a row now, many children have asked to sing more songs after VBS is official over and a time of socialization is underway. It is a joy to see them sing and dance in praise of God.

During our evening devotions we were reminded of the awesome power of prayer.

Following devotions and dinner at the hotel we returned to Fundacion Salvacion to help celebrate Jorge's quincinera. I was fun to see the children one more time for the day, and to talk with them (as best we could), play with them, take more photos with them, laugh and smile with them and love them. The goodbyes are becoming harder for us all. The children seem to have become more attached to us as we spend more time together, and each of us our hearts are heavy as we feel the weight of tomorrow upon us.

Hopefully today's entry makes sense. Tired eyes, exhausted bodies, and sleepy minds do not make for the best writing! If time allows, perhaps tomorrow will allow a re-read and offer a chance to clarify and edit if necessary.

Thank you for taking the time to read these posts, and thank you for your prayers.

Lane and Anna

Huehue 2011 - Day 4

2011-08-18T00:03:00.003-04:00

August 17, 2011

Buenos Dias!

What a great day we've had in Huehue! God's blessings are abundant and He has answered many prayers this week. One of our main prayers was answered this morning when the tile and cement was delivered EARLY so we were able to get to work immediately. We accomplished much today, getting the tile laid in the second kitchen. We are looking forward to grouting that tomorrow, as well as laying the tile in the eating area in that kitchen. It is a big task but we've learned that, with God, the nine of us are capable of quite a lot!

After lunch out in the city, we returned to the hotel for showers and a short break. We then headed back to the orphanage for Day 3 of VBS. Today we read the story of Jonah and the Whale, and our reminder for the day was that God can find us even in the darkest of places. God does indeed watch over us always, and we are extremely thankful for His love and protection. Our craft was making panda masks, going along with our Panda Mania theme for the week. The younger groups made the masks and it was so precious to see all the little panda faces running around roaring at each other. This is something none of us will forget! The other children made scratch fish, and made pictures with stickers. Their creations were beautiful, and again, they were very proud of their work. It's exciting to see them find confidence in their abilities. During snack time, John had his computer playing a slideshow of the pictures he took of the children yesterday. They really enjoyed seeing the photos!

We returned to the hotel for dinner and devotions this evening, but then went back to the orphanage for a bonfire and time of reflection on the past few days. During this time, Antonio translated for those who wanted to talk to the group. We shared how these experiences have impacted us, how thankful we are to have the opportunity to be here with the children and staff at Fundacion Salvacion, and ultimately how amazing it is that we serve such a loving, powerful, and merciful God who always listens to us, and watches over us. A few staff member also spoke to us, expressing their love for us, and gratitude for the love we show them and the children. It was an emotional experience that just reminds us how good God truly is. After the reflection time, we roasted marshmallows and sausages over the fire. The youngest children fell asleep in our arms during the sharing time and were put to bed, but all of the other children were thrilled to spend this fun evening with us; the feelings were mutual.

And so we end this evening giving thanks to a loving, and great God. We thank you for reading and for your support and prayers during this time. Please continue to lift us up and think of us often. We ought to head to bed now as we will be up and to the orphanage by 5am to serve the children breakfast before they leave for school. We will update tomorrow, God willing.

Buenos Noches,

Lane and Anna

Huehue 2011 - Day 3

2011-08-16T23:46:00.003-04:00

August 16, 2011

Hola family and friends!

Today we had breakfast, group devotions and traveled to the orphanage. Once again we were greeted by the younger children and staff at Fundacion Salvacion. A few of us escorted eight or so children to their school around the corner, while others of us played with the younger children for a brief time before getting to work. The men completed more prep work for the tiling that will take place this week. We are praying that the tile will be delivered EARLY tomorrow morning so we can begin work in earnest on the project. Several of the ladies worked on mounting and protecting the pencil portraits using contact paper (similiar to lamination) so that these too can be hung for all to see. A local school/class visited the orphanage today, so we had roughly thirty more students watching and asking questions as we worked. They were very kind and seemed quite interested in the Americans that were there!

After the local school children left, and the Fundacion Salvacion children returned from their classes, we enjoyed providing and serivng lunch for the entire orphanage. Forty pizzas were consumed this afternoon along with close to ten - 3 liters bottles of pop! The children obviously enjoyed the meal, and I am sure the cooks enjoyed the break from preparing food.

2nd Day of VBS

We began again by singing songs. It is always moving to see the children sing praises to God. Holly, Ally, Manuel, and Antonio performed a short skit introducing the day's theme: God Listens To You. Today's story was God Confronts the Prophets of Baal. In crafts we made Panda Mania bracelets or cross bead necklaces. The children really enjoy the craft time and were very proud of what they make. Once again we ended VBS with a big game of futbol... I have a feeling this will be the end to each day:) Thankfully the rain held off until roughly five minutes before we were scheduled to leave.

We are thankful for and appreciate your prayers for health, safety, and that God will continue to use us in big and small ways in each situation we encounter.

Goodnight,

Lane and Anna

HueHue 2011 - Day 2

2011-08-16T01:29:00.001-04:00

August 15, 2011

Greetings from Huehuetenango!

We've been blessed with a beautiful day in HueHue! God's goodness and faithfulness shines through even the cloudiest days here in Guatemala. We pray that as you read this you are filled with the love of Christ.

Our morning began with breakfast here at the Hotel Premier. We ate an assortment of fresh fruit, french toast sticks, eggs, and plantains. While drinking glasses of cantaloupe juice and coffee we chatted about how the Lord had blessed us with restful, rejuvinating sleep! After breakfast we met for group devotions, and headed out to Fundacion Salvacion.

When we arrived at the orphanage we were met by fewer children due to school being in session, but the hugs were great, and the "buenos dias"es were plenty. We immediately made a lists of supplies that we needed and sent a few members of our team with Antonio to purchase the supplies. Chase worked on grinding/sanding the cement floor in the second kitchen, the one that we will be tiling this week. While he worked hard in the kitchen, the rest of us organized and hung the portraits of the children at the orphanage that had been painted by high school students in the West Michigan area. For those readers who might not know, last year the mission team took a picture of each child here at Fundacion Salvacion. The pictures were then given to several schools' art classes to paint or draw. The results were beautiful; full of color and details of each child's face. It is amazing to see how the art students in Michigan captured the personality of the HueHue children in their work. We prepped and hung many of the art pieces, and wow, the children were SO excited to see their pictures hanging on the wall! There were shouts of exitement and loud rounds of laughter and clapping each time a new group of children entered the room. It was music to all of our ears! What an amazing gift these children were given - a reminder of how special, and how loved they truly are!

After our morning work session was over, we left for lunch. For this meal we chose McDonalds. We ate our food and then headed back to the orphanage after a quick stop at the hotel for our VBS supplies.

Day 1 of VBS

Today we started by singing our songs with the children. It is great to see them get so excited to sing and dance for the Lord. Holly, Ally, Antonio, and Manuel performed a skit to introduce our VBS theme: Panda Mania! Today's theme was "God Made You" and focused on how each of us is a wonderfully complex creation made in the image of God. We were able to spend more time with the children in craft time, snack time, and game time. After VBS some of us played futbol while others visited and spent time with the children.

After dinner at the hotel, we returned to Fundacion Salvacion for a movie. We were once again greeted with smiles and hugs. Popcorn and punch was served and we watched the movie together. Goodbyes were said once again for the day. As I look ahead in my mind to our final goodbyes of our trip (at the end of the week), I anticipate them being a difficult experience for me. For now though, I am thankful for four more tomorrows with the children, and the opportunity to be cheerfully greeted by them, and the chance to say hello once again.

Sleep Peacefully,
Lane and Anna

Huehue 2011

2011-08-14T23:29:00.001-04:00

August 13/14, 2011

Greetings from Huehuetenango!

After surviving Chicago traffic on a late Saturday night, we arrived to O'Hare International Airport in plenty of time to unload our bags, park the vans, and check our luggage. All went smoothly, as did our security check! No surprises or difficulties there, Praise the Lord! We had a short while to relax and catch a few minutes of shut-eye before boarding Taca 589 for the morning flight to Guatemala City. We boarded easily and were all set to go. Laura and Ally decided to switch seats and much to everyone's surprise, Ally ended up with 3 seats to herself for the four hour plane trip! She slept like a lamb while the rest of us dealt with the close quarters, cramped necks, and the occassional snoaring neighbor! Even though we like to tease Ally a bit about it, we were thankful that someone was able to rest comfortably:)

We arrived on time in Guatemala City and were met with document preparation for immigration and customs. Again, we were blessed with smooth processes and were quickly reunited with Manuel and Antonio! It was such a caring welcome coming from such wonderful friends - we were all blessed with big smiles and warm hugs. God's love is so powerful.

From there we had a quick breakfast stop at McDonalds and then a snack and bottled water stop at Walmart. Although tired, we were all excited to be on our way to Huehue! The trip West to Huehue was an adventuresome one. For those of you readers who have been on the trip in previous years, you know all of the twists, turns, fast cars, chicken buses, and motorcycles that make each second of the trip very dramatic! Thankfully we made good time and arrived several hours early allowing us to check into our hotel, have lunch, and make our way to Fundacion Salvacion to visit the sweet kids!

Upon our arrival at the orphanage, we were greeted with cheers, excitement, hugs, tugs, and chatter. As we were swarmed by their warm greetings, we were ovewhelmed by the goodness of the God we serve. During our time there, we were able to play with the children, talk with the staff, and assess and plan for our upcoming projects. We look forward to returning tomorrow.

After dinner we had devotions as a group, tweaked our strategy for tomorrow, and discussed logistics for the week. We continue to remind ourselves to be flexible knowing that God's will will be done this week in Huehue, even if things don't always go as we have planned. We are thankful for a God that is in control of each detail.

Exhuastion has set in and we're eager to get some sleep. Tune in for more stories tomorrow evening, Lord willing.

Buenos Noches!

Lane and Anna

Our Last Day

2010-08-15T01:02:00.000-04:00

Today we left Huehuetenango for a little bit of R&R before returning home. Our travels took us to the city of Reu (for short). Our original plans were that we were going to spent the afternoon at a waterpark after checking into the hotel around 2pm.. However, after some discussion and a lot more heavy rains, not to mention that the park closed at 5 and we had to be there no later than 3, we opted to spend the afternoon at the hotel. This hotel is equipped with a nice pool and many in the group spent some time cooling off in the rain and water. It was an enjoyable afternoon. This evening we headed out to our final dinner as a team at a very nice local restuarant. Our pasta dishes were individually prepared for each of us. During the dinner we were entertained by wonderful mariachi band. We returned back around 9:30 and Ally and Ashley closed the night with devotions. Please pray for us as we travel back to the city tomorrow (about 3 hours) and head back to the states. Please also pray for comfort in our hearts as we adjust back to "normal" life. We all feel truly blessed for the wonderful week we had. God is truly awesome and we thank Him for the many blessings he has bestowed on us throughout this week.

The Final Frontier

2010-08-14T02:19:00.000-04:00

The day we least look forward to has arrived. After breakfast and devotions we headed off for our final day at the orphanage. We finished the floor in the boys dorm, but unfortunately the other boys kitchen was not far enough along for us to be able to tile it. The others finished sorting shoes, and wrapping up the painting, which turned out incredible.

Following lunch it was back to the orphanage for free time with the kids. A local pastor stopped in today and we were able to witness 10 of the kids be baptized. Even at their young age and the situations they never hesitated in answering that they were ready to give their lives to God. Right after that we had a rather insane water balloon fight, followed by a special going away program put together by the kids. After some great entertainment we cooked supper for the kids. What a feast that turned out to be! Fireworks once again preceded the tearful goodbye's. Even though this is my fourth time the leaving is never easy, but we thank the Lord for the week he has blessed us with, the friendships that were made, the lives that are forever effected, and the memories never to be forgotten.

Day Before Good Bye

2010-08-13T01:01:00.004-04:00

Another long amazing day at the orphanage. (NOT TO MENTION BRAD'S BIRTHDAY:)

Work projects continued from yesturday with more painting and we were also able to lay all the tile today. We will hopefully wrap up everything tomorrow by putting the finishing details on the wall outside of the orphanage and an area by the kitchen. We will also finish the floor in the older boys' new room by grouting the tile we layed today. Im sure we will have pictures either on here or for sure on the slide show.

VBS was interrupted today by an incredible amount of rain. No one could really do anything besides watch the amount of water that was falling AND not going anywhere....And with such a rare opportunity there was only one thing missing, FOOTBALL!! The court was flooded on one side but that just made everything that much more fun. The boys played through the rain and gave everybody standing around more to watch then just the rain...Unfortunately the drains were clogged and some of the rooms and storage rooms were starting to flood. With some quick thinking and a pile of kids clothes we were able to make a dam to block the water from entering the rooms. The drains were eventually unclogged and everything drained back to normal. Over all, it was quite a sight to see.

After dinner we returned one last time for the night for the black light hands presentation and another fire. The black light hands group did awesome and the kids really enjoyed it. The kids enjoyed the fire as well, eating as many marshmellows and mini sausages as they possibly could. There would be 10 different kids all gathered around the same medium sized fire trying to find room to cook their food. Tonight was a nice time to relax with the kids and listen to them sing around the fire. You couldn't ask for a much better time with some of your best friends!

As for me and I think most in the group, there were some mixed feelings saying good-bye tonight. Some of the kids weren't sure if this was the last night we were there or not. At least for tonight we could reassure them that we would see them tomorrow and we could spend one more full day with them, but it made me realize that tomorrow night we aren't going to be able to say those reassuring words to them. Sure we might be able to say that we might see them next year, but a few of us had a hard wake up call this year that some of "our kids" from last year are no longer there. You never know what one year will bring and it makes it extremely hard to say good bye.

Tomarrow is going to be hard and your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated! As for now, it's time for bed!! Buenos noches!

Early Morning, Late night

2010-08-11T23:06:00.002-04:00

Hard to believe that we are halfway through the week already! We started the day serving the kids breakfast. It's an early wake up call, but well worth it. After breakfast it was back to our projects. The one floor is now prepped and ready for the tile, the other room is still having electrical installed but we hope to still get that done as well. The water purifier is installed and according to six of us, functioning great. The mountain of clothes is officially conquered and tomorrow on to the shoes. The painting crew finished the base coat on the front wall and begun work on the new design that looks really neat. As we write this, we have just gotten back from supper, where we still proved the effectiveness of the telephone game, and are practicing our black light hands routines. God is a great and awesome God as he has shown us all week. From watching the sun rise over the the mountains behind the orphanage,the thunderstorms this afternoon, to the incredible moments with the kids in between, his power shows through everything around us.

Pictures, Picture, Pictures......

2010-08-11T15:02:00.015-04:00

From Breakfast to Veggie Tales

2010-08-11T00:22:00.014-04:00

It's hard to believe that another day is gone! It started like all the others with a delicious breakfast buffet at the hotel. Devotions followed thanks to Emily and Jesse. We arrived at the orphanage all well rested and stuffed full of food eager to continue on with work projects. After a second morning out to numerous little shops Bruce hopes we know have all the needed supplies to complete the remainder of the projects. The clothes pile is slowly dwindling especially after a group effort to knock down the pile. About 15-20 of us folded clothes for about an hour to an hour and a half. This made a huge dent in the pile. The painting of the wall outside the kitchen has been completed, along with the boys dorm and the outside wall where we laid the sidewalk last year. The front mural is underway. They were able to get the wall pretty much covered in blue with only some touch up to do. Tomorrow they will finish the blue and chalk on the design. Henry, Chase and Rob spent the morning trying to improve ground around the boys area. They filled many holes with gravel and tried to clean up and improve the drainage a bit. Many others helped with the children and in the kitchen.

We stayed at the orphanage for lunch today. It was amazing to see these little kids eat 4+ pieces of pizza and some ate way more than that!! After a short break we held VBS for the children. Our theme for today was love and our story was about Abraham and Isaac. The children had a lot of fun making their shirt designs out of foam sheets and stickers. Tomorrow we will be painting them and printing them on t-shirts.

After dinner we returned to the orphanage for a night of movies and popcorn. Glenn and Nancy brought along the slide shows from our last two years at Fundacion Salvacion thinking the kids would love to see themselves over the years. They did until the projector acted up and we had to stop the slideshow. We happened to bring along a Veggie Tales movie just in case....there's nothing like Larry and Bob in Spanish!

We ended the day with devotions from Angie and Laura at about 9:45. Tomorrow we will be up early (we will be leaving at 4:45) to cook breakfast for the children. Please pray for us as we have a long day ahead of us. Many of the kids at the orphanage have colds right now and a couple in the group are starting to have sore throats. Please pray that it doesn't get any worse.

Finally, we will try and do a picture post tomorrow during lunch so all of you back home can see a bit of what is happening here. Good night and God bless.

Day 2 at the orphanage

2010-08-10T00:45:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the short and sweet blog tonight but it is getting late and we all need our rest. This morning we started out the day with devos from terri and alice. This year our work projects... unlike in years past with there being one primary job, this year we have quite a few little ones. They consist of the following: tiling, painting murals, organizing the storage room which has turned out to be a huge undertaking with the mountains of unfolded clothes. Bruce and Mike went right away this morning and started gathering our materials from around town. Tomorrow we plan on getting to work with the murals and tile now that we have the brad, ally, and antonio here with our group. After lunch we went back to the orphange and did vbs... todays topic was on conduct and the story we taught from was samuel and eli. We went back to the hotel for dinner and then were anxious to get back to the orphange tonight for the bonfire with the older kids. Guillermo (translator) led us in a time of worship around the fire singing songs and playing his guitar. The children have the most beautiful voices. Tomorrow will be yet another productive day here in huehue... we ask for your continued prayers as God helps shape both the hearts of the children and the hearts of the members of this group.

Day One at the Orphanage!

2010-08-08T23:42:00.002-04:00

Sunday, the Lord’s day, started off well. We ate breakfast at the hotel Premier and then had devotions together, led by Rob and Amy. After that we headed to the orphanage for the first time to see the ninos. We were greeted by the smiling faces of God’s beautiful children. The children of the Fundacion Salvacion are truly under the care of God and radiate the joy that comes with the knowledge of that. We had the opportunity to take the older children to church and enjoyed an evangelical Spanish service. Once service was over we took the kids back and started planning our VBS lesson for the day. Lunch promptly followed and we had a lovely time at Pollo Campero. We had three kinds of chicken and four flavors of pop!!!! Plus, three kinds of ice cream… Manuel knows how to take care of us. =] Kara was very excited about the ice cream.

Once we loaded up the bus with VBS supplies we headed back to the orphanage. It was wonderful to see the children and spend more time with them then we had in the morning. The VBS lesson for the day was on Speech. The theme for this week is centered on 1 Timothy 4:12. This verse explains that no matter what our age is, we should conduct ourselves in such a way that we set an example for all believers. We all sang songs in Spanish with the kids (what we’d been practicing for months) and did a skit (Moses and the burning bush) for them. Then we broke up into groups and rotated through various stations: Crafts, Snacks, Lesson, Verses, Games and Coloring. The kids loved it!!! We had some fun free time with them… took photos, played soccer, etc., and then went back to the hotel for dinner. Kara was very excited about the jello....but Chase had her beat. He ate nine jellos for dessert! We (Rachel and Mike) feel certain he will feel the effects of it soon. Mike led us in devotions tonight, and now it’s off to bed before another full day. Bruce and Glen looked over the construction projects and formulated a plan to begin to tomorrow. We will also be continuing the VBS!

I (Rachel) am really excited to be here. This is my third year here, and so I’ve had an opportunity to form relationships with the kids. I was disappointed this morning because the little boy I had been close with for the last two trips was not here. Wicho and his sister Zulma got moved to Zacapa. But this evening when I walked into the nursery (where Wicho stayed) I was greeted by two friendly faces: Christina and Nata. Christina stays and takes care of all the babies (right now there are twelve) and she remembered me. She specifically asked me about Wicho and asked me to come into the room. When I came into the room I saw a picture board of all the children that have been moved or adopted (Alex and Dino.. both adopted). She pointed to a picture of me and Wicho and said that she still had the Christmas card I sent him. I about cried. She told me about her disappointment in seeing the kids leave. It was nice to know that someone else grows attached to the kids and understands our disappointment in not seeing the faces we’ve come to love. She asked me to continue to help out with the babies this week, and I am so excited to do that! She was a comfort from God this afternoon.

So… to sum it all up: We had a fantastic first day here in HueHue!!! God really is blessing the work we have began and we patiently wait to see his continued work through the hand of his willing servants. Thank you for your continued prayers!

All honor and glory and praise be to God!

Sunday Morning

2010-08-08T13:30:00.002-04:00

Reflections on the first 24 hours (from another perspective):

Last night we arrived at our destination--Huehuetenango--after a rather interesting and looooong day we arrived at 10 pm Michigan time. As you read in the previous post we have been challenged and the devil is working hard to make sure we don't spread God's Word BUT we serve a GREAT GOD and He will provide us with strength to persevere!

Some of the things we encountered so far:
1. Bus trouble within the first 15 minutes--light going on and off on the dashboard.
2. Lunch at McDonald's with a theft.
3. Heavy, torrential rain.
4. Rocks in the roadway from the rain
5. Landslides of dirt/mud into the roadway.
6. Our hotel gave our rooms away to another group.

These are all events prior to us even getting to our destination!

We all feel quite a bit better after slept (after missing a night) and we have been able to take the older children from the orphanage to church this morning. We're going to present our first Bible school this afternoon and are getting ready for that. Tomorrow morning we will begin our first day of work.

We'll try to get some photos posted soon.

Thanks for remembering us in your prayers!

"Our God is Greater"

2010-08-08T01:28:00.003-04:00

Wow...what a day! Words cannot even begin to describe this day...we were tested, pulled and pushed more than any of us had ever imagined!

After a couple of trips to Chicago O'Hare and a few non eventful plane rides on a couple airlines all 30 of us arrived in Guatemala, tired, but safe and in one piece. After loading all 60 pieces on luggage on the top of the buses we headed for a quick breakfast at McDonald's before the 5-6 hour drive to Huehuetenango, our home for the next 7 days.

Unfortunately, our plans were shaken up a bit after breakfast. After returning to the bus, some in our group realized their belongings were not were the left them and missing from the locked bus. It became quite apparent that during our breakfast someone had broken into the bus and stolen Merrie Beth, Terri, Brad and Ally's personal items. The thieve or thieves took four bags by opening a locked window on the side of the bus.

It was a very frustrating experience for all of us and required great patience. The lot was guarded and supposedly under video surveillance. Unfortunately, none of the security guards admitted to seeing anything and the video surveillance was not working right. Although one of the men appeared figity and guilty we had no proof that he was the person who had taken the items. The Guatemalan police were called and a police report was filed, but the items were not recovered, nor do we believe that they ever will. It was really hard for all of us to see the flaws in the system that is in place to protect the innocent here in Guatemala.

Brad and Ally's passports were among the stolen items and now need to be replaced. We contacted the American Citizens Unit at the US Embassy in Guatemala City and they will be able to replace their passports, however, this cannot be done until Monday. We made arrangements for Brad and Ally to stay at one of our translator's home for the weekend. They will be headed to the US Embassy on Monday morning to get their passports replaced. Our hope, Lord willing, is that they will be able to rejoin the group late Monday or Tuesday. Please pray for them and also for Merrie Beth and Terri.

The bus ride to Huehue took a lot longer than expected due to torrential rains and lots of fallen rocks in the road. It was a long and exhausting ride through the mountains and we were all thankful to arrive at the hotel at 8:00 tonight. After a good dinner, some showers and a great devotional by Glenn and Nancy things quieted down quickly.

We leave the events of today in the hands of God. We find peace in knowing that this is part of HIS plan for our group. We have spent months planning and preparing for this trip, but ultimately, it is God's trip. He is the potter and we are they clay and we looked forward with great optimism to what He has in store for us for the rest of the week.

"Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

Into the darkness you shine
Out of the ashes we Rise
There’s no One like You
None like You.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God...

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…"

Goodbye is Never Easy

2009-08-15T01:19:00.005-04:00

I guess the title speaks for itself. The day we all hoped would never come is finally here. The morning started with all of us finishing up some loose ends on the projects for the week. At lunch we celebrated Marco's birthday and gave the rest of the cake to the group next to us who were also having a birthday party. The afternoon was spent having a fiesta with the kids. Various games included pinata's, a blow up jumpy toy, a trampoline, and water balloons which led to just an all out water fight with very few escaping dry. Next, the kids did a wonderful program for us. We all enjoyed watching the little one dance around in their cute costumes. After we made dinner for everyone....hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, chips and pop with ice cream for desert. After dinner it was out to the basketball court for some of the craziest fireworks any of us have been part of. Finally it was time for all the goodbyes that you hoped would never have to be said.

The end draws near....

2009-08-14T00:39:00.005-04:00

Yet another incredible day has come and gone. The guys finished up the sidewalk outback and started on enclosing the classroom with cement block. The girls finished the mural and the boy's bathroom, and are nearly finished painting the toddlers bathroom. Glen, Amy, and Merrie Beth went shopping this morning and came back with many needed items for the kitchen and the tool shed. This afternoon we had our final VBS lesson focused on Gideon. This evening we were guests of Sandra and her family for dinner at their home. It was an honor for all of us. We ask for your prayers as we prepare to say goodbye to the kids for another year. It will be a hard day for all of us.

Up and at 'em!

2009-08-12T22:59:00.008-04:00

Hard to believe we are already halfway through our trip! Where does the time go? This mornng we all got up at 4:30 am to cook breakfast for the orphanage. What a morning it was! The kids feasted on chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit and horchata (rice milk). After the breakfast and devotions, the guys continued the work on the sidewalk and are nearly done. The contractor also brought the first load of blocks to start enclosing one of the classrooms that only has a gate on it right now. The ladies worked on the bathroom again, along with working on the mural. Both are looking really nice. It looks like they might even have time to get to painting the toddlers bathroom as well. Today was Brad's birthday and we celebrated with birthday cake at lunch. The kids at the orphanage also presented him with a present and sang him happy birthday along with a little prayer. He was pretty speechless after that! We have a very busy next two days, and we ask your prayers for us and the orphanage as we prepare in our hearts to say goodbye for another year. Thank you also for all the comments, it's always great to hear from home!

Day 3 Bon Fire

2009-08-12T00:39:00.002-04:00

The team is busy painting, making and pouring cement, doing VBS, and playing with the kids! After a big full day, we ate supper at the hotel and then went back to the orphanage for a bon fire! We started out around the fire with some singing of some songs. One!eart Team led us in singing while playing their guitar. Some songs were in English and some in Spanish. After singing, there was a time of sharing from the group. The kids would love to have us stay longer, we are always welcomed! It was a very special emotional time. There were sausages and marshmellows to roast, and just time to hang out!!

2009-08-12T00:17:00.001-04:00

Wow, what a day!!!!

2009-08-11T00:17:00.004-04:00

Wow, what a day!!! The men started on the sidewalk project in front of the boys dorm. Things were going along really well. The contractor then changed his mind on the measurements. Needless to say...what dirt was put in to raise up the area, had to be dug out. Some of the ladies spent the morning painting the boys bathroom and Ally, Kelly and Vicki started a very large mural on the wall between the younger kids area and the older boys area.

VBS went well; the kids got a big kick out of the Daniel and the lion's den skit that we did. Glenn, Rob and Mark,however, continued working on the sidewalk forms to try to get ahead on the construction for Tuesday.

After a very delicious supper we headed back to the orphanage for movie night with the kids. We watched Ice Age 3 and spent the latter part of the movie putting sleeping kids to bed.

Everyone is feeling great and having a wonderful time. Thank you all for your continued prayers & messages!

P.S. We have added some new pics to the previous days blogs as well...enjoy!!!!!

Let the Work Begin!!!!!

2009-08-10T08:49:00.004-04:00

What a beautiful morining!!! This IS the day that the Lord has made! Today we begin our work projects. We have quite a list of projects to accomplish this week. We will be removing a crumbling sidewalk and laying a new cement sidewalk in front of the boys dorm, putting up a cement block wall and painting.

Yesterday afternoon everyone's patience was truly tested. We were asked by the director at the orphanage if we would take the children by bus and accompany them to a fundraiser that was set up for them at the mall. We were told that the fundraiser would run from 3 to 5, however the fundraiser ended up going until 7:00. It was amazing for us to watch the children (all of them) just sit there the entire 4 hours. It seemed at times that we were more impatient than they were. From our perspective it appeared to be a great fundraiser. There were a lot of people watching and participating, including Liz and Ally who went up on stage and danced with a group! It took about 3 bus trips to get the children there and back. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless the orphanage with the necessary funds to provide for all the children.

For those of you wanting to see some pictures, we will try and get some uploaded yet today!

Please pray for our safety as we start our work projects this morning and for continued good health!

VBS 1st day

2009-08-09T15:49:00.004-04:00

Our first VBS was this morning. We start out with music and songs to get everyone praising God -"making a joyful noise to the Lord"!! The team then did a skit about David and Goliath. We made swords, shields, and helmets out of tin foil, for the armies. Goliath had a much bigger sword and shield. Glenn was Goliath and Rob was David. After that everyone broke up into groups for either a craft, story, playtime, or snack. Each group would have about 20 min. and then rotate to the next area. We had a great first day, Praise the Lord!! It is their rainy winter season here, so far we have been blessed with great weather and we will be praying for great weather for the rest of the week!

Here at last!!!

2009-08-09T10:07:00.002-04:00

Well, we made it safely to Guatemala without any major problems. After a long day of traveling, we had a restful night sleep and are looking forward to what today will bring! Yesterday we arrived early enough in Huehue and we were able to stop by and see the kids at the orphanage. It was definitely the highlight of the day! Today we will be leaving shortly to start VBS with the children and will be attending a fundraiser with them this afternoon.

We ask that everyone keep Kelly in their prayers as she has taken ill. She is currently doing better. We are hoping that with more rest and careful watch of her diet that she will be able to join the group this afternoon.

We are looking forward to a great week!

Ready, Set, Go!!!

2009-07-30T14:29:00.003-04:00

Well, the planning of this year's mission trip to Guatemala is finished, the funds have been raised and we are set to pack our bags!!! This year 18 of us are set to depart on August 7th for an overnight flight to Guatemala. Once there we will meet up One Heart Ministries and travel about 5-6 hours to Huehuetenango. We will be working at Fundacion Salvacion, a private orphanage with about 100 children and around 12 staff members. This will be our group's second trip to Fundacion Salvacion. While there we will be doing construction projects in the morning, having an afternoon VBS for the children and spending the evening getting to know everyone a little better through a variety of activities. We are all very excited for this opportunity the Lord has provided for us. We also want to thank everyone for their prayers and financial support. You are all truly a blessing! Please continue to pray for us as we make the final preparations and for safety as we travel.

Friday

2008-08-16T01:02:00.004-04:00

How to begin? The day started with 25 of us preparing breakfast for the children at the orphanage. We made scrambled eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, fruit and juice. Our day started at 5:00 am and it is 11:00 pm and we have just finished with our evening devotions! So it has been a long and emotional day. We had to say goodbye to all the children, and it was a tearful good bye. As far as our work project goes-- all was completed and we actually got both of the other floors grouted. Thank you to the tech savvy person who fixed the problem with the Photobucket link. We have to be ready to leave tomorrow morning at 6:00 am to head back to Guatemala City. We will do some sightseeing on the way home, too. The plan is to go to a lake for a boat ride and lunch and be back in Guatemala City around 7:30 pm. There was continued progress with Celine but continue to pray for her; pray for safety as we travel back to the city; pray for the heart of the children we had to leave, as there were many sad hearts and crying eyes. We all have that mixed feeling of knowing we have to leave but really wanting to stay. Tomorrow night is also our farewell dinner with Buckner and Sunday we will have a chance to see a little more of Guatemala City, and then a late flight (8:30 pm) and an early morning arrival back in East Martin. So till then... Good Night!

Thursday

2008-08-15T00:30:00.005-04:00

Today was a day with mixed emotions. We accomplished quite a lot today in regard to laying tile. We grouted the first room and we finished tiling the second room. In the afternoon we had some tile left and tiled the director's office and it came out to the very last tile!! It looked so great, she will really enjoy not having a concrete floor. At noon, we went with all the kids from the orphanage to the Mayan ruins and had a picnic. There was pizza and pop and lots of climbing of the ruins and lots of soccer; it all went very well and everyone had a great time until it came time to leave and one little boy named Mario was missing. Of course our group was very upset about the whole ordeal, and we gave our best effort in searching for him, and we didn't quite know what to expect when we returned to the orphanage. But we later found out that he was consider a high-risk child (for running away) and the director wasn't as surprised as we were. Apparently he was brought to the orphanage three days ago and had been living on the streets. So it is assumed that is why he left. We are praying that he will return back to the orphanage so he will be safe. We were all really impressed with the children and how well -behaved they were. They are fortunate to be in this home that has a lot of people who care for them. I think they appreciate it also. We have all said that we are impressed with the total atmosphere of the orphanage. Celine is making improvements, so we are also thankful for that. So continue to pray for Celine and pray for Mario, that he will be kept safe and return to the orphanage. Also pray for our group, as tomorrow will be our last day. We plan on preparing breakfast for the children tomorrow; then at night they have a program for us, and we will present a slide show of this past week to them. It will be very emotional for all of us. It is hard to imagine that one week could have such an impact, but our hearts will be heavy having to say good-bye. Thank you for your continued prayer support of us! Hope everyone had a chance to see the picure at http://www.photobucket.com/login and there is also a short slideshow in the blog which will feature more of our photos later on Friday.

Till tomorrow.

Thursday- Slideshow Added

2008-08-14T21:40:00.004-04:00

Just a quick note to let you know we added the photos to the blog from Photobucket. Please click on the slideshow photo to activate it and start playing the photos. We hope you enjoy it!

For those of you unable to view this slideshow, please go to the Photobucket website at www.photobucket.com/login to view our pictures. Our login name is EastMartin and the password is orphan. Make sure you enter this information exactly as it is written.

Guatemala Slide Show 2008

2008-08-14T21:39:00.001-04:00

Wednesday

2008-08-13T23:31:00.004-04:00

What another awesome day! There were a few of our group that got a very early start this morning. Since we finished tiling a room yesterday, 6 men went at 6:00 am to start getting everything ready so when the rest of the crew came we could hit the ground running, and we did. We grouted one room, and started tiling another and got about three quarters of the way done and had to break for lunch. Mike (from Chicago) had made arrangements to prepare a special dinner for everyone at the orphanage so while VBS was going on, some of us helped make preparation for the meal. We had chicken, hamburgers and steak with sweet corn and chips. It was a very nice treat for everyone. I will have to say that the women who prepare the meals for all those children are amazing! If you are interested in seeing some great photos of the kids and the orphanage here is the address : http://www.photobucket.com/login. Our user name is EastMartin ( type just like you see it) and our password is "orphan". Please continue to pray for Celina as she is not doing very well. We will be going to a park with the kids tomorrow, so pray for safety. Till tomorrow ..............!

Tuesday

2008-08-13T00:10:00.005-04:00

Greetings again!

What a great day!! We got one room totally tiled today, and tomorrow we will start on another room. Our VBS went really well. We did the story of the four friends lowering their crippled friend through the roof to Jesus to be healed. Rob got to be the one lower through the roof and he didn't even get dropped. I was able to get pictures downloaded so there are pictures attached. Tonight we were able to go back to the orphanage and show a movie to the kids and have pop corn and some other treats. They were really excited about the whole event and really appreciated it, and it was fun for us to be able to give them a treat, too. Our prayer requests are for Salina and Maria who are sick and have gone to the hospital; also pray for the caregivers who are there many hours and have a huge burden to make sure all these kids are cared for. We are also thankful for our interpreters, the great weather, and that we are getting much accomplished.

Monday

2008-08-11T19:46:00.004-04:00

I think everyone would agree that today was a great day! Our first plan was to do some work this morning and VBS in the afternoon. The work project was delayed a bit, so we spent most of the morning visiting with the children. By mid-morning a group had begun work to prep the floor where tile will be laid. We went to lunch and then we returned to the home and began our VBS, which went very well. There are mostly younger girls and boys ( infant to 13) and a few older. Several of us thought that we recognized a couple of the kids from our visit last year so that would account for them not being at San Gabriel. We began with four stations, a craft area, a snack area, a game area, and the story area; we rotated groups of 8 to 10 kids and it went very well. We did have some good news this a.m. at devotion time--Bob's luggage is on its way to Hue Hue! Thanks for your prayers. Continue to pray for hearts to be opened; we are hoping seeds get planted in the hearts of these young ones, or maybe we are watering one or two! We haven't figured out how to get pictures downloaded, we lack the right attachments or cables. Till tomorrow!!

The Guatemala Team

Sunday

2008-08-10T23:10:00.004-04:00

Greetings to our East Martin family!

So far all has gone by without any glitches. Well, I take that back; we lost Bob Katje's-- or I should say the airline lost -- his luggage. We know it got on a plane in Chicago, but it may have gone to El Salvador or back to Chicago; in any event, we have gotten him somewhat covered for basic supplies and will wait and see what shows. We are very grateful for the "big bus" that transported us to Chicago as it eliminated so many hassles. When we arrived in Guatemala we pretty much hit the ground running. We were able to go to San Gabriel and see all the changes that have taken place since we were there last year. There were many new buildings and not so many boys. It felt a little like a ghost town, but we enjoyed playing soccer with the boys that were left and we also presented a drama skit.

Today (Sunday) was our travel day to HueHuetenago. You can hardly believe that it would actually take over 6 hours to go about 150 miles, but there was not one stretch of straight road that was a half mile long. It is a very beautiful country and farming takes place on any slope that isn't at a 90 degree angle. I think maybe they are part mountain goat.

The crews are getting set up for tomorrow's VBS, preparing a small skit about Joshua and the walls of Jericho. We will be doing construction in the morning and VBS in the afternoon. Our prayer request would be that Bob's luggage would show up, continued safety, and that we would be a light to those we are meeting this week. We will try and get some pictures in tomorrow.

So 'til later!

Goodnight!

Departure

2008-08-08T18:38:00.002-04:00

The Guatemala Team is ready to go. Final plans, packing, and preparation have all been made and team members are preparing for the bus ride to Chicago to catch their flight tonight.

The prayers of many within the church go with each of you, as do the prayers of family and friends. May God richly bless the mission you are about to embark on, and bless the lives of those that you meet in Guatemala. We look forward to seeing and hearing about what God will do in your lives as well as in the lives of those you minister to.

Day 6

2007-08-17T22:55:00.000-04:00

Today we are in Antigua and we have internet service! The girls were a pleasant surprise, and the noise factor was about a tenth of what the previous days were at the boys' home. The girls enjoyed the singing and the VBS went very well also; unfortunately, we only have one more day to visit with them. Our lesson today focused on inner beauty with the story of Esther, and tomorrow's lesson will be about Ruth.

The girls' home is very nice; it used to be the palace of the President until they moved the capital to Guatemala. It is run by nuns and it is a government-run orphanage. There are about 100 girls here and we have split into groups of about 35 each and have three stations that they rotate to. The story is at one station, crafts at another, and then free time with games and sidewalk chalk. Pray for the girls that they will see Christ in us and for safe travel back to Guatemala.

We are all sad thinking about having to leave for home and not being able to spend more time with the boys and girls, but we trust that they have gotten as much out of our visit with them as we have gotten from them.

Day 5

2007-08-16T20:07:00.000-04:00

Today has been an emotion-filled day. We finished painting at the boys' transitional home. As a group we visited the girls' home and the baby home. After lunch, we went for the last time to the boys' orphanage and it was hard to say goodbye. There are many young boys that have many talents and it is hard not to want them to have every chance to develop those gifts. Today we handed out Bibles for them to keep and also some activity papers.

Tonight we will get ready to go to the girls' orphanage in Antigua and spend the night and then return to Guatemala on Saturday. Pray for safe travels tomorrow and for each of us, as it wasn’t easy to say goodbye to the boys today.

Day 4

2007-08-15T23:43:00.001-04:00

Hello to all,
We are just back from our nightly devotions and today was a good day ! Last night we prayed for sunshine for today and that things would go well at VBS and God was faithful! The sun was shinning all day long and the boy were much better behaved today and we felt that much more was accomplished today.
We introduced the Munchkins today during singing and the kids really thought that was as hoot (picture included) The older boys are led by Nick and Nancy and they are very receptive to them. They gave the boys a chance to pray after their lesson and were pleasantly surprised that all the boys prayed and it wasn’t just a quick “thank you for this day” sentence prayer. They prayed for Nick and Nancy also and they were very excited about that.
We finished the paint job at the girls home and then helped the men on their paint job at the boys transitional home. We will be returning there tomorrow to finish there.
This week is to flying by and it is hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last day at the boys orphanage. We will be going to Antigua on Friday and spending the night their so we are not sure about updating the blog tomorrow night, so if you don’t hear from us that’s why.
There was a little boy ( Luis) that run away this morning and we ask you to pray that he will return to the home or be keep safe. Its hard to imagine that in the short time that we are here that you feel so attached to some of these boys.

Day 3

2007-08-14T19:47:00.001-04:00

Greetings!! This morning we again split and the men continued to do landscaping ( mostly brush cleanup and the moving of stones--landscaping would be a bit of a stretch). And the women split and several went to the baby home while the rest did some painting on play equipment(priming)and tomorrow we will finish the play equipment.
After lunch we prepared to do a little skit for the boys about David and Goliath, and a craft afterwards. We had the boys paint little wooden cars .
Words really don’t describe what I think we all are feeling about the work we are doing and the accommodations that we have and the time that we spend with the kids here. We pray that in some small way they will see the Love of Christ thru us, but they live in such a hard and difficult place and these are the lucky ones, to have a place that will give them shelter and food and a chance. There are moments that it seems overwhelming but we trust that the Lord will use this time in the boys lives to give them a hope. The manager of the hotel arranged the presidential suite for our devotions this morning and this evening and the contrast of this luxury to the work we do and it all comes from the Lord. The manager is a Christian and is devoted to helping Buckner Missions and has been able to use his position to God's glory.

Day 2

2007-08-14T00:33:00.000-04:00

Day 2
We met for breakfast and devotions and the women went to a moms and special needs home for girls. It is a home for young girls with children and the men went to San Gabriel and did some cleaning and yard work. We all met for lunch and then we all went back to San Gabriel for VBS and getting to know the boys a little better. There were several young men there that work for Buckner Missions and come one day a week in the afternoons to spend time with the boys, they also helped interpreting. After our supper we met again for devotions and the next days agenda and are looking forward to spending time with the boys.

Day 1

2007-08-14T00:30:00.000-04:00

Day 1
Our bags are packed and we are ready to go. We leave EMCRC around 12:00 a.m. and head to Chicago’s O'Hare Airport. We had a good trip and were fortunate to have some one process all 16 of us with out having to weigh each suitcase. That was a real time saver!! The flight to Houston and to Guatemala went very smoothly. We did have to bypass a storm, but there were no delays in our arrival time. We were met at the airport by Buckner and taken to the motel and met our leaders and interpreters. They will be with us through out the week. After lunch we went to San Gabriel (boy's orphanage) and had a chance to meet with the boys. Some of us were a little apprehensive at first, not knowing what to expect.
Guatemala is very unique; it covers a wide area but there are sections separated by steep valleys. Traveling in the city is more like a roller coaster ride --it appears that stop signs are really only a suggestion for 99% of the drivers. After supper, we still had to go over the next day's agenda and organize our supplies. By now we have had little to no sleep for about 36 hour and we were all anxious to get to bed!

Guatemala Team 2007

2007-08-08T17:05:00.000-04:00

The Guatemala Mission Team 2007 is getting ready to depart for Guatemala this coming Saturday, August 11. We want to express how truly grateful we are for your support, whether it came in the form of financial gifts or prayers on our behalf. We are eagerly anticipating our trip and pray that we will have safety while traveling. Please check back here regularly during the week we are in Guatemala for our updates! Thank you and God Bless!

~ Kathy, on behalf of the Mission Team

Home again

2006-08-06T23:01:00.000-04:00

A long day, but smooth travels. Praise God! Continue to pray for the lives involved in this mission trip including the people we met today as we traveled. There were questions about the trip, who we were, what we did in Guatemala, and sharing our faith with others we met on our way home. ~Ralph

Saturday at Manchen Girls Home

2006-08-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

Well, the last day here was spent going to the city of Antigua, the original capitol of Guatemala. We were privileged to visit the Manchen girls' home and spent a little time praying, singing, and just enjoying the children there (about 80) ; then we went to lunch and did some shopping at the market. Our flight is planned to land in Chicago at 2:30 pm, so it will be a short night. Thanks to all for prayers and the opportunity to be vessels to spread Christ's love to orphans in Guatemala. Pray for the lives that were touched including the team so that God's kingdom can be further glorified. ~Ralph

OK, we miss Alisha already; she did a great job posting for us this week. I can't figure out how to upload a picture, so will have to wait for those.

Baby Home

2006-08-05T01:06:00.000-04:00

Nancy and Tiffany with a little boy at the Baby Home. The Baby Home is a new place, thanks to Buckner. They opened it when the government-run one closed. There are 6 babies there. It is also downtown Guatemala City. It is a really nice home and it is really close to the Buckner offices and warehouse.

Girls Transitional Home

2006-08-05T01:03:00.000-04:00

Girls at the transitional home. A few familiar faces from Manchen last year. Buckner opened the home last November. There are 7 girls living there. The team met 5 of them and prayed for them. The home is downtown Guatemala City.

The wall and the floor

2006-08-05T00:23:00.000-04:00

Viernes

2006-08-05T00:18:00.000-04:00

Today was our last day at San Gabriel. It was very fun and fruitful day. Some of the team went to visit the girls transitional home and the baby home. I stayed with boys. It was a real blessing. We saw some significant decisions in the boys' in our group lives. I heard stories of many other too. What at blessing the boys are! I'm not feeling too well, so I'm going to make it short. Tomorrow the team goes to Antigua and I go to Xela.Alisha

Thursday

2006-08-03T09:09:00.000-04:00

Wednesday was a fun day. We had a lot of people doing a lot of different things in the morning. We finished putting the tile floor down. Today we are going to grout it. A team was on the roof and got the first coat done and most of the second. It rained in the afternoon, so we'll hopefully finish that this morning too. A group toured the school and talked to the director. We learned a lot about the combining of Eliza Martinez and San Gabriel and the effect it has had on the teachers, workers, and the boys. It wasn't very smooth. There is still a lot of adjusting going on. The director of the school is Lionell. He is very concerned about the boys and their welfare. We asked a lot of questions and then were able to pray over him and the school. Some ladies helped in the kitchen too. There are 2 ladies in there who work a 24 shift and cook the food for all the boys plus another home. They work very hard and do almost everything from scratch. We talked to them a little as well and learned a little about their families.

The afternoon was great. We finally got the puppets so they could perform. It was pouring rain again, so we did our activities inside. We talked about temptation. We gave all the boys a Bible and wrote their names in them. We also gave them a highlighter to highlight verses. They were very excited. We had them paint the wooden cars we brought. Then it was time to go.

Tuesday at San Gabriel

2006-08-02T09:27:00.000-04:00

Tuesday at San Gabriel was eventful. We finished cleaning out the room to lay tile and started on the roof. The flooring went well. We got tile laid in about 2/3 of the room. Roof coating got about 2/3 done also with the first coat. The team went up on another roof to check the condition. Apparently it wasn't too good, because Ralph fell through. It was very scary. We started to pray immediately. Praise God he walked out. He landed on a bucket that may have saved his life. He was taken to Dr. Sergio for a check and all was ok. He is bruised and sore, but doing great. The afternoon with the boys was great. We got our CD player back, so we told them how proud of them we were and it tied nicely with the lesson of the day, God's Unconditional Love! The first lady was there for a visit and she brought cake and pizza, so we took a break for that. Then we finished the afternoon with games of tug o' war, soccer, and face painting. Adios Alisha

Getting Ready to Depart!

2006-07-23T23:36:00.000-04:00

The Guatemala Team members are busy making their last-minute preparations for the trip later on this week! If you would like to leave them a message, prayer, thought, etc., please go ahead and do that here. They would love to hear encouragement as they contemplate their departure this coming Saturday night, and would definitely be uplifted by your words. If you are not sure how to post your comments, feel free to click on the link back to the church for detailed instructions on the mission team's page.

Commissioning Litany

2006-07-23T22:34:00.000-04:00

Commissioning Litany
The voice of the Lord has called these people to serve him in Guatemala. We are pleased to send them out. How can we, the members of God’s family empower these workers?
We have pledged our financial and prayerful support. We now bring these symbols to illustrate our faith in God’s ability to work miracles through this team.

Accept this Bible and let it be a reminder to bring God’s living Word to the people of the San Gabriel Boys Orphanage in Guatemala.
Accept this hammer and use it to build community. Knock down the walls of gender, race, income and culture that separate us.
Accept this paintbrush and use it to beautify and restore San Gabriel Boys Orphanage. Cover the scars of our past indifference with the colors of God’s love.
Accept this notebook (not pictured above) and use it to record what you see that you may learn from God’s people at the San Gabriel Boys Orphanage.

Commissioning Service

2006-07-23T22:21:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, July 23 the Guatemala Team members were commissioned as they make preparations to depart for their mission trip this coming week. Most of the team members are pictured above during prayer, led by Pastor Jake Weeda during the morning service at East Martin CRC.

Pig Roast Dinner

2006-07-12T22:58:00.000-04:00

This is a photo of the pig roast dinner that we did as a fundraiser in June. Thanks to everyone who came out in support of our mission trip as well as those who may have just wanted a good meal!! We were able to raise approximately $2,200.

Mission Team Photo

2006-07-12T22:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a team picture of the mission trip members...please remember to pray for us as we are preparing for our trip in the upcoming weeks. Your gifts and generous donations have been a very special blessing to each one of us. Thank you to everyone for the support shown to us!

East Martin Mission Trip

2006-05-22T18:20:00.000-04:00

Please feel free to leave your thoughts, prayers, and support messages to the Guatemala Mission Team as preparations are being made for the mission trip later this summer. Once the team has departed on their trip, they will post to this site regularly to keep those of us at home up to date on what's happening with their work. We can also correspond with them and help them feel our prayers and support while they are gone.