Guatemala Day 6 Kelli's Update

Hey everyone, it’s Kelli.

I can’t believe it’s already Friday night! This week has gone by faster than I had thought it would. It was cool to see the result of all of our hard work helping build part of the house all week, it has come together really well, mostly because we had lots of help from our 2 amigos. It’s amazing how well our group gets along & is able to work together, I can see through everyone has a heart for God, and I love seeing Him work through all of us.

After finishing our building for the day, we had the opportunity to visit pastor Eric’s church. It seemed much more like the ones back home, with pews and all. Dr. Erik told Bekah & I that on Sundays his church has 3 services with 1,000 people at each one, which surprised me to hear because of all the small churches I’ve seen throughout the city.

The people here are so friendly, in the church & just people walking down the street. It’s awesome to have people welcome you & tell you they’re praying for us even though they know nothing about us.

My favorite thing in Guatemala so far has been when some of us get the chance to talk with the little kids and play around with them even though most of us have no idea what they’re saying. They all are so fascinated with cameras & love getting their picture taken. They especially love it when they get to take the pictures. Oscar (one of pastor Eric’s adopted children) played around with my camera tonight & would try to be all sneaky taking random pictures of different people in our group. The kids here have such a joy about them that is so refreshing to see.

Tomorrow we will take a break and go to the market, and then later we will go back to Dr. Erik’s church to minister to their youth group.

Kelli

Guatemala Day 5 Volcano

Hello Friends! This is Chad with your update from Guatemala.

Today was a great day, we started off just like the past few have with breakfast. We had a few team members missing because of illness that we’ve been passing around the team. Unfortunately, unlike the other days, a couple members weren’t able to make the trip with us. Jessica and Alexsa stayed at the hotel all day with each other. We ask that everyone would be in continued prayer for those who are struggling with sickness and it won’t spread to anyone else.

Today was one of my favorites up to this point. We drove up to a point where we could climb a volcano. The beginning of the hike was tough and it forced us to separate into different groups who traveled at different paces. The first group consisted of Jared, Grant, and Josh who thought they would prove their manliness to everyone else and be the fastest and climb the mountain. The last group was made up of those who decided to pace themselves.

In my group we had Kristina, Reed, Cory, Matt, Leonard, and me. The hike was great for us other than a few missteps mainly from Kristina. We had a pet dog that traveled with us the entire way until we reached the foot of the volcano. Leonard spilled a few of his Pringles on the ground, which quickly got eaten by the dog… after that he got the nickname “pringle”. Once we got to the foot, it made the entire hike worth while. It was amazing being able to look across the country and see the volcano so up close.

Once on the volcano rock we made our own path up the volcano and found a guide on our way up. We weren’t able to make it all the way because of the “seismic activity” of the volcano. After the volcano we made our way to a small market and each got to buy some awesome authentic Guatemalan clothing. Another great part was going to the mall and getting McDonald’s two days in a row.

Tomorrow we will continue working on the old folk’s home, and minister in Dr. Erik’s church. Thank you for your prayers!

Chad

Guatemala Day 4 The Walls are Up!!

Hello everyone! This is Kristina writing today.

So on day 5 of our trip we started off with something we were familiar with, cereal! After breakfast we went to work on the elderly home we are helping to build and we got all 5 of the walls up that we had built, with the help of amigo (that means friend, he was the carpenter and was a HUGE help). We all felt very accomplished to see all of our hard work starting to pay off when we saw what the second floor was going to look like!

Today was a kind of rough day for a few of our team members who started to get sick, but we know that God is on our side and this will not affect our team moral. Tonight we were planning on going to visit another elderly home to get more of a picture of what ours is going to look like, but since some of the team members weren’t feeling very good we just went back to the hotel a little bit early. We were all very very excited because we had some extra time to go to McDonald’s, which to me tasted like the best meal I have ever had! It was much needed meal for some of us picky eaters who haven’t really liked some of the food that’s been made for us.

The people here are so kind and hospitable to us, making us meals, and welcoming us into their churches. All the children are just filled with joy to have people to play with them, even with the language barrier. Today Cory was handing out toothbrushes to a family and they were so happy to be given such a small gift, you could tell when they were walking away how much it meant to them. It felt good to see how much these people appreciate what we are doing here. Seeing things like that really just humbles you and makes you think about how much God has blessed us with and how we take that for granted sometimes. I know that God is doing so many great things on this trip, and it is so cool to see how everyone on our team is growing closer in their relationship with him. I cant wait to see what else God has in store for us on this trip, and for the people that we impact here!

Love,

Kristina

Guatemala Day 3 "Kitchen Duty" by Bekah Sipe

Hey everyone this is Bekah Sipe!

It’s our third day here in Guatemala and so far the trip has been so amazing for me. The day started off with breakfast, and after working one full day on the construction of the elderly home I was expecting pretty much the same thing today; however, today I was needed in another place that was a little more familiar to me… the kitchen.

Kelli and I volunteered to skip out on the construction (a great sacrifice) to help cook lunch for the rest of the group. Before we got to cooking we rode with Pastor Eric to his home to pick up his wife and six children, they’re all really unique and great kids. Kelli and I got to see a glimpse of every day life for his family which was sort of humbling for me without anything needed to be said. We all piled into the van and made a quick stop at the supermarket before heading to the office to start the cooking.

When it was time to get to work we were both really surprised that the woman we were helping in the kitchen couldn’t speak any English. She had to show us how to shave the carrots with knives and cut the cilantro into little pieces without speaking, but we caught on pretty well. Apart from just the language barrier, this experience was different for both of us because we had never ever seen things done in a kitchen the way we were taught today. We used a tiny little grill, not like our grills back home obviously, to cook tomatoes, steak, onions, and sausage all at once. Neither of us really knew what we were doing honestly, but everyone said the meal was sabroso (delicious) so I guess we did alright.

In the evening, we visited a church to present our dramas. The people of the church were so hospitable, providing dinner for us and treating us with such esteem. It reminded me of something Jared had mentioned during devotions the night before about how the people here don’t bother with what we’ve done or how we’ve messed up but rather love us simply for being with them and being their family in Christ. The sermon that Pastor Eric preached was really powerful, he talked to us about having patience in our walks with God and also to not take our liberties for granted because serving God is a real honor. One of the best parts about the sermon tonight was that I could actually understand most of what he was saying and could watch the audience respond to what he was saying. These people love God just like we do and it was really cool to see the way they respect one another, their pastors, and God. It was one of the best experiences for me so far.

Bekah

Guatemala Day 2 Building Project

Hello from Guatemala,

Today we started our building project and we are all now skilled carpenters! We got a few lessons on how to begin building and we got to work right away. We broke up into four groups, each with a mission to build a wall. We are about 90% done with stage 1. We should be able to raise our walls tomorrow and start seeing our second story take shape.

We are building a home for the elderly and orphans. Dr. Erik, the medical missionary we have teamed up with, feels very strongly about reaching about to these people. They will be able to give hope and life to the elderly through creative activities and interaction with children. There is a great need in Guatemala for the care of the elderly, and it is a blessing to be to help build this house for Dr. Erik.

Our team worked very hard today and got a lot accomplished. We will all sleep well tonight as we look forward to another productive day working on the second story. We appreciate your prayers!

Blessings, Matt

Guatemala Day 1

Dear Friends and Family,

Our first day of ministry in Guatemala was completely wonderful. I am very proud of our kids and how they are stepping up. We have three dramas that we are currently doing at each service, and the kids are performing them with great passion! I have seen them all many times, but I still get excited to see Jesus run into the dramas and crush Satan and pull us out of darkness. It is amazing to me how God’s presence cuts through every cultural barrier. We covet your prayers as we continue to bring the light of Jesus into this country.

Many people rededicated their lives today, and we had the great reward of seeing four people give their lives to Christ today! AMEN! Our trip has already been a HUGE success!

The people of Guatemala have been extremely welcoming to us. We are staying in Antigua in a nice private courtyard hotel. Antigua is very safe; currently 30% of the population is American. Traveling has been very smooth. We weave our way through the lush mountainous landscape, taking pictures, and waving to the families we pass.

We have felt very safe during our trip so far. We are traveling with Pastor/Doctor Erik Estrada and ministering in the churches he regularly visits. He has 3 wonderful kids, and 3 foster kids he is currently in the process of adopting. They travel with us and help with the music and picture taking.

Pray for us as we start our building project tomorrow.

Blessings, Matt