What an amazing week we have had! Having been before, we were not sure how God would show up this year. Well, of course, as always God is faithful. This year God blessed our family particularily in the time of worship. This year the family mission trip was joined by a group of high school and college students. Each evening, the whole group gathered to worship and to discuss the day's events. Jeremy and Catherine Daniels, and Ross Walters led the worship and a number of the younger people led the devotions and prayers. As parents, this experience was priceless in what it showed our even younger children who were watching closely. As parents, we can try to teach, tell, demonstrate how to live as a disciple of Christ. Young children and new teenagers witnessing the out pouring of love for our Savior by other young adults (from a mother's perspective) speaks volumns. It was truly a blessing to serve along side this special group!
One other quick note has to do with how we pray. Many Christians thank God for the new day of life, but as one college student worded this, she thanks God for waking her up each day. As I have had time to reflect on this, the Holy Spirit has opened my eyes even more. If God wakes us up (and if you are reading this, then He did), then He obviously has plans for us that day. This mind set puts my attention immediately on His plans and so my prayer is that my agenda doesn't interfere or interrupt His plans since after all He did give me the day!
It was an honor and blessing to serve!
Alana and Brian Rochester
Monday, July 30, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Children's Hospital
The past few days here were completely amazing. I have been blessed to see God work in ways that I never imagined. There are so many stories that I could tell from this powerful week that I could write a novel, but I don't like to read novels, I would much rather read a story. There is one event that stands out very strong in my mind, and that is the story of Ingrid.
Wednesday we went to visit an AIDS hospital outside of the city. We played with the children, and then had VBS with them. We shared the story of Esther and her crown. So for craft, all the children colored crowns then we placed them on their heads. During this time, I had been wondering around through everything and watching. I became tired of watching and wanted to help, so I began help this young girl color. Her name is Ingrid and is eight years old. She colored half of the crown and I colored half of the crown. She loved to draw hearts and so she began to fill her half up with hearts, so I did the same and drew my half with hearts too. She loved this and was smiling and laughing. We came to the middle of where we were coloring, and I drew half a heart. She paused for a second, looked, smiled, and drew the other half of the heart. Her face lit up and was grinning from ear to ear. It took every bit of strength to keep from crying like a baby right then. She then thought it was the funniest thing in the world to cover my face in little tiny ladybug stickers. Once my entire face was covered she took me by the hand and walked me around to show all the workers, children, and Lakewood crew how "good" I looked. Saying goodbye was very hard for me. I left feeling broken.
I had so many questions, and was praying about it. Like why could such a precious eight year old girl, have such a terrible thing as AIDS, and that she probably wasn't going to live to the age I am at now. I also felt very frustrated because I felt as though it was a waste of beautiful life. All of this brokenness kept stirring in my heart until group prayer and worship that night. We began to sing about God's love and sovereignty, and I had this great peace, and the Lord placed a defining thought on my heart, that her life is only wasted if we allow it to be.
I honestly expected to go there and minister to the children, but never expected me to be ministered to by them. The Lord used these young children, to make an impact on my life that they could never begin to comprehend. Through all of this I can honestly say that my greatest human hero isn't a great pastor, author, or well known saint of God, but rather an eight year old girl living in an AIDS hospital outside of Guatemala.
Zach Johnson
Wednesday we went to visit an AIDS hospital outside of the city. We played with the children, and then had VBS with them. We shared the story of Esther and her crown. So for craft, all the children colored crowns then we placed them on their heads. During this time, I had been wondering around through everything and watching. I became tired of watching and wanted to help, so I began help this young girl color. Her name is Ingrid and is eight years old. She colored half of the crown and I colored half of the crown. She loved to draw hearts and so she began to fill her half up with hearts, so I did the same and drew my half with hearts too. She loved this and was smiling and laughing. We came to the middle of where we were coloring, and I drew half a heart. She paused for a second, looked, smiled, and drew the other half of the heart. Her face lit up and was grinning from ear to ear. It took every bit of strength to keep from crying like a baby right then. She then thought it was the funniest thing in the world to cover my face in little tiny ladybug stickers. Once my entire face was covered she took me by the hand and walked me around to show all the workers, children, and Lakewood crew how "good" I looked. Saying goodbye was very hard for me. I left feeling broken.
I had so many questions, and was praying about it. Like why could such a precious eight year old girl, have such a terrible thing as AIDS, and that she probably wasn't going to live to the age I am at now. I also felt very frustrated because I felt as though it was a waste of beautiful life. All of this brokenness kept stirring in my heart until group prayer and worship that night. We began to sing about God's love and sovereignty, and I had this great peace, and the Lord placed a defining thought on my heart, that her life is only wasted if we allow it to be.
I honestly expected to go there and minister to the children, but never expected me to be ministered to by them. The Lord used these young children, to make an impact on my life that they could never begin to comprehend. Through all of this I can honestly say that my greatest human hero isn't a great pastor, author, or well known saint of God, but rather an eight year old girl living in an AIDS hospital outside of Guatemala.
Zach Johnson
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Thursday AM
It is sometimes said, "Christianity is better caught than taught." That is also true of global missions. For that reason, we participated in this trip as a family. Pictures and stories can only communicate so much information. To truly appreciate the work, you have to experience it. Meet the people. See the need. Hold the child. Serve the meal. Being a witness for Jesus in other lands can lead us to be a more faithful witness for Jesus at home.
Laura and I want our children to see the difficult conditions in another culture so they can better appreciate the blessings they enjoy in the US. And we want them to see in Guatemala how they can invest their life in other people so they might learn about true life in Christ. To this point in the trip (Thursday morning), we have: helped build stoves for families living in the landfill, seen adults confess faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior, taught and played with children at our partner school, and visited children at an AIDS hospital. And we have talked about what we have seen each day and what God is teaching us.
I have participated previously in global missions. But as a parent with young children in the home for most of our marriage, it has always been better for me to go alone. Leaving my family for 10 days to 2 weeks has always one of the hardest aspects of global missions. That's why it's such a blessing to be able to participate in this FAMILY mission trip. We do ministry together at home but this is the first time we have done it in another country. We left our 6 and 7-year olds with grandparents this week and brought our 12 and 14-year olds with us. Perhaps in a few years our younger children will be able join us on another global mission trip, learning together how God is at work in other parts of the world and watching, as a family, how God can use us as His witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Adam Harwood
Laura and I want our children to see the difficult conditions in another culture so they can better appreciate the blessings they enjoy in the US. And we want them to see in Guatemala how they can invest their life in other people so they might learn about true life in Christ. To this point in the trip (Thursday morning), we have: helped build stoves for families living in the landfill, seen adults confess faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior, taught and played with children at our partner school, and visited children at an AIDS hospital. And we have talked about what we have seen each day and what God is teaching us.
I have participated previously in global missions. But as a parent with young children in the home for most of our marriage, it has always been better for me to go alone. Leaving my family for 10 days to 2 weeks has always one of the hardest aspects of global missions. That's why it's such a blessing to be able to participate in this FAMILY mission trip. We do ministry together at home but this is the first time we have done it in another country. We left our 6 and 7-year olds with grandparents this week and brought our 12 and 14-year olds with us. Perhaps in a few years our younger children will be able join us on another global mission trip, learning together how God is at work in other parts of the world and watching, as a family, how God can use us as His witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Adam Harwood
El Camino Church
Tonight we went to Pastor Saul's church for a combined service with Lakewood and the Guatemalans. On the Spring Break trip, this was one of my favorite nights because it reminded me of how big our God is. It amazes me how God knows every single language. No matter where you are in the world or what language you are speaking, He understands and accepts our praise. Many different languages, many different races, many different people, ONE GOD.
At the end of the service, each Guatemalan was instructed to pray with an American. A woman sitting behind me named Susie asked to pray with me. I prayed over her first, and I prayed for God to give her strength to bring more people to Christ who can help her to be the light in Guatemala City. When she began to pray over me, she took my hands and literally cried out to the Lord. She could barely get a breath in because of the flow of passion that was coming out of her mouth. I could just feel the Holy Spirit flowing through her.
The Lord really spoke to me in this moment. I was thinking about why we don't have this amount of passion in America when we pray or when we worship. I feel like God reminded me of all the things of the world that we put our passion into instead of yielding our entire hearts to God and giving Him all our passion. This is my prayer for when I return home: that I would have more passion when it comes to living for God, rather than letting the the things of this world come in the way.
This reminded me of a song I love. "Jesus, I glorify. Jesus, my love is yours. You are my heart's desire, and I LIVE TO KNOW YOU MORE."
At the end of the service, each Guatemalan was instructed to pray with an American. A woman sitting behind me named Susie asked to pray with me. I prayed over her first, and I prayed for God to give her strength to bring more people to Christ who can help her to be the light in Guatemala City. When she began to pray over me, she took my hands and literally cried out to the Lord. She could barely get a breath in because of the flow of passion that was coming out of her mouth. I could just feel the Holy Spirit flowing through her.
The Lord really spoke to me in this moment. I was thinking about why we don't have this amount of passion in America when we pray or when we worship. I feel like God reminded me of all the things of the world that we put our passion into instead of yielding our entire hearts to God and giving Him all our passion. This is my prayer for when I return home: that I would have more passion when it comes to living for God, rather than letting the the things of this world come in the way.
This reminded me of a song I love. "Jesus, I glorify. Jesus, my love is yours. You are my heart's desire, and I LIVE TO KNOW YOU MORE."
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Unity
We started this week seeking God's presence so He will guide our thoughts, actions, and hearts. I have felt God at work as our team has quickly bonded as one body of Christ. Our team consists of people at different ages and stages of life but two things in common: a love of Jesus and a desire to joyously serve the people of Guatemala. What a peaceful and beautiful experience.
On Monday morning we played with the preschoolers. It took some time, but we made some progress in communicating with the children. Turns out that making silly faces, tickling, and joking are a universal language! I will never forget watching Ross and Josh letting the boys literally crawl all over them on the floor - pretending some were bears and others tigers. These young boys crave older male companionship-that is clear. Madalyn has a knack for nurturing and connecting with the little girls-it takes only two seconds for a couple of girls to be attached to to her hips.
Fast forward to the evening church service which was attended by destitute, desperate, homeless men who are covered with grime and (many) addicted to glue. Madalyn sang "Break Every Chain" in Spanish and it was our collective prayer that God truly would break their chains so they can emerge as pillars of light in this dark community.
So, connecting the morning to the evening, it may seem somewhat meaningless to sing songs or do crafts with pre-schoolers. It is a nice way to brighten their days. But more importantly, it dawns on me that each moment spent in VBS with these small people diminishes the possibility that they will one day wind up addicted and desperate packed on the cement floor of that building begging for hope, food, prayer, and peace.
We will continue to make little investments in these precious children this week with an exciting vision around the corner of them moving to the new school building. These children deeply crave to be held tight, loved, and encouraged and we cannot think of any other place we'd rather be than right here doing God's work.
John 13:34-35 says, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." The love I have seen extended from teammate to teammate, from the Guatemalans to our team, and from our team to the Guatemalans warms my heart and provides an eye-opening reminder of how God calls us to love. We are to love one another with joy.......regardless of our age, background, appearance, what our house looks like, what we do for a living, and even how we smell.
Karen Walters
On Monday morning we played with the preschoolers. It took some time, but we made some progress in communicating with the children. Turns out that making silly faces, tickling, and joking are a universal language! I will never forget watching Ross and Josh letting the boys literally crawl all over them on the floor - pretending some were bears and others tigers. These young boys crave older male companionship-that is clear. Madalyn has a knack for nurturing and connecting with the little girls-it takes only two seconds for a couple of girls to be attached to to her hips.
Fast forward to the evening church service which was attended by destitute, desperate, homeless men who are covered with grime and (many) addicted to glue. Madalyn sang "Break Every Chain" in Spanish and it was our collective prayer that God truly would break their chains so they can emerge as pillars of light in this dark community.
So, connecting the morning to the evening, it may seem somewhat meaningless to sing songs or do crafts with pre-schoolers. It is a nice way to brighten their days. But more importantly, it dawns on me that each moment spent in VBS with these small people diminishes the possibility that they will one day wind up addicted and desperate packed on the cement floor of that building begging for hope, food, prayer, and peace.
We will continue to make little investments in these precious children this week with an exciting vision around the corner of them moving to the new school building. These children deeply crave to be held tight, loved, and encouraged and we cannot think of any other place we'd rather be than right here doing God's work.
John 13:34-35 says, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." The love I have seen extended from teammate to teammate, from the Guatemalans to our team, and from our team to the Guatemalans warms my heart and provides an eye-opening reminder of how God calls us to love. We are to love one another with joy.......regardless of our age, background, appearance, what our house looks like, what we do for a living, and even how we smell.
Karen Walters
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday Afternoon in the Rain
Wow, its Tuesday morning and as I reflect back so far I cannot believe what the Lord has already done. Yesterday, for me, was a heavy day witnessing some things that I haven't ever seen before, such as images in the dump and the special service last night. Through all the scenes in my head though I can lean on the truth that God is sovereign over this place and he is so proud of his beloved children here.
Above all the heaviness, was a sweet reunion. Last year I was blessed with the opportunity to fall in love with a little girl named Alejandrita. Coming back this year I was worried she was to old to be in the school, but as I stood on the first floor yesterday watching the kids come down the stairs, I could help but overflow with joy as Alejandrita walked down the stairs and run right up to me. Through translation, I learned she remembered and cherished me. I'm beyond grateful that the Lord has answered my prayers and kept her safe for the past year.
While on the matter of answered prayers, I was humbled last year when Robert allowed me to pray in the lot for the new school, and I specifically remember the Lord leading me to pray that there would be a building on the lot next time I was here. Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to go with a group and help with some construction at the lot, and I no more can call it a lot, because when I stepped in the gate there was a building. Praise God. Yet again, the Lord has used his mighty hand to do a great work and answer prayers.
The Lord is up to mighty things here, and I am overjoyed to see what else he has in store for our team this week.
Whitney Brechter
Above all the heaviness, was a sweet reunion. Last year I was blessed with the opportunity to fall in love with a little girl named Alejandrita. Coming back this year I was worried she was to old to be in the school, but as I stood on the first floor yesterday watching the kids come down the stairs, I could help but overflow with joy as Alejandrita walked down the stairs and run right up to me. Through translation, I learned she remembered and cherished me. I'm beyond grateful that the Lord has answered my prayers and kept her safe for the past year.
While on the matter of answered prayers, I was humbled last year when Robert allowed me to pray in the lot for the new school, and I specifically remember the Lord leading me to pray that there would be a building on the lot next time I was here. Well, yesterday I had the opportunity to go with a group and help with some construction at the lot, and I no more can call it a lot, because when I stepped in the gate there was a building. Praise God. Yet again, the Lord has used his mighty hand to do a great work and answer prayers.
The Lord is up to mighty things here, and I am overjoyed to see what else he has in store for our team this week.
Whitney Brechter
Monday Work
It's Monday evening, 8:45 and 38 folks are tired and ready for bed. Today, teams of believers led Bible schools, built roofs and installed stoves in makeshift homes at the dump. Most importantly, the gospel was shared with numerous Guatemalans, and three adults accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Tonight, a beans (that's black beans) and coffee church service was held for men who live in the city dump and struggle with addictions such as sniffing glue. It is humbling to experience a tiny snapshot of the conditions that so many of our fellow men and women endure.
A thought of pride towards our local youth: I've had the blessing of working with young people everyday for 26 years. Contrary to what the media tells us, this is an amazing generation with gifts and talents that are almost unlimited. The blessing of watching them step up and share their gifts and faith with "the least of these, our brethren" has been overwhelming.
Time to hit the rack. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day.
Will Schofield
Tonight, a beans (that's black beans) and coffee church service was held for men who live in the city dump and struggle with addictions such as sniffing glue. It is humbling to experience a tiny snapshot of the conditions that so many of our fellow men and women endure.
A thought of pride towards our local youth: I've had the blessing of working with young people everyday for 26 years. Contrary to what the media tells us, this is an amazing generation with gifts and talents that are almost unlimited. The blessing of watching them step up and share their gifts and faith with "the least of these, our brethren" has been overwhelming.
Time to hit the rack. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day.
Will Schofield
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Arrival of Team
"The vision of Lakewood is to be a regional church that raises up fully devoted followers of Christ who are trained and equipped to love and reach lost people personally, locally and globally."
Wow, what a day. Up at 430am and met the team at the airport at 700am. Who sets these times? I think with the new international terminal we will adjust the future mission team meeting times. We made it to Guatemala safely and were greeted by our Guatemalan friends and the fab 5, the pre-trip team of Allie Pohlmeier, Hannah Miller, Ali Souther, Chelsea Beard,and the solo male Matt Babcock.
From their we proceeded to our lodging at SETECA Seminary and got the group settled, and had a prayer and worship time. At 5 we went to visit Iglesias church in the landfill. A beautiful little church made of metal siding and wood with concrete floors. We pretty much led tonight's service with a testimony from Ross Walters, a message from Zach Johnson, and worship with Jeremy Daniels. We also had one of the local ladies lead the service with testimony and giving continuos praise to God. She continually gave thanks to God for Jesus and His Glory. It was a sobering reminder that one can have nothing materially but still be content with God's Love and His redemption in Christ.
Once back to SETECA for the evening we processed the incredible day and mapped out tomorrow's ministry plan of construction in the landfill and working at the school. It ought to be a great day. It is good to do mission locally and globally, it just feels right.
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13
Robert Puckett
Wow, what a day. Up at 430am and met the team at the airport at 700am. Who sets these times? I think with the new international terminal we will adjust the future mission team meeting times. We made it to Guatemala safely and were greeted by our Guatemalan friends and the fab 5, the pre-trip team of Allie Pohlmeier, Hannah Miller, Ali Souther, Chelsea Beard,and the solo male Matt Babcock.
From their we proceeded to our lodging at SETECA Seminary and got the group settled, and had a prayer and worship time. At 5 we went to visit Iglesias church in the landfill. A beautiful little church made of metal siding and wood with concrete floors. We pretty much led tonight's service with a testimony from Ross Walters, a message from Zach Johnson, and worship with Jeremy Daniels. We also had one of the local ladies lead the service with testimony and giving continuos praise to God. She continually gave thanks to God for Jesus and His Glory. It was a sobering reminder that one can have nothing materially but still be content with God's Love and His redemption in Christ.
Once back to SETECA for the evening we processed the incredible day and mapped out tomorrow's ministry plan of construction in the landfill and working at the school. It ought to be a great day. It is good to do mission locally and globally, it just feels right.
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13
Robert Puckett
Saturday Thoughts
Buenos Noches from Guatemala! This is Hannah speaking. :)
What a day we have had! Chelsea recapped what our day involved, so as you probably can tell, there is a lot to process. You cannot possibly go to such places and see such things and NOT be affected in some way. After our day, a few members of our team found themselves asking one question: Why? Why are there so many hurting people? Why did a mother abandon her child, leaving her to beg on the streets? Why isn’t there a better solution to all of the hurt? After processing with each other, we concluded two simple truths: we live in a broken world, and we are all broken in some way. Yes, there are hurting people; and yes, there is sin; and yes, as long as the world continues to spin there will not be complete healing. Our world is broken. Sin is so consuming that it broke our covenant with the One Holy God of the universe. As a result of this broken world, I too am broken (and you are too). I may not be confined to a wheelchair with no stimulus all day long. I may not be continually deprived of a loving touch. I may not live in a landfill. But believe me, I am broken. There are times when I am prideful and judgmental, stubborn and arrogant, selfish and spoiled. Sound broken yet? My brokenness may not come in physical form, but it is brokenness all the same. Thank GOD alone that He heals brokenness. He is the Healer!! He is the Redeemer, Restorer, Reviver. I have peace knowing that not only does He heal emotional brokenness, but He heals our spiritual brokenness, our physical brokenness, and our mental brokenness. There is HOPE! I may not understand the Lord’s purpose for a lot of things, but I understand this: HE alone restores ALL that is broken. Bring Him your brokenness.
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.”
Psalm 147:3-5 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite.”
Psalm 103:2-4 “My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits. He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases. He redeems you life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion.”
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.”
What a day we have had! Chelsea recapped what our day involved, so as you probably can tell, there is a lot to process. You cannot possibly go to such places and see such things and NOT be affected in some way. After our day, a few members of our team found themselves asking one question: Why? Why are there so many hurting people? Why did a mother abandon her child, leaving her to beg on the streets? Why isn’t there a better solution to all of the hurt? After processing with each other, we concluded two simple truths: we live in a broken world, and we are all broken in some way. Yes, there are hurting people; and yes, there is sin; and yes, as long as the world continues to spin there will not be complete healing. Our world is broken. Sin is so consuming that it broke our covenant with the One Holy God of the universe. As a result of this broken world, I too am broken (and you are too). I may not be confined to a wheelchair with no stimulus all day long. I may not be continually deprived of a loving touch. I may not live in a landfill. But believe me, I am broken. There are times when I am prideful and judgmental, stubborn and arrogant, selfish and spoiled. Sound broken yet? My brokenness may not come in physical form, but it is brokenness all the same. Thank GOD alone that He heals brokenness. He is the Healer!! He is the Redeemer, Restorer, Reviver. I have peace knowing that not only does He heal emotional brokenness, but He heals our spiritual brokenness, our physical brokenness, and our mental brokenness. There is HOPE! I may not understand the Lord’s purpose for a lot of things, but I understand this: HE alone restores ALL that is broken. Bring Him your brokenness.
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.”
Psalm 147:3-5 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite.”
Psalm 103:2-4 “My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits. He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases. He redeems you life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion.”
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.”
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Obedience
Obedience is not easy. It demands our entire selves---including the deepest parts of our heart. Love has a way of messing up our lives. Love demands that we see differently. As I walked through the landfill and the special needs hospital and orphanage today I find myself asking two questions:
God what is your heart for this women or this child or this man?
And
God help me to see how you see. I want your eyes.
I can't say that I have an answer yet. But these two questions are sure changing how I love.
I keep thinking how would the Father see the little girl with burns all over her face from being abandoned and having to beg?
Or how would the Father see the landfill? Or the feeding last night?
How would the Father see the babies with cleft lips?
I want what He sees. Eyes of compassion that penetrate deep into hearts and finds glowing beauty. Eyes that see goodness. Eyes that love and hold nothing back. Eyes that serve. Eyes that really see.
Maybe missions is really a refocusing of our vision?
-Allie Pohlmeier
"The art of abandoning ourselves to what God's love might have for us is not an elegant process. It is not a strong and steady one either. Sure, it produces elegant results. Strong results even. But this process is haphazard and unpolished, with bumps and rabbit trails and discouragement, misheard and misunderstood messages, and all-out tugs of war across the threshold of the door of our hearts." Jan Meyer
God what is your heart for this women or this child or this man?
And
God help me to see how you see. I want your eyes.
I can't say that I have an answer yet. But these two questions are sure changing how I love.
I keep thinking how would the Father see the little girl with burns all over her face from being abandoned and having to beg?
Or how would the Father see the landfill? Or the feeding last night?
How would the Father see the babies with cleft lips?
I want what He sees. Eyes of compassion that penetrate deep into hearts and finds glowing beauty. Eyes that see goodness. Eyes that love and hold nothing back. Eyes that serve. Eyes that really see.
Maybe missions is really a refocusing of our vision?
-Allie Pohlmeier
"The art of abandoning ourselves to what God's love might have for us is not an elegant process. It is not a strong and steady one either. Sure, it produces elegant results. Strong results even. But this process is haphazard and unpolished, with bumps and rabbit trails and discouragement, misheard and misunderstood messages, and all-out tugs of war across the threshold of the door of our hearts." Jan Meyer
Saturday in Guatemala
Hola from Seteca! Today was a fun and busy day. We left Seteca around 9 and headed to Antigua to visit the Special Needs Hospital and Casa Shalom (where Ali Souther will be doing her internship). We also had a chance to walk around the beautiful city of Antigua. We did a little shopping, mainly Matt since he will not be with us when we go back. By the way is a very good “bargain” shopper. On to the good stuff J, the special needs hospital was a huge step for most of us. I know that I left with a heavy/sad heart, but I had to remind myself that they are loved by God and they hold a very special place in his heart. We also had the chance to see the babies in the hospital, which was super tough for me as a mom. All I could think to myself was, “Why these babies??” But I know God has huge plans for them and I can’t wait to go back and love on them some more. The short visit to Casa Shalom was amazing too. I am so excited and happy for Ali and her experiences that she will have there. This was also hard because most of these kids don’t have parents, and this I could not imagine how it would be to not have a relationship with my parents. While we were there we were told that they recently found one of the kids in a dump. This breaks my heart into a million pieces and I can’t even wrap my brain around this. So leaving there was a little tough too, but I know the ladies there love the kids and are taking care of them along with God’s help. I know the kids are happy there. I know that Matt touched on the land field a little in the previous blog, but being back there again just reminds me that God is at work in the land field on a daily basis. I had the chance to be reunited with a family I met last time I was here and one of the kiddos. The picture from the previous blog was the family that I really connected with. Jefferson and his family hold a very special place in my heart. I also got to see Nelson aka “spiderman” again. It was great to see how much they had grown and how well they were doing. Once we returned from our adventure for the day we came back to Seteca and ate our Wal Mart dinner and continued to prepare for the arrival of the team. It’s now time to go make 30+ PB&J’s and set up the rooms. So until next time, ADIOS!!
Chelsea Beard
Matthew 28:19-20
Chelsea Beard
Matthew 28:19-20
Friday Evening Perspective from Matt Babcock
Greetings from Seteca! Today was our first full day in Guatemala, as we continue to pray and prepare for the remainder of our team to arrive on Sunday. We were all blessed with a great nights sleep last night, which was tremendously needed as we woke up this morning full of energy and ready to go. We began the day with a short time of debriefing from Thursday and a discussion of how God was speaking to each of us as we prepare to dive into ministry. Most of us agreed that the most challenging part so far is simply the language barrier. Thankfully, we have Ingrid to translate for us and boy is she amazing! Without her, a few of us would not have gotten to Seteca or eaten a meal yesterday or today...literally! This afternoon we made another trip to Wal-Mart to gather supplies for the coming week of VBS. Later in the afternoon, we gathered in the landfill for a feeding of food donated by the local church. From the perspective of the two first timers, the experience was heartbreaking and encouraging all at once. Heartbreaking in the sense that no matter how many stories you hear or pictures you see of life in the landfill, you cannot truly grasp this level of poverty until you step into the middle of it. These people literally have NOTHING material. Despite this, strangely we all left greatly encouraged by the simple fact that many of these people have nothing, yet resonate with joy as if they had everything. You can't help but be broken by this redefinition of wealth. This type of joy in these circumstances cannot possibly come from anywhere but Jesus. As for the "Guatemala veterans", it was so cool to watch them reconnect with children they bonded with on past trips, some from years ago. For these kids, knowing that someone remembers their name is priceless. Our experience has been amazing so far and we cannot wait until Sunday when the remainder of our team joins us on the journey! We so appreciate and need your continued prayer and support as we continue our efforts here. It is nothing short of incredible to seethe efforts of so many Lakewood prayer warriors, missionaries, and givers bear fruit in so many lives. 
Friday, July 20, 2012
Early Set Up Day One
The five of us, Chelsea Beard,Allie Polhmeier, Matt Babcock, Hannah Miller and I, Ali Souther began ourjourney early yesterday morning to Guatemala City, Guatemala. Got throughsecurity with no issues, got to our gate and had one of the smoothest travelsI’ve ever experienced.
On the plane, me, Hannah andChelsea were all in one row with Matt across from us. Allie was a row behindus. This is when the trip began. I would like to take a minute to mention andremind you all that God really has a sense of humor and that he puts people inour lives for specific reasons. Allie began talking to the man seated next toher and of course us three girls are listening in because we have a feelingthat this conversation is going to be good. The man was atheist; however he wasopen to religion. He had lived in Israel in a place where Jesus himself hadstepped foot. “You lived on grounds where Jesus was and you are an atheist?”asked Allie is disbelief. During the entire 3 hours, Allie and this man didn’thave a quiet moment. She gently shared Christ with him and even pulled out TheMessage to show him how cool and different it was. We need to take every opportunity we arepresented with to share the love of God. That is what this entire trip isabout. We cannot pass up these opportunities. We are here for a purpose, for God’spurpose.
We arrived in Guatemala yesterdayafternoon around 11:30 in the morning Guatemala time. Ingrid, Ingrid’s brotherWalter, Pastor Saul Perez and his wife and daughter Olivia were all waiting forus outside of the airport. Walter drove us to Seteca to drop our luggage off sothat we could go to Walmart to eat lunch and to get the necessities for VBSsuch as snacks and juice boxes and any other personal items we needed. We made our way to the back of the store tothe deli and eating area.
After smooth travels and no problems we all realizedthe trip wasn’t going to be just as perfect as the travels. Our primarylanguage was not the primary language here. As we struggled trying tocommunicate, we chose what we wanted from rice, beans, chicken, tomales,chuchitas and a few other items. Thanks to Ingrid’s help with translating, wewere more at ease. After eating a delicious authentic Guatemalan WalMart lunch,we went to the bank in the front of the WalMart to exchange money from USdollars to Guatemalan Quetzales. We each exchanged a portion of the money thenwent to another bank so that we could do the same. We headed back to theWalmart to shop.
5 full buggies later we had whatseemed like endless amounts of waffer vanilla crackers, juice boxes, water jugsand bottles and mini bags of Tortrix. The strange and confused looks we got from thelocals also seemed endless. There was no doubt that the five Americans stuckout like sore thumbs. Not only did we look American, but we struggled to speakthe same language as the Guatemalans. Allie speaks Spanish and I speak Spanishbut it’s still difficult. While trying to find what we needed, many of theworkers who were offering out free samples on every corner continued toapproach us with the offer. Hannah and I learned that it’s easiest to just say,“No Gracias.” That seemed appropriate at the time.
After unloading piles of groceriesand taking time for ourselves to mooch off the wifi and Skype our families atSeteca, Oliva met us and we all went to Miraflores, the local mall (which Imust point out is huge and pretty nice) to eat dinner in the food court. We allgot something different to eat but all had the same satisfaction. The fast foodhere is unlike American fast food. It’s not greasey and it doesn’t make youfeel heavy and sick after you indulge.
Matt and Hannah struggled with the guy at TacoBell and really couldn’t understand what he was saying. Although it was tough,the two tried as best they could to communicate. Matt still isn’t sure if theman asked if he wanted any sauce or not. I guess we will never know. When Iordered a “McPollo, numero cinco” at Mcdonald’s (Which is a McChicken, numberfive for you non Spanish speakers) I thought I was doing pretty well with myspeaking. Next thing I know the lady asked a question that I had not a singleclue what it meant. After maybe 5 or 6 times repeating and breaking down everyword for me, I realized she was asking me if I wanted to eat in the food courtor if I was taking it to-go. They looked at me like I was so incompetent. Aftereating we called it a night and came back to Seteca to settle in and get a goodnight’s rest.
Thismorning, we four ladies unpacked the five crates of school supplies, organizedmore money to exchange, did a few little tasks here and there, and beganorganizing the supplies for the days at the preschool and the days at theLandfill. Matt came in and helped make the sack lunches for the rest of theteam when they get here on Sunday.
Afterwe wrapped up everything, we all went outside and discussed what the Lord wastelling us through our quiet time this morning. We shared then prayed for eachother specifically and then went over tomorrow and Saturday’s schedules. Lunchwas at Miraflores mall again. And the day wouldn’t be complete without pickingup a few more items at WalMart.
Tonight we are going to theLandfill for the Feeding. We distribute food to the people who live in thedump. Following the Feeding, we are taking Pastor Saul and his family out todinner. Overall, the past two days have been stressful, busy and overwhelming,but the thing is, it’s not about how we feel. Of course we are going to gettired; that’s inevitable. We didn’t come down early to have a relaxed couple ofdays to vacation. So what if we are constantly busy or overwhelmed? We are doingthis so that the rest of the team doesn’t have to be constantly overwhelmedduring the week. We are doing this because we want to do it. We want to help.People have to realize it’s not all about us. Sacrificing some things is notgoing to make the world end.
I have high hopes for these next 8days. I feel the Lord is up to something radical. I just know He is going touse us all in different ways but to really impact people and glorify Him.“Greater things have yet to come. Greater things are still to be done in thiscity.” Pray for our health and stability, mentally, spiritually, physically andemotionally. God is at work here in Guatemala.
Hasta el tiempo proximo. (untilnext time)
-Ali Souther
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Women's Last Day of Work
Our last day of work yesterday was everything we could have hoped and more. We spent the morning doing what women do best - holding babies and entertaining little ones! We were at the Hospicio de San Jose, which is like an orphanage for HIV+ children. Unlike the others we've seen this week, they are physically well cared for in this beautiful facility, which is sponsored by the Rotary Club. But they are missing out on the love of their parents, and most of the outside world here is afraid of them. They are just in need of human touch, and we were happy to provide that, along with prayers for their physical healing.
The closing session of our Precepts Bible study with the women at Pastor Saul's church blew us away. We in the U. S. take these studies for granted, but it was life-changing for these women. In my group, all the women were there all week, except one whose son was so sick he had to be hospitalized. She called Layla crying because she couldn't return to class, and asked her if there was any possible way she could still keep the study book. They gave one tear-filled testimony after another of how God's Word came alive for them this week. Many made new commitments, stepped out in decisions that God had convicted them to make, and finally realized God's love for them on an intimate level. They committed to continue meeting in small groups and to study the Bible like this starting this Sunday!
Many thanks to those back home who provided the funds to sponsor these women this week. At the very end we handed out the food bags to each one, which held rice, beans, sugar, salt, flour, oil, margarine, seasoning, soy protein, and eggs. Afterward they lavished us with gifts they had made, letters they wrote to us, and personal thank-you's said with streams of tears. Until you have experienced it, there's no way to describe how humbling it is to be that vessel that God has used, and be privileged to be the one receiving the thanks for what God has done through the Holy Spirit. To say "it's not about me" doesn't even begin to describe it. It's about something larger than I can even wrap my mind around - how on earth was I chosen to be a part of it? Hallelujah!
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. Job 42:2-3
The closing session of our Precepts Bible study with the women at Pastor Saul's church blew us away. We in the U. S. take these studies for granted, but it was life-changing for these women. In my group, all the women were there all week, except one whose son was so sick he had to be hospitalized. She called Layla crying because she couldn't return to class, and asked her if there was any possible way she could still keep the study book. They gave one tear-filled testimony after another of how God's Word came alive for them this week. Many made new commitments, stepped out in decisions that God had convicted them to make, and finally realized God's love for them on an intimate level. They committed to continue meeting in small groups and to study the Bible like this starting this Sunday!
Many thanks to those back home who provided the funds to sponsor these women this week. At the very end we handed out the food bags to each one, which held rice, beans, sugar, salt, flour, oil, margarine, seasoning, soy protein, and eggs. Afterward they lavished us with gifts they had made, letters they wrote to us, and personal thank-you's said with streams of tears. Until you have experienced it, there's no way to describe how humbling it is to be that vessel that God has used, and be privileged to be the one receiving the thanks for what God has done through the Holy Spirit. To say "it's not about me" doesn't even begin to describe it. It's about something larger than I can even wrap my mind around - how on earth was I chosen to be a part of it? Hallelujah!
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. Job 42:2-3
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Construction Trip Concluding Thoughts
Concluding Thoughts....
"The vision of Lakewood is to be a regional church that raises fully devoted followers of Christ who are trained and equipped to love and reach lost people personally, locally, and globally"
We serve a great God, who so wants to rescue His creation locally and globally. We tangibly saw God draw people to Himself this week through the Women's and Construction Mission Trips in Guatemala.
I am still pondering and overwhelmed by all the events that occurred. I will write some brief descriptions of what the teams experienced this week. It includes hard realities, miracles, and principles His children need not forget:
*Americans have so much more materially then the majority world, how will we use that blessing?
*All of mankind is in some type of poverty or need, only God can fulfill that void.
*If we pray according to God's will, He answers.
*Praying for people's salvation is God's Will, and He answers. Amen!
*God will accomplish what He wants.
*Working hard, even to fatigue,to meet a practical need and to share the Gospel produces a great tired.
*Lakewood has been given much in resources and people to accomplish His will personally, locally and globally...Let's not shrink back!
*Do not waste the talents God has given you.
*Be flexible.
*Be "On Mission", which should be always for the Christ Follower.
*Have one ear towards heaven, and one ear towards people.
*Listen more then you talk.
*As a people, we need to pray more, and plan less...no, I am not against planning, just praying more.
*People who have little, but have Jesus, have everything!
We are very grateful to our in country host that make these trips work for us, this includes: El Camino Church, Pastor Saul and his family, Layla, Olivia, Barnabas, and Elizabeth, Ingrid our in country leader and her team of Walter, and Hugo. We are so fortunate to have them care for us the way they do.
We are so thankful to all the people that made this trip possible through giving, praying and going. We especially want to thank God, for the way He directed our steps and provided for us. We are so thankful for the salvations of Maria, Ingrid, Velma and some in her family, and Salvador. We are also so thankful for the the discipleship and follow up that will take place through the leadership of El Camino Church.
To God be the Glory for the things He has done....
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105 ESV)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16, 17 ESV)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
"The vision of Lakewood is to be a regional church that raises fully devoted followers of Christ who are trained and equipped to love and reach lost people personally, locally, and globally"
We serve a great God, who so wants to rescue His creation locally and globally. We tangibly saw God draw people to Himself this week through the Women's and Construction Mission Trips in Guatemala.
I am still pondering and overwhelmed by all the events that occurred. I will write some brief descriptions of what the teams experienced this week. It includes hard realities, miracles, and principles His children need not forget:
*Americans have so much more materially then the majority world, how will we use that blessing?
*All of mankind is in some type of poverty or need, only God can fulfill that void.
*If we pray according to God's will, He answers.
*Praying for people's salvation is God's Will, and He answers. Amen!
*God will accomplish what He wants.
*Working hard, even to fatigue,to meet a practical need and to share the Gospel produces a great tired.
*Lakewood has been given much in resources and people to accomplish His will personally, locally and globally...Let's not shrink back!
*Do not waste the talents God has given you.
*Be flexible.
*Be "On Mission", which should be always for the Christ Follower.
*Have one ear towards heaven, and one ear towards people.
*Listen more then you talk.
*As a people, we need to pray more, and plan less...no, I am not against planning, just praying more.
*People who have little, but have Jesus, have everything!
We are very grateful to our in country host that make these trips work for us, this includes: El Camino Church, Pastor Saul and his family, Layla, Olivia, Barnabas, and Elizabeth, Ingrid our in country leader and her team of Walter, and Hugo. We are so fortunate to have them care for us the way they do.
We are so thankful to all the people that made this trip possible through giving, praying and going. We especially want to thank God, for the way He directed our steps and provided for us. We are so thankful for the salvations of Maria, Ingrid, Velma and some in her family, and Salvador. We are also so thankful for the the discipleship and follow up that will take place through the leadership of El Camino Church.
To God be the Glory for the things He has done....
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105 ESV)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16, 17 ESV)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Construction Trip Day 5
Generations. Today we return to the lot where a new school for the children of the landfill is being built. The sun is especially hot today and shade is scarce. As we walk in to the lot, we all greet our friend Salvador the welder just as we have everyday this week. He stands right at the entrance welding grates. No doubt this is divine placement. We have been talking to Salvador all week about why we are here and what are doing. He has been with us to church and he said he wanted to help us feed the people in the landfill tonight. When we asked him if he was ready to accept Jesus into his heart, he said "Tonight at church." We tell him we look forward to calling him brother and continue on with our work.
It was a day filled with manual labor. We tore down a material shed that needed to be moved, poured concrete the Guatemalan way (with a portable mixer and wheelbarrows), hauled concrete block to the second floor of the school (via a Guatemalan ladder which is just as scary as you might imagine), sorted and moved a giant lumber pile, pulled nails, and several other tasks of the same. Today wasn't as immediately as gratifying as previous days. We didn't get to know the families that we were helping, put on a new roof or build new walls, or provide a place to cook their meals. But today was about vision and knowing that what we were doing today was for the children to come. That they may one day find Christ and share their faith with others. I look at this skeleton of a building and I close my eyes and I can see the classrooms filled with children. Children that are full of hope and laughter and song. Children that will have a better chance to break the cycle and get out of the dump. Today's work was for these children. Children we'll never know, but I pray that we will get to meet them one day in heaven.
After our work and our bodies were exhausted at the lot, we went to feed to people of the landfill. This is such an amazing experience. To be able to serve so many people in such a vital and basic way. We see mothers with small children getting maybe their only hot meal for the week. We see children getting food for their families, because they are too sick to come, or they are still sorting through the trash for the last few minutes of daylight. Of course, there is never enough food and we have to close up before everyone gets something. It is truly heartbreaking.
Then comes the highlight of our day. We go to the church where we have short service and at the end we have an invitation. When it is asked if there is anyone that has not accepted Christ as their savior, our friend Salvador says "Me!" without a moment's hesitation, and heaven stopped and the angels rejoiced! My God answers prayers! We welcomed Salvador as brother with hugs and tears of joy.
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'" (Luke 15:7, 10, 32 ESV)
Jason Dykes
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, June 1, 2012
Shackles
Yesterday morning we started out with and incredible devotion by Ms. Debbie. She shared her testimony and told us what it meant to have God be the Lord of our lives. She also played a song for us. It was a celebration song to remind us that the shackles have been removed and we can praise God. It was called Shackles by Mary Mary. This is what we are teaching the women at the same time. That no matter what, their shackles have been removed and they can praise God.
It was also our last day doing the medical clinic with Layla. At the beginning of the week, we were fearful that we wouldn't have enough medicine for four clinics. But through the power of prayer, God multiplied the medication just as he did with the fish and bread.
After the medical clinic we went back to do the bible study with the women. While eight of us stayed with the women, Laura, Mackenzie, and I stayed with the kids. While they worked together with the older kids, I got the privilege to play with babies-four years old. These kids had a blast while they were playing. They didn't have a worry in the world, they were happy, and most importantly they were being kids! I also had three older girls in the room with me to help with the little ones. You could see the joy in their eyes just having me to talk to and having the little ones to play with. But I have to admit, that I act like a four year old again when I'm around these kids.
God is working wonders through this trip and within the group. Mrs. Angela was told yesterday by Layla that when we come down, they have confirmation that God is really working in lives. When Mrs. Angela shared this with the group, we were all in shock. We come down here to fill the ladies with Christ, but while we are filling them up, they are filling us up. Just shows the power of prayer and also the power of Christ.
It was also our last day doing the medical clinic with Layla. At the beginning of the week, we were fearful that we wouldn't have enough medicine for four clinics. But through the power of prayer, God multiplied the medication just as he did with the fish and bread.
After the medical clinic we went back to do the bible study with the women. While eight of us stayed with the women, Laura, Mackenzie, and I stayed with the kids. While they worked together with the older kids, I got the privilege to play with babies-four years old. These kids had a blast while they were playing. They didn't have a worry in the world, they were happy, and most importantly they were being kids! I also had three older girls in the room with me to help with the little ones. You could see the joy in their eyes just having me to talk to and having the little ones to play with. But I have to admit, that I act like a four year old again when I'm around these kids.
God is working wonders through this trip and within the group. Mrs. Angela was told yesterday by Layla that when we come down, they have confirmation that God is really working in lives. When Mrs. Angela shared this with the group, we were all in shock. We come down here to fill the ladies with Christ, but while we are filling them up, they are filling us up. Just shows the power of prayer and also the power of Christ.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Construction Trip Day 4
Big trucks are barreling down the road pouring out a river of black exhaust and motorcycles buzz around them on the four lane highway to Antigua. This is my view from the first row of the van we are currently riding in. Although we are leaving Guatemala I'm still thinking about our work in the landfill and the mystery man who is now in the van with us. The day started off like any other with breakfast at Seteca then heading over to the lot for material gathering. We head off to the landfill to finish the house from yesterday but team # 1 soon finds out that there was an incident the night before at the house they were reroofing. The policia were there and sorting out a situation between the homes owner and neighbor who was unhappy she wasn't having her home improved. So we had to move on to install stoves at other locations. My team begins work today with the help of the mystery man. The mystery person just appeared yesterday at the opposite end of a load a aluminum siding I was carrying. Upon questioning why he was here helping I became extremely confused from his answers. I inquired if he worked for pastor Saul's church to which he answered "no". I asked if he knew the family and he said "no". So the mystery man saw the dumbfound look on my face and simply said "I do this for the same reason you do it, because I love Jesus". I was stunned. This mystery man was working to help the people of the landfill for no other reason except he loved Jesus with all his heart and that he wanted to serve his neighbor. However the story doesn't end there. The mystery man stopped carrying aluminum for a minute to tell me more. His name is Jóse. He is 22 years old and spent most of his life in an orphanage. His mother left him and his father beat him. One day he ran away from his fathers beating so the next time his father tied him up by his foot and beat him severely. The neighbor called the cops when they heard the beating and they came and took Jóse to the orphanage. He never saw his parents again. He now lives with his girlfriends parents in the landfill. This is a man who wasn't raised by a good family nor has hardly any worldly possessions. Yet in his on words, has overcome everything through his relationship with Jesus. Jóse told me that it was through meeting and helping American missionaries that he meet Jesus and stay on the narrow path that God requires. Jose is a perfect example of how God loves things that are lost. God loves us all if we will just seek him first. Jóse being inspired and mentored by missionaries is an example of why Going to All the Nations as Jesus commanded is not optional. I've been blessed by Jóse and everybody in Guatemala this week. I look forward to what tomorrow holds.
Matthew 9:37&38
Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few;38 Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
"God values things that are lost"
David Waldrip
Matthew 9:37&38
Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few;38 Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
"God values things that are lost"
David Waldrip
Interceding
Lynn began our day by sharing with us about
Moses. The scripture was from Exodus
33:11, and it says that Moses would go into the Tent of Meeting where the Lord
would share with Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Lynn went on to share how Moses interceded on
behalf of the Israelites after they had angered God. Moses asked God to continue to go with them
on their journey as they could not proceed without God. God heard Moses and answered. Today, Jesus is always with us and we all (as
believers) can talk with Him and know that He hears and answers. That is so powerful to know and believe that
God hears our every prayer as we intercede for others. As I was praying for a lady this week, God
heavily impressed upon my heart that He was changing lives. He told me that He has not brought us this
far with all the prayer and preparations poured into this ministry for Him not
to change lives miraculously. We see Him
working and bringing ladies in for prayer to hear from the Lord, have an
encounter with him, and hear truth.
Through sickness, there are women coming to know the Lord and/or change
their lives for His glory. God uses what some see as bad to bring about good. It is so very
humbling to be here experiencing and witnessing the work of our Lord and
Savior. Today, we had a woman and her
mother come into the clinic who know of Jesus, but are not ready to commit
their lives to Him. The daughter was late
for work and her boss would not let her stay there so she came to our clinic
instead. Lynn told her boldly that she was right where
God wanted her today, and that the reason she could not work was because she
had an appointment with Jesus! Her
husband has been praying for her to accept Christ and sharing with her. Please join us in prayer that she and her
mother will choose Jesus. This is just
one of many stories where we see that God has been working and where He is
using us as one of the links in chain to bring people to the fullness of
Christ. Our bible study with the women
this afternoon focused on how we are to live for Christ from Ephesians 4. God tells us to grow up in Him and not remain
as children who can be tossed to and fro.
We must study and learn His word so that our light can shine brightly
for Him. Thank you for faithfully
praying and following along on this journey.
Janet Roland
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Construction Trip Day Three
Man, it gets bright here early in Guatemala. A little correction from yesterday's sunrise time. The sun is actually in full at 500am, not 600am. I could probably become a morning person pretty easy in Guatemala. We have had breakfast and will head out to the school "Rayitos de Esperanza" here in a minute to visit the children. After that we will spend our day in the landfill helping with peoples housing and sharing the message of God's redemption. The children here are so precious. Last night at the coffee and bean service at the landfill, I saw a mom named Sandra and her son. I have known this family for years. And they are always so gracious to go out of their way to greet our teams. The little boy is five and wanted me carry him the whole night at the service. I found myself so broken wondering about the future care of this child who lives in a landfill. I wonder what will become of his life. My hope and prayer is for him and his families' salvation. And if he so chooses, will have other options with his life. Possibly finishing school, maybe college, maybe a ministry pursuit as a Christ follower. The Lord knows! Our job is to pray for his spiritual and physical well being.
Once we got into the landfill our work was finishing the projects we started the day before. One of our teams went back to finish the work at Ingrid's house. Their basic plan was to finish a front door for her home. She was so grateful for the repairs and her new door. As the door was finished we shared with her again, picking up conversation from the previous day. We asked her if she wanted to hear a story about a door in the Bible...she responded curiously, yes! One of the team members shared a verse from Revelation 3:20. She was asked if she wanted to let Jesus into her life...she responded yes. We were so blown away, and so grateful for her response. This is the same Ingrid that we prayed for yesterday to be saved...thank you so much for your prayers for this family.
We are seeing such an opening to share the Gospel this year with all the families we are working with...please continue your prayers. Pray specifically for Velma and a worker at the school named Salvador. Salvador actually went to church with us tonight and he has so many questions.
In closing we are so grateful to be here in Guatemala, and the teams are working so hard through different types of ministry efforts, but the same goal in mind, to bring Glory to God. Thank you for your prayers and support.
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:22-24 ESV)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20 ESV)
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Once we got into the landfill our work was finishing the projects we started the day before. One of our teams went back to finish the work at Ingrid's house. Their basic plan was to finish a front door for her home. She was so grateful for the repairs and her new door. As the door was finished we shared with her again, picking up conversation from the previous day. We asked her if she wanted to hear a story about a door in the Bible...she responded curiously, yes! One of the team members shared a verse from Revelation 3:20. She was asked if she wanted to let Jesus into her life...she responded yes. We were so blown away, and so grateful for her response. This is the same Ingrid that we prayed for yesterday to be saved...thank you so much for your prayers for this family.
We are seeing such an opening to share the Gospel this year with all the families we are working with...please continue your prayers. Pray specifically for Velma and a worker at the school named Salvador. Salvador actually went to church with us tonight and he has so many questions.
In closing we are so grateful to be here in Guatemala, and the teams are working so hard through different types of ministry efforts, but the same goal in mind, to bring Glory to God. Thank you for your prayers and support.
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:22-24 ESV)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20 ESV)
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Adopted by The King
In today's small group session at the women's Bible study, God showed up again (imagine that). Our study had been from Ephesians 1 & 2, focusing on how God prechose us and adopted us as His very own children. In closing prayer, we had asked everyone to confess to God anything that was holding us back from being fully secure in Him, from fully trusting Him. After the session was over, one of our young ladies asked if I would stay and talk with her. She told me she had been living with a man who was not her husband for many years, and had two children with him. This February he left her, and actually did marry another woman. She is hurt by this, of course, and was ashamed to pray in front of the others. She felt she could never be of any use to God because of what she had done. My heart breaks for her, but at the same time I'm joyful that she is now free to truly KNOW her Lord and Savior.
Amazingly, our team members have been especially alerted to this very situation in this community. In Guatemala, many people will refer to someone as their husband or wife, even though they aren't married. They've even come up with a term for it, to make themselves feel better. They say they are "united" but it's nothing more than what we call "living together" in the U.S. No matter what you call it, it's not marriage, and it's choosing to live outside of God's will. It will be a constant stumbling block in their relationship with Jesus, as long as they continue to make excuses for it. They won't be able to experience the fullness of life in Christ with that wall between them.
So the fact that this sweet young woman came forward today for that very confession was a confirmation that indeed these women and this community are capable of change. Our goal this week is to help them learn to trust in Jesus instead of clinging to an undevoted, abusive, man who is typically addicted to something or other. Even though that man is spending everything he makes on glue to sniff or alcohol to drink, then coming home and abusing both her and their children, and has never committed to marry her, she thinks so little of herself that she will beg him to stay. She must feel very unlovable to put up with that.
Please pray that the women in this study will come to truly believe that they are "God's workmanship" (Eph. 2:10) and are "adopted as his children in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 1:5). Daughters of The King are not worthless tokens to be thrown away, nor would such a King leave his own precious daughters to fend for themselves. Just as I sometimes do in my own life, these women would do better to take God at His word, to trust in Him more, rather than trying to fix things their own way. Their way is very broken; it only makes things worse. This entire community could be brought to another level if the women will just stand on the truth of God's Word.
Humbled and joyful,
Dawn
Amazingly, our team members have been especially alerted to this very situation in this community. In Guatemala, many people will refer to someone as their husband or wife, even though they aren't married. They've even come up with a term for it, to make themselves feel better. They say they are "united" but it's nothing more than what we call "living together" in the U.S. No matter what you call it, it's not marriage, and it's choosing to live outside of God's will. It will be a constant stumbling block in their relationship with Jesus, as long as they continue to make excuses for it. They won't be able to experience the fullness of life in Christ with that wall between them.
So the fact that this sweet young woman came forward today for that very confession was a confirmation that indeed these women and this community are capable of change. Our goal this week is to help them learn to trust in Jesus instead of clinging to an undevoted, abusive, man who is typically addicted to something or other. Even though that man is spending everything he makes on glue to sniff or alcohol to drink, then coming home and abusing both her and their children, and has never committed to marry her, she thinks so little of herself that she will beg him to stay. She must feel very unlovable to put up with that.
Please pray that the women in this study will come to truly believe that they are "God's workmanship" (Eph. 2:10) and are "adopted as his children in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 1:5). Daughters of The King are not worthless tokens to be thrown away, nor would such a King leave his own precious daughters to fend for themselves. Just as I sometimes do in my own life, these women would do better to take God at His word, to trust in Him more, rather than trying to fix things their own way. Their way is very broken; it only makes things worse. This entire community could be brought to another level if the women will just stand on the truth of God's Word.
Humbled and joyful,
Dawn
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Tuesday Day 4
This morning we woke to a beautiful clear Aqua sky kissed by the sun! Janet started the devotion with a powerful song; On my knees. It describes just how powerful and awing our God really is and how he can work through us in prayer and being obedient to him. She went to the scripture and we read a familiar story of the woman making her way through the madness and crowd with faith believing that if she could only touch the helm of his garment she would be healed.
We think about what God has done to bring us to this place at this time for his purpose. As Ephesians states in 2:10 he has predestined us to do His work. Not by change are we here. Not by chance have each of these precious souls crossed our paths.
It was laid upon Janet's heart to pray for physical healing for one of our ladies. As we surrounded her and lay hands on her we lifted her to Christ. I could feel the trembling come through the hand on my shoulder and pass through me into my friend. I believe the Holy Spirit moved through each one of us as we united together with one purpose before our Savior. There is power in prayer.God is good!
At the medical clinic today the weather was beautiful and warm. We served another forty families that live in the dump. So many of the same symptoms with the same results... due to their circumstance and environment. They are given medication for the symptoms and prayer for healing.
We were reminded of how hard and dangerous the life in the dump really is today when a young girl came in with both legs broken. She was crushed between two trucks while working in the dump to collect recyclable materials. In all the tragedy it amazes me to see how positive these beautiful people are.
The best part of the medical clinic for me today was seeing the most precious face of sweet Nora again. She is a young def girl that I met last year when we did the medical clinic. She has the same angelic smile and less red in her hair, which is good. Red highlights in their hair is a sign of malnutrition. She was with her siblings and elderly mother. I think she remembered me well because when she walked into the door and I gasp... she smiled a welcoming smile and gave me a hug. Our translator told her that I remembered them for last year. Nora will always hold a special place in my heart. I pray God protects her and provides for her through her life.
This afternoon we had day two of our women's bible study at Pastor Saul's church. It excites me that God is equipping women right here in Guatemala to go out and bolding proclaim the truth here in the dump. This tool we are walking them through is teaching them how to study God's word, how to walk the walk we talk but first of all we are pouring the truth into them. Encouraging them and reminding them of who they are in Christ. How important they are and how much God loves them. We keep reminding them where scripture teaches us in Ephesians that He chose us and predestined us as His children.
Today when good at the bible study as our faces were more familiar and everyone was opening up. They heard Debbie give her testimony in Spanish. I don't know if Debbie will ever comprehend on this side of heaven how she impacted so many of these women. I watched the faces as they were engaging and relating. Praise the Lord that Debbie was obedient and bold enough to tell her story.
Tonight we jump right into separating medication, packing bags for the preschool and other preparation that needs to be done for the rest of the weeks. God is so faithful and I am so thankful to be here serving with this amazing Lakewood Women's Mission team!
Angela Horne
We think about what God has done to bring us to this place at this time for his purpose. As Ephesians states in 2:10 he has predestined us to do His work. Not by change are we here. Not by chance have each of these precious souls crossed our paths.
It was laid upon Janet's heart to pray for physical healing for one of our ladies. As we surrounded her and lay hands on her we lifted her to Christ. I could feel the trembling come through the hand on my shoulder and pass through me into my friend. I believe the Holy Spirit moved through each one of us as we united together with one purpose before our Savior. There is power in prayer.God is good!
At the medical clinic today the weather was beautiful and warm. We served another forty families that live in the dump. So many of the same symptoms with the same results... due to their circumstance and environment. They are given medication for the symptoms and prayer for healing.
We were reminded of how hard and dangerous the life in the dump really is today when a young girl came in with both legs broken. She was crushed between two trucks while working in the dump to collect recyclable materials. In all the tragedy it amazes me to see how positive these beautiful people are.
The best part of the medical clinic for me today was seeing the most precious face of sweet Nora again. She is a young def girl that I met last year when we did the medical clinic. She has the same angelic smile and less red in her hair, which is good. Red highlights in their hair is a sign of malnutrition. She was with her siblings and elderly mother. I think she remembered me well because when she walked into the door and I gasp... she smiled a welcoming smile and gave me a hug. Our translator told her that I remembered them for last year. Nora will always hold a special place in my heart. I pray God protects her and provides for her through her life.
This afternoon we had day two of our women's bible study at Pastor Saul's church. It excites me that God is equipping women right here in Guatemala to go out and bolding proclaim the truth here in the dump. This tool we are walking them through is teaching them how to study God's word, how to walk the walk we talk but first of all we are pouring the truth into them. Encouraging them and reminding them of who they are in Christ. How important they are and how much God loves them. We keep reminding them where scripture teaches us in Ephesians that He chose us and predestined us as His children.
Today when good at the bible study as our faces were more familiar and everyone was opening up. They heard Debbie give her testimony in Spanish. I don't know if Debbie will ever comprehend on this side of heaven how she impacted so many of these women. I watched the faces as they were engaging and relating. Praise the Lord that Debbie was obedient and bold enough to tell her story.
Tonight we jump right into separating medication, packing bags for the preschool and other preparation that needs to be done for the rest of the weeks. God is so faithful and I am so thankful to be here serving with this amazing Lakewood Women's Mission team!
Angela Horne
Construction Trip 05-28-12, Day Two
We started out bright and early. With a two hour time difference, and the sun rising at 600am. Everyone was up early and ready to go...after breakfast we gathered to outline our day, share some thoughts and pray that God's will would be done, in us and though us. This is a great group, wanting to get the job done and serve. We have many talented carpenters as well, which makes construction projects in the landfill nice.
An activity that we did Sunday really impacted this day. On Sunday, as we were waiting for the rain to quit so we could visit the school and landfill. We gathered for a few minutes to talk, and share what we would like to see happen this week. One of our themes which became apparent, was that we would put the families we were serving ahead of the building project. We challenged each other in our group, to hear the families story first, get their name, and to pray for them while we worked on their home. One in our group expressed a huge desire to be part of the conversation in someone beginning a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the morning we worked on two homes, both were needing new roofs. The families were so grateful for the care and assistance. After lunch we worked on two other homes. The group was broken into two teams. One team worked with a mom named Maria and the other team worked with a mom named Ingrid. Ingrid had two children and one small baby. One of her children was continually getting sick, due to lots of rain entering their home from the roof, the team prayed for the family and shared the gospel. Ingrid was very interested, but according to her own words was not ready to follow Christ. Her reason was so pure, she said, " I am not perfect enough to be a Christian". It broke our hearts, and we tried to convince her otherwise, but she is still pondering everything. We will be going back to her house tomorrow, we are majorly praying for her tonight, and hope there will be a spiritual breakthrough.
As for the other team, the team who was working with Maria. She received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. And our team members prayer was answered...."I want to be part of a spiritual conversation where someone gets saved". Thank the Lord for Maria's salvation, and for Christ followers who are faithful to share the Greatest News ever.
Wow, what a day. Continue to pray for our teams in Guatemala. Please pray for Maria and her whole household. Pray as well for God to give us many opportunities to share the gospel, which is the hope of the families and people of the landfill, which is the hope of families and people in Gainesville, Georgia. Which is the only true hope for the world. We are all broken people, desperately in need of a Savior, thank you Jesus!
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:9-13 ESV)
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An activity that we did Sunday really impacted this day. On Sunday, as we were waiting for the rain to quit so we could visit the school and landfill. We gathered for a few minutes to talk, and share what we would like to see happen this week. One of our themes which became apparent, was that we would put the families we were serving ahead of the building project. We challenged each other in our group, to hear the families story first, get their name, and to pray for them while we worked on their home. One in our group expressed a huge desire to be part of the conversation in someone beginning a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the morning we worked on two homes, both were needing new roofs. The families were so grateful for the care and assistance. After lunch we worked on two other homes. The group was broken into two teams. One team worked with a mom named Maria and the other team worked with a mom named Ingrid. Ingrid had two children and one small baby. One of her children was continually getting sick, due to lots of rain entering their home from the roof, the team prayed for the family and shared the gospel. Ingrid was very interested, but according to her own words was not ready to follow Christ. Her reason was so pure, she said, " I am not perfect enough to be a Christian". It broke our hearts, and we tried to convince her otherwise, but she is still pondering everything. We will be going back to her house tomorrow, we are majorly praying for her tonight, and hope there will be a spiritual breakthrough.
As for the other team, the team who was working with Maria. She received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. And our team members prayer was answered...."I want to be part of a spiritual conversation where someone gets saved". Thank the Lord for Maria's salvation, and for Christ followers who are faithful to share the Greatest News ever.
Wow, what a day. Continue to pray for our teams in Guatemala. Please pray for Maria and her whole household. Pray as well for God to give us many opportunities to share the gospel, which is the hope of the families and people of the landfill, which is the hope of families and people in Gainesville, Georgia. Which is the only true hope for the world. We are all broken people, desperately in need of a Savior, thank you Jesus!
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:9-13 ESV)
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Christ with us
Hebrews 4: 15-16 "for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet he did not sin! Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
I find these words this morning encouraging that we don't walk this walk alone. Christ is with us. He knows exactly what each of us will face as he has faced it. He is not a distant God but a living God that goes before us an prepares the way.
Lord, we ask this morning to give us the words to speak truth into each soul you put before us. Let them see your grace and love, do not let us get in the way. Make it so that we cannot boast and glory can only be given to you! Protect us as we go out to be your hands, feet, ears and eyes today!
Angela Horne
I find these words this morning encouraging that we don't walk this walk alone. Christ is with us. He knows exactly what each of us will face as he has faced it. He is not a distant God but a living God that goes before us an prepares the way.
Lord, we ask this morning to give us the words to speak truth into each soul you put before us. Let them see your grace and love, do not let us get in the way. Make it so that we cannot boast and glory can only be given to you! Protect us as we go out to be your hands, feet, ears and eyes today!
Angela Horne
Monday, May 28, 2012
Monday May 28 Womens team
Today began with an energizing walk around the neighborhood, perfect for clearing our minds and getting our bodies going after a late night of counting, bagging and labeling medicine for today's medical clinic in the dump. God's creation was singing as we trekked the ancient cobblestone streets, admiring flowers in incredible colors. From a hilltop we had a beautiful view of the valley and the 4 volcanos surrounding us. One of them, Fuego (meaning "fire") is active and we were able to see the smoke rising from the cone clearly this morning. What an awesome way to start the day! God is so good!
We set up the medical clinic in the church Pastor Saul has built in the dump. April Sisson and Dr. Layla (Pastor Saul's wife) began seeing patients. We were supposed to see around 40 people this morning, but those 40 people brought their families and neighbors, too! Most of the people who live in the dump suffer from coughs and congestion, asthma, stomach aches and diarrhea simply from living in the filth everyday and breathing the unhealthy air. When it rains, foul vapors rise from the ground and it has been pouring rain here daily. After seeing the doctors, the patients receive medications and vitamins from the "pharmacy" and proceed to the prayer room where they are prayed over before they leave. Prayer warriors Lynn Staples and Janet Roland shared that the Holy Spirit was really working the prayer room today! Praise the Lord!
We began the women's Bible study this afternoon at Cristo es el Camino church. The 50 women attending are very excited and grateful for the opportunity. Many thanks to all of you who sponsored and prayed for these women, knitted prayer shawls, and donated Bibles. We are doing a Bible study designed to help us do more than just read the scripture for basic understanding. We are studying how to really get into the words and find what God is saying to us on a personal level, as well as a part of the body of Christ. As these women grow in understanding and enthusiasm for the Word, we are praying that they will "take it to the streets" of their neighborhoods and grow the Christian community in the dump.
Tomorrow we have another medical clinic and day 2 of bible study. Thank you all for your prayers! We can feel them and see them at work. To God be the Glory!
Debbie Shore
We set up the medical clinic in the church Pastor Saul has built in the dump. April Sisson and Dr. Layla (Pastor Saul's wife) began seeing patients. We were supposed to see around 40 people this morning, but those 40 people brought their families and neighbors, too! Most of the people who live in the dump suffer from coughs and congestion, asthma, stomach aches and diarrhea simply from living in the filth everyday and breathing the unhealthy air. When it rains, foul vapors rise from the ground and it has been pouring rain here daily. After seeing the doctors, the patients receive medications and vitamins from the "pharmacy" and proceed to the prayer room where they are prayed over before they leave. Prayer warriors Lynn Staples and Janet Roland shared that the Holy Spirit was really working the prayer room today! Praise the Lord!
We began the women's Bible study this afternoon at Cristo es el Camino church. The 50 women attending are very excited and grateful for the opportunity. Many thanks to all of you who sponsored and prayed for these women, knitted prayer shawls, and donated Bibles. We are doing a Bible study designed to help us do more than just read the scripture for basic understanding. We are studying how to really get into the words and find what God is saying to us on a personal level, as well as a part of the body of Christ. As these women grow in understanding and enthusiasm for the Word, we are praying that they will "take it to the streets" of their neighborhoods and grow the Christian community in the dump.
Tomorrow we have another medical clinic and day 2 of bible study. Thank you all for your prayers! We can feel them and see them at work. To God be the Glory!
Debbie Shore
05-27-12, Day One, Sunday Construction
We have another great opportunity to serve the Lord in Guatemala City. We had a ladies team leave on May 26th and the construction team is leaving today May 27th.
The women's team will be working with families and ladies in the landfill, and ladies and families at El Camino Church. The construction team will be working in the landfill helping with housing, putting together clean burning wood stoves, and possibly some concrete flooring. We also hope to do some construction at the new school lot. We will work on the play court area or the school building itself. We cannot wait till that new space opens for the children and teachers.
The construction mission team consist of Yale Moore, David Waldrip, Jimmy Martin, Babe Campbell, Tom Bryant, Dale Stauffer, Elizabeth Stauffer, Jason Dykes, Jimmy McGowan, James Lester, Mike Beard, Charles Pharr, Richard Hunt, Robert Puckett, and Bill Risinger.
Presently we are waiting on the plane waiting for the flight to take off, we are looking at a 1-2 hour delay, due to engine problems. We will make the most of it, but the team is anxious to get to Guatemala to connect with friends and start the work. Keep us in your prayers this week. Pray specifically we will serve well, will stay well, and have lots of opportunity to encourage believers and share the Gospel Story with many.
When the question was asked of some of our team members, "what do you want to see happen this week?", here were a few of the responses...
"that people will begin a relationship with Jesus Christ"... And..."to fulfill God's objectives"
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."(Romans 12:1, 2 ESV)
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The women's team will be working with families and ladies in the landfill, and ladies and families at El Camino Church. The construction team will be working in the landfill helping with housing, putting together clean burning wood stoves, and possibly some concrete flooring. We also hope to do some construction at the new school lot. We will work on the play court area or the school building itself. We cannot wait till that new space opens for the children and teachers.
The construction mission team consist of Yale Moore, David Waldrip, Jimmy Martin, Babe Campbell, Tom Bryant, Dale Stauffer, Elizabeth Stauffer, Jason Dykes, Jimmy McGowan, James Lester, Mike Beard, Charles Pharr, Richard Hunt, Robert Puckett, and Bill Risinger.
Presently we are waiting on the plane waiting for the flight to take off, we are looking at a 1-2 hour delay, due to engine problems. We will make the most of it, but the team is anxious to get to Guatemala to connect with friends and start the work. Keep us in your prayers this week. Pray specifically we will serve well, will stay well, and have lots of opportunity to encourage believers and share the Gospel Story with many.
When the question was asked of some of our team members, "what do you want to see happen this week?", here were a few of the responses...
"that people will begin a relationship with Jesus Christ"... And..."to fulfill God's objectives"
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."(Romans 12:1, 2 ESV)
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Crossing the Jordan
The best "God thing" from yesterday's visits to homes in the dump... While we visited one home, the torrential rains poured even as we prayed. Afterward, they told us we couldn't leave because of the outside;they said it could be a couple of hours before we could get through. The teenage boy in the home, David, went before to scout it out. Next thing we knew, they said we could go, but we needed to roll up our pantlegs. Keep in mind that normally, running through the middle of the dirt pathways there, is an open ditch, which serves as their sewage system. When it floods...you get the picture... So we hobbled and jumped as best we could from dry spot to dry spot, sometimes clinging to the rusty doorframe of a home for support. Then we stopped at about a 5-yard long "river" that was unpassable. (Janet and I have named it the Jordan.) I saw David take the first girl in our group by the hand to steady her, thinking he meant just to keep her from falling deeper than necessary into the running muck. But then I saw what he had done. Using pieces of broken concrete, boards, a discarded pallet, whatever he could find, he was leading her across on dry ground. When there weren't enough pieces, he would have her wait on one spot while he went back to grab one of the concrete pieces to place it in front of her for the next step. And so on... he did this, moving piece by piece, until she crossed over. Then he picked up his little bits of safety, and took them all the way back to where we stood, and started the process again for the next young lady. And so on. As onlookers watched, they offered up other boards and things to step on. Until finally the last of us crossed over to safety. They did all of this for us. Can you think of a better picture of how God leads us carefully through rough waters, where we sometimes have to wait patiently for Him to bring us the next step?
"When the river rages, he is not alarmed; he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth." Job 40:23
"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11
Humbled and joyful,
Dawn Kemp
"When the river rages, he is not alarmed; he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth." Job 40:23
"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11
Humbled and joyful,
Dawn Kemp
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Mackenzie Staples
Today was our first full day in Guatemala. For the first half of the day, we went to church at Caminos. We decided to walk there. While on our way, being women, we had to stop and check out the pretty garden. Angela wanted to take a group picture, so she set her camera on a ledge and put the timer on. While on her way to make it in the picture, she slipped on a rock and fell down. When the picture took, everyones jaws were to the floor in amazement!
When you first walk into the church, you are given a name tag with your name. They want to make you feel as comfortable as you can while you are there! For the service, the music was sang in both English and also Spanish. Then the preaching was the same way. Pastor Mike would preach in English, then Antonio would translate into Spanish. This was very interesting to witness. They don't care where you are from, or what you have done. They want to make you feel as family like as possible!
For the second half of the day, we went and spent time in the dump. While there, we made home visits to the residents. The first house I went in was all teenagers. Their parents were at work trying to make money to support all five kids. While talking to them, we asked if they knew Jesus. None of them did, and they did not seem to interested in the idea of knowing him. Please continue to pray with us that they will feel led to come to know Jesus as their savior.
The second house I went in was the one that left the most impact on me. We were sitting on a bed, and there was hardly any room to move. The mom, Blanca, had never accepted Jesus. She had a fiance, and also a four month old named Nicole. This was the CUTEST baby I had ever seen! While we were talking to Blanca, we asked her the same question we asked the teens: Do you know Jesus? She said no, but that she went to the women's bible study held every Thursday night. She said that she would really like to know Jesus, so she prayed the plan of salvation. The reason this left such a huge impact on me was not because she accepted Jesus. The fact that it was POURING rain outside this metal sided/roofed house did not matter to her. She was still praying at the top of her lungs to be heard, to make it know that she was accepting the best gift ever offered.
Thank you for all the prayers you have lifted up for us. We appreciate it very much! Please continue to lift us up as we head back to the dump tomorrow to start a women's bible study with 50 ladies. Pray they will learn what they need to get out of this, and that they will start something huge in the dump. Thanks again!(:
When you first walk into the church, you are given a name tag with your name. They want to make you feel as comfortable as you can while you are there! For the service, the music was sang in both English and also Spanish. Then the preaching was the same way. Pastor Mike would preach in English, then Antonio would translate into Spanish. This was very interesting to witness. They don't care where you are from, or what you have done. They want to make you feel as family like as possible!
For the second half of the day, we went and spent time in the dump. While there, we made home visits to the residents. The first house I went in was all teenagers. Their parents were at work trying to make money to support all five kids. While talking to them, we asked if they knew Jesus. None of them did, and they did not seem to interested in the idea of knowing him. Please continue to pray with us that they will feel led to come to know Jesus as their savior.
The second house I went in was the one that left the most impact on me. We were sitting on a bed, and there was hardly any room to move. The mom, Blanca, had never accepted Jesus. She had a fiance, and also a four month old named Nicole. This was the CUTEST baby I had ever seen! While we were talking to Blanca, we asked her the same question we asked the teens: Do you know Jesus? She said no, but that she went to the women's bible study held every Thursday night. She said that she would really like to know Jesus, so she prayed the plan of salvation. The reason this left such a huge impact on me was not because she accepted Jesus. The fact that it was POURING rain outside this metal sided/roofed house did not matter to her. She was still praying at the top of her lungs to be heard, to make it know that she was accepting the best gift ever offered.
Thank you for all the prayers you have lifted up for us. We appreciate it very much! Please continue to lift us up as we head back to the dump tomorrow to start a women's bible study with 50 ladies. Pray they will learn what they need to get out of this, and that they will start something huge in the dump. Thanks again!(:
Day 2 begins
After a night full of blessings we are well rested and ready to start the day! This morning some of the woman were up early and took a walk through the neighborhood we are staying. Overwhelmed by the beauty of God's creation they have encouraged me to do the same tomorrow. I want to see the world from his eyes.
Jennifer lead the devotion this morning as God laid it upon her heart. We talked about how God's love is sufficient and he is always faithful. So I ask myself... why do we doubt him so much? She stated how God twists his mouth to kiss us where we are. His love never fails. Thank you Lord for Jennifer's devotion this morning. As I listen to the ladies prayers this morning. It was touching.Christ fills us up with his spirit.
We pray that we may be his hands and feet this week and let Guatemala not see the filthy rages we are but only the love of Christ. Go before us Lord and prepare our works that you have predestined! May they be pleasing to you. We give thanks for your sacrifice, for our families and friends back home supporting us. We are thankful for the letters the Prison Ministries wrote for us in support. It's overwhelming to see how God uses everyone that opens their hearts to him!
As Lynn said this morning, " As we listen to all of creation sing you praise this morning... from the water falling, the birds singing and the distant canons firing for the saints, the smell of the tropical flowers fill the air... we lift our hands to join them. We lay our week at your feet for your purpose. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to do your will!
Psalms 5:11
Angela
Jennifer lead the devotion this morning as God laid it upon her heart. We talked about how God's love is sufficient and he is always faithful. So I ask myself... why do we doubt him so much? She stated how God twists his mouth to kiss us where we are. His love never fails. Thank you Lord for Jennifer's devotion this morning. As I listen to the ladies prayers this morning. It was touching.Christ fills us up with his spirit.
We pray that we may be his hands and feet this week and let Guatemala not see the filthy rages we are but only the love of Christ. Go before us Lord and prepare our works that you have predestined! May they be pleasing to you. We give thanks for your sacrifice, for our families and friends back home supporting us. We are thankful for the letters the Prison Ministries wrote for us in support. It's overwhelming to see how God uses everyone that opens their hearts to him!
As Lynn said this morning, " As we listen to all of creation sing you praise this morning... from the water falling, the birds singing and the distant canons firing for the saints, the smell of the tropical flowers fill the air... we lift our hands to join them. We lay our week at your feet for your purpose. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to do your will!
Psalms 5:11
Angela
Many answers to prayer today! We can tell our prayer warriors are intervening on our behalf.
Tonight as we assembled the bags for the 50 women who will attend our Bible study, it was amazing to see how many hands had touched those materials. Not just our team and our supporters, but the people who "sponsored" each lady to pay for her materials for the week, donations of a Bible for each one, donations of cosmetics for each one, and beautiful hand-knitted scarves that were prayed over while being made. God, it's obvious that You have planned this from the beginning of time. Thank you for allowing us to be here to witness the beauty of your orchestration, the beauty that is created when all your people come together to do their part for a common purpose.
"From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. " Eph. 4:16
Humbled and joyful,
Dawn
- Smooth flight
- No questions or inspections in customs - even with 4 full crates of medicine
- No tax imposed for the value of medicine we brought in country
- Some of the ladies from the dump came all the way to meet us at the airport when we arrived
- We are all well rested and ready for the work ahead
Tonight as we assembled the bags for the 50 women who will attend our Bible study, it was amazing to see how many hands had touched those materials. Not just our team and our supporters, but the people who "sponsored" each lady to pay for her materials for the week, donations of a Bible for each one, donations of cosmetics for each one, and beautiful hand-knitted scarves that were prayed over while being made. God, it's obvious that You have planned this from the beginning of time. Thank you for allowing us to be here to witness the beauty of your orchestration, the beauty that is created when all your people come together to do their part for a common purpose.
"From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. " Eph. 4:16
Humbled and joyful,
Dawn
Thursday, May 24, 2012
2012 Departure....1 Day away!!!
As I sit here typing, I am filled with so much excitement for the Women's 2012 Guatemala Mission Trip. God started laying the plans for this trip on the hearts of many women last year. As we have met and planned under His leadership and guidance, we have seen His amazing plan unfold before our eyes. During the past four months the team has studied and discussed from Ephesians what it means to be The Body of Christ, and how very important each part is to the whole body. One part is not more important than the others, and it takes all parts doing their job to make the body function according to God's plan.
It is with great anticipation we travel to Guatemala Saturday, May 26th, to come along side the women and lead them in their first ever women's bible study! How exciting to be able to walk with Christ where He's already working and share the importance of being in His word!!
Thank you to everyone who has prayed, given financially, donated items, and encouraged our team members through every step of preparation. I am thankful that even though God doesn't NEED us to join Him to accomplish His plan, He WANTS us to join Him!
Please continue to pray over each of our 11 team members for traveling mercies, protection from any illness or accident, protection from satan and his evil demons and ways, and for God's great name to be spread throughout the country of Guatemala!!
It is with great anticipation we travel to Guatemala Saturday, May 26th, to come along side the women and lead them in their first ever women's bible study! How exciting to be able to walk with Christ where He's already working and share the importance of being in His word!!
Thank you to everyone who has prayed, given financially, donated items, and encouraged our team members through every step of preparation. I am thankful that even though God doesn't NEED us to join Him to accomplish His plan, He WANTS us to join Him!
Please continue to pray over each of our 11 team members for traveling mercies, protection from any illness or accident, protection from satan and his evil demons and ways, and for God's great name to be spread throughout the country of Guatemala!!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Student Story - Matt Booth
Coming back from Guatemala knowing that God will always be there with them, left a feeling I can't even describe in my heart.God was definitely in Guatemala when we went over there last week, and he will always be there. There was one particular day that stood out to me the most, that was Monday night.The guys went to Bread & Coffee service at the preschool. Cliff told us that we were going to a service for men that were high on glue. The glue would take away their hunger pains, and make them high so they couldn't even stand up or walk. I was nervous and scared, and had no idea what to expect. I mean how was I suppose to strike a conversation with these men. It was definitely something that was outside of my comfort zone.
We pulled up to the preschool and there was just a long line of men, women, and children lined up outside the gate. When we walked inside there was just a bucket filled with water over the drain. When the people walked in they walked straight to the bucket of water, where we were told to wash their hands. All they wanted was to be clean. Just sitting there watching this it reminded me of God washing our sins away. It was just cool to know that God was there that night and he was there with all the men and women too. Guatemala was definitely an eye-opening experience, and I can't wait to go back next year!
- Matt Booth
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We pulled up to the preschool and there was just a long line of men, women, and children lined up outside the gate. When we walked inside there was just a bucket filled with water over the drain. When the people walked in they walked straight to the bucket of water, where we were told to wash their hands. All they wanted was to be clean. Just sitting there watching this it reminded me of God washing our sins away. It was just cool to know that God was there that night and he was there with all the men and women too. Guatemala was definitely an eye-opening experience, and I can't wait to go back next year!
- Matt Booth
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Student Story - Misty Hamilton
Guatemala was so amazing. Probably the best experience of my entire life and God led me the whole way through it!
One of the times he spoke to me when I was hesitant was when I reached out of my comfort zone for the first time. During the VBS at the dump all the kids were coloring and I noticed this one older girl with a hopeless look on her face. God told me I needed to share Him and His love with her, and at first I was scared but I pushed myself and went and spoke to her. Her name was Kenia. Her mom had left her to take care of her little brother who wasn't even a year old yet! After getting to know her a little bit I asked her if she lived in the dump and with a smile on her face she replied yes. Then it finally hit me. I had realized those people really did live in the landfill, but they were happy about it! Even though it was sad for me to hear that Kenia lived in the dump and I felt like I needed to share God's love with her, she taught me something too. To be thankful for what I have. So when the VBS was over I told Kenia bye and gave her a huge hug. I hope to see her again next year and learn something else from our beautiful God.
- Misty Hamilton
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
One of the times he spoke to me when I was hesitant was when I reached out of my comfort zone for the first time. During the VBS at the dump all the kids were coloring and I noticed this one older girl with a hopeless look on her face. God told me I needed to share Him and His love with her, and at first I was scared but I pushed myself and went and spoke to her. Her name was Kenia. Her mom had left her to take care of her little brother who wasn't even a year old yet! After getting to know her a little bit I asked her if she lived in the dump and with a smile on her face she replied yes. Then it finally hit me. I had realized those people really did live in the landfill, but they were happy about it! Even though it was sad for me to hear that Kenia lived in the dump and I felt like I needed to share God's love with her, she taught me something too. To be thankful for what I have. So when the VBS was over I told Kenia bye and gave her a huge hug. I hope to see her again next year and learn something else from our beautiful God.
- Misty Hamilton
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, April 13, 2012
Student Story - Caleb Parrish
Guatemala 2012 was incredible. It was definitely my favorite of the two trips I have been on. Compared with my first year going I was more bold in sharing my faith and just jumping into situations where Christ needed to be shared. This year at the glue guys service we had to wash their hands for them. That just struck me because we were taking dirt off there hands just like Jesus took all the filth and sin away from our life. Seeing the building being constructed made me really excited for what God is going to do in the school. Seeing how the lot went from nothing to a building being made and a soccer field being constructed just shows how God's time is perfect and all you have to do is trust in him.
- Caleb Parrish, Junior at North Hall High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Caleb Parrish, Junior at North Hall High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Student Story - Joshua Puckett
3 years ago there was a baby a couple months old in the malnutrition called Gerson and his twin brother Andi when they got there they were both starving and very small. Gerson however had a birth mark on the whole right side of his face and it turned into a tumor that protruded about a quarter inch on the outside of his face it about took over his eye and he would have lost sight forever in that eye. The first time I went to Guatemala and saw him in the malnutrition I was scared to pick him up because he looked so fragile and in need of help so I stood beside his crib and prayed for him and I’ve been praying for two years and I’m still praying for him but now he has had surgery and the birthmark/ tumor is gone now the only thing that remains are vein marks but he is taking medicine for it and is completely healthy now thanks to Gods love. He now is around 3 and can’t only just walk but he can run now. God breaks me every time I pray for Guatemala because he is a light in the darkness and evil there because I know God will do great things through him in the future. Also in the lot we have been praying God would help us work there and he has because we now have a first floor to the preschool which is a blessing to see Gods work succeed there. God you are Awesome!!!
- Joshua Puckett, Junior at Chestatee High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Joshua Puckett, Junior at Chestatee High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Student Story - Madalyn Walters
God did some amazing things in Guatemala last week, and it was definitely the best experience of my life! One experience that had a huge impact on my life happened on the last night during the rain storm in the landfill. Between our afternoon projects and the feeding at night, we were waiting around for the rain to stop. While we were sitting in the building where we had VBS, I got to know two teenage girls (Glenda and Maritza) very well. We talked for an hour about all sorts of different things, and we had a really strong connection. They both went to Pastor Saul's church and they lived in the landfill. When it came time for the feeding, each of them only had one bowl that they filled up with food. When they brought it back, neither of them ate their food, and I asked them why they weren't eating. They explained that the food was for both of their mothers. Even though they were both hungry, they thought of their mothers before themselves. Luckily, I found a granola bar in my backpack and let them split it! When it was time to go, all of us were really sad because we didn't know if we would ever see each other again, so one of the girls gave me her earrings to take home and the other girl gave me her headband. I couldn't believe how unselfish and giving Glenda and Maritza were. Despite their circumstances, they were willing to look to the interests of others above themselves. That was a real wake-up call to me. Our culture teaches us that its all about me, when God tells us to give abundantly no matter how much we have. We should look up to the attitudes the people living in the landfill have, and God definitely spoke to me through meeting those girls. It's just another example of how God puts people in your life for a reason :)
- Madalyn Walters, Senior at Dawson County High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Madalyn Walters, Senior at Dawson County High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Student Story - Layne Saliba
On my first trip to Guatemala three years ago we met Pastor Steve. He has a church in Antigua. While he talked about his church, he said something that I have never forgotten. "Don't underestimate God." I find myself thinking about that statement throughout the year, but especially while I'm in Guatemala. That's such a simple but radical statement. This year in Guatemala i was doing my quiet time and came across Ephesians 3:20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." That seems to go hand in hand with "Don't underestimate God." who could have imagined that the Lot three years ago full of trash would be clean? Who would have thought that the same lot last year would have a trench dug to have a wall built? Who would have thought this year that there would be the first level of a school, a well, and room for a soccer field when in November they didn't even have a permit to build? Never underestimate God. I'm constantly reminded that even when we aren't in Guatemala, God still is. He is there and He is doing incredibly huge work. He is in the dump, He is in the school, and He is in the malnutrition center. He is everywhere. It's amazing how we can go down for a week and experience what God has done the past year. Every year brings something new and seeing the work that's being done in Guatemala is an encouragement to keep going back.
- Layne Saliba, Junior at North Hall High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Layne Saliba, Junior at North Hall High School
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Student Story - David Funk
To say the least, last week was a major eye opener for me. I plan on making a lot of changes in my life and in my relationships. God told me it would be hard, and it is. These first few days back at school have been difficult for me: not everyone is as eager to accept love and hear the gospel as the children in the dump. It really hurts when you hear a no, but, just as Mike Beard said, it is a win for us whether they say yes or no. Either way, they have heard, and they will always remember what you asked them, so that when the next person comes along, they will remember what you said, and their hearts will be softened. That's what God has really been putting on my heart lately; that I don't have to see the fruit: I am called to plant the seed. It was the same way in Guatemala. We showed that dirt pile in the lot who was boss, yet the school isn't done yet. At first it really made me mad that we couldn't see it through to the end, but God gave me peace in the fact that he already has a plan, and even if my only job was to move that dirt. Whether we have a part in the end result or not, His plans will not fail. Yet at the same time, just as in Guat, you can't just sit back and wait for it to happen. I read in Ephesians chapter three verse 9, and it said "I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning." We were chosen to do God's work, even if we can see what happens in the end or not.
- David Funk, Freshman at Chestatee HS
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- David Funk, Freshman at Chestatee HS
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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