Friday, March 26, 2010

March Guatemala Trip

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:31-40














February 28th - March 21st I have been in Guatemala.  The country to which our family has been called by God to share the name of Christ Jesus our Lord; along with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the needy and medicine to the sick.  What an amazing and filling journey these three weeks were for me.














The first two weeks I spent in the beautiful city of Antigua at language school.  The first weekend I went to a friend's home in Guatemala City.  Jose and Saskia Pineda and their three wonderful girls welcomed me with open arms and a loving heart.  Their hospitality towards me was encouraging after spending a full week without any English.  During the time in their home I met a missionary couple that lived in the city, but do work in rural villages throughout the country encouraging pastors.  This missionary couple has been doing work in Guatemala for the past 17 years.  The insight and knowledge they have for the culture and people of the country was enlightening and exciting.  Their views, beliefs, and call into ministry are exactly the same as mine.  The three hours I was blessed to spend with them over cups of coffee and bread were spirit filled and tear filled.  We all knew that God had our meeting planned without our knowing.  We exchanged emails and I look forward to working alongside and learning from them.  This same weekend, I was able to look at a rental house near the city that is owned by Jose's brother who is a missionary himself in India.

 










Upon my return to Antigua for language school, I became very ill.  It started with a headache that medicine would not touch, aches and pains throughout my entire body, and a crazy fever that gave me extreme chills and then extreme sweats.  The next day a doctor came to the house where I was staying.  I wasn't thinking clearly and don't remember much of what went on during this day.  The doctor gave me a shot for pain and a prescription for antibiotics and stomach illness.  I became very nauseated for the next couple of days.  The doctor thought that I may have Salmonella poisoning.  This illness is one that I would call the worst sickness of my life.  After 72 hours I started feeling better and was able to continue my schooling for the last two days.  I ended up missing three days of language school all together.














The second weekend I was picked up by Estuardo and Cindy who were our drivers in November.  They have become wonderful friends of ours and will be important contacts on each scheduled trip and when we arrive in country full-time.  They let me stay at their home in the city and took me to church with them on Sunday.  Estuardo showed me a house that he is building for a possible rental home.

 












On Sunday, I met the One Way Ministries team at the airport and began our week of missions work with the Tabitha House and families of the dump.  We worked with the teachers, mothers, and children of the dump each day while the Spirit of the Lord worked on us.  I cannot put words on what all took place in the lives of the team members during this week.  It is completely indescribable and completely of God.  An experience for many that they never knew could be possible.  The team members included JT (OneWay Ministries), Greg (Missionary to Guatemala), Patty (our wonderful interpreter) Loree, Michelle, Jenny, Christy, Christa, Amanda, and myself.

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.  I will be going back to Guatemala the end of May and plan to take the entire family for two weeks in July.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The First Two Weeks

The first two weeks of the March Guatemala trip is now complete.  I had two weeks of language school in the beautiful city of Antigua - minus 3 days.  I ended up going to the city for the weekend between weeks and staying with the Pineda family.  I ate chicken from a street vendor there and caught Salmonella poisoning.  This illness put me out of commission for a full 3 days.  I am all better now and completed the last two days of class on Friday night.  Now, I am back in the big city.  Estuardo and Cindy came and picked me up to stay with them at their home until my team arrives on Sunday.  God has been showing me so many things while I have been here so far.  Many doors and opportunities have opened up for us to do his ministry.  I look forward to the next week working with One Way Ministries.  Look for a much longer update when I return to the States in a little over a week.  God Bless!