Second Day of Ministry

The morning started out with scrambled eggs, refried beans, fruit and coffee for breakfast.

We went to the church in Zona 6 and met with the pastor and his wife. We walked down to the open market and purchased the food that we needed to feed around 200 people.  Watermelons, potatoes, chicken and cucumbers were on the menu for the meal today. After we purchased the food, we went back to the church and we helped prepare and cook for 2 separate meal servings.  The children that went to school in the afternoon were the first ones to eat and then about an hour later the morning schools were released and we then fed the rest of them.

After the second meal, we needed to go to the school and talk to some 4^th and 5^th graders about staying drug free.  The children knew about some of the types of drugs already and enjoyed unwrapping the suckers with gloves and our blurry goggles. The children could relate to the testimony, as a few of their parents are alcoholics. The testimonial concluded with the young man that was an addict to drugs came to know the Lord and replaced his drug addiction for a love for Christ.

There was one last blessing we were able to provide for the family. The team blessed the family that got the new roof with 2 new full size beds. The pastor’s wife came and talked with the family and they were grateful for the new beds and for God. The mother in this household has a very rough past of being sold to a drug dealer by her father. She had 2 kids from that arrangement and lived in a very hostile environment. She did escape this environment without the children, only to find out that the house that took her in was for prostitution.  She managed to get away from this environment through someone that had pity on her and distracted the keepers, so she could run away.  She now is married and has 2 children. The children started going to the church for meals after school and that’s when she decided to learn more about Christ.  She accepted Jesus into her life and for the past 2 years, she spends as much time, everyday, at volunteering at the church to help with the meals. The family is very poor, but through this church, the children get at least one large meal a day.

Our day concluded at the Renuevo Church for a prayer service, Guatemalan style. It was a unique experience to listen to all the music in Spanish and occasionally a song that had a recognizable tune, we could sing in English. There was an interpreter present that was able to tell us what the pastor was saying in Spanish. We met some interesting people in the congregation that spoke very good English.

Thanks again for your prayers today.

Dios Bendiga!

First Day of Ministry

The day started out with a pancake breakfast topped off with a little whip cream and chocolate. Fresh fruit was prepared as well along with juice and coffee.

Our ministry started out in Zona 6 where we picked up some building supplies for a roof for one of the families that attend the church. It consisted of large sheets of corrugated metal and 2' X 2' X 8' wooden boards.  One of the challenges was getting the supplies loaded on top of the van and the second challenge was getting them to their house.  The house was located on a hill in which we had to walk down several flights of uneven stairs that winded through their congested neighborhood. Once we got the supplies to their house, we began removing the existing roof, making new rafters and placing the new roof into place.  We were able to get half of their new roof completed by noon.  The family got some help from their neighbor who started helping and wanted to work with the family to complete the roof in the afternoon.

We broke for lunch at the church and were treated to a delicious green beans, spaghetti and meat sauce with tortilla's and toast. Luis and Emmanuel (Guatemalan clown team) joined us at the church for lunch.

The afternoon was spent at a school that was very close to the church.  The clown team took part of our team with them to put on a short program and shared a story of David and Goliath with the children. The clown team also shared the bead bracelets with the children and told them the story behind the color of the beads. (Black, Red, White, Green and Yellow). Myself, Davis and Brad visited the older kids and spent time sharing a testimony of a former drug addict that came to know Christ through his Teen Challenge. Many children could relate to his story. We followed up the testimony with a hands on activity with blurry goggles, gloves and dum dum suckers. The activity got the children thinking about the effects of some drugs and how simple tasks became very difficult to do.

The day concluded with Brad and Donna Olson getting a chance to visit with their student that they were sponsoring through Compassion International.  A young man that is attending college and hopes to earn a degree in marketing. He and his interpreter joined us for an amazing pork chop and mashed potato meal. The young man has been in a choir for years and agreed to sing us a song after our meal, which he did an extraordinary job singing acapella.

We have a few pictures from the ministry today.  Please keep us in your prayers for our continued ministry trip.

Dios Bendiga,

Terry

Arrived in Guatemala 3/9

We had a smooth trip into Atlanta and we got some time to relax at the airport as we waited for our flight in the evening.  We arrived in Guatemala City under the cover of darkness, but it was a balmy 68 degrees and not a snowball insight.  We were greeted at the airport by Davis who brought us to the Hostel

At the Hostel, we had a warm greeting and got settled in our rooms.  They had some meatballs, rice and vegetables ready for us to have dinner.  We had some time to work on the details of our schedule for our first work day with Davis. We hope to be sharing about the roof work on a home and working with the teenagers at the school tomorrow.

We were able to share a team picture here in Guatemala and it has been a very good start to our ministry trip.  Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Dios Bendiga!
Terry

Packing Dental Kits followed by our Send Off Service

Our team and our brother Randy Cross joined us to pack 200 dental kits for the ministry at the Precious Moments School in Guatemala City this afternoon. We were able to get our bags weighed and organized, so we are packed and ready to go in the morning. Our departure from Minneapolis is 10:15AM.

We had some family and friends come to share some time with us for the Send Off service this evening. We were able to share our schedule, service plans and prayer requests for those in attendance.  The prayer time consisted of the pastor, Richard Payne asking everyone to lay their hands on the team. Individuals prayed for our needs and then Richard closed in prayer.

We were able to get some pictures of the team and our friends and family to share. Please pray for us through this week, as we are involved in a small roofing project, chlidrens ministry, working with teenagers in drug awareness and character development, dental clinics and sharing the love of Christ in all that we do. Pray that we can impact our global partners, so that we may be an encouragement to them and bring more people to Christ.

Dios Bendiga!
Terry

Guatemala City Ministry 2014 (Less than 1 week)

Good Evening,

The GCM 2014 team is planning the send-off service this Saturday at 6:15PM in room 285.  We'll be joined by Richard Payne for a time of prayer and an overview of our ministry this year.

Our ministry trip officially begins on Sunday, 9 March, as we depart our beloved frozen tundra.  We plan on arriving at 7:30PM to a much warmer Guatemala City and get ourselves rested for our ministry.

We'll be trying to update the blog each night with pictures and some highlights of the days activities.  We are looking forward in seeing how God is going to use our team this year.

The major ministries this year is working with school kids in telling them about the use of drugs and a testimonial.  We have activities for them to help them understand the effects of drugs using special goggles and gloves that affect their gross and fine motor skills.  The challenge will be for them to unwrap a candy sucker with these gloves on and with the goggles that distort their vision.  We'll have other activities for them too. We have some great Bible verses to share with these children too.

The big ministry this year will be working with the Precious Moments School and 180 students that need dental care.  We are teaming up with dentists in Guatemala City that will be seeing these children, as we perform administrative duties, keeping the children occupied and playing games with them. We'll be sharing the love of Christ with them, as they wait their turn to see the dentist.

One of the days, we'll be more focused on a work activity and we may get a chance to take a break and play with children with a parachute, side walk chalk and doing a couple of songs. (El Sapo).

Please pray for our safety, a continued servants heart, opportunities to share the gospel and for people to come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Dios Bendiga!
Terry

Day 7 (3/2)

Greetings,

After breakfast we spent the next few hours traveling to Antigua for another day of R&R.  It was a scenic ride, but it did have a lot of twists, turns and hills to endure along the way.  We went in and out of the clouds and finally we made it to Antigua.  We enjoyed a quick stop at a coffee plantation.  We were able to sample different coffee's and buy some fresh bags for home.

We spent the afternoon going into our own groups and taking in sites or shopping.  The roads were very bumpy, as they were made of stones and made walking challenging at times.  The architecture of Antigua was very historic, as the buildings were built in the 1600's, when Antigua was the capital of Guatemala.

We were able to check into our rooms and by evening meal, many of us decided to wear our jackets, as the temperature was in the 50's and had a little breeze that contained a light rain.  The hotel, like the one in Panajachel was centrally located near shops and restaurants was convenient for walking.  We enjoyed a nice meal at the restaurant called the Arch.  Betty joined us for dinner and we got to enjoy her testimonies and sharing once again.  The team was truly blessed to have Betty with us, as we served many of her ministries in Guatemala.  The team was also blessed to have Davis along with us to help with the service team and do all the driving of the van.

The mission trip was truly a blessing, as we served a widow and her family, the children of the HIV orphanage, the school that needed repairs and the children had some of their needs met.  We could have easily spent much more time there serving at each place.  God worked in our hearts this past week in many ways and our hearts will continue to be open, even when we get home and share our experiences with our family and friends.  Thanks for following our mission trip and next year, we'll save a seat for you.

Dios Bendiga!
Terry

Day 6 (3/1)

Greetings,

We enjoyed sleeping in a little this morning and then having a nice breakfast at the hotel.  After breakfast, we took a walk down to the boat launch and enjoyed a nice boat ride across Lake Atitilan over to Santiago.  We had some team time near the lake in a pavilion and then had lunch at the Posada.  It was a traditional fajita meal with corn tortillas, beans, chicken and beef.  The meals were designed with adding to your own taste/tolerance of pain, spice or heat, however you may term the burning sensation in your mouth.

After lunch we took tuk-tuk's back into town and did a little more negotiating for goods with the local merchants.  Some of the merchants were very aggressive and followed us down the street, relentlessly at times, to try and get us to accept an offer for their goods.

We then took the boat ride back to Panajachel and spent some time relaxing in a pool or resting on a recliner chair basting in the warm afternoon sun by the pool.

Of course, all this exhaustion led to an evening fish dinner at the hotel.  After the evening meal, some of the team members went down the street for more shopping or just taking in the sites.  We did spend some time at the local coffee shops reflecting on the mission trip and what each of us experienced and how it has changed our world views.

Dios Bendiga!

Terry