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Processing

Well I'm back from Guatemala and I have mixed feelings about it for sure. I absolutely loved my time in the country. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and yet at the same time I saw so many things that broke my heart. I also met some really sweet friends and got to practice my spanish a little bit :) Today is my day off and I am trying to process through all of my thoughts now that I have been home for two days.

As the media person for the trip, I spent a lot of time observing this week. I had some great times of ministry for sure and it was such a gift to get to meet Benjamin and Yanki (see last post) but for the most part I was behind the scenes taking photos. But I think that was exactly where God wanted me, to see that ministry is NOT about me but about Him and His glory. This concept is definitely something I am thinking about and praying through...more thoughts to come later...

The other thing I am thinking about is "what's next?", "where do I go from here?"  Over 1000 school children received food, shoes, and toys this week. Here are some of the faces we saw. 

So my question is this, what happens to these kids when we get on the airplane and head back to our homes? They continue in their lives and I in mine. Somehow it doesn't seem like enough. We came in and showed them love and met their needs for a moment but there are huge gaping needs that still need to be met. What happens 6 meals later when they are hungry again? Many of these children need new clothes, a shower, and a safe place to live. There are thousands of children in Guatemala that we didn't get to meet many because they can't go to school, they have to work. What happens to those children?  It seems hopeless by human standards, but Jesus said in Matthew 6,  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"  How comforting is it to know that He knows them all. His heart is broken for this world and He is sending out workers into the harvest to love and care for hurting and needy people all around the world. What a privilege to be a part of God's redeeming work. All we have to do is be obedient and go! As I said earlier I got a taste of what it means to love God's people this week and I want more!

So that's where I'm at right now...these are the things God is revealing to me and showing me (a little bit at a time) where He wants me.  I don't know what the future holds for me but I'm continuing on the journey!

Warning: this is a long post but the end is worth it! Keep reading!

So first of all I have to say, Google changed to Spanish automatically. It knew I was in Guatemala...weird!

Second, I LOVE Guatemala! Here's an update from the past couple of days!

Day 1:

We flew into Guatemala City and drove for three hours to our hotel in Zacapa. On the way we stopped for dinner at a restaurant where I accidentally ordered “ceviche” thinking it was an exotic Guatemalan dish. Turns out it was just shrimp cocktail, which I don’t even like. So much for being adventurous! That night after unpacking we unloaded hundreds boxes of MannaPack (FMSC) and Kellogg’s cereal. Each member of the team helped and we got the job done in just 2 hours. We slept well that night!

Day 2:

The next day we woke up and met for a beautiful breakfast by the pool. We spent the majority of the day packing up sacks for the school children. Each sack contains one box of cereal, 4 meal packs (24 meals total), a toy or a pair of shoes, and some candy.  The rest of the day was spent discussing GAiN’s ministry and briefing on the rest of the trip. It was a long day of preparation for the week!

Day 3:

This was our first day of ministry. We woke up early and some of the team loaded up the truck with the bags for the school children.  We ate breakfast and started out on our journey. After driving for about thirty minutes we picked up 2 officials from the ministry of education and continued on to our village. As we entered the village we passed by rows and rows of makeshift houses, most with tin walls held together by sticks. Children came running out to greet us and jumped on the back of our bus as we drove up to the school. I immediately began snapping photos of the children and speaking to them in the little Spanish that I remember from high school. The families were so excited to see us and thankful that we came to bring hope the village. A group from a church in San Juan accompanied us and put on a clown show for the families. Then we took the children into their classrooms and began our small group presentations. Different members of each group shared their testimonies and then we shared the Gospel beads as a large group. Each child received a bracelet along with one of the bags packed the previous day. I met hundreds of children but one stuck out to me on this day. His name was Marvin and he was 15 years old. He caught my attention because he was wearing “Boomerang Express” t-shirt like the ones we had for VBS a couple of years ago. I started talking with him and his friends and once they realized I knew a little Spanish they tried to teach me more. I ended up being the classroom with them and gave Marvin a Gospel bead bracelet. After the presentation we went back outside and I was surprised to see Marvin running up to me with a beanie baby in hand. He told me he wanted to give me something to remember him by (“a recuerdo”). I had to put the horse in my backpack  (“mochila”) so the other children wouldn’t take it from me. It was such a nice gift and I loved getting to meet Marvin. I can’t wait for tomorrow! 

Day 4: 

Today we went to a school in La Vega de Coban. We played with the school children and passed out shoes and food packets. After lunch we showed the Jesus Film to over 125 students. During one of hte showings of the film I was taking a break outside I noticed two little boys walk up and I wanted to get a picture of them.

When I saw them up close I knew that these children were different than the students at this school. Their shirts were dirty with multiple holes and the youngest one had no shoes. When I asked them if they went to this school they said no, their dad wouldn't let them attend school because they had to watch their nephews while their older sister went to work. We played with some bubbles and then I shared the Gospel bead bracelets with them. The oldest one listened with a sweet smile on his face as I shared (through Rut's interpretation) the story of Jesus. When I asked them if they had ever prayed (or talked to God) they said no. When I asked them if they would like to, they both smiled and nodded. We prayed the prayer and I know that they were talking to God for the first time. Soon afterward their sister and her children came by. We were able to talk with her and figure out more of the story. The oldest sister must work and the two oldest boys stay home from school to watch a 3 yr old a 2 year old and a 5 month old.  Their clothes were torn and dirty and smelled almost acidic. The children had lice and they were in desperate need of a bar of soap and a shower. We gave the sister a pair of tennis shoes and the two oldest boys got Crocs along with six food packets for the family. When Rut was putting the shoes on Benjamin she apologized that they were too big. He replied, "that's OK! Its better than going barefoot!" We were also able to give the 2 year old little girl a brand new dress sewn by one of our volunteers from the distribution center. As we were all talking we got to share the Gospel with the sister and she asked some great questions. However, she has never been to school and therefore cannot read. Talking with this family broke my heart, their story is so sad. It is hard to explain my feelings as I was talking with them but as we were leaving I broke down into tears. I felt so hopeless about the situation until I remembered that God loves this family more than I ever could. And as one of the other teammates reminded me, God was showing his love for them by sending our team to them and all we have to do is "answer the call" to go and serve. 

I don't know where God is taking me on this journey but I think I saw a little glimpse into His heart today.

This is it!

Ok first of all, apology needed. I have been TERRIBLE about posting on this blog! I think I am "social media-ed out" since I do it all day at work. But, excuses excuses.

Anyway, I have to post today because I AM LEAVING FOR GUATEMALA TOMORROW! I wanted to post a schedule of what we will be doing so if anyone wants to pray specifically for our team, you will know how to pray!

Friday: flying to Guatemala City bright and early...
Saturday: training/briefing day in Zacapa.
Sunday: Ministry La Union, we will be ministering to over 180 families (300 children)
Monday: painting and cleaning at a school called La Vega de Coban with 125 kids
Tuesday: 2 different schools each with 250+ kids
Wednesday: 3 different schools (Rio Chqiuito, Pueblo Nuevo, and El Jute each with over 200 kids)
Thursday: several other school combined with 700 kids total, we will also be traveling to Antigua this day.
Friday: Ministry at an elderly home
Saturday: traveling back to Dallas

So, as you can see we will be working with ALOT of kids! We have a container loaded with Carepacks (school supplies), food, blankets, and other aid but it is being held up by customs in Guatemala City. Please pray that it will be released in time for us to use this aid on our trip! I know that God is in control of this situation and He is going to do some amazing things on this trip with or without this container.

Also, please pray for me this week. I am thinking through a lot of things ministry wise and otherwise and I just want to be led by the Lord this week. I am praying for Him to move in big ways in my heart as well as the hearts of the people in Guatemala. I can't wait to see the other side of the ministry that I have been doing for three months now. I can't wait to be able to actually hand out the aid and share Christ's love with people who don't know Him! YAY!

Stay tuned for updates...

Here is a picture of Guatemala in case you are like me (before GAiN) and don't know where it is! http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/maps/guatemala_pol00.jpg

Compelled by the love of Christ

Check out this video from a couple of weeks ago at the Global Aid Network Distribution Center...