La Luz Brilla en Guatemala

Pay-per-view baptism!

2012-01-31T09:51:00.001-06:00

Have you ever been invited to a pay-per-view baptism?

This past Sunday we were!

Okay, maybe not exactly as it sounds.....

Relaxing before the show!

It is truly a wonderful story of God moving in hearts and minds.

Evelyn Tercero is a beautiful young lady, 18 years old, that has been involved in our youth activities for about a year and a half. Evelyn was raised Catholic and while enjoying our group and participating, continued to attend her Catholic church etc. We have watched over the past year as the Lord has been working in her, softening her heart to just lay her burdens on Him, and rest in his love.

Juliana, Martina y Evelyn

It has been a joy to watch over the past few months as she has began reading her bible daily and expressing her excitement at new truths being revealed to her! She began attending a church near where she lives and joined a cédula, a small group. Then, a few weeks ago she told me she was going to be baptized, and wanted me, her 'papito', to be there!

So this past Sunday, we met her at her church to follow them to where the baptism would be held. It was across the city in a 'not the nicest part of town' location.

We took two girls that live with her, Juliana & Martina, with us.

Evelyn confessing her faith

We finally arrived at the place, a public pool where we had to pay the admission fee to enter!

So, we had to pay-to-view the baptism!

It was breezy and quite cool for here, and the water was pretty chilly!

But Evelyn was sooooooo excited! And we were so blessed to be there as her 'parents'.

Praying in the cold water

As with things Guatemalan, it took a long time to get things under way, but eventually it started and after a brief talk by the pastor, we watched 6 people be baptized!

Evelyn gave a brief confession of her faith, was prayed over, and then...

Thank you Lord for Evelyn!

We were so blessed to watch this girl we love follow in obedience the ordinances of God.

Both Sandi and I had tears watching her baptized and seeing the joy in her!

We were all blessed to be witnesses!

Truly, it is a blessing to watch and be witnesses to the testimony of God's grace and love.

And for us, Evelyn is so special and we are FILLED with joy over this young lady!

¡GLORIA A DIOS!

Full House!

2012-01-31T09:03:00.000-06:00

Okay....been a little while since I updated.

January is a time to catch up after the Christmas craziness, but this year has kept us busy so far.

We start each day with "I wonder what today holds?" and with reason. It is the rare day that something unexpected does not occur!

Actually, unexpected occurrences seem to be the norm, so we don't report much because it almost seems routine to just go with what the Lord brings our way!

Earlier this month, while we still had Felicita and James staying with us, and Oscar was back from some time with his family in Huehue, the house was full, all beds were taken. So, I get a call about 8 PM from two of our youth we work with. Their uncle, 17 yrs old, had just arrived in Guatemala city from Huehuetenango. It was his FIRST time in the city! He came to find a place to live and a job so he could go to school.

However, he arrived without a plan of how to do that, nor any idea what the big city is really like.

So, at that time of night there is no way to find a place to stay, the 3 of them did not know what to do, so....call Mike!

Well, we met Noé, and really liked his desire to do better in life. He left home, not knowing exactly what he was going to do, with the desire to study and make something better for himself.

We took him home, because we still had a couch available. The idea was the next day they were going to look for a room to rent, then look for a job.

Well......it´s not quite as easy as it sounds. Through some connections etc. we helped him find a room after 4 days with us. But he could not find a job and was almost out of money. Well, he had to return to his home in Huehuetenango, but now knows what it takes here, and is hoping to return next year and try again! He will be 18 then which will make it a little easier to get a job etc.

So, it really wasn't unusual for us, but changed our plans quite a bit for a week. But we were blessed to get to know Noé, and hope to be able to help him again next year!

Most evenings if the car is outside, I ask Sandi, "Do we need to go anywhere tonight? or should I put the car in?" and she says "we don't need to go anywhere, but as soon as you put it in, you'll get a phone call!"

Hahaha, and that does happen somewhat often!

But, we are blessed to be able to do many things just like this example with Noé, and consider it an honor and blessing that people come to us trusting us to help.

Wonder what will happen today?

The BIG day! NOCHEBUENA 2011

2011-12-27T23:54:00.000-06:00

Well, this year Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) fell on December 24th again....hmmmm...imagine that! And, as every year it began early for us. Started arranging all the many things to load and take with us to Casita Benjamín. Then, down to the panaderia to pick up 350 Pirujos (a type of bread). Then, at noon, the bus arrived at our house and we loaded Canastas de Víveres (baskets of provisions) decorations, props, cookies, disposable plates etc. etc. etc.

Then we left to pick up our servant team of youth, and headed to Zona 3 and Casita Benjamin, arriving about 1:30 PM.

2011 Servant team and helpers

When we arrived we unloaded the bus, then the team began decorating the Casita. One of our older youth, Erika, was in charge of decorating! She planned, directed the making of, and installing all the decorations! And the place looked the best ever!

Decorating the Casita

This year there was even more decorating to do because we added a new wrinkle...some of our program would be held outside in the street! So, we needed some decorations outside, as well as inside.

Greeting outside for the neighbors!

After the decorating, we had time for one last rehearsal of the drama, then people began to arrive! And then more, and more!

We began with our youth leading singing of Christmas carols outside in the street! We had quite a few neighbors come join us that would not normally have been a part if we just had the program inside!

Some of the people in the street singing carols

The youth did a great job of singing strongly and there were lots of smiles all around!

The music was directed by Oscar Ávila, and as every year, he did a wonderful job!

Our youth team leading singing in the street!

After the time of singing was finished, we had all of the children enter the Casita, and had all of the adults remain outside in the street.

Our good friend Benjamin Melendez then gave a fantastic Gospel message out in the street for the parents of the kids and all of the neighbors!

Christmas Carols outside Casita Benjamín

While Benjamin was preaching out in the street, our youth were performing a drama of the Christmas story for all of the kids inside. Another of our older girls, Diana, was in charge of directing the drama. It was EXCELENTE!

Our youth team performing the Christmas story!

We had more people than ever before this year, and more kids than ever too! They LOVED the drama, were quiet and captivated by it!

After the drama, Diana gave a lesson to clearly explain what they had just seen, then led them all in prayer before we served the tamale dinner!

Some of the kids watching the drama!

While this is all going on, the message finished outside and we had all of the adults enter for the dinner.

Best guesstimate is about 250 people!

Receiving their tamales, ponche and pan

After our youth team served everyone, then served dessert of Sandi's Christmas cookies, and then collected all of the trash....it was time to present each family with a canasta de viveres, and each child with a gift!

Some of the adults inside Casita Benjamín

We had exactly enough canastas so each family received one...we gave out 58 canastas at the Casita!

And we had just enough gifts for all of the children, with only a couple left over! We cut it close this year, having a bigger crowd than we had dreamed of! God is good and does answer our prayers!

Happy family leaving with their canasta and gifts!

Lots of happy faces as people were leaving with their gifts!

Then we cleaned up the Casita, loaded up the bus and returned to Las Aldeas, where our youth live, and had another tamale dinner there! We had made a total of 70 canastas, planning to give canastas to each house there, and also the workers, but after the size of the crowd at Casita Benjamin, we were 12 baskets short for Las Aldeas.

They will receive their canastas, just a few days late! We will be making more baskets over the next day or two!

It's a good problem to have!

I cannot say how proud I am of all of our youth, They did an incredible job of not just singing, performing and serving, but they loved those precious people and served with hearts overflowing...touching many, and letting people see Christ through them.

All in all, PRAISE the Lord!!!

People were loved, heard a clear Gospel message, and saw it lived out in our servants.

Thank you one and all for your prayers and support of this impacting outreach!

May God bless you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

GALLETAS!!!

2011-12-27T22:41:00.000-06:00

Each year on December 23rd we have an all day activity for our servant team.

It is to make Christmas cookies for the dessert on the 24th, and also to make lots of decorations for Casita Benjamin.

This is also a day our team looks forward to after working hard for a month, this is a day they get to have some fun (while doing lots of work!)

Enjoying their work!

We are giving them more and more responsibility, as many of our youth have been helping with Nochebuena for several years, and are older now. We placed one girl, Diana, in charge of the drama the kids will perform on the 24th. That took a lot of work from me! And she is doing great! Others are stepping up and helping each other do the many things needed to prepare. So this day, we let them go at it with minor supervision from me! Sandi made sure the cookie making process went smooth, and other than that, I let the kids do their thing with little interference....well, maybe I got in the way some, and started a flour fight...but really, they did most of the work!

All told we made well over 750 cookies, not counting the approximately 50 cookies Rafael "X-Box" ate by himself!

OOPS!

At the same time the cookies are going on, half the team was working on making decorations.

Again I had delegated the responsibility of decorations to one of our older girls, Erika. She planned the decorations, made a list of materials, went with us to buy the materials, made some of the more time intensive decorations at home, and guided the process at our house this day. She did a great job, we're very proud of her! She will also be in charge of doing the decorating at the Casita on the 24th.

Erika guided the team making LOTS of decorations!

It was a fun day, for the youth to let loose and have some fun while serving. Learning that work can be fun too! This was their time, leading and helping each other. I am sooooo proud of all of them, they really have become a TEAM!

Carols at Kairos

2011-12-27T22:16:00.001-06:00

As part of our Nochebuena preparations and activities, we always visit Casa Kairos one evening to sing Christmas Carols and visit with the kids and their families.

If you don't know of Casa Kairos, it is a home for kids with cancer, and their families, that are undergoing treatment at the public hospital nearby.

It was a full house Dec. 20 when we visited.

Some of the people at Kairos

We took our servant team of youth that we work with, that have been helping us with preparing for Nochebuena. They will be doing the singing, performing and serving at the Nochebuena celebration at Casita Benjamin on Dec. 24.

Hanging out after singing!

After spending close to an hour singing with all the folks there, we served a snack of Sandi's famous Christmas cookies! Then we spent some time just hanging out with the kids there.

Our youth did a great job. We are really trying to just guide them, letting them do the serving and most of the directing, while we stay more in the background. And they are stepping up!

Getting Ready!

2011-12-18T08:29:00.000-06:00

Things are coming together rapidly for Nochebuena...like each year, it is a mad dash for a month and a half, but it always seems to work out great!

We have been busy, busy, busy the past weeks, buying supplies, buying gifts, practicing with the youth for singing, a drama to perform etc.

We took a few of our helpers with us to CEGMA, which is like a distribution center for goods where we can buy things in bulk.

We bought all the provisions for the Canastas de Víveres (baskets of provisions) there.

Another day we went to the mercado in Zona 3 to buy all the disposable supplies, plates, cups, etc. We also bought childrens gifts, wrapping paper etc.

Some of the provisions for the canastas

This year one thing that has helped some is that we are giving more responsibility to some of our older youth that have been helping for several years.One is in charge of the drama, another in charge of decorations etc.

It helps me out a lot, and gives them a lot more sense of really contributing something.

And they are doing great! We've had them helping in some way many days each week!

Wrapping gifts for kids

Yesterday we had an all day activity at our house to wrap gifts and to make the canastas.

We were planning to make 70 canastas and they take a lot of work each to put together. There are 12 items in each basket, and several of them, i.e. frijoles, oatmeal, rice, pasta, were purchased in bulk, and first had to be packaged into 1 lb. bags.

Making 1 lb bags of frijoles

Then we set up an assembly line snaking through most of the house! A few people would carry baskets by stations where another person would add items to the basket!

It is lots of fun, and lots of work for 70 baskets!

After 70 baskets were assembled, and scattered all over the house, we had a pizza lunch break and watched a movie!

Then it was time to wrap 70 canastas!

Making each canasta special and unique

We had sheets of celophane and lots of ribbon, and let the kids use their own style!

We literally had baskets and people scattered over most of the house, using any available space!

Using the hallways

Using the kitchen

Using the dining room

Using the living room

We finished in the afternoon, and then spent time practicing Christmas carols to sing at Kairos House this week.

2011 Nochebuena servant team
(missing several members in this foto)

So we now have Canastas stacked up pretty much filling our dining room, but only for another week!

Please keep praying for God's blessing on this project, we are expecting around 300 people total between Casita Benjamin and Las Aldeas for Nochebuena.

This coming week, our daughter Felicita arrives, with a girlfriend from college, and her boyfriend James will arrive also! We will also take our group to Kairos to sing for the people, have another all day activity to make decorations and cookies.

Then the big event!

It's Nochebuena time again!

2011-11-28T23:19:00.002-06:00

It's the time of year again gearing up for our BIG Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) outreach!

Actually, we are getting a late start this year due to my trip to the USA, but, never the less, Christmas Eve will still arrive Dec 24 whether we are ready or not! So...we plan to be ready!

Those not familiar with this, what we do is host a BIG dinner party for families that live alongside the largest land fill dump in Central America.

Actually, the idea is a special night for these people. Most cannot afford a traditional Christmas Eve dinner of tamales, much less presents for their children.

This is a very densely populated neighborhood, very dangerous with gangs, drugs etc. It is very dark spiritually as well, and at Christmas time it is even more depressing for the people there.

Servant team 2010

So what we do is invite them to a Nochebuena CELEBRATION!

I form a servant team with the youth we work with from a children's home. These kids have very little themselves, but when given a chance to serve those with less, look out! They spend weeks preparing, practicing songs, practicing a drama for the kids, wrapping gifts, making decorations etc!

Then on the 24th, we rent a bus and go into Zona 3 to Casita Benjamin where we have the event!

The kids decorate the place, lead Christmas carols to begin the program. Then while the adults receive an evangelistic message of hope, our team has a program for the children with a drama and songs.

This year the director at Casita Benjamin and I did some brainstorming and decided to try something new. We are going to hold the first part of our program, singing carols and the evangelistic message, out in the street! Right outside the Casita we will set up speakers and are sure we will draw many more neighbors to come hear the singing and the message! I am very excited for this!

Singing Christmas carols

Then it's time for dinner, and after dinner each child receives a wrapped gift. We will also provide a basket of basic goods for each family. These baskets contain things like, sugar, rice, pasta, salt, cooking oil, soups, juices, oatmeal, and several other items.

Then after we say Feliz Navidad to the guests, we clean the Casita, load the bus up and return to the children's home.....where.....

Serving dinner

...we do it all again!

Well, most of it. We will sing songs, have another tamale dinner, perform the play, and then watch a movie with everyone there!

All told, between both events, we expect to host dinner for between 300 and 400 people!

It is a TON of work, but is even more fun!

One thing each year on top of it all, is the need to raise the funds to provide all of this.

And each year we have seen God come through for us in amazing, and different ways!

This year was no exception.

While in Texas, visiting Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX, I was able to meet the missions committee there for the first time. I was happy about this as they have helped us with several ministries the past few years, and with us personally as well. I just wanted a chance to say thank you. They then asked me some questions about what things we had coming up, and I shared some about Nochebuena. But, I never asked for their help.

Then, the very next day, I was informed they had decided to fully fund our project this year!

So...we are off and running!

Check here over the next month for some updates as we have several events to prepare for Christmas Eve, then the big event itself on December 24th!

La Luz Brilla - Coming soon!

2011-11-28T22:11:00.002-06:00

We know there are many people interested in what's happening with La Luz Brilla?

We have exciting news!

But first, let me briefly explain La Luz Brilla for those not aware.

La Luz Brilla is the name for the transition house we have been led to open for young women.

Through our work with lots of young people, virtually all of whom would be called 'high risk' youth, we have seen how as they leave the children's home environment, their chances of success are small at best. And things are getting worse here in Guatemala. Especially for women, culturally, economically, security etc it is very tough to overcome. Add to that the issues of childhood abuse, emotional scars and issues, and the odds become very daunting indeed.

Miriam and Yesica

That's where we are hoping La Luz Brilla can stand in the gap. We want to provide a safe place where girls can finish their education, and learn to live independently, yet with a safety net to catch them when they stumble.

A place where they can live on their own, yet learn about the basic things to make it, like, how to budget, how to realistically live on a meager income. How to buy groceries, how to do the many things it takes to become successful on your own. We would help provide administration, training, education in some basic living skills, discipleship etc.

Marta and Erika

The need is constantly growing, and we have been waiting on the Lords timing to provide funding needed to open a home.

And He has provided!

We have received a gift from Desert View Baptist Church in Gilbert, AZ that will cover 100% of our projected start-up costs!

So, we are hoping after the first of the year to begin looking for a suitable house to rent, and then begin setting it up to receive young women to live there.

We will still need ongoing monthly support to operate La Luz Brilla, but are trusting the Lord to provide as we get started.

We are planning to start a sponsorship type program where people can sponsor individual girls and follow as they progress through the process to independence!

If you feel led to be a part of this from the beginning, and help provide a chance at success for some young people that might not get another chance, just ask how!

It's easy....

Back in the U.S. of A.!

2011-11-28T20:48:00.001-06:00

So, I guess I had forgotten that November in Washington State can be COLD!

Ha, well, I guess I needed some new sweaters!

I spent the last week of October in Denton, TX, then went to Washington for the first two weeks of November. I had a good time visiting lots of friends and family, and making some new friends also.

I was able to visit many activities at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX. They have been helping us with several of our ministries, as well as supporting us personally for the past couple of years, yet we had not had the opportunity to spend much time there or know many people.

Visit with Ellie, our youngest intern so far!

So, this time I got to meet quite a few people and visit most of their weekly activities!

I was able to speak at the Pastor's Sunday school class, visit several youth activities, a large weekly church dinner etc etc.

I was also able to meet the missions committee for the first time to say thank you and give a brief update on what God is doing in Guatemala!

The next day I was informed that the missions committee had decided to fully fund our Nochebuena outreach at Casita Benjamin! Praise the Lord! I never even asked for help for the event. They asked what we had coming up, and I told them about Nochebuena, but didn't ask for them to fund it!

GOD IS GOOD!

I also was able to visit a few of our former interns from the Dallas/Denton area, including Ellie, our youngest intern ever!

Also, while in Texas, I was taken to a Dallas Stars hockey game...good time!

Kimber & Sergey with Berkley the dog

I left Texas for Washington where I spent the first night in Seattle with my Dad. Then went to Bellingham where I stayed with our daughter, Kimberly, and her husband Sergey. It was the first time we've been together since their wedding and it was great to see their life together after 15 months!

Bellingham in November!

However, my first morning waking up in Bellingham it was 26 degrees! BBBRRRRRRRRRR

But it was still great because I was so busy, visiting several small groups and lots of people!

Visiting with a Bible study group

The main purpose of the trip was to seek some additional support as ours has been quite low, so it was a real blessing for me to visit several groups, including one group where I did not know a single person when I arrived!

It was very encouraging to meet people and share about the ministries God has allowed us to be part of. Plus, it always seems to get me more fired up to keep on keeping on!

Jacob and the Pacific Ocean

In the middle of my time there in Washington, in the cold dampness of Bellingham, I was able to take a 2 1/2 day trip to San Diego to spend time with our son, Jacob. This was a highlight of my trip! It had been probably 7 or 8 years since we had any one on one father/son time.What a huge blessing for me, and I think he enjoyed having me around for a couple of days. We just hung out, and it was very relaxed.

Greatest sport on Earth!

Back in Bellingham, I was able to finish my time there celebrating both Kimber and Sergey's birthdays by joining them and a few other friends at a major junior hockey game! My FAVORITE level of hockey to watch anywhere! PRICELESS!

I was able to spend my last Sunday at Northlake, our home church, and spoke at a luncheon and also at the evening service there! It was good to see stability and direction returning after a transition time there.

On the street

2011-09-27T08:58:00.000-06:00

The other night I went with a group from our church to visit with youth that live on the streets in Zona 3 by the dump.

I didn't take a camera, so the photo you see here is just a generic one, not the actual people we visited.

We gathered around right out on a side street with about 30 - 40 of the young people and we sang some songs, hung out with them and then gave each one a spaghetti dinner.

The purpose wasn't to preach, but to just talk, and listen to them. Let them know that they do have value and that someone does care.

Jóvenes that live on the streets

I talked with a few young guys that wanted to show me all of their break dancing moves!

They were inhaling their 'sol' all the time (they soak small rags in solvent, and inhale the fumes to get high) so their dance moves really weren't all that great, but they enjoyed showing me!

This is not the first time I have been there, and I'm sure won't be the last, but is always difficult to watch as they destroy themselves with sol. There are some girls in the group, and sadly, there were two kids around 2 to 3 yrs old.

After an hour or so visiting with the youth, our group left and went to Zona 1 to take some food and visit with a group of prostitutes and transvestites.

The women in our group visited with the prostitutes, while the men prepared the spaghetti!

This is a ministry that involves several churches on a revolving basis, so we will go about every other month.

Coming to a town near you! (if you live near where I'm going)

2011-09-25T08:28:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's right! I will be coming to visit if you're where I'm going!

I will be making a three week trip to the States soon, to try and build some more support for our ministry here in Guatemala. Over the past couple of years, as the economy has gone in the tank all over the world, we also have seen our support go down. It reached a point earlier this year where our mission told us we were almost 5K in the hole, and they were lowering our salary 35%.

If you can imagine yourself living on 35% less, you understand.

So.....I will be traveling to visit a couple of churches and any groups we can arrange, individuals etc. to share what we are doing and pray the Lord will lead some to partner with us in His exciting work!

Arriving in the Northwest....PRICELESS!

It worked out just right, I had almost exactly the amount of airmiles to be able to make this trip.

Sandi spent a few weeks visiting a lot of folks in August, and now it's my turn!

I will be in Denton, Texas from October 27 to November 3,

and then I will be

in the Seattle / Bellingham area from November 3 to November 16.

If you are anywhere in the vicinity of these place, and would like to get together, just let me know!

And....if you would like to help....AWESOME!

I could use some help from a few people to arrange some opportunities to share what God is doing here, in churches, or small groups.

A dessert, or lunch, gathering for coffee, pretty much any ideas would be a great help.

Any ideas you have, just contact me!

Please pray that the Lord would bring everything together as only He can.

Oh, and as a little extra blessing for me, I will be in Bellingham for our daughter Kimberly's birthday!

And our son in law Sergey's too!

Odds and Ends, Upcoming STUFF!

2011-09-24T17:03:00.000-06:00

In our lives, there is always something happening, pretty much every day brings new and often unexpected opportunities to serve here in Guatemala. It took awhile to get used to it, it kind of goes against the North American way of planning and scheduling. hahaha

Personally, I love it, flexibility is a good thing!

Sandi has adapted to it and starts each day with the question "I wonder what today holds for us?"

For example, it is not uncommon for one of our 'former' youth, when they have a day off, to call us and ask if we are at home. Then they say they are at the gate outside! Then, we have a guest to hang out with us for the day. Sometimes it changes our plans for the day, sometimes they just join us in our plans! I am just thankful that they want to come be with us. Most of them consider us to be their family, as they don't have any that cares for them. This is real discipleship. They have very little free time so to want to spend it with us is a great thing. Another example, just the other day I received a call from one of our youth..."will you be home tomorrow afternoon?" She is taking an English class at the University and needed help. So, a couple hours of tutoring, then of course dinner with us, etc.

We are so blessed when we pour our lives into these young people.

Or, the other day one of the juvenil houses had a plugged drain, so I spent the morning fixing things so they can wash clothes again. And, there are closets to fix....

Allen and Kara Rea

Another thing we do, that we love, is hosting visitors. A couple from Georgia, Allen & Kara Rea, are interested in serving in Guatemala long term. Allen is a pastor of a small church and is finishing his Masters at Seminary this year. He is very interested in teaching Seminary here in Guatemala. So, in August we hosted them for a week, showed them around some, shared our lives with them, arranged meetings at both CAM affiliated seminaries here, and just had a good time together!

They have since returned home and are beginning the long term application process with CAM!

Singing carols at Nochebuena

We are beginning to gear up for some upcoming events. The big one is Nochebuena. That is our big Christmas Eve outreach we hold in Zona 3 for the families around the dump.

It literally takes about 2 months of planning and work to get it all together. We will have a budget of about $3000 for the entire outreach, and at this point we have...well...about $0. So....if you're interested...just ask!

There will be more about this coming out in another month or so.

Youth servant team for Nochebuena

We are also continuing with plans for La Luz Brilla, the transition home we hope to open for young ladies. The idea being to take girls 18 and over, that are leaving children's homes etc, and need to transition into an independent life. Coming out of the lives they have grown up in, they have many obstacles to overcome most young people don't have.

We want to come alongside them to disciple, coach, teach, help them learn how they can, with God's help, not just make it on their own, but lead a successful life, and successful family to help break the cycle so prevalent here of broken families in poverty.

We will need to raise some funds for this much needed ministry. The need is growing each month.

We have met with another couple that has a very similar vision and are brainstorming with them, possibilities for working together in many areas. Please join us in praying for these things.

Potential girls for La Luz Brilla

Along with hosting visitors and teams, and coordinating and supervising interns, we will also be receiving a couple of 'mid-term' missionaries over the next few months. Mid-term is considered between 6 months and 2 years of service, mas o menos.

We will help them get settled in and started in their ministries.

So, lots of things coming up, along with new things each day for us to do! And, sandwiched in with all this, I will be traveling to the States for 3 weeks Oct 27 - Nov 16 to do some fund raising.

Our personal support is still very low, as well as looking for funding for the things mentioned above.

Elections Guatemala style!

2011-09-23T15:19:00.001-06:00

Finally, after about 6+ months of campaigning (4 legally) that was, at the least, not boring, on September 11th Guatemala went to the polls to elect a new president, along with all other offices throughout Guatemala.

In the end, after starting with 14 official parties, several parties formed alliances, so there were officially 10 parties running for president.

Running out of post space for more signs!

This, after one candidate was disallowed for trying to disregard the constitution. After fighting it all the way to the Supreme Court and finally losing just a month before the election. This was the current presidents "ex-wife". Ex because the Constitution states that family members of the sitting president cannot legally run. So...after she started campaigning, and realizing this, she divorced her husband "for the good of Guatemala".

Another candidate was disallowed until winning in the courts and being reinstated as a candidate with just 3 weeks before the elections.

They added more signs here the week after this photo

There were constant rallies, and marches, loudspeakers blaring the virtues of their respective candidate, protests, threats, mud-slinging, violence and murders, arson and, just in case nobody noticed it was an election year, SIGNS. EVERYWHERE! If there was a post or pole somewhere, it had as many signs on it as would fit. And, if there wasn't a post, they put one in! Or hung the signs over the roads between posts, that were of course covered with signs!

Buena vista!

The best place for signs is in your line of sight for oncoming traffic!

And now, post election day?

Well, since no one candidate received over 50% of the vote, there will be a run-off on November 6th between the top two candidates.

Manuel Baldizon vs. Otto Perez Molina

At least they are removing all the other signs, so will just be signs for those two now.

Please pray the run-off will be peaceful and that Guatemala will respect the laws.

Pray for safety here, as things overall continue to deteriorate with a bad economy, growing poverty and crime. Pray that God would use all of it to bring Guatemala to the realization that, more than ever, we need God.

Pray that God would use us as instruments in whatever way He chooses to truly be servants here.

Sandi visits the NW

2011-09-23T12:11:00.000-06:00

After Next Step and our visit with Felicita in Kentucky, Sandi traveled to the NW for a few weeks of relaxation, visits and sharing about our ministries here in Guatemala.

She was able to spend a lot of time with our daughter Kimberly and her husband, Sergey.

And, of course, one of the first things to do was visit Safeco Field for a Mariners game!

What is more beautiful?

They had a great time with beautiful weather.

Kimber meets the Moose!

Sandi was able to spend time with most of her brothers and sisters and catch up after a long time between visits! She also was able to visit many of her old friends, as well as friends and supporters of ours for many years.

Baptism at Lake Padden

She also was invited to attend a baptism with a Russian evangelical church that some of Sergey's family attends.

This ain't sprinkling

Sandi says the baptism was a huge blessing for her to be at. It was a very God honoring event attending by a large gathering.

Sandi sharing at Northlake Community Church

Sandi also had several opportunities to share our ministries here. It is always a blessing to share what God is doing here in Guatemala, and we pray through these opportunities that He may lead more people to partner with us in His work. Our support continues to be low, and we need to do more fundraising efforts like this.

KENTUCKY!

2011-09-23T09:15:00.000-06:00

At the end of our time at Next Step in Texas, we had several days to relax.

Maria went on a week long backpacking trip in Colorado with the high school group from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX.

So, while she was away, Sandi and I went on a road trip!

Great friends in Denton loaned us their car (a '02 Lexus! NICE!) and, with the help of a GPS unit, (amazing thing, new for us folks from outside the USA) we headed for Kentucky to visit Felicita!

Felicita with her papá

We found out that Kentucky is a little farther from Texas than we thought! Hahaha the USA is really a big place!

So, about 13 1/2 hours later, we arrived in Berea, Kentucky, home of Berea College where our daughter attends!

We had 3 days there with Felicita and it was WONDERFUL!!!

She had a great time showing us around 'her' town, and we just relaxed and hung out with her.

Relaxing in Kentucky!

And, Kentucky is really beautiful! At least what we saw of it.

It was so good to spend time with Felicita in her place. To see her college, meet a few of her friends.

It just amazes us that she is already in her Junior year now! And hoping to maybe graduate a semester early!

We then took a two day trip back to Texas, enjoying the drive un montón!

NEXT STEP 2011

2011-09-23T08:56:00.000-06:00

Each year we end our summer intern program with Next Step, a 3 day de-briefing and "where do I go from here" gathering held in Texas. All the Summer interns from all the CAM fields that host them attend.

So, we all met in Denton, TX July 17 - 20 for a sweet time of sharing stories and discovering how God can use these experiences for His Kingdom.

Guatemala Summer Interns 2011

Sandi, Maria and I also attend. Sandi and I lead one of the small groups as we discuss their experiences and "what do you do with it anyway?" "How can God use this experience to help guide me on the path He has for me?"

It is a great time of processing and beginning to pull things together.

Ellie and me at Next Step

We had over 20 interns total attending and really went through a lot of stuff in only a couple of days.

But, then it comes to an end, and is time for the interns to all return to their homes, families, friends, studies, jobs etc. Back to the real world.

That can be a very bitter sweet time. And for us, is always a hard time of "see ya laters".

But, never goodbyes!

Excursión Familiar with families from Zona 3

2011-07-04T16:07:00.001-06:00

We know there were many of you praying for this outreach we called

"Excursión Familiar"

and want to report that your prayers were heard and it was a WONDERFUL day!

The idea was to have a day for families, which most rarely have an opportunity to share. Many of these families don't have both parents, or if they do, the dads are not very involved, or are abusive, acoholics, addicts etc. My main objective in the beginning was to have an outing where we could share with the men mostly, to encourage them of the importance of being involved, and of being a good role model for their children. As well as to share the Gospel as most have never surrendered to it. Then, to give them the opportunity to have an undivided day with their children.

Getting ready to load the buses!

We rented two buses, and hoped we would get a good turnout. We set a limit of 80 people, hoping the Lord would send us a little more! Well, once we got buses loaded and left for the parque, we had an even 100 people!

Forming lines (kind of) to enter the Parque

We left the city and went to "Senderos de Alux" an eco park on top of one of the mountains outside Guatemala City, about 7,500 feet elevation. It is a beautiful place with trails, lookouts, a zipline, play equipment, BBQs and more! Only about 5 of the people had ever been there before!

The long trail down to our area

We had a covered BBQ area reserved that had a large patio with it.

One of our biggest concerns was the weather, as we are high up, and it is the rainy season. We were praying along with many, for a nice day. Well, it began to rain lightly right as we arrived at our spot. But, it soon stopped, and by lunch, we were getting a little sun! Praise the Lord!

The women received an encouraging message

We began the time by separating the women and the men, each receiving an encouraging message.

Meanwhile the children were playing with some of our youth that came to help.

Gathering to sing worship songs

After the messages, we all gathered around the covered area for a time of worship through music. Oscar brought his guitar and led us in alabanzas to the Lord!

Lots of family fun!

There was also some free time for families and friends to just enjoy the fun and beauty that was around us!

Cutting peppers, not sure hermana Raquel trusts me...

Hermanas Ana y Raquel, with a few of us helping, got the fires going and began preparing a delicious lunch!

We had carne asada with chirmol, elote, potato salad, tortillas, watermelon and juice!

Free for all time!

There was plenty of time to explore and play while lunch was being prepared.

Some sweet times the kids will never forget!

We saw smiles everywhere...even on some faces I hadn't seen smile before!

A day to relax and truly enjoy family!

Truly, for many of those attending, it was literally the first time they had ever done something like this as a family.

Hermano Samuel sharing the Gospel

Before lunch was served, hermano Samuel, gave a very clear and simple presentation of the Gospel and an invitation to accept it. At least a couple of people, including one dad, publicly acknowledged accepting the Lord!

I was even asked to share a few words

Then I was asked to share a few words as the host before we could eat.

It was truly a privilege and a HUGE blessing for me just to be there in the presence of those people.

My heart was just overflowing watching the families smiling and relaxing.

Ended the day with three piñatas!

And, as with any good party, we ended with piñatas...three piñatas to be exact!

I think the adults enjoyed them as much as the children, they were right in the middle scrambling for candy too!

But, as all things eventually do, the time came to go home. Everyone helped pack everything back up, up, up to the buses for the ride back to the real world.

What a joy to watch the faces, buses filled with smiling contented people!

Please keep these people in your prayers. That the seeds planted would receive water and nutrients, that the seeds would sprout and grow.

Pray that the men especially would take what they heard, and experienced, and desire to become better husbands and fathers.

Pray we would continue to see more doors opened through these events, and that we may enter and be a part of these lives.

Praise our God for a FANTASTIC day!

RANDOM MOMENTS

2011-07-04T14:56:00.003-06:00

A few more pics of random things from the past week or so...

We had a two day mini-retreat with 4 or our interns at Las Buenas Nuevas in Panajachel.

Intern retreat at Panajachel

We seem to get a lot of former interns that come back to visit! Allison, an intern from 2010, came back for a visit and had dinner with us and two of this years interns, Alex and CJ. We had a fun evening, but whenever I try to have a serious discussion....

You try to have a serious moment...

Sometimes Sandi even has trouble being serious...

was it something I said?

Really, trying to be serious...

We continue to have youth activities on Saturdays and had Alex and CJ join in.

Here we played some fútbol even though it rained a little...wet is okay when it's this much fun!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

I even scored a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

although not in this picture,

That is CJ's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

The end of another fun afternoon!

A wet, but happy little group this Saturday!

Intern Retreat

2011-07-01T22:07:00.000-06:00

So, haven't posted in a while, but not because we haven't been doing anything, more because we're always doing something! We have been busy with our interns, mostly with Alex and CJ in at the Casita. We have spent a lot of time with them, Ellie has been sick, but is now getting well. Then Alex got sick. Funny how that works, several of us got a little cold, flu like thing from little Ellie.

We have had the girls home with us most week-ends and it's been fun. We've also had other guests, overlapping so the house has been busy! Sundays are always a treat as we take kids to church with us, and never really know how many we might have until we pick them up. Sometimes they come home with us after church for the afternoon also. Like Father's day...we had a house full ALL day...it was wonderful!

Always extra activities along with our time for the interns.

We also just had a mini-retreat with four and a half of our interns. We took Marissa, Lauren, CJ, Alex and Ellie to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. Along with Oscar and myself, Sandi & Maria.

Visit with the Foote's

Highlight of the trip was having lunch and visiting with Danny and Daphne Foote and their 5 kids.

The Foote's live in Santiago, Atitlan, which is across the lake. We rented a boat, took a ride across the lake to the Foote's own dock!

Alex and Ellie on the boat ride

The Foote's had a great lunch ready for us, then we spent time hearing their story of their work in Santiago, and even learned a few words in Tz'utujil, the Mayan tongue spoken there,

Dinner and the all women Marimba band

Back in Panajachel, we had a dinner out and were entertained by an all female Marimba band. They were very good, and the food wasn't bad either. We spent some time worshiping back at our 'house' and then spent some time with the interns sharing experiences and frustrations, hard things etc. It was a really good time of knowing them all better and growing much closer as a group.

This is a very special group of young ladies.

These kids and more, with their families, will be at the outreach "Excursión Familiar"

I want to briefly share about an upcoming outreach we will be having. This coming Sunday, July 3rd, we will take two buses filled with families from zona 3, in the neighborhood right alongside the largest landfill dump in Central America, out of the city to "Senderos de Alux". This is a beautifil eco-park, on top of a mountain with trails, kids play areas, beautiful views of Guatemala City and fresh air! Many of these families have never seen anyplace like this! The purpose, however, is primarily for the men. Many children basically live in single parent homes becomes the men choose not to be involved. Many are drug users, or alcoholics, in gangs etc. Abuse in the homes is more common than not, both spouse abuse and child abuse. We will have messages for the men about the importance of being a good role model, etc, and the damage when they are not. There will be an evangelistic message for all, lunch, games for the kids and for the families, prizes, piñatas....a full day of fun!

Please pray for this event, that God would prepare and soften hearts for the Gospel that can change their lives!

EMERGE Summer Interns 2011

2011-06-02T21:27:00.001-06:00

Our EMERGE Summer Intern Program 2011 is under way!

We have 4 1/2 interns here now with another to arrive in just a few more days.

Lauren Courtney arrived two weeks ahead of the others to study Spanish in Antigua. Then, on May 25 we were to receive three more. Marissa Marrone, Brynne Mattson and Alex Chatfield with her 14 month old daughter, Ellie! I had scheduled three airport runs for that day, one in the morning, one afternoon, and one in the evening. However, due to tornadoes in the mid-west flights were canceled and or changed, so I made one airport run in the evening to get two girls, and one the next morning! They were all well with no problems, so that is all that really mattered.

Interns 2011 - Ellie, Alex, Marissa, Lauren & Brynne (l to r)

All of the flight changes caused us to basically scrap our schedule for our four day orientation, and change it all on the fly! That is actually good news for me, cause I do random better than scheduled!

Some things are important, we spend a lot of time talking culture, safety and security (very important) normal living here, ministry expectations etc.

We also spend time seeing a little of Guatemala, and they even got some Spanish lessions.

Worship at Kairos House

We spent an evening leading a worship time at Casa Kairos, a compassion ministry sort of like a Ronald McDonald House, for children with cancer and their families.

Brynne trying to make tortillas like Susana's

One of the best cultural lessons of course is FOOD! They got to eat Guatemalan food, and some even tried their hands at making tortillas!

Spanish class

We had a certified Spanish teacher for two days of lessons.

Alex and Ellie cheering Barcelona to victory!

One of the highlights (at least for me) was our Champions League Final party! We had 26 people over, our interns and some of our youth, to watch the final game, Barcelona vs Manchester United. Most all of us, were supporting Barcelona to the title with our team jerseys, even little Ellie!

Singing at church

The last day of orientation we visited a church near by. Unfortunately we could not attend our church because they were having an all day retreat we could not go to because of other commitments. Although we did get to go to our favorite taco stand for lunch!

Now, the interns have finished their orientation and are serving in their ministries.

Brynne is in Xela serving with the Scott's, fellow CAM missionaries.

Marissa and Lauren are serving at El Oasis in San Lucas.

Alex and Ellie are at Casita Benjamin in Guatemala City.

We have one more intern coming, Claire "CJ" Hall, will arrive June 8 and will also serve at Casita Benjamin.

Barcelona - Campeones

2011-05-31T10:26:00.001-06:00

Okay, so what is maybe the only thing bigger in fútbol (soccer) than the World Cup Final?

Well, it is the final for the UEFA Champions League!

This is a months long tournament of the top professional club teams of Europe.

So, as far as talent goes, these teams are better than national teams would be.

And, as expected, Barcelona, from Spain, considered by many to not only be currently the best team in the world but perhaps the best of all time, was in the final against Manchester United from England.

Well, we can't let an opportunity for a fun day pass without doing something, so we hosted a

"Champions Day Party".

What made it even better was that it happened to be right in the middle of our four day EMERGE Summer Intern Program Orientation time.

The Champions!

We made a great deal to buy enough Barcelona jerseys (our favorite team) for everyone, invited a bunch of our youth that love fútbol, and had a GREAT day!

Ready to begin!

The house was decorated, the mood was festive and the game began!

Intensely focused

Manchester put up a good battle for the first 5 - 10 minutes, then Barcelona took control.

General admission section

There were only two or three traitors (Non Barsa fans) out of an announced crowd of 26 people! And, they were pretty good sports after getting beat 3-1 in a game not that close.

During the game we had pizza, and after the game cake as we celebrated a couple of birthdays.

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a movie with the youth.

It was fun for our interns to see the passion for fútbol, even in the younger kids.

Evelyn with our youngest intern, Ellie!

And, of course, even our youngest intern is a die-hard Barsa fan! I think she clapped the loudest when Barcelona won the game!

Intern - Tim Sloma - aka - Tim from Maine!

2011-04-07T11:17:00.001-06:00

Many people wonder "just what do interns do with Mike & Sandi?"

Well, meet Tim Sloma, aka: Tim from Maine, or aka: Single Tim from Maine! or aka: Tim the bug man.

Tim is from Maine, where there were sub-freezing temps and snow when he left (and also when he returned).
Interns do many different things with us. Some serve in specific ministries etc. Some just want to learn what being a missionary is.

It can be very hard to sum up what we do, so Tim's purpose for coming was mainly to just do what we do on a regular basis, to see just what everyday life is like for a missionary here. He wanted to help where ever needed and just be a part of what we do.

Tim from Maine

What Tim discovered over 5 weeks with us is that it can be hard to define what we do and put it all into words. He learned that it is very hard to quantify or measure what we do. We don't do numbers well, but what we do do is make relationships. Tim learned a lot about time running differently here. Time is to be spent with people, and he did lots of that. When I asked Tim at the end of his time here, what was something here that he hadn't expected before he came. He said, "I didn't expect to spend so much time with kids and youth. But...I loved it!"

Painting buckets for water filters with youth group

Tim also brought 28 water filters with him to be given out to families in need. So shortly after he arrived we bought buckets and had an afternoon painting buckets with many of our youth.

Giving away clothes at Casita Benjamín

Tim helped us with a big clothes give-away at Casita Benjamin in partnership with Abrazando mi Guatemala, a local ministry we assist. We were able to give away a LOT of clothes to poor families that live in the neighborhood around the dump. While the adults were picking out clothes the kids were having a fun time with organized games!

Team from St. Andrew Presbyterian church, Denton, TX

Tim helped us prepare for a team from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX.

He then joined in as part of the team for 10 days as we worked at a school in Puerto San José for 3 days before returning to the capital to work at Las Aldeas children's home.

Ferry to visit a small rural church

While in Puerto San José he joined me and a couple others for a day visiting 8 daughter churches and giving out water filters. He learned a lot of the challenges facing these small rural churches.

Providing water filters to another church

Each church we visited we were able to provide several water filters, one for the church, and some for the families with greatest need in each church.

These were important visits because they laid groundwork for building relationships with these churches for future partnership in spreading the Gospel.

Mayan ruins at Iximché

Tim also got to see many different things in Guatemala. He saw more Mango trees than most people will ever see! He also saw and learned more of the Mayan culture that is the root of Guatemala.

Lago de Atitlán

He also visited what is perhaps the most beautiful lake in the world!

Tim's pet "Cuchillo"

Tim also has a strange attraction to bugs. He collected several different things and kept them alive as pets!

He had a scorpion he named Cuchillo (knife in Spanish), 2 cucarachas, a good sized spider etc.

Sandi told him several times "Tim, our house is NOT a zoo!"

He finally embalmed them in alcohol to take home with him (after losing a spider and cucaracha trying to get them into the alcohol...finally catching them again before Sandi found out)

playing with kids...it's what we do!

Did I mention we spent a lot of time with kids?

Actually doing some work! well, watching Mike work.

We did finally try to get some actual, measurable work done...fixing drains still plugged since Volcán Pacaya blew and cyclone Agatha hit last year.

Well, Tim watched...okay, he did help some too, although I still haven't finished due to many activities etc to do with kids and youth!

Taking youth group bowling

He helped me take a group of 21 youth bowling, many of them for the very first time!

Making mariposas with youth group

Tim learned so many different things on this internship. He now knows how to make mariposas (butterflies) out of coffee filters and pipe cleaners!

Celebrating Maria's cumpleaños

Tim helped celebrate a couple birthdays while here, one in Las Aldeas for one of our youth, and another for our daughter Maria!

Buying a hand crafted box after providing a water filter to this man for his family

We also visited the neighborhood by the largest landfill dump in Central America to give water filters to some very needy families. We gave one to a gentleman that has a very small one room woodworking business. After we gave him a filter for he and his family to use, he showed us some of his handiwork. Tim even bought a small hand carved wood box from him!

Any wonder he didn't want to leave?

Tim also got to know many of the young people we work with, many of which happen to be girls. Tim seemed to really enjoy the relationship building part of our ministry! Just kidding!

Several of these girls are part of our youth group, and go to church with us etc. so Tim got to know them a little bit. This foto is saying goodbye before he left for the USA.

So, Tim...miss us?

What a blessing having Tim here was for us, and a big encouragement to know that God is raising people up to do great things for His Kingdom.

Thank you Tim from Maine!

Getting robbed...what a Blessing!

2011-03-24T19:55:00.000-06:00

So, I want to share a HUGE praise with you all!

Won't sound like it at first...but, it still astounds me!

Tuesday morning our car was broken into and we lost a lot.

In the previous post you can read about the team we just had here from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX.

The team left Monday afternoon, and Tuesday morning I went to the gym to swim (for my back, Drs. orders). While in the gym someone broke into our car and stole lots. Tore the dash console open to steal the radio. I left my cel phone and my wallet in the car, because the parking lot is guarded and there is nowhere secure in the locker room. Anyway, I had an extra large amount of cash because I need to pay the remaining bills for the team that just left. So, they stole the stereo, my cel phone, and lots of money. BUT...PRAISE GOD, AND BIG. They took the time to go through my wallet. Think about this. You're a thief stealing things from a car in a guarded parking lot with people coming and going at about 8:30AM. You want to get stuff and go as fast as possible...right? You find a small wallet, what do you do? Well, I would put it in my pocket and go....later, in a safe place, I would go through it and throw away what I don't want.

My license

Okay, well, whoever did this, made a conscience decision, I believe it was Spirit led, Susana is sure it was angels, but I had money folded up in my wallet between cards etc. They removed all the cash, but they left, my driver license, my cedula (national ID, hard to get and replace) my tarjeta de circulación (proof of ownership for the car you must have at all times) my credit card and debit card!
You have no idea how much trouble, time and money it would take to replace those things. All told we probably lost around $500 including phone, stereo, cash and fixing the door.

Cover of my Cédula

So, I have replaced the phone and put the dash console back together (they took it apart carefully, not breaking anything!) and fixed the door lock which they forced with a screwdriver.

I am sooooo thankful this didn't happen while the team was here.

I am sooooo thankful for God's providence in this. There just is no other explanation for finding my things. Even the pictures of my kids were replaced in my wallet!

We are so blessed, we lost a few things, but that's all they were...cash, radio, phone...

we were spared the tremendous stress, time and cost of having to replace IDs and other necessary things.

God is good...ALL THE TIME!

Equipo San Andrés es lo mejor!

2011-03-23T23:01:00.000-06:00

Some of our FAVORITE people came to serve with us from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX March 13 - 21. I'm sure some of you are wondering why they are some of our favorites.....well, for starters, they brought me a supply of red licorice and Root Beer!

This was the 4th consecutive year we have hosted a team from St. Andrew for Spring Break. This years trip was full of many different experiences for the team.

We started the first morning by taking them to Puerto San José on the Pacific coast...yes, we visited the beach!

Equipo San Andrés

In Puerto San José we worked at Colegio Evangélico Génesis, a school connected to the CAM church in San José. The colegio has 220 students and is working on completing a 3rd floor.

The students loved watching the gringos work!

We poured concrete columns, demo'd some walls, plastered a lot of walls etc. We also put chain link fence around the perimeter of the roof area which also serves as a small fútbol field!

The team also were the program for the Tuesday night children's program at the church, with games, story, crafts and songs.

Plastering walls at the colegio

While we were in San José I had the privilege to take 3 of the team with myself and Rony Montepeque, the director of the colegio, to visit some of the 8 daughter church's of the CAM church.

Giving filters to Iglesia Monte Sion

We met some pastors and elders of the churches, and heard some of their successes and challenges.

We also gave out several water filters at each church, for the church to use and also to give to the families with the greatest needs.

Giving filters to another baby church

All told, we gave out 20 filters throughout the day. And it was a full day...when we left we were told it would be about a two to three hour tour. Remember, Gilligan was told the same thing! Well we ended up being gone all day!

Taking a ferry to visit another remote church plant

But, it was a GREAT day! We took a small ferry to cross a river to visit a small remote church. The ferry had many gaps and holes in the floor, with the water just a couple of inches below, but it was fine.

We gave out more filters at this church

We also saw more Mango trees than most people see in a lifetime! At this church, we ate yellow Mangos picked from the tree, drank and ate Coco picked from the tree, ate Oranges and green Mangos with Limones picked from the tree. (Did you know they have at least 9 different types of Mangos?) We also saw Papaya and Almond trees on the church property. So...guess it was a lot like Gilligan!

New swings at Las Aldeas

After three days in San José we returned to Guatemala City. We then worked two days at Las Aldeas, painting the inside of houses and also repaired play equipment and provided new swings. There were afternoon activities with all the kids after they returned from school.

Breakfast with the Tia's

One of the high-lites for me was being able to do something special for the Tia's. The women who are in charge of the houses and 115+ children that live there. Their job is one of little thanks and recognition, the children always getting the attention. But I have witnessed the love and sacrifice given these children that mean so much to me, and wanted them to have a special day. So, with a few of the girls from St. Andrew, we took all the Tia's out to breakfast, then returned and the gals had a short program to encourage and thank them. I was able to explain our ministry to the many new Tia's also.

The Tia's with their new aprons

Then, the Tia's all received wonderful gift bags the team brought for them, and each received a beautiful apron made by Jan Lewis.

Lago de Atitlán

There also has to be some 'cultural' experience so we took a day and visited the Mayan ruins at Iximché on our way to beautiful Lake Atitlán. Makes a long day to do all that but it was a wonderful day!

Singing at Iglesia Heme Aquí Señor

Sunday we attended the church Sandi and I have been attending the past month+ and really enjoy. It is Iglesia Heme Aquí Señor.

The women of the team sang four songs for the church after an hour+ of worship with the church worship team.

Brandon preaching

Then, Pastor Brandon was given the opportunity to give the message through a translator. For a first time with a translator Brandon did GREAT!

TACOS!

Then, after 3 hours at church the team deserved....TACOS!

Visiting Casita Benjamín

Monday morning before heading to the airport we visited Casita Benjamín, where a team from St. Andrew had worked two years ago. We sang several songs with the kids, then the children sang some songs for us!

What the team doesn't always get see are the benefits we receive after they return home. Their service at Las Aldeas last year opened many new doors for me there. And their service this years is going to do the same. They helped us start a new partnership with ministry in Puerto San José. Their return to Las Aldeas and the activities and program for the Tia's will for sure grow our youth ministry there.

THANK YOU ST. ANDREW!

You are a tremendous blessing for us, you will be rewarded in heaven for your love and sacrifice.

We Love You!

As Much Fun As Pulling Teeth!

2011-03-03T20:58:00.000-06:00

Hi. This is Sandi. I'm just so excited to share about the privilege I had to join a team from Minnesota last week to do some dental & eye clinics in many different villages in Huehuetenango.

Sandi and team from Minnesota

I was invited by Edwin Martinez and Gail Davison and am so thankful for the invitation they offered me to join the team and be blessed.

Dr. Rick DDS, Nurse Sandi, Nurse Nancy & Dr. Jeff DDS

We had two Dentists, an Eye Doctor and several talented nurses, painters and children's workers. We saw God working in many miraculous ways as we came into contact with hundreds of people.

Sandi giving parasite medicine

I had the privilege of passing out over 200 vials of Parasite medicine, and most of the people were very grateful (although several younger children really didn't appreciate it much.)

Space age stuff for these kids!

But one of my favorite experiences was witnessing an 8 year old boy see clearly for the very first time. The Dr. checked his eyes and said that he had MANY problems and didn't think that they would ever find the right prescription (out of the many pairs of used glasses they had brought)

Seeing clearly for the first time!

but they found the perfect prescription and I got to watch as they put them on him and he said, "I can see!" and looked all around in amazement at the beauty of the mountains and people and things that he had never in his life seen clearly before. Then, I looked at his mother, who put her hands up to her face and cried as she watched this miracle before her eyes. It was so, so touching.

Dr. Rick pulling more teeth

After, passing out all the medicine, I had the privilege of working with the Dentists and an OR nurse. Just putting on a pair of rubber gloves and working with the medical people brought joy to my heart and made me realize how much I missed working as a nurse. All I did was help clean instruments and hold down some children for extractions and hold the peoples hands to help them through, but I never realized how much joy that could bring to me. The Dentists (as well as the others) were so loving and caring, it was just a blessing to watch them work.

Church service in Aguacatán

During the week, we also attended 3 church services, a funeral (which was so sad but it was very impactfull to us all), a singing and evangelism time in a market place, painting in a school and 2 maps in the Huehue Guest house, and several kids meetings. We also, had the chance to give out 12 Water Filters in Agua Dulce. It was busy, busy, busy! The fellowship we shared through out the week was so awesome, and I am so, so thankful to God for allowing me to enjoy such a blessed week.

Fútbol is life!

2011-01-24T12:07:00.000-06:00

I had a dream!

Okay, so I spend quite a bit of time at Las Aldeas. Las Aldeas is the facility where most all of the youth we work with are from. There are 13 homes on site with a capacity of 10 - 12 kids per home. Currently on site there are about 110 kids. Another 35 - 40 teen-agers live off site in 4 other houses, 2 for boys and 2 for girls.

If you visit Las Aldeas you will see many things, but one constant is there will almost always be someone playing on the soccer field! It is part of the culture here, many schools, neighborhoods etc are literally built around a soccer field! If there is a semi-flat piece of land, the soccer field goes there, then the rest is figured out! Many times here you will hear the soccer field of a school, park, neighborhood etc referred to as "holy ground".

Look at the photo below, what do you see?

Soccer field at Las Aldeas

That is the well used soccer field at Las Aldeas. You can't see in this photo, but the corner where the pic is taken actually goes uphill about 2 feet. There are lumps and dips. Rocks and dust. In the rainy season it is mud.....but they still play!

So..........my dream. For two years I have been praying for God to provide the means for this. I have shared with many people over the last two years my dream of being able to improve the soccer field, level it, put in good drainage etc.

My bigger dream, which I have been praying for also.......I shared with fewer people, because it seems too GRANDE for here was:

ARTIFICIAL TURF!

This would be nice because you just can't keep grass there, they can't afford the maintenance so it dies in the dry season, and drowns in the rainy season.

Artificial Turf

So, last November the new Director of CAG, the school our daughter attends, told me he wanted to see the sports teams at CAG do more than just play games. As part of their spiritual development he wanted them to become involved in the community, so he asked if I could help.

I offered to have them, both men's and women's teams, come visit Las Aldeas and play soccer, and teach the kids also.

So we began in December taking the men's team once every other week, and also the women's team every other week, to get to know the kids and teach them soccer and play with them.

It is wonderful!

Now, after their first visit to Las Aldeas, one of the students came to me and asked if it would be alright for them to do a service project there? He said they would like to help level and fix the field!

HELLO???? Been praying for that for two years!!!!

So, we began to discuss the possibility.

I never shared with them I had been praying for exactly this, just waited to see what God was going to do!

My dream!

A short time later, the Athletic Director for CAG called me to ask a question.

He told me that the students were very excited about the prospect of fixing the field and were looking for more help. One of the students was sharing about it with their parents, and somehow,

WE HAVE BEEN OFFERED A DONATION OF USED ARTIFICIAL TURF ENOUGH FOR THE ENTIRE FIELD!!!!!!

God is really, really good! Las Aldeas has agreed to accept the donation, and we are hoping it will happen soon.

Please pray for this project. There is much that will need to be done to be able to use the turf, leveling, drains, and a good base.

But the students of CAG are looking for others to assist, and we hope to begin soon!

So, believe in the power of praying for your dreams, God will provide!

Coloring Books for Kids!

2011-01-24T11:27:00.001-06:00

If you've read our blog before you know of our strong connection with Casita Benjamín.

The Casita is a care center for kids that is about 2 blocks from the largest landfill dump in Central America. This is a very poor area, very dangerous and very dark spiritually neighborhood.

The Casita is a light for the neighborhood, giving a safe, healthy place for kids during the day, where they receive love, nourishment and instruction in life's basic lessons as well as learning about God's love for them.

Casita Benjamín

One of the things we do with the Casita is provide interns to help with the ministry there. We have been blessed to be able to provide interns for a good chunk of every year.

One of our interns Heidi Harriman served there the first time in 2008. She had a passion to return and help even more. So she did return and served for 8 months during 2010.

One of Heidi's goals was to begin a sponsorship program for more children to be able to attend the Casita.

This is an ongoing effort, and one thing she has developed to draw attention is a:

COLORING BOOK

She is sending these coloring books to those interested for a suggested donation of $5.

Please click on this link to learn more, and for how to order.

Click on this link to see another great blog about Heidi's coloring books!

The Casita, kids and all of us thank you!

More blessings!

2011-01-03T09:35:00.001-06:00

It is such a blessing to be able to help connect people and ministries together. One of the things I enjoy is being able to combine different ministries to make bigger and better! We do that a lot with our ministry to youth, connecting them to help serve in other areas.

I have mentioned before a ministry here "Abrazando mi Guatemala", that is a local ministry trying to reach out to poor communities by helping with basic needs. We have partnered with them to provide water filters etc. They contacted me shortly before Christmas with a request for some help. They had 1,000 lbs of good used clothing donated, and wanted to give it away to people living around the dump.

They don't really have any contacts there so asked me to help them.

The only thing was, it had to be done before the end of 2010, and...I am slightly busy in December.

But...........can't say no, right?

Setting up for the give away

Well, you can't just walk around those neighborhoods carrying lots of clothes, so we arranged to use Casita Benjamin, and invite the people to come there. So, Dec 30 we announced we would be there at 3 PM with free clothes.

People arriving

We arrived a few minutes late, and there were already about 50 people waiting!

We set things up, sorting out clothes by: mens, womens, childrens etc then let the people come on in!

Checking sizes

In about 20 minutes almost everything was gone! It was actually very organized and was a huge blessing to see so many people happy to receive new things!

Pleased with her selections!

It is a simple thing, but so very appreciated by the people, clothes here, while inexpensive by North American standards, are still expensive for people in these neighborhoods, and they really have very little. You will often see kids wearing the same shirts day after day.

Candy bags for all of the kids!

We also had some candy bags for all of the kids that came.

It really is such a blessing to be able to do these things, that while they are small things themselves, they really do transform lives here. God is doing great things here, and we are so blessed to be able to watch Him at work and to be asked to help in His work!

Please keep praying, there is always more to be done!

NOCHE BUENA 2010

2010-12-28T09:36:00.000-06:00

Okay, we've now had a couple of days to rest, recover, recuperate, relax, whatever you want to call it, so it is about time to report how things went!

I am pleased to report that all went very well, the only non-positive comment would be that there were fewer people attending this year than in the past years. That was a tad disappointing in that we were expecting more from the requests and contacts we had. One remark was that we have had some cold afternoons and evenings and lots of kids are a little sick so many people stayed home.

However, for those that were there it was a wonderful time!

Our Team!

We began in the morning with a couple of our youth coming to our house to help us get ALL of the stuff ready to go. The bus arrived about 1 PM at our house and we loaded everything on it. We then went and picked up all of our youth team and headed to Casita Benjamín.

Like last year, when we arrived, I just told the team, "First thing, we need to decorate" and let them go.

In hardly any time at they had the place looking FANTASTIC!

Decorating & getting ready!

Once everything was ready, we dedicated our time to the Lord, for His glory, and then waited for the guests to arrive.

Dedicating our time to the Lord in prayer before guests arrive!

The people began to arrive and our youth entertained the children while the adults enjoyed some Christmas music inside.

Playing with the children

After giving some time for people to arrive, we began by having the children join the adults inside and our youth led all in singing many Christmas Carols.

Singing Christmas Carols

After singing Carols, we sent the children back outside to the patio, where our youth had a program for them while the adults heard a message about the hope we only find in Christ.

The children saw a skit performed by our youth about Christmas being a birthday celebration for Jesus!

Then after the skit they had a presentation with pictures explaining the Christmas story.

Performing a skit for the children

After the programs, our youth served all a tamale dinner, with ponche and Sandi's famous Christmas cookies for dessert! After it was cleaned up, gifts were passed out to all the children, and each family received a canasta de viveres (basket full of basic goods).

Then we cleaned up and loaded all back on the bus to head for Las Aldeas!

Having fun on the bus!

One of the highlites each year for the youth has been the bus ride back! This year was no exception! They were pumped up and it was fun! We gave each one a diploma to commemorate their service, and also a gift as a thank you!

This year, we returned to Las Aldeas, the home where these kids all live. There are 13 houses on site, with around 120 kids total. Christmas is a depressing, sad, boring time normally for them, so we wanted to help build some GOOD Christmas memories for them.

We served them all a tamale dinner just like at the Casita, and then we set up our projector and watched the movie Polar Express with them!

They loved it!

Serving Tamales again at Las Aldeas

We want to thank you all so much for your prayers and support for this wonderful evening. It is a couple of full months worth of work to prepare, but is a HUGE blessing for many, many people.

We are blessed beyond imagination by being involved, and couldn't do it at all without all of you behind us.

A big thank you also to Wildwood Church, a major supporter for this year! May the Lord bless you for your help and multiply all you have done!

Las Galletas!

2010-12-23T22:59:00.000-06:00

We have come to the end of a long day, and with still a few more things to get done this will not be a long post.

We had 20 of our youth at the house all day today, making decorations for tomorrow and also 800+ cookies.

We were hoping for about 1,000, but most were a little thicker than normal (whatever happened to quality control?) and I think quite a few were eaten!

Sonia showing the star she made!

The youth worked pretty hard, they made lots of stars, out of construction paper, made paper chains (about 75 feet) and also some puffy ball thingys....don't know what they would be called.

Starting the cookies

They also made lots and lots of cookies! And, just like every year, there was flour from one end of the house to the other! The good part of that is they are pretty good at cleaning up, sweeping and mopping most all of the house.

One of the fun things was that over half of our youth today were taking part in the Christmas activities for their first time! There were also 5 more that weren't here today that will be tomorrow!

Frosting some of the 800+ cookies!

In another hour it will be the 24th here and that is SHOWTIME!

The kids are excited and I keep telling Sandi we can make it, only one more day, then we can take a break!

Lots of work tomorrow, it will be another long day! After we finish at Casita Benjamin, we will return to Las Aldeas, the home where all these kids live, and have a tamale dinner with about 120 there, then watch Polar Express with them.

The jóvenes that worked all day!

Please pray for tomorrow, that God will bless these youth for their service, and that many lives in Zona 3 could be forever changed through knowing the hope they can only find in Jesus Christ.

Christmas Carols at KAIROS

2010-12-22T08:21:00.000-06:00

Tuesday evening we took about 20 of our youth to visit Casa Kairos and sing Christmas Carols with the people staying there.

Casa Kairos is a compassion ministry for children with cancer and their families. It is a refuge for them as they come to the city for treatments.

Some of our youth singing at Casa Kairos

Our youth did a great job of singing out strongly, and serving cookies and a small gift to each one there.

We were also able to provide a little help by giving some beans, rice, oatmeal and salt to the house.

Some of the guests at Kairos

It was the first 'practice' for our youth in front of people as we continue to prepare for Noche Buena.

Tomorrow we will be spending ALL day with our youth baking cookies. The plan is for 1,000 cookies for TWO Noche Buena celebrations!

First at Casita Benjamin, then after that is over we will return to Las Aldeas and have a Tamale dinner and watch a movie with about 120 more people!

The end of a sweet evening

It was a GREAT time at Casa Kairos, and we look forward with great expectations to see how the Lord will work over the next few days.

Still some things to be done, but as always, without really ever knowing HOW, somehow God gets everything done and ready on time!

MAKING CANASTAS!

2010-12-20T08:35:00.000-06:00

Hunger is a BIG problem in Guatemala. Government numbers say over 60 % of the population is under nourished, and as much as 40% may be malnourished. As always, there are many factors for this, but primarily it is due to poverty.

This year to compound the problem, we had so much rain and flooding that a large percentage of crops were lost, which raises the prices for basic food items, beyond the reach of many.

Some of the 60 canastas we made!

A tradition here in Guatemala at Christmas is to give "Canastas de Viveres", which are baskets filled with basic everyday goods.

We wanted to try to give canastas to the families that will attend our Noche Buena dinner in Zona 3. We decided several months ago to plan for it, and trust God to provide all that would be needed.

And He did!

We received offerings from several individuals, and a large gift from Wildwood Church in Illinois!

This allowed us to plan for 60 canastas to give families in need this Christmas.

Each canasta contains: Rice, beans, oatmeal, Incaparina (a nourishing drink), sugar, salt, cooking oil, pasta, juice packets, soup packets, Maseca (to make tortillas) & coffee. There are also 4 Gospel tracts in each canasta.

Karla, Gaby & Carmen finishing some canastas

So, on Friday we had 16 of our youth come over for all day to help. First thing they did was wrap over 150 Christmas gifts for the children on Noche Buena.

Several of the goods we had purchased in bulk, oatmeal, beans, pasta etc. So we had a few youth packaging those things into smaller bags.

After we had pizza for lunch, we set up an assembly line to put the baskets together. It was a blast!

Before long we had canastas scattered all over our house! Then we had them all help wrap the canastas in cellophane and we were done!

Los jóvenes did a TON of work!

We had enough time afterward that I let them pick a movie to watch, so we watched Narnia 2!

It was a wonderful day, the youth LOVE getting to help serve others that have less than they do.

Please keep praying, we have lots more to do to be ready for Noche Buena in just 4 days!

Tomorrow we will have the youth together to practice carols and the drama they will perform. Then tomorrow evening we will take the youth to Kairos House to sing carols and do the drama there.

Thursday will be another all day activity with the youth making 1,000 Christmas Cookies!

Then.......FRIDAY IS SHOWTIME!

SHOPPING!

2010-12-11T09:02:00.000-06:00

One of the common factors of Christmas now a days is SHOPPING!

Well, we have spent the last few days doing a lot of that.

To get prepared for Noche Buena takes quite a few shopping trips!

Fortunately, many of the things we need we can order in advance, the food for the dinners, the accessories we need, i.e. tables and chairs, bus, servant shirts, band, sound equipment, etc. etc.

But, that still leaves a LOT of things we need to go out and get!

FULL!

A couple of days ago we went into Zona 3, we try to buy in the areas we are serving to help the community in that way also, to buy gifts for the children.

We bought over 150 gifts, to go with the 50 or so we already had.

We also bought LOTS of wrapping paper, tape, candy and more candy to make candy bags for each child.

We bought desachables for over 400 people! That's disposable stuff, plates, cups, forks, napkins, garbage bags etc.

Unloading lots of goods

Yesterday we went to CENMA, which is like a huge goods distribution center.

Produce and goods from all over Guatemala come there and are sold wholesale in bulk etc.

We bought most of the goods needed to make 60 "Canastas de Viveres".

These are baskets filled with basic goods to give to each family on Noche Buena.

The baskets will contain: rice, beans, pasta, oatmeal, soup, juice, cooking oil, incaparina (a nourishing drink like a thin oatmeal) coffee, sugar, salt, a couple of tracts and something I'm forgetting right now.....

Guest room is occupied

It is a lot of work, but is so much fun!

Our guest room is sort of full right now, and will get filled even more over the next few days also.

Over the next week and a half we will have several all day activities with our youth group to put all this together. They will wrap all of the presents, package things up to make the canastas. Put the canastas together. Make decorations. Spend an entire day baking and frosting 1,000 Christmas cookies!

We will also be practicing all of our Christmas Carols, and learning a skit to perform for the children Christmas Eve!

There is much more I'm not including here, but keep checking this blog over the next few weeks and we will keep you updated on what's happening!

Please keep all of these things covered in prayer, the purpose of it all is that some of these people, the poor and brokenhearted, would truly know they are loved and see Christ through His servants.

These are the people that hold a very special place in our Lord's heart, and should in ours also.

Thank you all so very much for your love, prayers and support of these efforts!

Getting ready!

2010-12-04T10:26:00.000-06:00

Wanted to share a huge PRAISE for our Noche Buena outreach dinner!

Funding for projects is always a challenge, and in todays economic climate even more so.

Last years Noche Buena project was several hundred dollars underfunded, so this year, we doubled our budget, trusting God would provide so we could do much more and better for the people we are serving.

I shared in an earlier post about Wildwood Church in E. Moline, IL. They had committed to provide at least half or our proposed budget. Well, they took an offering at their Thanksgiving service, and have sent a check to CAM for our project that will cover our budget 100%!!!!!!!

So........I had another idea! Well, actually, I committed to this before Wildwood

took their Thanksgiving offering, trusting God for all our needs.

Some of the kids at Las Aldeas

As you know most of our youth live at a children's home, Las Aldeas.

Every one of our youth that I have asked if they like Christmas answer "not really"

or "maybe just a little bit". It is a boring, sad, depressing time for them, most all of them have some family somewhere, but they don't want them enough to even spend Christmas with them.

Our goal is, through activities and giving them an opportunity to serve others with even less than they have, to help them develop some good memories of Christmas.

So, back to my idea....

The last couple of years after our outreach at Casita Benjamin, we have returned to take part in a church service. This year, we will return to Las Aldeas, and do our program for all of the kids there, watch a movie (Polar Express) and have another Tamale dinner!

Fútbol at Las Aldeas

Because there currently is no director at Las Aldeas, none of the houses are being permitted to leave for the holiday. In the past several houses have gone away for a few days just because it is so depressing for the kids to stay. So, we want to provide an evening of fun, joy and love for them. There will be between 115 and 150 there (depending on if the casas juvenil join us). So, another 150 Tamales, bread etc are needed. More gift baskets etc. also, but with the funds from Wildwood and a few other gifts we have already received, and trusting the Lord for just a little bit more, I believe we can provide a GOOD Christmas for even more than we had planned just a couple of months ago!

Please join us in praying for all the Preparations ahead, activities, shopping trips, practices etc.

Praise God for all the support we are receiving and please, please pray for all of our youth, the rest of Las Aldeas, and the people God will bring to the outreach at Casita Benjamin.

May God be praised and glorified through this all!

Barriletes

2010-11-27T10:59:00.000-06:00

Time to back up a bit!

I forgot to post about our barrilete activity with some of our youth!

November 1st is Dia de los Santos (All Saints Day) and is a holiday here in Guatemala. One of the traditions that day is to make and fly kites (barriletes).

There are even big competitions and some towns make kites up to 20 feet across and more, and fly them!

We gathered our youth for an all day activity to make and fly kites in the traditional way.

We received permission to use the entire grounds at CAG, Christian Academy of Guatemala, the missionary kids school our daughter attends.

Hard at work

Oscar and I had purchased all the needed supplies in advance, using long dried stalks of grass for the skeleton, thread, papel china (tissue paper) and a home made glue.

Preparing to wrap the kite

You tie the grass together with the thread in a hexagonal shape.

Then you can wrap it in papel china.

Personalizing!

After that you can decorate it how ever you like.Finally, you make long tails to help it fly steady.

Showing off their kites!

Our youth were very creative, and there were some real works of art!

After working for several hours, Sandi arrived with a dozen pizzas and soft drinks so we all took a much needed break!

After lunch a time of worship

After the pizza, we finished up the kites, then had a time of worship and devotional together.

Displaying kites before launch

We took a group photo, then out to the soccer field to FLY!

And, most all of them flew very well.

We had four prizes we gave out also, 1st and 2nd place for the kites that flew best, highest, and longest.

And 1st and 2nd place for the most creative kites!

Yes, they fly wonderfully!

It was a GREAT day, everyone had lots, and lots of fun, and most all took their kites home to hang on their wall!

Graduations, Quinceañera, birthdays, etc.

2010-11-26T15:53:00.000-06:00

November has become a very busy month for us as we become more involved with more and more youth.

The school year here runs roughly from mid-January until late October / mid-November.

This means lots of end of year activities and also graduations! Graduations are a very big deal here, whether it is from elementary school, middle school, high school, college, whatever.

Most of our youth have little or no family, and we are often invited to represent them as "family".

Laura graduating in children´s education!

One of the young ladies we work with, Laura, was graduating from a program for basically, elementary school teachers. She wants to be an art teacher!

Laura has no close family (well, two brothers, but no parents etc.) and she asked if I would be her 'Papá' and join her on stage to receive her diploma! It was a huge honor, Laura is a very special young lady.

Carmen, Yaneth, Sharol, Eny & Angel graduate!

A week or so later I was asked to again be 'Papá' & Tio for several more of our youth at their clausura, which is a promotion to the next level of study, but appears just like a graduation!

Jackelin graduates!

Another clausura I was invited to attend for Jackelin, who also has no close family to attend on her behalf.

Eny's quinceañera

November is also a busy month for us when it comes to birthdays. Between, family, friends and our youth we had 14 birthdays on the calendar for November! We try to recognize all our youth's birthdays with a gift and if possible cake etc. For many, it is the only recognition they will get on their day.

But when it's a girl, and she turns 15, it is a BIG deal here.

A traditional quinceañera here can best be described as a full blown wedding, without a groom!

Nov. 14th was Eny Minuya Hernández 15th birthday and I went to her party! With a full catered meal too!

Laura's 20th birthday!

We celebrated several other birthdays also, and also had several of our youth to our house for a traditional USA thanksgiving dinner! Of course it was also a birthday celebration (mine) and was a wonderful evening.

For many of the youth it was their very first experience for stuffing, cranberry sauce, and first time for pumpkin pie!

Now, we head toward December and will be holding two and three times a week youth gatherings to practice for Noche Buena. The youth are anxious to get going with all of our activities planned, lots and lots to do, but it is soooooo much fun!

Please be praying for Christmas activities and also for many of our youth. Christmas is a very hard time for them, we hope through lots of activities and serving others, we can help them build some good memories of Christmas.

Please also pray for Laura and Diana, two of our youth that have been sent out from the children's home setting to begin a life independent! It is very scary for them, and for us, they are both living in not the best situations and both in areas that are somewhat dangerous.

Now....on to December!

Dios de esta Ciudad

2010-11-03T17:07:00.007-06:00

Just a quick post to add a link to a song and video....it's only 4 minutes, so...please check it out.

This has been my favorite song for a couple of years, it just really speaks my heart for where we are.

We just received a link to this version in Spanish,

and it is all pictures of Guatemala!

In English the song is 'God of this City' by Chris Tomlin.

In Spanish it is 'Dios de esta Ciudad' and is performed by Blest.

(Just click on the links above)

View of part of downtown Guatemala City

Many of you know that I walk a lot...that is my quiet time, my inspiration time, my 'vision' time, my worship time and my prayer time. In addition, Sandi and I walk together a lot and
it is our sharing time too.

Point...there is a spot I like to walk to that looks out over most of the entire city. It is absolutely beautiful! (Yes, it also means you have to walk uphill a LOT)

I like to just look out over the city and pray for it. And, almost every time I also sing this song while looking over the city.

More Guatemala City

As most of you know, Guatemala City is a congested, poverty filled, spiritually dark, dangerous, crime filled, smelly, dirty, loud and sometimes obnoxious city.

AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I love every opportunity it presents,
I love it more than any place I've every been,
it is my heart and soul here,
and you know what else,

GOD LOVES IT MORE THAN I DO!

More Guatemala City

This, for all of the reasons above, is a land of opportunities.

The people need Jesus, they need to just know they are loved.

More Guatemala City

Grandes Cosas Vienen Ya

Grandes Cosas Dios Hará

En Este Pueblo

Greater Things Are Yet To Come

Greater Things Are Still To Be Done

In The City

Please, click on the link

Must Be Almost Christmas!

2010-10-09T09:27:00.000-06:00

It must be October, because 10 days ago (yes, that was still September) we saw Christmas decorations in some stores here! Complete with Christmas trees!

However, it was a great reminder for us that we have to get started on plans for Christmas activities here.

My youth have been asking me "when are we going to start preparing and practicing for Noche Buena?" and Loyda, the director at Casita Benjamin was asking if we will host our dinner again, because she has had many requests from families wondering if we would do it again this year!

OF COURSE! And, we are hoping for bigger and better than ever!

Christmas Decorations are going up!

Want to help?

We could use your help.

First, pray. There are many, many things to plan and do, and many, many people involved to coordinate.

Pray that we will be organized in our planning and scheduling. That we don't forget things, etc.

Pray for God to be preparing those that will attend, that their hearts will be open to the message of hope and salvation in Jesus Christ.

Pray for our youth and others that are the servants for this, the opportunity to serve has a huge impact in their lives.

Pray also about helping with the costs of the undertaking. Praise God, Wildwood Church in IL has already pledged over half of our budget! We could still use another $1,000 or a little more.

We are expecting more than the 200 people we had last year. Food prices are climbing here due to so much flooding that destroyed many crops. We have gifts to buy and our desire this year is to also provide a basket filled with basic goods to each family.

If you would like to help with a gift, you can give online here, or by mail to:

CAM International

8625 La Prada Dr.

Dallas, TX 75228

IMPORTANT: Include on your check it is for #062877 Casita Outreach Events

All gifts are tax deductible and will only be used for this event.

Emotion of youth servant team

We also have some other things coming up.

Next week-end, we will take our two interns here for a week-end at Las Buenas Nuevas. The CAM retreat center on the shores of Lake Atitlán.

Las Buenas Nuevas

In November, my sister Robin and our niece Andrea will visit for a couple of weeks. Robin is helping to obtain some technology help for Casita Benjamin.

We are also working on plans for a 2 or 3 day retreat with our youth in early December. Maybe a camping trip....could be 20 - 40 youth!

So...even in our 'slow' season, lots to do and look forward to!

Aldea El Zunzo, Jalapa

2010-10-02T10:01:00.000-06:00

We were so blessed to be given a few water filters a year ago, not knowing at the time how the Lord would use those 10 water filters to begin another work here in Guatemala. In the past year we have been blessed to give out somewhere around 100 filters, thanks to so many of you! Many have given us funds to purchase filters, knowing that this is literally a gift of life.

"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none;

Their tongues are parched with thirst.

But I the Lord will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them."

Isaiah 41:17

The children of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX used this verse as they raised funds this summer to help buy filters. They raised over $3000 to buy between 55 & 65 filters!

Many others have helped also, and we have been blessed on this end to give and see the difference the filters make in peoples lives.

We have also provided filters for several projects of another local Guatemalan ministry called

"Abrazando Mi Guatemala"

They left their mark!

They have been a blessing for us, to help distribute filters to very needy families in rural areas around Guatemala.

Last week-end, we were able to provide through them another 17 families with water filters!

Some of the villagers waiting to receive some basic supplies

The 26th of September a group of volunteers with Abrazando Mi Guatemala, traveled to a village named El Zunzo in the department of Jalapa. It was not an easy journey, due to the tremendous amount of rain Guatemala has received there are landslides blocking roads all over the country. They had to go through some slides and many places just barely wide enough for a van to pass through.

Preparing to explain how to use and clean the water filters

While spending the day in El Zunzo, the group was able to provide 125 families with a bag full of basic food supplies, they painted the village elementary school, they gave out 597 pieces of children's clothing, fed a snack to the entire village, had games and activities for the kids including 6 piñatas, AND they provided 17 families with water filters!

Cony teaching the benefits of clean water

Testing a filter for the first time!

AGUA PURA!

Laura giving a filter

Yes, it is a happy day!

The smiles tell what these filters mean

The 'Abrazando Mi Guatemala' team in El Zunzo

Please join us in thanking God for His allowing us all to be a part of the great things He is doing here in Guatemala. For His provision, both materially for the filters, but also providing His servants to join with us all to share His love and hope with those in need.

Upcoming and more Filters!

2010-09-25T10:53:00.006-06:00

We wanted to share a little about whats coming up, and ways you can be a part of it through your prayers and help!

The big event with three months of preparation is our big Christmas Eve outreach dinner for the people in Zona 3 that live by the largest landfill dump in Central America.

We have plans for this year to be even bigger and better than before. Last year we had about 200 people attend, each receiving a traditional Tamale dinner, a Bible reading and message containing the salvation story, carol singing, children's program and a gift for everyone!

How can you help?

Please remember to pray for all of the planning, preparation, for those invited to accept, and for the funds needed to do all of this.

We do have exciting news about that also. Last year we were a little under funded, and we have increased our budget for this year, expecting more people, higher food prices due to so many crops ruined by all the flooding, and our desire to provide gift baskets of basic needs for each family.

God has already provided a big partner this year! Wildwood Church, from Illinois, has pledged over half of our budget already! We still pray for another $1,000 or a little more to be able to do all we are hoping for.

If you feel led to help, you can give online here , or you can mail a check to:

CAM International, 8625 La Prada Dr., Dallas, TX 75228

Be sure to include it is for: CASITA OUTREACH EVENTS # 062877

All gifts are tax-deductible and only used for this event.

Making LOTS of decorations!

Christmas is a depressing time for most of the people that will attend. Most cannot afford a traditional dinner, or even one gift for their children. We want to give them a day of hope and love, and the opportunity to hear of God's love, and experience it.

Making LOTS of cookies!

The Christmas event involves many people, and offers an opportunity to serve for many. We involve many of our youth with this, which they LOVE! Most of them come from Children's homes or poor families, where they have been served their whole lives. The opportunity for them to serve others is something they cherish. And, they put all they can into it.

The youth help make decorations, wrap presents, bake cookies for the dessert, learn Christmas carols, learn a play to perform and much more!

Wrapping LOTS of presents!

The outreach also involves events leading up, like the youth performing and leading carols at Kairos house, a home for children with cancer. They also will perform at their Children's home and perhaps if we can at some others. In past years we also performed at a church after the dinner on Christmas Eve and hope to again this year!

Singing to a packed house!

We also have a band coming to perform and provide music, a preacher, and several other volunteers to help coordinate. Wildwood Church is also sending one family to take part with us Christmas Eve.

Youth performing for the kids!

Serving dinner!

So please pray for all that needs to be done, planned and prepared for to make this event happen.

Many people who would have basically no Christmas will be loved, and will hear of the hope that only comes from Jesus Christ. Many, for the first time!

More exciting news! We have received many water filters and have been blessed to give lots away to families in need of clean drinking water.

This has become a fantastic ministry that touches many people. God is using it to provide life to many, with a message of His love through the many people involved.

Some youth painting buckets!

It begins with many people like you that give the funds that purchase these filters.

The filters cost just under about $50 each with the buckets and supplies to make it complete. They are not fragile, are small and light, are easily cleaned, and should last for years and years!

Again, many others are involved here, we have our youth, and others, paint the buckets we use, so they are fun, and also so they will not be used for other things like washing clothes, etc.

Family receiving a water filter!

We target families or groups in need, that cannot, under normal circumstances afford to purchase purified water. We have used the filters as a way to reach out into some very poor, and spiritually dark neighborhoods. We have also given filters to poor schools that before, were not able to provide safe drinking water to the students. We have also gotten many filters out to poor villages without access to clean water, and many that have been devastated by the storms and flooding this year.

We have been able to partner with a Guatemalan ministry called "Abrazando mi Guatemala" that reaches small remote villages to provide some basic supplies, i.e. rice, beans, milk etc. They also include evangelism, as well as teach about health, sanitation, first aid etc.

We have been able to give Abrazando mi Guatemala many filters to provide people in these remote places without access to safe water.

This weekend, they will be taking 20 filters to a village, El Zunzo, in Jalapa.

Villagers receiving some basic supplies!

The children at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX decided this summer to adopt our water filter ministry for their missions focus, and to raise some funds to buy filters! Recently they let us know, they have over $3,300 for us that will provide over 65 filters!

Praise God for these children, may those served by them be blessed by their love!

If you would like to help also with the purchase of filters you can give online here, or send to:

CAM International, 8625 La Prada Dr., Dallas, TX 75228

Be sure to include that it is for: GUATE HOME WATER FILTER SYSTEMS # 062900

A $50 gift will supply a family with a complete water filter system that will last years!

All gifts are tax-deductible and only used for these filters..

That's lots, but please pray for all of these things, God is doing GREAT things here in Guatemala!

Puerto San José and more clean water

2010-09-24T20:54:00.002-06:00

So...last Tuesday, the 21st Septiembre, we went to Puerto San José with our friends and fellow CAM'ers John and Gail Conner. Puerto San José is on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, just a little over an hours drive from Guatemala City. Last June, the Conner's with 3 of their kids and Sandi and Maria went there for a day off to play on the beach . John Conner and his 15 yr old son David, and 13 yr old daughter Katie all went into the water and almost immediately were swept out by a rip tide. A 14 yr old boy on the beach, Edwin, saw what was happening and went in to help. He was bringing Katie in when he saw David going under. He got Katie in and went back for David. He also managed to bring David in who all thought was dead. John barely managed to get back by himself. It seemed touch and go for a few hours, but they all got back to Guatemala City to a hospital here, and when all is done, they are all okay. Thank the Lord, and Edwin!

So, the Conner's have been back to meet Edwin's family and thank them etc. He lives a couple of blocks from the beach and his family is very poor. The Conner's have taken them some groceries and small thank you gifts, but their home church in Oklahoma wanted to express gratitude also. So, they have raised funds to fix up their house, and also pay tuition for Edwin to go to school until graduation! This is huge because he was not able to go to school for the past year or two because they could not afford it.

Some kids at Colegio Evangelico Genesis

Well, we joined the Conner's Tuesday because they asked me to look at the house and see what was needed, and what was feasible. So, that was why we went, but the Lord had more in mind I am thinking.
We first stopped at the Colegio Evangelico Genesis, the school Edwin will attend. It is a school connected with a church that happens to be a CAM church! Iglesia Evangelica C.A. San Pablo.
We met the director of the school, also an elder in the church,
Rony René Montepeque Coronado.
He also shared with us about 8 daughter churches they have in small villages in more remote areas, and the projects they are helping them with. The school is also adding a third floor as it has been growing 10-20% each year. We have been looking for some different projects for teams next year, and this looks like a real possibility, both at the school and the daughter churches!
I also asked Rony about what they do for drinking water at the school. Well, he said, "when we can afford it we buy bottled water, but we don't always have the money".

Giving Rony one of the four filters we gave the school

So, I told him about the water filters we get from supporters to give people that need clean water. I told him we brought some with us and they were out in the car. His eyes kind of lit up, then he asked "how much do they cost?" Well, he almost cried when we said they are already paid for, and we gave them 4 filters to use at the school. One on each floor and 1 in the kitchen.

Having lunch at Edwin's house

We then went over to see Edwin's house, and give him the news about starting back to school in January. He was sick, so a little subdued, but was pretty happy about school.
We also gave the family a water filter, which was good timing with Edwin being sick, a little dehydrated (it is very warm and humid on the coast) and he was very thirsty.
We looked over the house and took some measurements etc. What they have now is just four walls and a metal roof. Literally. No interior rooms and a floor of black sand.
Part of one wall will need to be replaced, then we can add some partitions for a couple of bedrooms, and a bathroom. A concrete floor and they will be much better off. So, looks like it will all happen.
The Conner's church is hoping to send a team to help with part of it, and they have asked me to basically be in charge of the project and team.
Lord willing, we will be able to get things planned so we can do the project during the coming dry season, maybe around the beginning of the year.
Another opportunity to see the Lord use what looked like tragedy, and bring HUGE blessings to many, many people! Please pray for these many opportunities and for Edwin and his family, Rony and his great work, and give thanks for the desire of so many to help!

Sergey and Kimberly Basantsev

2010-09-23T21:08:00.010-06:00

So we made a trip back to the Northwest this summer because our daughter Kimberly decided to get married!

Sandi and Maria flew to Seattle July 23 after our "Next Step" program in Texas while I returned to Guatemala. They then went to Bellingham, so Sandi and Kimber could have a few weeks together before the wedding! I flew up on August 5 to Seattle, spent a couple of days with my dad and stepmom, went to a Mariner's game with my friend Ken, and then went to Bellingham.

Busy, crazy time there, attending the wedding of my close friend Mike Watters daughter Kelly, and then prepared for Kimber's wedding.

The rehearsal came and I fell apart. I just couldn't get out my one line "Her mother and I" when asked who gives her away. I think I had them all pretty concerned for the actual wedding.

La Familia Glick 14 August 2010

August 14 arrived a beautiful sunny day, one of the warmest days of the year in Bellingham!

We arrived at the wedding early for our pictures, and then some time to relax until the guests arrived. Then it was showtime....and despite the concerns of all, myself included, I was able to walk Kimber in and say in an audible voice, "her mother and I do".

Sweating bullets!

Then it was Kimber and Sergey's turn to sweat (it was a little warm up on the platform) and each say "I do".

Mi hija

It was a beautiful wedding, personal, fun, incredible singing, and very God honoring ceremony.

Sergey's family asked for one Russian tradition to be included, for the parents to all come up and say a prayer for the couple.

What a wonderful tradition, I would love to see become a tradition everywhere.

It was truly a privilege and honor to be able to pray for our daughter and her new husband, to ask God to guide them and keep them, to challenge them to always make God the head of the union.

I had a little fear I might start to cry, but I think my voice only crackled a little at the beginning, then I was just praying to God.

The parents pray for the couple

After the introduction of "Mr & Mrs Sergey Basantsev, they walked out

to the sound of James Brown's "I Got You".

Mr. & Mrs. Sergey Aleksandrovich and Kimberly Anne Basantsev

After the wedding, we went to some good family friends of Sergey's house above Lake Whatcom where the reception was held in their beautiful yard.

One of the highlights was the cake!

Kimber had this 'idea'. She's not sure where she got it, maybe in a dream!

She had nine different friends and family members all bake a cake (she provided the cake mix and pan, so all would be the same size) and asked each to decorate however they liked, with a message or memory for the couple. Then the morning of the wedding they assembled the cake like a quilt! It was an amazing idea that I think will be copied!

Sandi decorated one cake (it's in the center) and Jacob and I did one together (not sure they'll let us do that again).

The 'quilt' cake

It was a very special day, Kimber was relaxed and so very happy. We welcome Sergey into our family, he very obviously loves Kimber totally so I can handle that!

For us, it was great to see Kimber that happy, and also to have all four of our kids together for

4 1/2 days! Then, Kimber and Sergey even delayed a honeymoon to Whistler for a week so they could spend time with us before we returned to Guatemala.

May God bless Sergey and Kimber Basantsev!

EMERGE summer interns 2010

2010-09-23T19:05:00.016-06:00

We had a great summer intern program for 2010!

There were some differences in set-up for this year, biggest was that we offered options this year for length of service instead of everyone serving for 6 weeks as in past years. This year we offered 4, 6 or 8 week internships. We had two come for four weeks, two for six weeks, and two for eight weeks. We also have two other interns this year outside of the summer program, Heidi is here for ten months and Meredith is here from September into December.

The downside to the options is that we want all summer internships to end together with a two day "Next Step" in Texas with all interns from, this year, four different countries.

This meant we had interns arriving starting May 26th every two weeks, needing a very important orientation. Years past we held a four day orientation when all the interns arrived (arriving the same day), but this year we needed to hold three orientations, so we shortened it to two days.

Guatemala Summer Interns 2010

Erin, Rachael, Heidi, Sarah, Allison, Rebecca & Amy

Heidi was already serving at Casita Benjamin, and Allison, Erin and Amy joined her there. Rachael, Rebecca and Sarah served at The Oasis home for girls.

With the interns arriving at different times and serving in different locations they did not all get to know each other much to start. So we did try to get them together a few times. We had the Oasis girls come in for a sleep-over with the Casita girls, and we had a week-end mini-retreat to Panajachel. That was a fun week-end away to talk, worship, eat and shop!

Mini-retreat in Panajachel

We also took a boat ride across the lake, which was a lot of fun. I asked the pilot of our boat if I could drive. Well, he said okay and I drove all the way back from Santiago. Sandi didn't realize I was driving at first and said to someone, "we seem to be going faster than before". We did get back about 15 minutes faster than going over!

They let me drive!

On July 18th we, and the interns traveled to Denton, Texas where St. Andrew Presbyterian Church hosted our Next Step program for the third year in a row. What a huge blessing they are for us. They provide vehicles to pick everyone up at the airport. The arrange host families to house everyone, they pretty much give us whatever we want and use of their entire church facilities. We love them there!

CAM Summer Interns 2010 at Next Step

Next Step was a great time to meet the interns that served in Mexico, Honduras and Spain, as well as ours from Guatemala. We heard their stories, broke up into small groups and processed what they experienced, where do you go from here with that, and how has God changed and grown them with it all.

It was a great time, and also helps us learn ways we can improve as coordinators for future interns.

A bonus for us at St. Andrew were the children! During July each year they have a weekly children's program that focuses entirely on Missions. This years theme was world hunger and clean drinking water.

They meet Wednesday mornings and asked Sandi and I if we could come and share with the kids, because....they had adopted our ministry with water filters as there fund-raising focus for this year! So, we showed some pictures of the things we have been blessed to do in Guatemala with water filters and shared about it with them.

When we finished the kids said they had a surprise for us....so they presented us with a sign that said, at that point, they had raised just over $1,800 for water filters! And they still had another one or two weeks to raise more!

Since they finished they have let us know they have a total of approximately $3,000!

WAY TO GO kids of St. Andrew!

WHAT A WEEK!

2010-06-04T19:16:00.017-06:00

WOW! It has been quite a week here in Guatemala.

Please be in prayer for Guatemala in these days as there are many, many people in great need. But, there are also many opportunities to share the hope and love of God through the events that have occurred.

It started Thursday, May 27th. We had a little earthquake in the afternoon, then in the evening, Volcán Pacaya had a major eruption. Pacaya is the closest volcano to Guatemala City, only about 15 miles South of the capital. Pacaya has been erupting continuously for over 50 years, but has only sent ash out a few times. This time it actually shot out black sand, same as at the ocean beaches here. It blanketed Guatemala City with up to 3 inches in some areas.

Pacaya at night

We only had about an inch or less at our house, but those a little closer got a lot more.

Black volcanic sand covers everything

The sand is very abrasive and gets into everything! It began raining right after the eruption started which did not help. The sand worked it's way into gaskets so our car leaked all over, seats were wet, puddles on the carpets.

Gutters full of sand which some went into drains and plugged them. That is happening all over town.

You can see why they closed the airport!

Our airport was closed for about 6 days to clean up. One reason for this was that it was not just some rain we had, it began raining Thursday and by Friday it was a tropical depression, then by Saturday morning it was Cyclone Agatha.

It began to rain

Here in the city we had more rain in 12 hours than they had in that amount of time in more than 60 years!

All that rain led to...flooding!

And to slides, this was on the outskirts of Guatemala City

This man in Amatitlan, just outside Guatemala City lost his home

Poorly maintained storm drains are believed to have caused this 100 foot deep sinkhole that swallowed a 3 story building.

The volcano and storm changed plans for many people. Another CAM missionary family here, the Conner's had a team from Oklahoma here when everything changed.

One of their main purposes for coming was to perform an evangelistic drama in many area schools. Due to the storm, the government closed schools for a week, so all of their performances were canceled. Sunday evening the Conner's called and asked if we could help and arrange some other opportunities for them. So, we were able to help with that. We spent all day (like 14 hours) with them both Monday and Tuesday.

The Conner's team

We started by taking them to the national palace and cathedral, and had them perform their drama in Central Park! There were lots of soldiers there that had just finished clearing sand from the park, plus many people just watching.

Performing in Central Park

After that we went to Kairos house where the team helped us clean the house from the sand and rain, they also moved a TON of sand in the streets outside of Kairos.

Cleaning up at Kairos

After we left Kairos we went to The Oasis where they performed for the girls there, then we had some time to play soccer and visit with the girls.

That evening we returned to Kairos where they performed their drama for the folks there and several accepted the Lord!

Tuesday, we took them on a tour of the cemetery (a must see) and an overview of the dump. Then we visited Casita Benjamin where they performed, went over to SETECA for a tour and we also moved a lot of sand there too!

We closed out the day at Las Aldeas children's home where they performed again, then we had a couple hours to do crafts and play soccer and basketball with the kids. It was an awesome time!

God used the turning upside down of their plans for His glory, as we saw over 20 people come to Christ through their performances!

I even helped!

I must admit I'm not as young as I once was, my back is tired! I have cleaned sand at our house, Casita Benjamin, SETECA, Kairos House and also at Las Aldeas!

There are many people suffering greatly, with tens of thousands in shelters throughout the country. They are saying there is more damage than from either Hurricane Mitch or Stan.

We have given a few water filters out, and am hoping to get a lot more out very soon to harder hit rural areas.

If you would like to help with some water filters you can just go to:

www.caminternational.org/giveto/062900

http://christmas.caminternational.org/index.cfm?event=ViewProduct&product=154

Please keep praying for the people here, and also for those serving them.

PACAYA BLOWS IT'S TOP!

2010-05-29T14:16:00.012-06:00

It's been a long time since I updated the blog.

Not that we haven't done anything, just haven't gotten around to it! We have had teams here, helped get a church started, Provided water filters to families in need, etc etc etc. Our intern season has begun, we have 3 here now and 4 more on their way soon.

BUT, the big news these days is weather and natural happenings!

Many of you know of Volcán Pacaya. Pacaya is an active Volcano about 15 miles from Guatemala City. It has been erupting continuously, more or less, for many, many years.

Most of the time you can hike right up onto the mountain right up to the lava!

I have done this a few times (see our post from earlier this year).

We also, as a family and with an intern, hiked up Pacaya on May 16th.

View of Volcanoes Fuego, Acatenango, & Agua (l to r)

It was a Sunday, so we climbed a peak that overlooked Pacaya and had a little church service of our own! We sang songs and marveled at God's creation!

We had our service on the top of this peak!

We then ran down the face of that peak to walk up to some lava flows.

View of Pacaya from our "church"

We had a very special time worshiping on the mountain. From where we sat, we faced the mountain, watched lava flowing down the side, heard the lava flowing and rocks falling, and could also see 3 other volcanoes near by, and between them all we could see out to the Pacific Ocean and saw two large cargo ships at sea!

Our congregation!

We had a great time and saw some amazing things! But what's interesting is that the next morning, they closed access to the mountain for increasing activity! It is still closed to the public, and the towns nearby have been evacuated.

Hot lava

Last Thursday evening, 27th of May, we were in leading worship at Casa Kairos, a home for children with cancer, and their families. It is a place for them to stay when they come from far away for treatment at the hospital here.

Anyway, we were singing and it began to rain. There is a plastic lamina roof over where we sing and it tends to leak when it rains. So we always have buckets out. Well, we heard it raining fairly hard, for quite a while when I realized there were not any drops falling in the buckets nearby. Then the caretaker came in and told us it was raining sand! It truly was raining black sand! Not really ash, but sand. Just like at the ocean here. Pacaya had a major eruption. The airport here is still closed, they are now saying for another 5 days.

When we went outside, it looked like a fresh layer of new asphalt over everything! Including our car! It is very abrasive and we had to drive out in the sand fall. My brand new wiper blades are SHOT! Click on the link below for a short video of some erupting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFoF57KX2yU

Washing volcanic sand off the car

But, to make it more complicated, it has been raining for 3 days strait. It is the rainy season, but this is unusual. There is a large depression off the Pacific coast, that today was named as the first tropical storm of the season (which isn't supposed to begin for two more days). We could have up to two more days of rain. This is a problem, because many people just have lamina roofs, and the sand itself is very heavy, but with the rain roofs could cave in etc. Drains are also plugged all over for the sand, and mudslides are a real threat.

We have some plugged drains, and our car is leaking water in several places. Hard to fix much while it is raining constantly.

But, Praise God, we are dry inside our home, where many people are not.

Tonight I am going with a small group in to meet with some youth that live on the streets in Zona 3. We have it pretty good compared to many.

Gearing up for the year

2010-02-13T19:40:00.004-06:00

Wow, it is hard to believe it is already February! We continue to plug away at lots of different ministries, and are constantly amazed at all that God is doing around us! I was able to get out and give several more water filters a couple of weeks ago. We have several more ready to be brought from the States for us, they will come with a team in March. We will continue to reach out to the neighborhood in Zona 3 by the dump. We have also been approached by a new project being started by nationals here called "Abrazando mi Guatemala" (Hugs for my Guatemala). One village they are targeting is San Juan, Sacatepéquez, where there is a huge need for safe drinking water. We hope to be able to help them with some water filters also.

Señora Toribia Jolon and her 2 sons with their water filter

Their 2 room casita is just beyond the black door

Sandi and I have begun teaching English 2 nights a week at the Casa Juvenil with 8 girls between 17 and 26 yrs old. It has been fun. As they realize how difficult it can be to learn another language, they seem to appreciate our struggles to communicate with them in Spanish also!

I have also enlisted a Dentist and an Orthodontist that have expressed a desire to help people with need. The dentist has seen several girls from the casa juvenil and youth from las Aldeas. She has given free initial check-ups, then is giving them some incredibly low prices to do any needed work! The Orthodontist said she would like to provide orthodontic work to at least one patient a year free! I was able to bring her 3 candidates, and she decided to help TWO of them this year! They will be getting braces put on this coming Wednesday! One is 19 yrs old, the other 14.

We are gearing up for two teams coming in March. One from Texas that will work here in the city. Immediately after them follows a group from The INN at Western Washington University in Bellingham! They will work for a week in Huehuetenango. We are also in the middle of the application period for our summer intern program. Applications must be in by March 15, so we are busy these days corresponding with potential interns, answering questions etc.

It is looking to be a full year in 2010. God is moving and we are so blessed to be here being used by Him to serve others.

I don't even like fish!

2010-02-12T22:05:00.009-06:00

Today was one of those days where I got to check off one more thing on the "list of things to do in my life" list!

I was invited to join a couple of other missionaries on a trip out deep sea fishing! Their 3rd person had to cancel, so I was given the opportunity to go on a trip I could not have otherwise afforded! I even told them ahead of time that I was a "city boy" and know nothing about fishing. All they said was, "Boy are you going to have fun!" And I did!

We drove to Puerto San José, a little over an hour from home on the Pacific coast, where we climbed on our boat, "MANTARRAYA". I kept thinking of Gilligan leaving on a '3 hour tour'.

Our boat is the little one!

We were going to be fishing for Sailfish, perhaps a Marlin (unlikely I was told) and Mahi Mahi. They also occasionally catch Yellow Fin Tuna off the coast. I was informed that Guatemala's Pacific coast is maybe the best spot in the world for Sailfish!

Yellow Fin Tuna (top) Mahi Mahi (bottom) and Sailfish

We went strait out from the marina to a final distance of almost 30 miles off the coast. Within about 10 minutes we had already had 2 strikes but not hooked. About 5 minutes later I got the first one on!

It wasn't quite as easy as they always make it sound

I wasn't sure at first, until a minute later when about 150 yards out I saw it leap out of the water! That was an amazing sight!

Absolutely amazing to watch!

Well, I reeled like mad for what seemed like hours (probably more like 5 minutes) until I got it close enough to the boat.

He's not quite ready to give up!

Just about there!

Finally, with the help of the deckhand we pulled our first sailfish aboard and I got my picture!

Then, we put him back in the water and watched him swim away. All Sailfish and Marlin in Guatemala must be released, you cannot keep them.

My First Sailfish!

All told for the day, we caught 4 sailfish (I had two!) about 6 small Tuna (not yellow fin) we saw about a dozen dolphin, several that swam with us for awhile, 5 or 6 sea turtles and a MantaRay that was about 5 feet across!

Crazy Beautiful Day!

Hot Lava and a Burned up Computer

2010-02-11T15:54:00.008-06:00

January 29, 2010 I was invited to get up early and leave at 5:00 AM to join 3 other men and climb Volcán Pacaya, one of the several active volcanoes of Guatemala! It was a beautiful morning as we set out, beginning our climb just a bit after 6:00 AM. I was in the company of two fellow CAM missionaries, John Conner and Glenn Stewart, plus a visitor from the States, Craig Minnich.

Sunrise on (l-r) Volcán Fuego (active) Volcán Acatenango & Volcán Agua

We saw a beautiful sunrise with our view of the surrounding volcanoes, while we were in the shadow of Pacaya for the entire climb.

Surveying our route with Pacaya towering over us

John and I led the way as we climbed over the first ridge in the photo above to not too far below the summit. Much of the climb is through loose volcanic gravel, meaning two steps up, slide one step back!

Crossing a field of loose gravel

This is a lot steeper than it looks!

Yes, that's hot!

Fresh, red hot lava!

We had a great morning, and due to the need to meet a team at the airport later, I was actually back home after our climb before 11:30 AM!

That was a fun day. Later though, after a power outage at our home, our family computer finally died! Not from the power outage (we don't think) because it was not on and was plugged into a surge protector. But, it was old and had been less than working at it's best for some time. So, we are currently shopping for a new computer. Not what we were planning to do, don't really have the funds for it, but when is a good time? But, Sandi as usual had the most logical solution. Our "work" computer is also almost 6 years old, so she suggested upgrading the "work" computer, then moving our current work computer to the status of family computer. Good idea. And, the good news is that you can get a pretty good computer these days for a lot less than we paid for the computer we have now!

I can drive now!

2010-01-22T19:58:00.010-06:00

So, I can drive now! Legally!

Okay, technically I have been legal all along but now there is no question.

The rules here are not real clear, or perhaps the rules themselves are clear, it's just that no one seems to know exactly what those rules are.

I have asked many times over the years we have lived here what ARE the rules to drive legally here?

The consensus, and what my field leaders finally told me was, as long as you had both a valid driver license from the USA, AND a valid visa to be in Guatemala, that was legal.

It must be correct because I have been stopped many, many times at random police checks where they check your papers etc and they have always been happy with my passport and my Washington State driver license.

However, it seems to have changed once I received my Permanent Resident Visa and now have a cédula de vecindad. A cédula is basically your Guatemalan identity papers. More or less a passport for use within the country. Every adult has a cédula and you pretty much need one to do any type of business here.

But, once you have a cédula, they expect you to also have a Guatemala Driver License, which you can only get if you have a cédula. I found this out a few months ago when I got stopped at another random check and was hassled pretty good about having a cédula and driving with a USA driver license.

So, I finally had / took the time to go and see if I could get a driver license. Our good friend Oscar went with me, he was sure I would need some help! Of course at all of our various stops they would only allow me to go in, so he spent a lot of time waiting! It went pretty well, they have different types of licenses, "C" license which is the only license you can get as your first license, only allows you to drive cars. There is a "B" license which allows you to also drive vans and trucks, then there are a couple of levels of commercial type licenses. They also told me your first license can only be for one year.

So, I made one stop for a vision test at an authorized agency. Then I got a certificate at another authorized agency that verifies I know how to drive and the rules etc. Then I had the checks to see if there are any tickets etc on my record.

Then you pay at the bank for your license and wait in several lines etc.

So, in the end, as I have found before, many times all you need to do is ask, so I asked if I could get a "B" license, and also asked for the maximum of 4 years.

Well, that is exactly what they gave me!

So, finally, I have my license, I will be able to drive vans and trucks etc which I often need to do for groups, and I don't need to hassle with any of this for almost another 5 years! It expires in November of 2014, so almost 5 years they gave me!

God was very gracious, everything went smooth and all the various people I had to deal with were kind and helpful!