Party Time!

Our last day in Guatemala was very special for our team. We were able to give all the children a birthday party for the whole year. WOW! They had a blast! The Children all dressed up as prince or princess.  Also, while they surprised Laura (2 weeks ago), Caroline (Wednesday) and Tripp (next Sunday) with Birthday cards and a song with candles. That was super sweet of these wonderful children and teachers. It showed us that they think of others before themselves. 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

Some of the preschoolers

Devon dancing

Elizabeth and the boys

Birthday Cake

                                                                                                           

Tripp showing you how tall she is..

The birthday Cards 

Luis, Daniel and his sister. 

Eat your heart out

 

Here is a little bit of the great food we got to eat this week! It was awesome to have cooks that also loved on us. We are spoiled! 

The food here is worth coming for the trip along! There is no doubt we all will miss the cooking and the wonderful ladies.

Don't you wish you were here??? Nope we didn't eat any for you. It was AWESOME!

OVER LOAD

Eddie working on sound system

Thursday was a very busy day for our team. We started the morning off by working with the children and teaching our last lesson. They all enjoyed painting. It really touched me to see that the preschoolers would rather drink the paint than use it on paper. When talking with the teacher I learned that many don't get much to drink at home. WOW! So I guess to them it was something different. 

All the girls

In the afternoon we returned to the school/church to finish electrical and painting. Tripp, Eddie and Jamie were able to hang new lights, revamp the sound system, and fixed some wiring. We are proud that we were able to get 6 rooms painted in 3 days. We are so glad that we were able to make a difference in the appearance and freshen up the classrooms. 

On the way to the school it was raining cats and dogs. What a different side of the story we all got to see. We had to walk 200 yards in mud, water and got very wet. These parents, teachers, and children do this every time it rains. We got to see rain enter the classrooms and church due to little or no roof.  The words needing a roof doesn't describe the need!!! 

We were doubtful that any adults would show up for the last day of English class because of the rain.  What a blessings!!! There were about 10 committed students that came with no hesitation.  Mary and Nixa have been able to establish the ground work for future teams.  The goal is to empower the ones that are stronger in English to teach others.  This has been such of an answered prayer and proof that the fruits have been sowed.  

Last night we visited the Kairo's House. Kairo's is a place where parents and children can stay while the cancer patients receive treatment. These families are able to stay free and also close to the hospital. It helps them not have to sleep on the streets, and also have warm food. It was very touching to be able to serve the parents and children food, play and pray with each one of them. Daniel and Jamie went around the room and prayed for each one of the families. We heard many stories from the parents as most live 5 plus hours away and leave their husbands and other children behind. One story that we were told was this family has been at Kairo's for 2 years and 6 months. I can't even begin to think about not seeing my husband or child for that long. Can you? Tripp and I got to share our story of Hunter and what God has done in our life to help guide us medically. This is the first time we have shared our story, and are thankful we were able to give hope.  These wonderful families and their stories blessed us beyond words.

As we head to finish our last day in Guatemala, please pray that God will give us all the strength to enjoy the precious moments, as we have to tell them we are leaving. We all know it will be hard. 

RELAX, EAT AND UNWIND

Nixa  and Gabrielle

Devon, Eddie and Lee

Today was a day to relax, reflect and bond as a team. Antigua was a nice break to see how the locals live and make a living. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Our Team

Bust a move...

Tuesday has been a great day!  Today our teaching objective was to take a sequence of pictures and put them in order. It was fun helping the children cut out the pictures and glue them to the colored paper.  The pictures were used to be a refresher for the story of the week.

 

Beth, Emilio, and Elizabeth

Because we were so impressed with the youth teachers on Sunday we decided to make up dance moves for our Zaqueo song.  Elizabeth and Jamie put together a cute dance for us to teach.  The "catchy" moves consist of ... the q-tip, the shopping cart,  Macarena and the Chicken dance.  We feel a little foolish doing this dance, but the children LOVE it!  

Jamie talking to a little boy in his class

We had an assembly this morning for the children prior to teaching our lessons.  Mary, Lee, Nixa and Daniel led by introducing a list of English words.  We played - I LIKE TO..........  dance, swim, run, pray, think, jump, sleep and talk.  It was fun seeing the children's faces and how they acted out the motions. There was a boy laying on the floor swimming, a young girl tip toeing during dance and all of them jumping as high as possible during the jump movement. 

Lee dancing

sweet Nora praying

Preparation for this trip was very detailed.  Nixa and Devon did a wonderful job preparing the lessons along with Mary's artwork.  We could have never made it without their detailed plans.  The teachers have even commented on how smoothly everything is going.


Life back at our living quarters has been interesting to say the least.  The building that we are staying in is a dorm.  The University is down the street and many college students stay there and pay by the night.  The ladies are on the 2nd floor and the gentlemen are on the 3rd.  It is like church camp all over again with bunk beds and everything.  At night we giggle and cut up (even the men).  We have loved sharing stories with and about each other. The bonds that are being formed will go with us for a life time.
 

Daniel and Lee riding in the back of a truck

Many of us in this group know each other, but either go to different services or serve opposite times. It goes to show that you can not intimately know your brothers and sisters in Christ without time of fellowship and growth.  The small group concept that we have at WCC is vital to our walk with God and the prosperity of our church.  We are not only going to leave Guatemala striving to do more for others, but we want to continue to grow ourselves.
We look so forward to sharing these special stories with you during our service on July 8th.

  

Welcome with flower power

This is how we were welcomed this morning

This morning was our first day of meeting the students at the school. We all were WELCOMED with smiles and love. All the students and teachers had put together a program for us along with cards. The songs, outfits and dancing were so impressive.

The costumes were precious

Teaching the lesson went great and children were all over us. They wanted to sit in our laps, give hugs, and most knew the story.
Snack time was hard for several as we were able to see children come with little to no food, while their other classmates were eating. Beth gave a little boy a cereal bar as he had nothing and just laid his head down on the table. She was told that he normally comes with nothing, and the school has to give him food. We all were heartbroken to hear this story.

One of the beautiful cards we received

The children do not have a  playground so they have playtime inside. All they have to play with was empty bottles and a few balloons that we brought.  During the day the doors are locked for the children's safety.

Words can't describe how we all are feeling right now, and wanting to help these children. We have had a chance to hear more about where they have come from, what they have been through and how their living area is here.  

The young girls loved all of the long hair and curls

Please be in pray for our team as we continue to bless these children and Carlos and Delmi. 

SPECIAL MOMENTS

Today there were a few specials moment for a few on the team. Tripp and I were able to meet Luis (our sponsor child) as soon as we arrived. It was so touching to see him come up to us and want a hug. Then he started showing us how he could do Tae Kwon Do. Which made us miss Hunter a ton. Luis shared that his friends don't like him because he is smart. It was awesome to see Tripp made paper airplanes with him and his classmates. It was super cool to watch them fly them around the room. We look forward to spending more time with Luis this week.

Meeting Luis for the 1st time!

 Yesterday, Elizabeth met a little girl named Keila (10) while at church. Keila took to Elizabeth at first glance. They got to play musical chairs together and when they had to change partners she watched Elizabeth's every move. Then today when attended the school for the first time it was amazing to watch the Keila walk in the room and her eyes went all the way across the row until she saw Elizabeth, then a smile came on her face. When Keila got done singing she walked straight to Elizabeth and gave her a hug and kiss. We all got to see not only was Elizabeth making her happy, but she was teaching Elizabeth something also. Daniel has also formed a bond with Keila's brother Carlos (8). Carlos has been playing with Daniel the last 2 days. So funny to watch the two of them. The two of them also have 4 other siblings, starting at the age of 2. There mom is super sweet, and very grateful. 

Elizabeth and Keila 

There are many others that are forming bonds or being touched by children. Looking forward to seeing what other relationships form over the 4 days.

Day 2 ... Speechless

Our day started with a bang (literally!).  In Guatemala there are fireworks and cannons that go off throughout the day.  As we were leaving for church we said a prayer with a BOOM**
Church started at 9:30 with music that was very moving.  Many of the songs we knew and were able to sing along to, but no words were necessary to feel the spirit.  During the service we witnessed a baby dedication and a baptism for an elderly lady.  The message was from Matthew 5 and it was great to see the congregation so engaged.

Good Morning from Guatemala City

Several of our group members went to the children's ministry.  There was dancing with the group and a game  like musical chairs (with no music) very interesting.  The children then went to their rooms and the group floated among the rooms to meet them.  Elizabeth and Jamie got to visit with grades 4-6, Tripp hung with the boys in grades 1-3, and then Buffy got to dance with the babies/toddlers. It was all very much as eye opener to see some come with parents and other alone.  By Buffy and Melissa

****

Heading to Church

Today was a wonderful day of learning more about the culture of Guatemala in respect to the their worship in church.  At the beginning of the service, we sang a worship song in spanish.  Then we greeted each other and  Pastor Carlos asked two of us to provide a brief testimony, which Mary and Buffy did a great job doing with Nixa translating.  After the testimonies were given, Buffy, Tripp, Elizabeth, and I went to spend time with the children's ministries.  First, they had a wonderful teacher which taught them a dance to a song named Mi Salvador.  We spent about 30 minutes singing and dancing with the kids.  With me not being a dancer or knowing very much Spanish, the only way to have fun is to just forget the circumstance and show the kids you can have fun even within those limitations.  It's a great way just forget your pride and enjoy every moment of life.  After the song, we played a game of musical chairs, but with a twist.

Elizabeth playing musical chairs

After musical chairs, we visited the Sunday school classrooms.  The teachers there are wonderful with the kids.  The students were really interested in knowing more about their visitors.  The teacher asked us to just tell a little bit about who we are in Spanish.  Some were more comfortable than others, but we all gave it a try and the kids really enjoyed it.  Just trying to communicate with them in their language helps to build that relationship more than asking them to understand English.

This little girl wanted to give Jamie a kiss. 

I really learned so much today and we are just beginning our trip.  I can't wait to return and get into more details of the trip.   by Jamie Massengill 

This afternoon we spent our time at Herona which is located in one of the roughest parts of Guatemala City. Volunteers from the church go there on Sunday afternoons to reach the children and teach them about Jesus. Their hope is that through the children they are able to  reach the parents. The children are deprived and hungry. By hungry I mean we watched them try to claim trees and put fruit in their pockets to take back with them. It broke our hearts! We were able to sing, dance, and read a lesson with the children. We all were very surprised that they knew the story of Zacchaeus.

playing with the children

Thanks Stephen for the sticks.

We were also able to play with them outside kicking a ball or throwing Frisbee (donated by WCC). It was great to be able to talk and watch them play. Some of us saw children that we really could have taken home. Watching them leave was super hard, as there was so much we wanted to do to help, but it is out of our control.  


I will close this with one high light for us -  A BIG COW WALKED BY US ON THE STREET MOOOOOING.

Don't sweat the small stuff

What an amazing day we have had!  Today was day one of work at the school.  Our first impression was breathtaking. It is powerful to see how our cultures are so different.  The small things that we take for granite are things that could change this community.

We cleaned and prepped for painting this morning while supplies where being purchased for work this afternoon.  While cleaning the rooms we enjoyed seeing the children's artwork, books anod stories.  Buffy was able to see the work of the young boy she has been sponsoring for two years.  When we left this evening we had started painting in three rooms and replaced lighting.

The conditions that we are accustomed to are far above the "norm" for what we are seeing.  We live in homes that are nicely painted with carpet to walk on.  Our homes have bathrooms that are like spas.  What would we do if we slammed the door and it put a hole in the wall?  It would be on the next honey-do list!  That is what amazes us because that hole in the wall or the door with no trim DOES NOT MATTER. The Go, Go, Go made us see while waiting that they don't rush. We as Americas can't come to the culture and try and change things. Learning while sitting that this is the part of us being flexible that comes into play.

It is saddening though to see that things need to be done for their safety.  We are glad to say that we are going to leave the electrical in a lot better shape, but the roof is another big concern.  There are areas that are not even covered.  So..... what can we do?  We can pray about it because God has great things in store for this school.   

While riding on the bus today it was discussed among ourselves the we (Americans) are the ones that live different.  The USA is a small portion of this world and what we are seeing is the way of life for a big part of our world.  We are very fortunate and are seeing that in many ways.  We have all had to take a step back and ask ourselves a lot of questions. How can we help more?  What can we do to change our ways?  How can we use this experience to spread his word?

Tomorrow morning we get to participate in their church service.  This afternoon there were several groups practicing worship songs.  We sang along to

We are going to sign out tonight with one last thought.  Pastor Gary sent us out of the service last Sunday saying that he hopes we come home "messed up".  We are going to come home fired up so watch out!

by Melissa Roberts

Arrived and Settled

Friday arrived early for our team as we had to meet at the airport at 4:30am. Most of the team had little to no sleep. We arrived in Guatemala around noon, got settled in our dorm, and then had a wonderful lunch. Delmi and Carlos have been very welcoming and cooked great food.  All of you back in Wilson we are eating plenty for you.

430am and getting ready to board the plane

 Our plan was all ready in action as Elizabeth was able to witness to a little boy on the flight to Guatemala. This story touched many of us and we are praying she gave him the answers he needed. It was amazing to hear alittle boy (age 9) say he missed church. 

Arriving in Guatemala City, Guatemala 

This afternoon we were able to get supplies organized, rest and enjoyed spending time together laughing. Tripp and Nixa went to the school to see what needed to be done for our painting and electrical work. They both came back with a ton of insight to what the experience at the school will be like. On Saturday, we will all get to see the school and feel the emotion that Tripp and Nixa felt. 

The name of the gated community

Our first meal in Guatemala (lunch


Our team is already coming out of our comfort zones, with the water and no cold drinks. So we ended our day with a great devotion and all were ready for bed by 9pm.