Counting down the hours

Just a few hours from boarding and many of the team members are heading to Raleigh tonight and others traveling early in the morning. We are departing at 6am from RDU. We will have a lay over in Atlanta, and arrive in Guatemala City 1149 (there time). We are all excited and ready to see what we have been preparing for the last 8 months. Please keep us in your prayers over the next 9 days.

Mark your calendars now to hear all about our trip on July 8th at 6pm (Wilson Community Church). 

Our next blog update will come from Guatemala City, Guatemala.

What are we looking forward too?

Over the last few months our team has been asked many things and one of them has been what are you looking forward too? So we thought we would share what a few of us are looking forward in Guatemala.

I'm looking forward to seeing how some of us react to the reality of the conditions that much of the world calls normal, their everyday homes. Then comparing that reality to our resources and God's commands and examples. Daniel Crim

I am looking forward to the entire experience seeing as this is my first Mission Trip.  Elizabeth Crim

I'm looking forward spending time with the kids. I think is going to remind me a lot of PR. Also, I hope they dance. I haven't done a good salsa in like 10 yrs.  Nixa Rose

I am looking forward to each of us experiencing that private moment when we realize individually why God chose us specifically for this adventure.
Eddie Gonzalez 

I am looking forward to placing myself in an unknown situation which will allow myself to fully rely on my faith to help me make it through each day. Jamie Massengill

Having a son from Guatemala makes me want experience this trip differently. I also look forward to playing with the children and meeting our sponsor child . Buffy Poole

I look forward to bonding with people i don't know well. But i look forward to learning more about there culture, and teaching my kids just how lucky we are. Tripp Poole

I want to see the "real" world.  I admit that I am sheltered and have been very blessed.  I want to come home and live the remainder of my life changed and humble, but most of all live for HIS glory daily.   Melissa Roberts

I am looking forward to meeting Carlos and Delmi, the teachers and workers at the school, and the kids. I anticipate all of us will be pulled out of our comfort zones and looking forward to seeing God working in our "uncomfortableness ". And I really want to see Nixa salsa.  :)

 Beth Bowen

I'm looking forward to another culture, being challenged, and seeing how God meets all our needs. I'm also looking forward to the FOOD! Mary Mcauliffe 

We look forward to telling you all about our trip on June 8th @6pm. 

" One Thing"

In the last blog post i wrote about the song  " One Thing" written by our Worship Pastor Stephen Combs. Stephen and the band Stedfast performed this song Sunday before our commissioning, and it hit a few of us funny. We had never talked about a theme song among the team. But some of us downloaded it on our ipads, ipods, and made a CD to take with us to Guatemala. 

You ask why does this song mean so much to some of us? Well, we are leaving behind a family, friends and our church. But we are also leaving behind 2 people that can't go with us. But will take this song and hear there voices and when times get hard and we are so messed up personally. We can turn to the song "One Thing" and hear Stephen and Talia singing to us  From church here to the world out there,We give our lives, His gifts we share,And straining toward what is ahead,We will pursue the way of the Lord. I will press on, I will pursue. 

Talia is on the Orphan Care team and is unable to travel this year. Stephen was on the team and had to back out due to personal reasons. So for some of us we are taking them along and know they are our cheerleaders.

3 days to go and we will be boarding that plane, to purse a dream that WCC has long hoped for. Keep us all in your prayers that our team will stay safe, bond, healthy, and follow God's will. 

Commissioning Service

This morning at our 11am service Pastor Gary commissioned our 13 member team to go to Guatemala. It was very touching to here our Pastor letting us know that he hopes we come back so messed up that we mess the church up. What he was saying was that he hopes we are so messed up from the trip for God, and what we saw  that others will want to go. Personally our team is as prepared as we can be for what God is going to do in 9 days. Yes, several have been out of the country and for that matter to Guatemala. But this is nothing like before to any of us.

Stephen our Worship Pastor wrote and sang the perfect song today before we were commissioned. Words we have all said over the last few months of planning. 

Here are the words:

From sunrise to moonlight,We will belong in Jesus ChristForgetting what there is behind,We celebrate for Your delight From church here to the world out there,We give our lives, His gifts we shareAnd straining toward what is ahead,We will pursue the way of the Lord

Team of 13

Doing the cheerleader jump as some called it. 5 days to go!

 Also you can listen to the song as it was played a 

few months ago at church.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyfzzrNFieg&feature=share

Practicing our lessons

Over the last 3 Sundays our team has been practicing our lessons, song, and art with the children classes. It has been a great experience for us to work with them. Also, adjusted things in our lessons to make this work smoother in Guatemala.

Team picture

Beth, Angie, Mary, Buffy, Devon, Jamie, Eddie, Tripp, Daniel, Elizabeth, Nixa.
Missing are Melissa, and Lee

project planning

Just a little insight to other stuff we will doing while in Guatemala. Tripp is heading up the construction part of our trip. There is a lot of electrical work to do such as hanging lights inside and outside the building. Also outlets in the sewing room. The sew room has no ceiling to hang lights in. Tripp is looking forward to being able to help them in anyway he can. Helping Tripp with these projects will be Jamie and Eddie. 

This is current being transformed into the sewing room. 

While the 3 of them are working on electrical the rest of us will be painting the school or church. On this trip there is something for all of us to do.