Guatemala/ Faith Bible Team Global Action 2007

Heading back to Houston

2007-07-22T00:33:00.000-05:00

Today we sent off Team I back to Houston as Team 2 arrived safely, minus 3 bags, which we are praying will arrive tomorrow. Last night was a tremendous time of sharing after an amazing week of ministry and the end of a beautiful day. On our return to Guatemala City, we took a ferry across Lake Atitlan to spend a few hours in Panajachel, another pretty little town on the lake front. It is more “touristy” than San Pedro, but it was fun to shop in the market area filled with small stores full of colorful Guatemalan handiwork. Then it was back in the vans to complete the drive to the city, pack up and take some time to reflect on what the Lord had shown each of us during the week. Each person on the team was touched in various ways; eyes have been opened in new ways, hearts stirred, and none of us will be the same. We were all grateful for the opportunity to minister, get to know the gracious Guatemalans, begin to understand their lives/needs, and a desire to continue to pray and be involved in this ministry. We have been His hands and feet, sharing His hugs and hope, His truth and love. What a privilege!

Now we prepare for outreach in Palencia; a different sort of town and situation, but with great needs for ministry. It will be another very full week, and we covet your prayers and we continue to pray for the Lord to work in and through us to further His kingdom in Guatemala. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to join You in Your work!

Get on board

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This wasn't the ship that sunk was it? Getting ready to travel across the Lake.

Look here

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I promise this is the last picture I am going to take in this position.

New friends

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Kristine and Conner enjoying the ride on top of the boat. Such a beautiful day.

Volcano and Lake

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Lake scenes

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What is this?

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I think this is why they call it the Love Boat. Harry and Debbie please behave yourselves there are children on this cruise.

The Raffaele family

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Travelling on the boat across the Lake.

What do you think?

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Is this my color?

Do you see a braclet I can buy?

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Shopping complete

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At the end of the day Ken has to carry everyone's bags in his family as their hands were full from their purchases in the market

Day off to shop

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We have travelled across the Lake this morning on a 45 minute boat ride and now we are in the process of shopping and furthering the economy, thanks Joy for your leadership in this endeavor.

We will try and get back with you later if not thanks for all of your prayers we have had a wonderful trip. Please ask the team members about their time here in Guatemala.

Last day in San Pedro Thursday update

2007-07-20T10:54:00.001-05:00

Today was our last day in San Pedro, a very full and rewarding day! The big project of the morning was completing the second floor of classrooms at the church. The rain poured last night, and we prayed for a clear day today so that this could be completed. Prayers were answered! ALL the men (and Kristine!) pitched in for the “cement brigade.” This meant the doctors, dentists, teachers, as well as our guys and the local workers…each as covered with mud as the next one. They constructed a giant sand box of sorts on the ground floor, brought in the cement, sand, and water, mixed it by hand with hoes and hauled the cement up in small buckets from the first to second floor. Slow, tedious, but it was done! When it was finally complete, all those who worked on the floor came together under the new flooring for a picture and special prayer of dedication. What a blessing for this church…and for us!

While the men were hauling cement, we had another special time with the ladies. They listened intently as the lesson was translated from English to Spanish to their local dialect. It was my first time to have tri-lingual interpretation! The excited voices of children filled the church once again for afternoon VBS. Talk about lively! Singing, jumping, laughing, praying, listening to the Bible lessons, they soaked in every bit. Game time was even wilder than usual. The doctors and some of the helpers who were now free for the afternoon joined the children, even in jump rope. That was a sight! We closed our time with the children by having the team members pray over every child; quite a powerful, sweet time.

When everything was packed into the vans, we took a quick tour of the town in the local taxi, a “tuck tuck,” like ones we have seen in Asia. It’s like a three-wheeled golf cart of sorts that provides local transportation. They are meant for two passengers, so we had a line of tuk tuks in front of the church. I think it is a bit unusual to see six of these following one another in a row, like a caterpillar, filled with a bunch of gringos. As we weaved through the town on rough cobble stone streets, the locals looked a bit amused. It seemed like a ride at an amusement part as we bounced along, but gave us a different view of San Pedro.

Tonight was our last night with some of our Guatemalan friends. After dinner, we had a wonderful time of sharing. How we appreciate these faithful servants! It’s our privilege to come and work with them, but they continue on, day in and day out, long after we go back home. Their faith and compassion for their people in need is such a testimony of the love of Jesus fleshed out. We have formed special relationships with these wonderful people and pray that we will be able to join with them many times in the future.

It’s hard to imagine that much can be done in a city in three days….but once you experience it, you realize just how much God can accomplish! And once again, we were reminded by our friends that this is much more than just a few days of work….it’s of eternal value! And we are so very grateful to have had a part in it.

VBS game time

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Bible Story time

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Sharing together

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fun times

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Jump rope and dancing always alot of fun

Intake table at clinic

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Catherine was the first person that the patients would take to and she would gather all of their information, blood pressure and then write down what was wrong with each one. She wasn't sure if she would be able to use the Spaniish that she learned years ago but what a blessing she was as the patients came. the fellow on the lft this day had to translate from the local langauge to Spanish for her so that she could write it down in English.

The needs

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This young man came in for an examine and these are the shoes that he was wearing. The needs are everywhere.

Eye clinic

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Debbie helping with the eye clinic patients, she said that it was so neat to be able to help people see better with their new glasses
Makko testing a patient for new glasses

Having some fun

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Steve with the locals

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More dental work

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Sunday school

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New Sunday school classrooms at the church we are working at. Nice breeze during the day and plenty of room to worship.

All together

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Team players

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Team shots

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Children's faces

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Ministry always

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Faces in the crowd

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Prayed over

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Every patient was prayed over what a blessing for the team members to do this.

Medical team

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Diane leading a girl to the Lord.
Conner handing out medicine
Kristine pricking a lady's finger to run a blood test
Oswaldo and Alex talking over a prescription for a patient

Dentistry

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Our wonderful dentist and helpers at work for 3 days straight seeing many patients of all ages.

Hum

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Not sure what to say about this but they are working hard

Getting ready

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We are all excited about our first day in San Pedro

God says to wake up today

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Taking time to pray with our brothers

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Tito and doctors

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Here is a picture of our wonderful partners in one of their more serious times. Tito is on the bottom left. All of the guys are incredible and you need to come and meet them someday and work with them.

San Pedro men's meeting

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Tuesday night we got to meet with 19 Guetmala men and had a great time of sharing about being Godly men, fathers and husbands. They really enjoyed this time together and send their greetings back to the U.S.

Wednesday morning sunrise

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Lauri convinced me and Diane to get up with her at 5:00 a.m. this monring to go sit on the roof and watch the sunrise. For some reason it did not come up until about 5:30 a.m. so we waited and exchanged a few kind words of encouragement. It finally did make some beautiful scenes over the lake. the fun part was listening to birds get louder and louder as they celebrated another day with the Lord.

VBS

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The first day of VBS went great with about 120, great Bible stories, lots of games and crafts. New freinds were being made.

Fun times

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Anna just had to ride on John's knee just like the grandkids back home.

Here is John teaching the kids a new dance. It doesn't matter country it is he is always getting down.

Murals

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All the young kids on the team with Daniel's leadership did a great job with the murals in the classrooms

San Pedro overlook

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Here is the view of part of the city of San Pedro from the top of the church where we are working this week.

Lauri with the ladies

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Tuesday we had a ladies meeting and Lauri had to use two translators to get the message out, first in English the Spanish then the local language.

Daniel in his favorite position

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San Pedro

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Some of the sites around San Pedro a town of about 60,000. this is where we will be staying the rest of the week.

Beautiful drive to San Pedro

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Lookout Hollywood

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Family talk

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Now tell me again what you are studying at UT and how many more t-shirts will you need this year?

Team members and staff

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Eating on the way

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Monday as we travelled to San Pedro we stopped in the middle of no where and had a great lunch

Wednesday in San Pedro

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It was a flurry of activity today! Not only were we having medical and dental clinics, but we scheduled an outreach to women in the morning and VBS in the afternoon. There were so many people gathered when we arrived this morning, with many women who needed to see the doctor and didn’t want to lose their “spot” to attend the women’s meeting that we decided to hold the “women’s” meeting in the sanctuary of the church, which served as the “waiting room” so that no one had to miss their turn. This instantly transformed the women’s meeting to a “coed” meeting. Actually, it turned out even better, which is always the case when God tweaks our plans. It was good for the men to hear the lessons on Mary and Martha and the Samaritan woman. We were emphasizing that Jesus cared for and respected women, something that is lacking in this culture. This was also addressed last night in the men’s meeting, which was a tremendous time of sharing and encouragement for both our team and the men who came from the community. It was such a blessing to hear the reports from the men tonight who realize that though we may live in different circumstances and cultures, we all have the same needs and struggles. Dr. Tito thanked the fathers for showing love for their sons, demonstrating that it is good to give your sons a hug and outwardly express love and affection for children, something Guatemalan men shy away from.

In the afternoon, the children began to trickle in. At first, we thought there might be about 60 children, which would have been fine, but the group quickly doubled, and the sanctuary was filled with excited, eager children. Two families prepared lessons on Jesus calming the storm and Jesus walking on water, acting them out with props. It captured the children’s attention, and they seemed to understand the message, even though many of the children speak only the local dialect, not Spanish. Game and craft time was the usual “semi-chaos,” but a truly enjoyable time. It is always amazing to see children taking such care with their crafts, diligently making their own creations. They are so eager to show off their handiwork and take great pride in their work.

Meanwhile, the construction continues on the floor of the second floor wing of the church. The men have been able to get all the work finished for concrete in two days, about half the time expected. We’ve had heavy rains off and on during our time here, and we are praying that it will hold off tomorrow long enough for the concrete to be poured. They really need the team’s help to get that done before we leave.

It has been such fun to see everyone on the team, both American and Guatemalan, work seamlessly in the numerous roles, from clinics to construction, painting murals (done by the youngest members of the team, and quite well!), holding babies, praying with everyone entering the church, loving on children, comforting dental patients who are frightened and in pain, and just pouring themselves out for the people of San Pedro. Only the Lord could accomplish all this!

We’ve had a few fall prey to “tummy troubles” today, but we’re praying that everyone will rest well and feel fine tomorrow. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day here. As always, it goes by so quickly! Uri, one of our helpers from America Latina School (Bible teacher), encouraged us so beautifully that our presence here, though it may seem brief, doesn’t end when we leave; it will continue to bear fruit through eternity. Such encouraging words! She also said that no amount of money we could send could take the place of making a personal connection, sharing life one on one, that it is personal interaction, having other believers joining with them, that truly makes the difference, a great reminder and affirmation of why short-term team ministry is important and does make a difference!

Tuesday in San Pedro

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What an amazing day! The church filled quickly with those who needed to see the doctors and dentists; they sat so patiently, waiting for their turn. Mothers with babies, young people and old, they came. Catherine got to use her Spanish as she did the initial intake for the clinics. You could tell that it meant so much for her to be able to speak to them directly, ask them about their concerns, and prepare them for their visit. While they waited, we got to interact with the children and hold some of the babies; such treats! Their graciousness and gratitude is overwhelming. There was no hint of an attitude of entitlement, only prayers of praise and thanksgiving for how they were being blessed. Again, humbling. It is always exciting to see how the Lord designs each team and weaves the giftedness of each one together in His miraculous way. We certainly saw that today as everyone, from the youngest child on the team to the oldest, took part cheerfully in such a variety of ways, all of which were “outside the comfort zone.” We are being constantly reminded by our Guatemalan brothers and sisters that it is God-appointed that we are here and they He is blessing the people in eternal ways, and that they are thankful. What encouragement! A little girl, Ceci, came to know the Lord today! Three other girls had the gospel explained again clearly so that they could know that if they have accepted Jesus as their Savior, they are secure in Him and cannot lose their salvation. It was especially a privilege to pray with those coming to the clinics, old and young. To hold the hands of an elderly lady dying with cancer and pray with her was powerful. The power of the Holy Spirit was intense as we prayed with a woman overwhelmed with great fears and abuse at home. How we pray for true freedom and hope that can only be found in Jesus.

At the same time the clinics were held, many of the men and young men on the team worked hard constructing a second floor on a wing of the church that will provide more classroom space. When you see the pictures of the church, you will be amazed at the “open air” classrooms where the clinics are and on the rooftop where we will meet with the women. Matt shared tonight that he was so grateful that with each nail he nailed on the sub flooring, he was helping to build the foundation for more ministry and was praying over each inch of that flooring. Planting seeds!

Tonight is a particularly special night and the focus of much prayer. Our men and young men are having a meeting at the church with men from San Pedro. Right now, we have no idea how many are there, only that we are confident that the Lord is speaking through our men to touch the lives of the men here about what it means to be a Godly man, husband, and father. We know that the men on our team intend to be very transparent, sharing their struggles and failures as well as their victories, and how God has and is working in their lives and their families. We women have been praying for the men while they are meeting and eagerly waiting to hear about what God is doing right now in their hearts.

Prayers, hugs, smiles, loving touches, reassuring hand holding…. despite language barriers, God’s love was evident today. We asked the Lord to bond us together with the people here, and we certainly felt that today. Tomorrow morning we will have a special time just with the women, and we are praying that they will know Jesus, understand how God sees them, how much He loves them, and that they have true value and worth because of Who made them and the great price that He paid for them. In the afternoon, we will have VBS for the children. We are praying that each child will truly feel loved, affirmed, and feel “fearfully and wonderfully made.” The clinics and construction will also continue, so it will be quite an active day! Please continue to pray with us for many in San Pedro to come to know the Lord, and that the Holy Spirit will be poured out over this entire city.

Loading up for San Pedro

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Getting all of our luggage on top.
What is this guy trying to do? Hang on Steve.
Loaded up and ready to go for the six hour drive. We finally made it late Monday afternoon what a beautiful drive.

Linda greeting a new friend at church

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Worship in Guatemala Sunday

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We had a wonderful time joining in with our Guatemala brothers and sisters in worship and lead by Ken and Grace who did a great job. A wonderfulk time to praise our Lord together, just a taste of what heaven will be like.

Settling in to San Pedro

2007-07-17T00:05:00.000-05:00

It’s Monday night in San Pedro, Guatemala beside Lake Atitlan. We haven’t had access to internet before now, so we are trying to make some elaborate wireless connection here at our little hotel. The team is doing well and thoroughly enjoying the graciousness of the people and beauty of the land. We arrived on Sat. and went to the church building to get everyone situated. Tito, the doctor we work with here, and Rolando, his assistant, gave an orientation to the ministry here and what we would be doing to help them with the medical/dental clinics and other outreaches. Daniel, our “adopted Guatemalan” son who lived with one of our teammates’ family last year in Houston, came with his mother to reunite with his Houston friends on the team. It was a great reunion! His brother, sister-in-law, and niece also came for a wonderful time of catching up. Daniel will be a part of our team both this week and next week in Palencia, and it is a joy to have him with us once again.

Sunday was such a special time of worship! It is always a highlight to worship with our brothers and sisters in other countries, and this was another wonderful time of praise and worship, prayer, and sharing. Ken and Grace led some special songs, which the church seemed to really enjoy. The team remarked that night that they truly, truly felt love from those at the church. They were also struck by the passion of their praise and prayer and genuine embracing of one another and all of us. In the afternoon, we went to America Latina School to organize all the supplies and equipment we would need for the clinics, loaded the vans, and made preparations for our trek to San Pedro. We had some tremendous cloud bursts throughout the day, and we prayed for clear weather for our journey, which could be greatly complicated by bad weather.

This morning we awoke to clear, beautiful skies…answered prayer! We started our all day journey through some of the most beautiful countryside you could imagine. The lush green of the trees, crops, and mountains showcased the beauty of this country. As we got closer to the lake, ascending higher into the mountains, we found ourselves above the clouds as they draped over the mountain tops and drifted into the valleys. We stopped for lunch at what looked like a Swiss chalet which served delicious food. It looked a bit like Colorado and smelled like good old Texas BBQ! Quite a combo! At last, we caught a view of Lake Atitlan. It was gray and hazy, but to see this huge lake surrounded by volcanic peaks was quite a sight. After unloading supplies at the church where we’ll work and setting up the clinic areas and places for VBS and women’s ministry, we had another wonderful dinner prepared by a Christian family who has a little café near the hotel. We have been joined by three dentists, another doctor, and a young pastor and a Bible teacher from America Latina school. We are so excited to join these wonderful servants to reach out to the people of San Pedro. We have learned that Guatemala has the lowest ration of doctors to population in Central America. This town of 60,000 has only 2 doctors, and this seems typical for the country. Dr. Tito has a real burden for the people living in outlying areas such as this; there is a critical need for medical care as well as the Good News of Jesus. We are constantly being thanked and blessed for coming here, even before we have had a chance to “do” anything. It is quite humbling. So we truly covet prayer for everyone we will encounter at the clinics, VBS, men’s ministry outreach tomorrow night, the VBS and women’s ministry, and the people we meet in town. Our desire is that the love and hope of Jesus will flow through us to all we meet and they will know we are here because of His love for them.
Diane for the team

Leaving tomorrow July 14, 2007

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Well this time tomorrow night we will be settled into our church home living quarters in Guatemala City and preparing for our trip to Lake Atitlan. We will be leaving Houston Saturday morning and flying direct to Guatemala City. there will be 22 of us on the first week trip and we will be doing ministry San Pedro at Lake Atitlan proclaimed to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. In some of my earlier posts on this blog I have given you information about Guatemala, Lake Atitlan and some of the culture of the Mayans that we will be working with. I hope that you will take the time to learn a bit about the people we will be working with. We are excited and looking forward to our adventure. Please pray for us this week as we minister to the San Pedro community with medical clinics, VBS for children, women and men outreach programs and some other activities. We will try to keep the blog updated as often as possible so you will just need to keep checking back each day.
Thanks for your support, prayers and encouragement for our team and the many Guatemala believers that we will be working with the next 2 weeks.
God Bless. John and Diane for the team.

Catholicism and the Mayans

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Catholicism and the Mayans A bit of history about the Mayans and the church. Many people ask us about the Mayan religion and this will give you a littl idea. it is different in many ways.

Where is Lake Atitlan?

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Where is Lake Atitlan? this will give you information about the area we will be working in around Lake Atitlan.

The Significance of Mayan Dress

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The Significance of Mayan Dress

This is link about the Mayan dress, just click on the link.

Guatemala facts and information

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Background:
The Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, some 1 million refugees.

Location:
Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize

Area:
slightly smaller than Tennessee

Population:
12,728,111 (July 2007 est.)

Religions:
Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs

Languages:
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)

Economy:
Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about one-fourth of GDP, two-fifths of exports, and half of the labor force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and Guatemala since then has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. On 1 July 2006, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered in to force between the US and Guatemala. The distribution of income remains highly unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line.