Day 7 (rainy day paint)

Woke up to an outstanding breakfast provided by mike, Tammy, Todd, and jenn.. (all of the breakfasts have been great so no disrespect to any of the other cooks, live them all.) We finished the pickets on the fence and started priming but got halted by a nice rainstorm.. hopefully we can at least finish that before we leave.  Some of the girls made quiches and froze them for a retreat that will hopefully promotes married families.. the single mother rate here is around 80%.  Other jobs still involved landscaping and we may even get to help the guard dogs get a much needed upgrade on their living conditions.  One is a husky mix and the other is a golden retriever.  plantanes and mashed frioles was the main course.  And how else would any good night end other than a little four square, kicking pelotas around and making ribbons for the girls and teaching the older boys how to tie a tie.  All in all another great day at the children's home.. update on the sicknesses, most ppl seem to be doing much better.. thanks to everyone for your continued prayers.. Dios es bueno!! Todo el tiempo!!

Day 6

Well the team keeps plugging away..  health is getting slightly better.. the fence is taking shape, hopefully a nice pic to follow.  Some of the girls helped landscape behind our dorms or an old ycc project from this past Feb.  More rain but not enough to ruin things.  Had a healthy treat with the kiddos ton, hot dogs... Mmmm,mmmmm..  terra gave a testimony at dinner that lee translated into Spanish.. ping pong and a team meeting to end the night.. God Bless All

Day 5 (A day late)

Monday was the day the sickness came.. a few of us got some sort of illness.  Up until that point we worked hard on the fence project, cleaning up numerous areas, painting, etc..  rainy days are starting to hit but continue to plug away.. please keep us in your prayers for health, patience, and humility in our time here.  In His Name!

Day 4

Today we got to experience Guatemalan church.  We had about a 25 minute drive through some wild traffic.  The church is enormous  and can hold anywhere between 15000 to 30000 ppl (so we hear.) Needless to say it was huge.  The service was incredible and thankfully we had headphones for part of the service to translate.  After lunch we watched Germany beat up on Argentina.. the kids were about 50/50 on who they wanted to win.. after dinner we did the normal playing and mingling with everyone.. tomorrow it's back to work.. God is Good!!

Day 3

Pool day was great!  We took an hour long bus ride with the kiddos to a sweet water park west of the orphanage.  As we dropped down the mountain the temps rose and everyone was ready to swim.  In guatemala u can pretty much go down a water slide anyway u want. Fantastic!  Later that night after dinners with the families, some of us played cards, other Futbol, and others painted nails (male and female) among other fun things.. as always God is good and clearly working His good deeds in this area..  

Day 2

Another successful day!  We had a tour of the orphanage and school early in the morning followed by some work a quick lunch then some more work.. we heard a great testimony by John from Colorado.  Then we had dinner with kids and their host families.  Bear with me  these have all been from my phone.. talk to ya's soon

Day 1

Hi Folks!

The team in Guatemala has been experiencing technical difficulties and hasn't been able to upload any posts.  They are all safe and sound and have been having a great time working and playing with the kids at the Children's Home.

Below are some photos that I was able to hijack from Facebook pages of the team.

Please continue to pray for their safety, their service, and their spirits!

Back Home

We had a safe and uneventful trip from Guatemala City through Houston (where we went through customs) to Baltimore. We landed in BWI around 11pm and arrived in Red Lion about 1-ish. (I wasn't checking my watch. I was just trying to stay WARM?!) 

L to R - August, Ryan, Kristen, Cindy, Torrie, Larry, Doreen, Wendy, Mike, Kate, Tanner

Thank you for following our blog. If you feel called to serve on a short-term mission trip please contact Servants. You will not be disappointed. God Bless!

Our Goodbye

A picture is worth a thousand words so I thought I'd post this slideshow we shared with the kids tonight after dinner. Some of the girls performed a dance for us and the most wonderful things were said as we took the time to say our "goodbyes".

What a trip! Ask us about it when we get back. We'd love to share this experience with the people we know and love.

Dinner with the Little Boys is Always an Adventure

One boys makes a muscle and they all need to make a muscle!

Randy with his dog, Daisy

Shy Superman (Jose Armando)

Cindy with the gang.

Ryan and Kevin

August and Carlos

Looking good guys!

Ice Cream and Cookies

Kate and August baked cookies so the kids could have an afternoon treat to celebrate their first day of school. One scoop of ice cream and two chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, they loved it!

Torrie, Doreen, Kristen and August

Sharon with her Amigos

Michi enjoying a ice cream covered cookie.

Gaby and Jenifer

Larry with the Muchachos

Want to Make a Difference? Sponser a Child!

It sounds like a cliche but it's so very accurate. Many of us in the USA have so much and are so blessed but are we good "sharers"? Do we give freely or do we horde our possessions? Are we "living water" or a "dead sea"?

Oswald Chambers explains, "We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as “rivers of living water” in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ?

Pray about it. Ask God if you can pass on some of your blessings for one of these precious children.

Paty

Angel David

Gaby

Alejandro and Marvin

For only $35 per month you can give one of these children at New Life Children's Home access to clean food/water, medical care, a Christ-based education and much more. Click HERE for more info.
 

"Giving is a joy if we do it in the right spirit. It all depends on whether we think of it as “What can I spare?” or as “What can I share?” - Esther York Burkholder

Monday Work Day

We continued painting, building cabinets and walls but there is always something else to do around the Home so...
Cindy hung curtains
Wendy added a coat of polyurethane to the new cabinet doors
and Kate opened her own Hair Salon. :)

Imelda Before...

Imelda After!

Egg McMuffins for a Crowd

Sunday night was a very special evening. The Team had the opportunity to make an Egg McMuffin dinner, complete with hash browns for all the kids. Staci, a missionary here at the Children's Home, said the children LOVE hash browns. They're a treat they only get once or a few times a year so they were a big hit! We made 175 sandwiches assembly line style. A big thanks to Kate who was a great head chef!

Kate and Tanner mixing eggs.

August cooking the hash browns.

Larry pouring the drinks.

 

Mike frying the ham.

Ready to serve!

After dinner, what made the evening so special, was the way they prayed for all the students as they begin a new school year. Lee (on the far right) began as he prayed for the oldest students who then in turn prayed for the next younger class and so on and so forth. Imagine high school students praying for elementary students and kindergarten kids praying for pre-kinder kids. It was a blessing to witness their faith in God. What an example for us all to seek, pray and ask God for His help in all we face and in all we do. Join us in praying for New Life Children's Home and these students.