Navigators - Guatemala Trip - Day 6

More of the same today – 2 people sick – Rus and Marissa, but besides that, we continued the work that was set out for us.  By lunch time we had loaded 4 trucks full of rock and pretty much finished the block from the basement.  Praise the Lord.

Since nothing was really all that different, I thought I would do a “10 ways to know you are on a missions trip to San Pedro” Blog…

10 – You begin your day looking at the beautiful sunshine on Lake Atitlan.

9 – You head to the restroom and find something swimming in your toilet.

8 – During your morning shower you decide to move the shower head and get an electric jolt from the “widowmaker” that is attached to the shower head to heat up the water.

7 – As you get dressed, you start to realize that you are running out of clean clothes because you are getting clothes too dirty to wear more than one day.

6 – With your limited language ability you have learned how to ask how much something costs, but when the people respond, you have no idea what price they just told you.

5 – On your way out the door, you remember that you have to walk up the hill to get the child care center and you have to remind yourself that the climb up the mountain is well worth it.

4 – As you walk, you find yourself dodging Tuk-Tuks that are flying by you from both directions – many that are coming down the hill are not even on.

3 – You find yourself amazed at the prevalence of the name of God and Jesus Christ painted on Tuk-Tuks, walls of buildings, vehicles, etc.  The form of Christianity is all around you.

2 - Finally at the center, you make your way to the window and overlook the beautiful views of San Pedro and you are amazed at the wonder of our God who created it.

1 – The children at the center surround you with their love and enthusiasm – they are as excited to see you as you are to see them.

You have to love ministry in San Pedro!  Praise be to God that he would use us to minister to these children and adults of Guatemala.

Navigators - Guatemala Trip - Day 5

Man was today a tough day of labor.  We worked like horses from morning till about 4:30 in the afternoon.  Of course the day began with breakfast and devotions in Romans 5, but the rest of the day was digging, breaking rock, carrying rock, physical labor.  My muscles are starting to feel it.  Three days of physical labor – I am going to be ready for a vacation next week.  The guys we are working with – Elias and Manuel – are work horses, and they are definitely putting us to shame, but they are gracious and allow us to help them anyway.  They are hilarious to work with.  Elias is 42 and Manuel is 57, but you wouldn’t know it by the way they work.  They are amazing.

The team is still functioning well, with the exception of Rus (the team leader) who is experiencing some stomach issues that are causing him a little problem.  He left around 3 to go back to the hotel – the rest of us did not get back until about 7:30.

After the work, we watched the ladies play basketball against the women here.  It was fun to watch 11 ladies on the court attempting to play basketball.  Eventually the guys got in on the action and we played against the women.  It was chaos, but we had a great time just building relationships with the women and the gym teacher (male).  He played with us – 5 on 6.  It was fun.

When we arrived back at the hotel I was able to skype with the family, and that was wonderful.  It is always good to hear their voices and find out how they are doing.

Tomorrow is more physical labor as we continue moving the block that we took out of the basement and put upstairs and put it in a truck to be shipped to another part of the city.  More lifting, more carrying, more moving dirt and rock…  Really, I am ready for a vacation.

God has been good and He has been faithful.  I have had many conversations with the team members about God, their future, their goals…  I continue to pray that God would give me wisdom to give godly council and to encourage them in Him.  So far He has done that – it always amazes me.

Tomorrow we are looking into Romans 6 – what a joy it has been to walk through this book – especially since this team started the book early!  Now I get to talk about more than chapters 1-3.  Christ’s righteousness is a wonderful gift that is greater than we realize.  Thanks be to God for His wonderful gift!

Navigators - Guatemala Trip - Day 4

Another busy day of working, playing with kids, and growing together as a team.

Highlights of today were…

1 – Our time in Romans 4 in the morning.

2 – Our work in the basement on the rocks and digging the hole for the cistern.

3 – Playing with the kids during their breaks.

4 – Lunch conversation with the team – they are really learning a lot about God, themselves, and Guatemala.

Lucky (pronounced with a U like in Lucy), our interpreter, gave us a synopsis of San Pedro over the past 20 or so years as the town has changed from a truly Guatemalan city to a tourist attraction that has attracted the “hippie” type, druggies and “free love” personalities.  The Christian influence that once prevailed is being overshadowed by the mormons, the “church of Satan” and drugged up hippies.  Culturally they are experiencing a duplicity in that the older generation is calling the younger ones to remember their heritage and roots – even down to the way they dress, while the new generation is getting hooked on drugs, pop culture, city culture, etc.  They are going away to school (college) and bringing much of that influence back home. 

We prayed for the kids of the center that they would be grounded in the word of God and that they would be the next Godly generation in San Pedro.  We need to continue praying for them as they grow in their education, their training, and especially in their understanding of God.

The evening wrap up session was interrupted by dinner, and many were bothered by the lack of focus the group had.  Dinner was a discussion of refocusing the group on times to be focused and purpose driven, and times of flexibility and willingness to do “whatever”.  The group handled the conflict very well, and I look forward to what the fruit of this conversation will be during the remainder of the week.

Tomorrow is more of the same – It is about midnight at home, but only about 10 o’clock here.  That is late enough for me as our labor has been intensive and sleep has been moderate at best.

On a personal note, I am looking forward to vacation with the family next week – with the upcoming wedding, the graduation, Dee’s new business, and the fact that I have one more trip before May, a nice break will be good for everyone.  I do miss the family – I cannot talk with them while I am here, but I know that they are doing well.

Navigators - Guatemala trip - Day 3

Another full day today – we are moving around Guatemala at an incredible pace. 

We had breakfast at this little restaurant at 7:30 this morning – even though the place didn’t officially open until 9.  We ate eggs, rice and beans, and drank some great Guatemalan coffee.  Afterwards we stayed at our tables and talked through the first 3 chapters of Romans.  I am excited about the fact that they prepared ahead of time by working through the first 3 chapters before they came, but I wanted to walk through the passage together with them so we were on the same page entering chapter 4 tomorrow.

Eventually we made our way back to the hotel to pack our things into 3 Tuk-Tuks (motorcycles with enclosed areas) and 3 guys rode with our luggage to a boat on Lake Atitlan.  The rest of the team walked about a mile or so down to the shore.  We loaded up on a boat and headed across the lake. 

An hour later we arrived in San Pedro and we had to carry our luggage about 1 ½ miles to the hotel.  Not a big deal for most, but I had a lot of luggage.  Thank goodness for the team being helpful.  Anyway we settled in and eventually headed to the child care center.

We had lunch at the center and then headed to the bank to exchange money.  When we returned, they were ready for us to begin working, and we were ready to get to work.  The task??  Digging out the dirt in the basement – carrying rocks out of the basement and eventually leveling the area for concrete.  This is going to be a lot of work, but the team is up to it.

However, the men were not familiar with women helping with that kind of work, so the ladies had to find other things to do while the men broke rocks up and carried them out of the basement.  They ended up playing with kids, working on skits, and helping with the other women.  They seemed to have a wonderful time.

Eventually we finished the days work (the men only work till 4) and all of us began “playing” with the kids.  I went into classrooms and disrupted class (as I tend to do) and had a lot of fun interacting with the children.  They are very open and very friendly.  This is going to be a great week of working with these children.  They love to laugh, they love to play, they love to interact with us.  We are practicing our Spanish, and (as is usual) I am helping people laugh by attempting to speak the language.  I am understanding more as they talk, but I still have a ways to go.

By the way, Elias and Manuel worked with us in the basement and they were teaching us what the tools were in Spanish and we were telling them what they were in English.  We will probably spend all week with them – I pray that we have opportunity to encourage them in their walk with God (assuming they are Christians) and that our help will be beneficial to them.

 
Tomorrow is more of the same – for the first time we will be staying at the same place 2 days in a row.  It is nice to finally “settle in”.  Enough for now – it’s almost bed time.

Navigators - Guatemala Trip - Day 2

What an incredible day – I have much to record, but words really will be difficult to find to communicate all that is necessary.

We started the day by going to church.  As always it is a wonderful experience worshiping with people from another language, another culture, who are praising our same God.  The pastor stood to speak, and walked through the “mission” of a Christian.  Point by point he discussed the role of the Christian in the world, and our responsibility to live a life of mission.  One of the team members who has been wrestling with the idea of God and still has not decided where she lands was present to hear everything.  She has been talking with Rus (the team leader) about God, but has not yet decided to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.  So, God used this pastor to plant some seeds.

Then we went to Thelma’s house for lunch and to wait for Brandon to arrive (he is our last team member arriving today around noon).  While we were waiting, the discussion turned to purpose in life, meaning in life, focus of who God is, and what a wonderful discussion it is.  This young team member is truly wrestling with truth, and it is my prayer that God would open her eyes to see Him clearly.  She asked a number of questions, she talked about real issues that she is dealing with, and some of the other team members were excited about sharing truth with her.  God is working on her, I just pray that she chooses to accept Him this week.

After lunch we headed off to Panajachel, a city located on Lake Atitlan close to San Pedro.  We will be taking a boat over to San Pedro in the morning, but for tonight we are staying here at Larry’s Place (a hotel in town).  We arrived around 5ish, and unpacked and relaxed a little.  We took some team photos and headed for dinner at Pollo Campero in town.

God is working on this team and will be working through this team tomorrow as we head to San Pedro.  I am excited about the reality of what God is going to do, and I look forward to being part of a team that is growing together and learning together.

Tomorrow is an early morning.  Lord willing I will write more tomorrow…