The worship service this morning
was wonderful. Diego and Rene lead the
worship (they are Guatemalan Nationals).
It would have been wonderful to have Tim and Eli join them, but there
wasn’t enough time to practice. Tim and
Eli have done such a wonderful time throughout the week preparing for and
leading in worship, so it was probably nice to allow them to participate today.
Dan Anderson spoke, he’s a third
generation missionary – his family were missionaries to Columbia – so he is
actually more of a Columbian than an American (although he looks very
American). He shared with us from I
Samuel, and challenged us to fear God, serve God, and consider God – three points
that came directly from the passage. It
was a great start to the day.
Then the fun stuff – shopping! I hate shopping, and apparently so does Jeff,
but it is a great experience for the team.
It was fun to watch them barter for stuff and then come back and “brag”
on the prices they got their things for. The deals they made were pretty good – but the
experience was probably more beneficial than the things they acquired.
I hung out in the middle (as is
my custom) but I was able to watch the Spain v Italy futbol game, that made my
2 hour wait go by so much faster. Spain
won – 4-0 – just in case you were wondering.
Since it was raining, we did not
get to tour Antigua like I would have preferred, so we headed off to TGIF for
dinner. What a joy it is to watch this
group interact over their meals. They
are a riot. They laugh together often –
and as I said before, that speaks volumes about the intimacy in the group.
We headed back to the guest house
and said goodbye to Nico and Phil. Many
of the team members shared their thoughts with them before they left.
Finally, the best part of the
week – the sharing in blessing from person to person. Because of the size of the team, my usual
patterns really do not work (it would take way too long), so Jeff had the team
share the things they are taking away from the trip and what changes they would
like to make in their lives when they get home.
They shared some great stuff.
Then Jeff (in the spirit of Winter Weekend) had the kids go around and
speak to the other kids – 1 on 1 throughout the complex. It was neat to listen in to the kids
challenging one another, caring for one another, encouraging one another. I pray that the things resolved here tonight
will stand firm and true as they return.
They will need support of family and friends, and they will need to be
faithful in their relationship with God, but I know that God desires their
success, and they are in a great youth group to be successful.
It is about 11:30, and it is time
for bed. Tomorrow we head to the airport
around 8. It will be a long day, but I
know the kids are excited about getting home.
Thank you so very much for posting every day that you have been with the team in Guatemala! It has been a true joy to be able to read about what you are all doing each day and to hear your perspective as you have lived and worked with these kids (and leaders) from Berean. We are excited to have Joshua home again and to hear all about the trip (after he sleeps for what I expect will amount to a few days!). We will continue to pray for you and the work you do... Thank you!
ReplyDelete- Michele Beaujean