Our final day in Matochos began with no showers! That’s right, the electricity has been out since about 11:30 last night, so we had no showers, no electricity, no fans, no noise (except the roosters crowing at 3). It was a long night. However, everyone seemed in good spirits as we met for breakfast and devotions – and walked through James 2. Our discussion was centered on judgment and mercy, and focusing on people the way God does.
We headed off for the child care center with the intent to
finish the things we needed to accomplish by noon. Our goal was set and eventually
achieved. By lunch time, we had
completed painting 5 classrooms and an office, 2 murals – Jonah and Daniel, the
logo and the descriptive words on the front wall, the foundation for the water
tower, 5 “coke lights” installed, everything was cleaned up and we were ready
for lunch.
Throughout the morning, various team members played games
with the kids, sang songs with them, they even taught them games like “rock-paper-scissors”. They have done an excellent job this week balancing
completion of tasks and interacting with the students and teachers.
For lunch we had pasta and a meat/vegetable patty. It was good.
The team has eaten very well this week.
I am certain that they enjoyed most, if not all, of the meals we were given.
After lunch the team gathered together with the teachers and
they presented them with gifts. The
teachers were overwhelmed as they received the gifts. However, the teachers (and students) had
gifts for the team as well. They gave
the team plastic cups with handmade flowers.
The team was very thankful and hugs were handed out all around.
After the presentations, we stood together and prayed and
then took some group photos. The kids,
the teachers, the team – everyone present jumped in on the action! What a wonderful way to end the week of
working together. Finally the team and
the teachers took a few photos by the logo on the outside of the facility. It was a great conclusion as we hugged and
said goodbye to our new friends.
We returned to the hotel to check out – expecting to be able
to shower before we left, but wouldn’t you know – still no electricity. Many of us jumped in the pool – some even
took soap with them (if you want to know who, you will have to ask – and NO, I
was not one of them). Eventually we
packed up the van and headed for Thelma’s house in the city.
We drove the 2 hour ride back to Guatemala City with the
team bubbling with excitement.
Conversations were happening all over the van. As the ride progressed, many began to be tired. It was a long week – so far. Tomorrow we have a long day – touring the
main campus of AMG Guatemala, visiting kids at Las Vistas, and going to
Antigua. I pray that we will have the
energy to do all that God has in store for us tomorrow!
Thought for the day:
I had the opportunity to talk with Pat today, and she said that she was
frustrated with the fact that she didn’t have enough time to paint the “rocks”
on her Daniel mural grey to make them look like a real stone wall. She mentioned that because we spent some of
our time with the children, playing games, that we didn’t accomplish all that
we could have. It was as we were talking
that I had the opportunity to encourage her with the eternal focus of the
things we worked on. From the painting
of the walls to the “coke lights” to the foundation for the water tower, all of
the things we worked on will be replaced, repaired, or destroyed sometime in
the future. However, the souls of the
children we worked with are eternal, and therefore infinitely more important
than anything else we could have done.
Even as I write about this, my thought is that I need to
make sure that the things I am spending my time doing have eternal
results. Yes, the projects we did were
beneficial, but at the point at which I sacrifice doing the eternal things to “master”
the temporary, I am wasting my time.
This does not give me excuse to not do the things God calls me to do
with less effort, but rather to make sure that they are done well with the
eternal in mind.
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