The day began with a clear sky, cats screaming (sounding like babies crying), dogs barking, and some fireworks off in the distance. It was a typical Guatemalan morning. The team seemed well rested and were ready for our eggs and pancake breakfast.
We followed breakfast with
our morning devotional – an overview of the book of Philippians, and we began
the study with verses 1 and 2 of chapter 1.
We had a great discussion, although I look forward to them opening up
more as the week goes on. The beginning
of a book kind of lends itself to more of a direct conversation than a group
discussion anyway.
We left for Verbana (the
main campus of AMG Guatemala) on time, and arrived close to 9:00. We took a brief tour of the campus, and then
planned to head off to work. But we were
interrupted by children… literally hundreds of them. The bell rang and the flood gates opened, and
kids just kept coming and coming.
It was fun to watch the
group as they saw the kids approaching and you could see the wonder in their
eyes as to how this was going to play out.
The hesitation didn’t last long, as the kids ran up to team member after
team member and hugged them, kissed them, and played with them.
For the next 30 minutes or
so, the team spun kids around, chased them around the field, played
“pato-pato-gonso” (duck-duck-goose), and just hugged and loved on kids. I love seeing the faces of the kids light up
as they interact with the team members, and I love watching the “nervous
anxiety” melt away from the team members as the kids lavish them with
love. It really is a lot of fun to be
part of.
As the kids headed off to
class (with the prompting of the team members), it was time for us to get to
work. During the day, the team helped
install part of a drop ceiling in the new At Risk No More facility, they
installed 4 toilets (Andrew helped with this), they taught English class, they
interpreted sponsor letters, they helped feed the children, they helped the
kids brush their teeth after eating, they raked the leaves over various parts
of the facility – they worked hard!
In between the working, we
had lunch around 12:30. We ate, talked
about what we had worked on in the morning, shared how we were feeling about
the day, and talked about what was next.
About 2:00, we had another
great surprise, the afternoon group broke for recess. More kids, more hugs, more spinning around,
more soccer, more kisses, more activity…
It is fun, but very tiring! The
team loved it, and they did a great job playing with the kids when it was time.
At 3:00, Brian Dennett (AMG
Guatemala National Director) and Chad Smith (head of the At Risk No More aspect
of AMG) shared with us their vision and passion for the ministry here. As always,
it was eye opening, and encouraging. The
people of Guatemala have a hope for a better future – not because of AMG, but because
of Jesus Christ. AMG is just one of the
organizations sharing Christ with them.
They are doing an excellent job.
We were supposed to end our
time at Verbana with a soccer game against the maintenance crew, but they had
to back out, so we just played a brief game of adult against kids. Don’t ask who won – ask who scored more! (We did one of those, “next person to score
wins”, so the kids think THEY won.)
We headed back to Thelma’s,
ate dinner, and then had our evening debrief session. It went on and on. Story after story, experience after
experience, lesson after lesson, it just kept coming. Everyone shared something, and it was great
to hear them wrestle with their experience.
We laughed together – man, did we laugh.
This group loves laughing.
One of the girls asked me on
the van on the way home, “what one word would you use to describe our
team?” I said initially, “estrogen” –
after all, there are 14 girls in this group.
But then I told them, “fun”. You
can tell this group knows how to have fun with the kids, together, and – and
most importantly – not at the expense of others on the team. They have fun together. Which is what we did tonight.
After our wrap up, we
watched the pictures from the day, and laughed even more. It was a great day.
Tomorrow we are beginning
our 3 day work in Amparo. I know we are
in for even better times as we are able to build deeper relationships with the
kids, the workers, and each other.
Thought for the day: As I worked with Andy on the drop ceiling, I was
reminded that his church (Raymond Baptist) was key in building the second floor
we were working on. It is neat to see
team after team build on the work of other teams before, but it is even cooler
when the teams are interconnected.
My thought for today is,
isn’t that really what the body of Christ does – if we are working well? Paul said, some plant, others water, while
others harvest. It is God who brings the
increase. As each part does its work –
no matter how “unnecessary” it may seem – you lay the ground work for people
after you to build on the foundation that you laid. If you lay a solid foundation, the work to
follow is much easier to do. If you do
not do your part, someone else will have to do it for you, and the project is
just that much further behind.
God help me to do my part as
you give me opportunity so that others who come behind me may be able to reap a
large harvest for the glory of Your Name.
Help me see beyond my own capacities and abilities and just be faithful
to do what you call me to do.
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