Guatemala Trip - Day 5

Time to say goodbye.  All week long we worked at Las Vistas child care center, and today we finished our projects - the 6 rooms we painted and the beautiful mural.  More importantly, we spend a couple of hours visiting with the children, playing games, hugging on them, loving them in Jesus name.  One team member picked up a sponsored child today, so he was able to visit with 3 year old Christian for the "first time" as his sponsor.  Jon even had the opportunity to go visit his home - a one room shack about 10 x 12 that housed 6 people.  What a joy to know that this child has a chance to have a better future because of Jon, AMG, and most of all, Jesus Christ!

The day was full of laughter as we played with children, acted like crazy people, were silly with the kids, etc.  The day was also filled with tears as group members realized the end was here.  I walked classroom to classroom giving hugs and kisses to the children and teachers.  The kids posed for pictures, hugged me, and some didn't want me to go.  The director of the center called us all into her office to give us small gifts that the teachers had purchased for us.  With eyes full of tears, she thanked the group for their work, their friendship, their love for the children, their ministry to the teachers.  The team responded with equal emotion as they hugged her and thanked her for the work she was doing and praising her for the ministry that she does everyday.  It was a blessing to be part of, and to watch.  The staff stood outside as we made our final walk up the dirt road to the van's pick up spot at the top of the hill.  Some of the team walked backwards to prolong the goodbye (while others walked backward because it was so difficult to walk up the hill).  It was a very emotional time for the team.

The day ended with a relaxing dinner and home visit at the Wilson's home.  The Dennetts and the Osbornes were also there to enjoy dinner and visiting with us.  From the oldest to the youngest team member, we had a great time hanging out and enjoying our time together.

Tomorrow - Handing out food at Pacaya and then going to Antigua for afternoon historical lessons and shopping.  I hope I can find something worthy to bring home to my wife and children.

Guatemala Trip - Day 4

In a word - Amazing!

The day began with devotions in Ephesians chapter 1 - talking about the work of the Holy Spirit and the fact that we have been sealed with a view to the day that we will see our Savior face to face.  That thought is wonderful.

As we left, we went to Verbana and visited with 10 children from a couple different child care centers that we had presents for.  We talked with them, played with them, allowed them to open their gifts, and took pictures with them.   I had the privilege of hanging out with Marvin, a 13 year old whose sponsor sent a soccer ball and some other sports items.  I was able to play soccer with him for a little while - he spoke Spanish, I spoke Spanglish - it was rather interesting.

After the visits, we went to Pollo Campero for lunch with the Wilson family, Mandy Osborne and Ruth Rodriguez Garcia.  We had a wonderful time just talking and planning for the next trip in June.

After lunch we went to Las Vistas again!  Still painting, but we only had 2 hours to paint because we were planning to play the maintenance workers in Verbana in futbol at 5!  We finished 4 of the 6 rooms we were assigned to, and almost completed the mural on the wall at the entrance. 

One interesting situation - Dan met with his sponsored child on Tuesday, and today the father came back to see who he was.  His son had gone home and told him that his "Padrina" was here to visit, he was a Chinese guy from America that spoke English.  The dad spoke English, and he came and visited with Dan - what a blessing it was for him.  The father had lived in Massachusetts, just a few hours south of where this team is from - What a small world we live in!

Anyway, regarding the soccer game - we beat them (although they did not play to their best ability).  The score was 1-0.  I had the distinct privilege of scoring the only goal, but let me tell you - it was a fluke deal!  The goals were about 5 1/2 foot tall and about 5 foot wide.  With a goalie in the goal it was not easy to score, but somehow it happened.  (Kendra would be proud!)

What an amazing day, spent with a great team, focusing on our wonderful God by ministering to children, staff and workers at AMG projects in Guatemala.  Team members are already talking about their next trip!  I look forward to returning with them in the future.

Guatemala 2011- Day 3

The day began like many other - we ate breakfast, had devotions and headed for Las Vistas.  We were originally assigned 4 rooms to paint, but by lunch time we had 2 more rooms added.  By later in the afternoon, we had all 6 rooms painted yellow on the top, and the bottom of 4 of the rooms is 90% done (dark blue).  From a work standpoint - a very good day.

On the other fronts, we had a great time with the children.  When I first arrived in the morning, I had 5 children that I had to give gifts to from their sponsor, so they brought them to the office and I gave them presents, hugged them, took pictures and just loved on them for a moment.  Then they headed back to their classrooms. 

For lunch, we fed the children.  We gave them rice, beans, and a tortilla, along with a drink.  The kids waited very patiently to eat, and then prayed together.  One child would lead in prayer by saying a phrase and all of the other children would say the same phrase.  Their prayers were prayers of thanksgiving for the food (most of them thanked God for the individual elements of the lunch), thanksgiving for their teachers, parents, friends, and the gringos that were visiting - their "padrino's" (they referred to us as this, which means their sponsors - although we are not the sponsors for the children, they still refer to us as that).  I had the opportunity to harrass the children as I usually do so well.  "Stealing" their food - and acting like I'm gonna eat it.  Sitting in the childrens seats as they get up.  Just having fun with them.  I even did exercises with one class while the teacher was helping them to stretch - they all kept laughing - it was fun to visit with them.

The team spent some of the day playing soccer, playing with the kids on the jungle gym, talking with them, loving on them, playing games...  Just interacting with them as God gave us opportunity.  It was a great day!

Tomorrow...  Meeting kids in Verbana (sponsored children - giving gifts), going out to lunch with staff, finishing the painting in Las Vistas, and playing the maintenance guys in soccer after work.  It is going to be a long day - we might not return to Thelma's until after 7:30.  The maintenance guys are looking forward to the rematch from last year - they beat us then, but we have a secret weapon (not sure what it is, but hopefully we can win this time :-)  )

Guatemala Trip - Day 1 & 2

So the day begins at 3:00 in the morning.  I drove to Nashville last night to stay with Jonny and Lorie Richard. So I am leaving their home about 3:15.  After parking my car, taking the shuttle to the Airport, I carry my 2 bags, guitar and back pack into the airport terminal to check in.  It is then I realize something drastic...  I have forgotten my passport in my office - over 2 hours drive away, and it is 3:45.  The flight is at 6!  Needless to say, I was not bound to take that flight.  Brooke and Josh drove to my office - met Pete Lafakis there -  got my passport - and drove to Nashville.  That's right, at 4:00 in the morning they are heading to Nashville.  Needless to say, they did not make it by 6, I did not make my flight, but all worked out thanks to Kris the American Airlines Representative.  Long story short - I spent the better part of the day in Dallas - arriving in Guatemala around 9:30 PM.  It was a long day - finally got to bed around 11.

Tuesday morning I met the team.  9 people, 5 ladies and 4 men (+ me makes 10).  We had breakfast, started our study in Ephesians, and then went to Verbana for a tour of the main campus.  The team loved meeting the people there - those that were on the team last year renewed relationships with the workers.  We challenged them to Futbol on Thursday again.  They were very excited.  After the tour we went to Las Vistas - where we will be spending most of the week.  We had some "sponsor visits" for the people that sponsor children in Las Vistas.  I was able to see Ludsvin, and for the first time, he really warmed up to me.  Since he is still only 6, I don't expect too much response, but we had a great time looking at family pictures and giving him the presents my family sent.

After the "visit", we went to Ludsvin's home.  It was a larger home for the area - about a 20 X 20 room - with 4 beds and a crib.  8 people live in that room.  Ludsvin has 1 dog as a pet (also very rare) and 4 birds.  Harrison would have loved to be here - hopefully some day he can go to Ludsvin's home. We prayed with him and his grandmother, and then had to leave to go to work.

Finally we returned to the center and began an afternoon of painting.  We started 4 rooms, and got the first coat of the yellow paint done.  The team did real well.  PTL.

After finishing, we returned to Thelmas for dinner and an evening of rest.  We recapped the day, talked, laughed, and just enjoyed our time together.  Jen Wilson brought her 4 youngest and we had fun watching their kids carry on.  We ended the evening with a few attempts at singing songs, but realized that we were getting tired and it was time to go to bed.

Tomorrow...  another day of painting - and you know how much I LOVE painting!!!  :-)

How does the world view us?

Not exactly sure how it happened, but I found myself looking at videos about Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas yesterday.  You may have heard of this church.  I had heard some things about them, but watching the videos was definitely eye opening.

A reporter from the BBC went 4 years ago and visited this church and it's members.  Now, four years later, he visited again.  He openly shares his lack of a belief in a god of any kind, but is baffled by the lack of human concern this church portrays for anyone outside their walls.  They picket funerals, especially the funerals of soldiers.  They praise God when they hear of people dying, teens committing suicide, even natural disasters like the tsunami result in celebration from the church members.  They cheer at the "judgement of God" on the lives of others since it is a direct result of their sin against a Holy God. 

What is interesting is in their passion to hold to the Word of God as they understand it, it is blaringly obvious to the interviewer that they are missing some basic emotions for their fellow man.  To the extent that they cannot even bring themselves to morn the loss of a child that has "left the faith" and moved away from home.  The act as though the child is dead, yet show no sorrow on their behalf.

What I find moving is how passionately wrong they are.  We could learn from their passion and zeal.  We should be more committed to telling others about the good news of the Gospel and of the reality of Hell.  It should move us to action to know that others are living their lives the "best they know how" and will end up in an eternity without Christ.  However, they could learn from the passion of our Lord, who, being perfect and without any sin, choose to love others by offering Himself as a sacrifice for sin.

Who better equipped to stand in judgment of sinners than the perfect one, yet as you read through the gospels, his teaching on Hell was preserved for the ones who considered themselves "good enough" by being religious.  The rest of the crowd was met with a compassionate Jesus who sought to draw them to Himself.

Pray for others.  Live as Christ would.  Open your mouth and share truth.  BUT, do it as Christ would.

FLOWERS OF THE WORLD

Enjoy the beauty of flowers from Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala and Peru. More to come in the future...

FLOWERS OF THE WORLD

Peru Trip March 2011

Seven Cedarville University students, three Chattanooga team members and I made a trip to Peru for Spring Break, 2011. Check out the following video to see the highlights...

Peru Trip March 2011

Touched by an Angel...

I met a little girl in Peru a few weeks ago. She was dirty. She was little. She had a sore under her nose because her nose would not stop running. Her clothing was dirty. Her name... I didn't know. I asked her how old she was, and she told me she was four. When I asked her her name, she just looked away. I asked the other children, but they didn't seem to know either. I had to know this little girls story.

I found out that she was 4 years old, her mother would leave her early in the morning to go and sell candy on the street. The little girl was left home alone to fend for herself. She had friends she would go to see, and a little 12 year old girl named Ana would care for her most of the day.

It was at this point, as I played my guitar for the children that I gazed into the eyes of this little girl, and my heart was torn. "What kind of mother leaves a 4 year old home to take care of herself? How negligent! What chance does this little girl have of making it if she has to clean herself, care for herself, feed herself...? She needs a mother and a father!" I wrestled with these thoughts as I watched her occasionally look up to let her eyes meet mine. When they did, she immediately returned them to the ground.

God reminded me that He cares for this little girl more than I do, more than her mother could, and that is why He gave a vision to a man a long time ago to start a childcare center in her area to meet some of her basic needs, and eventually bring her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Norma was the angel that touched me that day - she brought me to a place where I had to wrestle with the goodness and love of God. I thank God that my family will have the ability to sponsor her and help care for her as she grows older. I look forward to what God is going to do as Norma grows into a young lady.

What a joy it is to be a part of what God is doing by helping a little girl and her mother survive the pains of poverty, and even more, experience the joy of knowing Christ.

What a funny God we have!

Isaiah 10: 15

Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?

How patient is the God of the Bible who allows the foolishness of man to puff up his arrogance in thinking that he is something to be admired. In this passage listed above, Isaiah actually records the words of the king of Assyria, but it is prefaced by God saying, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness." As he concludes recording the words of the king, God makes the statement in bold above.

The interesting thing is that in human eyes, the statement of the king of Assyria is valid. It was his strength and might that brought him the power that he had. It is also interesting to note that as the king of Assyria, he was extremely powerful and had authority over the "rest of the world".

My thoughts turn toward myself. I have not conquered any lands. I have very little power, and even less influence. Yet, it is amazing how arrogant and pompous I find myself being. I start thinking that I have some form of influence over my world. I believe that it is the strength of my hand that produces the things that I have. And then I read verses like the one above.

Thank You God for Your patience with my arrogance. Thank You for Your willingness to hold back Your wrath from the pride that wells up in my heart. Thank You for Your lovingkindness that brings me back to the reality of who You are. Thank You for Your word that ever reminds me of Your greatness and majesty.

How do you approach your Father?

It was prayer time this morning, and I realized something as we were praying that made me think. I wondered, how does God perceive me as I approach His throne? Then I thought about ways I might be inclined to approach God, and the responses that I might receive as a result.

• Arrogance - sometimes without even knowing it, we approach God arrogantly asking, even demanding an audience. We expect that He will do what I want, in my time, in my way. We don't consciously do this, else we would change our attitude. Rather with the words that we say and the attitude of our heart, we demand God hear us and respond. What is His response? Well, that is up to Him, however, His word does say that He "opposes the proud".

• Fear - not a righteous fear, but rather a terror that the one to whom I speak is going to look upon my request as something that I have no position to ask, dismiss it and me with a terrifying rejection. One might fear that the One to whom he speaks recognizes who and what he is, and therefore to ask anything of God is just ludicrous. In terror, I run into and out of the presence of God, expecting nothing but His disdain or judgment.
  

• Timidity - like a child who has just received a new toy but is not sure about how it is to be handled, we approach God with a confusion and lack of understanding. We understand the "power" that we are dealing with, and we realize that the door has been open to us to enter, however we are not certain what it looks like to request anything from God. "What are the proper words to say?" "How can someone like me cause God to act?" "What place do I have to request anything of Him?"
  

• Selfishness - I pray in Jesus' name, but I request things that Christ Himself would not request. I ask for things to make my life easier. I ask for things that keep myself at the center of my attention. I even ask for things for others that are close to me, expecting that God will do what I would like for my friends. I loose track of who is actually on the throne as I talk.
  

• Distance - As I talk with God, I expect nothing to happen. I throw at God, whom I recognize to be capable of doing anything, the concerns that I have, the requests that I have, the desires of my heart, but I expect that He will graciously listen and allow me to present my case. If I am extremely influential with my words, He might be moved to action, but most often I expect that He will hear my concerns, wish me well, and send me on my way. He is unmoved by my plight, as He is God and has many other things of greater importance on His plate.

• Powerless - Sometimes I forget Who I approach, and think that He is powerless to do anything about my situation. I bring to Him the issues of life only to make Him aware of them, but expecting Him to do nothing because I am not sure that He is capable of doing anything. My failures, my choices, my past... keeps God from being able to do anything on my behalf. He would like to act, but cannot because I have moved beyond the scope of things He can control.
  

How does God respond when I come to Him in these ways? That is something to think about today.