Guatemala Trip - Day 7

Day 7: Today was supposed to be the last full day of our trip, but it seems God has other plans. When we woke up this morning, we looked outside and there was black sand-like ash all over the ground. Schools were canceled. The city leaders were encouraging people to stay home and not venture out because ash was everywhere. We were told that the airport was closed, and would probably not open until Sunday.

We had breakfast at the normal time, and then we had our devotional time. “If your eye offends you, cut it out” was the passage we looked at in Matthew 5. Jesus challenges his followers to recognize lust early and keep a close eye on the heart of the matter. We talked about the fact that much in our world promotes lust for things, for women, for relationships, for selfishness, etc. Jesus told his followers to take drastic measures, and we discussed the importance of taking measures to keep ourselves from sin.

On the way to the office, it took almost 2 hours to get there, Brian informed us that over the past 2 days there were 3 earthquakes, the largest of which was 4.6 on the Richter scale. I didn't feel any of them, but I will take his word for it – the news confirmed later in the day that this was true. We were also told that the airport would probably be closed until Sunday, maybe even until Monday. En route, I started to clean up the pictures we have on the computer – almost 2 Gig – it will be tiresome to complete that task.

At the office, I spent the morning handing out candy and talking with teachers. The rest of the team finished the painting jobs we had around the campus, basically finishing in less than an hour. Then we met together for lunch.

After lunch, we played the teachers in basketball. They were about half our size, but very fast. The guys that were open were not open for long. They covered a lot of ground in a short period of time. Of course we won, but that really wasn't the point of the game. I believe both the guatemala team and the USA team had a wonderful experience. We did split teams after that to allow us to play together – it was a lot of fun. The teachers expressed their appreciation for us, and we returned the sentiments to them.

The rest of the afternoon was spent interacting as a team, while some went and played ball with the kids. Walter, Kristin, Jim and I played Rage – just to teach Walter how to play. Eventually we made our way back to Thelma's to get ready for a dinner with Brian, his wife, and a couple of the people from the child care center. It was a wonderful dinner, but it was overshadowed with the news of the day.

We found out during the day, that at the very earliest, we would be flying out on Monday at 2:00, and would not get home until very late in the evening. Add to that the fact that the airport is still not open, and we will not know if it will be open until Sunday PM, we cannot make any other plans to return home. Add to that a second eruption from Mount Pacaya at 6:00 today, that was actually worse than the first, and a tropical depression/storm has entered the area, it has been one piece of bad news after another.

The group has handled the news very well, but it is obvious that some of them are ready to go home, myself included. We have had a wonderful week together, but it is getting close to time to return. I pray that God opens a door to return as quickly as possible. I miss my family. I miss hugging my children. I miss the special private times with my wife and best friend. Our talks via skype are limited, so that makes me miss her all the more. I look forward to holding her again and talking with her. As I told Pete today, the best thing about my job is also the worst. I love to travel, I love to meet people, but I hate leaving my family at home. Without my wife here to share these memories with, the trips seem incomplete. Thank God for skype, e-mail, blogs, etc. But there is nothing better than looking into the eyes of my wife from just inches away and telling her I love her.

I need the prayers of those that are praying so that I might be strong and focused to the very end. It is amazing how easily that is done when the end is in sight. When it is like this with an open end to the trip, it gets much more difficult. The team has been wonderful, but I am certain many of them are dealing with similar issues, and may cause problems over the next few days.

Tomorrow we are planning to go to Camp Canaan. Hopefully that will reignite the enthusiasm in the team for the ministry of AMG Guatemala. I pray that it will be a wonderful time for all of us, including Brian and his family – who are supposed to travel with us.