Monday, March 16 – Steve W.
Our first day of ministry was great, we traveled about an hour and 1/2 to Cruz Blanca where we did our program, fed the families (women & children) the FMSC product and then distributed CarePacks, beanie babies, blankets, seed packs & FMSC rice packets. We also left some shoes & clothing for the staff to distribute and one of the Sawyer water filters for the school.
After a quick lunch at the CCC office we traveled to Santa Rita, the village under the bridge, in Guatemala City. We did a gospel presentation and distributed CarePacks, stuffed toys, and FMSC product.
Kate is much better, thank you for your prayers! Pray for Reed & Cody as they are feeling a little puny. Pray the rest of the team stays healthy!
Sunday, March 15 – Steve W.
The 2nd team all arrived safely last night. Today went to church, had Ambassador training at the ENDAC offices & met with Animal D. (CCC national director) & a Guatemalan Doctor with which CCC is partnering.
Kate has been sick today, the Dr. gave her some meds. and we were able to celebrate her birthday tonight. She is better, but not 100% yet. Pray no one else gets sick. Cody & I are both iffy right now.
Big day tomorrow! We will be distributing some FMSC product along with the CarePacks & other product.
Thursday, March 12, 2009 – Jake G.
Today was quite an interesting, not to mention exhausting day. After the six hours in the bus yesterday, everyone was lacking some energy. Thankfully this was our ‘tourism’ day, so we were given a chance to regain some of this energy. Half of the day was spent on a tour/hike around the city, and the other half was spent in the market shopping. While shopping was a fun experience, the important point in the day was the tour we took. We visited several “mask museums” where masks were made to represent each of the Mayan gods. There was a story behind each one, and each story seemed to be a mix of certain things. The Mayan culture in the city was a mix of Catholicism, the Mayan religion itself, and past events.
This was portrayed through not only the masks, but through worship, and church. We went to the top of a mountain and saw a Mayan altar, but at the altar, the shaman appeared to be performing catholic rituals. Both churches we visited were said to be catholic. But, both allowed Mayan practice inside the buildings. This created a sense of uneasiness for the group. We felt the spiritual warfare taking place among us between the two groups. We realized that these places weren’t the only places where things like this takes place, and we need to recognize the spiritual battles in our own everyday lives so that we can tackle them head on and take care of these things.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 – Ashley J.
A school in Mixco was given a fresh new coat of paint by the GAIN mission team. The students did not have class today but many came to help. The Guatemalans arrived in two groups – before and after lunch. With these two groups we started with ministry first and picked up the brush later. We sang songs in both Spanish and English, performed dramas, presented the gospel bead bracelet, and distributed gifts. The boys and girls helped the team paint all of the classrooms.
At the end of the day, the Americans were challenged to a game of soccer by the Guatemalans. Here are some thoughts of people on the GAIN team:
- Jake enjoyed talking to the kids while watching the soccer game. Garrett, Trent, and Jake were conversing with a small crowd without a translator.
- Mrs. Scott and Rachele were amazed that the children were excited to have a picture taken of them even though they could not have it.
- Spencer noticed a boy praying earnestly during the gospel bead prayer.
- Ali enjoyed playing hacky sack with Jake, Brittani, and a few young boys.
- Morgan made a bond with Fernando while playing water balloon toss.
- Alex was thrilled when a few Guatemalans girls pulled Jake, Trent, and himself over to tell them that they were “pretty”.
These are just a few of the many blessings that God gave us throughout the day. Everyone went out of their comfort zone to help impact the lives of others. May tomorrow have many more blessings!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 – Jaye W.
Monday was a big, big day. We shared the gospel with 1100 kids and 120 women. The first site was a bit chaotic. Our group arrived 20 minutes late and 750 children were already there waiting for us. Fortunately, they had hired a clown-magician to entertain them. The stage was small and had just been put up, so when we did our line dance it really rocked; we were a bit worried that it was going to collapse but praise God that it didn´t. The skit went over very well - the kids all laughed and later at the ladies site we saw women crying.
At our second site, one of our teams had over 100 kids in their room. They said that it was pandemonium. Our group of young people had great experiences with the kids. One of our boys said his heart melted when a little girl came up to give him a kiss on his cheek; it was his first time to share his testimony in public. Another quiet, teenage girl, who we rarely heard say two words, was the only one in her small group courageous enough to share her testimony and the bracelet. I had an opportunity to share with the principal using the Mayor´s wife as my translator. I asked her if the principal was a Christian and she said, “No”. So I shared my testimony with him and asked him if he was sure he was going to heaven. He said that he was 80% sure. I asked if he would like to be 100% sure and he said that he would. Using the Four Spiritual Laws booklet, I shared spiritual law number 4 with him. He acknowledged that he was in the left circle, trying to be in control of his own life but said that he wanted to be in the right circle and allow God to be in control. Then he prayed to receive Christ into his life. On the way to the next site I asked the Mayor’s wife if she thought it was a true decision and she said that she did.
At the site for the ladies, the room was filled to maximum capacity. We were expecting about 75 ladies and 119 came. My talk went well and after I had led them in a prayer of salvation, I asked the ladies to stand up if they had accepted Jesus. One lady boldly stood up and I know that the angels are rejoicing over one lost soul turning to him; please pray for her. Afterwards, another lady came up to me and gave me her necklace and the earrings that she had made at the trade school. I thanked her - she cried - I cried.
There were lots of great memories from our day of ministry.
Today we are going to be painting. Thanks for praying for us, for our safety, and for the searching souls in Guatemala.