Tearful Goodbye

Today was a long bittersweet day for our group. We left Guatemala this morning at 4 AM (6 AM PA time)and got back to the church at 8 PM. Our flights down and back could not have gone any smoother for us. Getting 26 people through check-in, security, and customs in no small task but we glided through all those spots, except Brad. They had to call in back up to confirm that the picture on his passport was actually him. Who knew he once had hair. :)
While I know we are all glad to be back home and united with our families I feel that it is safe to say that we all left a piece of our hearts in Guatemala. We will never forget the many faces that we saw this past week. From the orphans, the ORI staff, Javier (son of the guest house manager), and our team. Many friendships were made that will last a long time. Our team had amazing unity. It is ridiculous that it takes traveling to Guatemala to bond with people you go to church with. Many tears were shed in the Manheim BIC parking lot as we said goodbye tonight.
There are definitely things we were looking forward to....being able to flush toilet paper, using cell phones, roads with less crazy drivers, and sleeping in our own beds minus the roosters that don't know you only crow in the morning.
We give God all the credit for the wonderful trip we had. I know that our lives are forever changed because of this trip. There is a much bigger world outside of Maneheim and we all need to be aware of this. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us while we were gone. We felt them and we know that is why our trip was so smooth.
I hope to get some pictures posted in the next day or two so check back to see them.
In closing, I will leave with this quote Brad read to us in devos one morning.
"Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened."
Karen B.

Church Guatemalan Style!

We drove an hour and a half to get to our church we were visiting. We ran into construction. We visited Casa De Libertad, house of freedom. The church was located in a strip mall and was under construction. We were greeted with lively music and friendly faces.

We began by singing worship songs. Most were familiar to us, “How great is our God, Trading my Sorrows, I am Free, and Alleluia. We alternated English and Spanish.
Some of us clapped and even danced a little. This lasted about an hour or so. A guest speaker named Eunice from the Philippines gave the message. She spoke in English and was interpreted in Spanish for the congregation.

Take home from the service: Written on the shirts of the welcoming team and ushers was, “It’s all about Jesus” Our worship leader reminding us that God’s timing is perfect! In our weakness His strength is made perfect. Eunice shared that Guatemala had been hit hard a few months ago with hurricanes and volcanoes and sink holes all in one week’s time. She challenged us to sow in love and we will reap love. After church we all ate at Burger King, it was right next door.
We move on to visit briefly the warehouse of ORI and also Operation Blessing. Stacks of Cocoa Puffs and Fab detergent were piled high along with many other needed items. Hey Jen we saw Tyler’s old wheelchair still waiting for that special child!!
Then on to Fundaninos Orphanage. This orphanage is partly sponsored by the church we had just visited. ORI was instrumental in building the baby house. Sixty children reside here. It was probably the nicest orphanage that we visited. We were delighted to hold many babies. We played with balloons and the parachute was a big hit! We passed out lots of silly bands! Some of the older kids played soccer with our team, they had a blast! We realized later the soccer field was the sewage drainage area and the mud they got on them was a mixture of mud and well …you know what!!! I was enjoying holding Luis, when I found out his mother also resides in this orphanage. She is 14 and has the mind of a 7 yr. old. She retrieved her son from me and wanted to show me her room and was carrying Luis around. He started to cry so I took him again. This was very sad! We didn’t have a whole lot of time here and we were soon on our way back to My Father’s House. We had our final meal together, shared our love gifts with the staff at this house and shared our thoughts of the week. It was very emotional! We connected deeply with each other, and the staff. We said our good-byes. We’ve been touched with great love for the people and especially the children of this beautiful country. We dare not ever remain the same!! Thank you to all who helped make this trip possible.

A Wild Day

So it’s already Saturday here in beautiful Guatemala. Today we went to a zoo with the children of the Nuevo Reto orphanage. We saw some amazing animals there, ones you don’t normally see in America, such as elephants, zebras, pumas, leopards, and some exotic snakes. The children, of various ages seemed very appreciative afterwards. After we returned to their orphanage, the minister of the orphanage gave out thank-you gifts to our team. It was very heart-warming when we gave out the bags of goodies for all the children. After such a big day, it was a relief to come back to such a warm and very well lighted (sarcasm) after the electric went out for about 30 minutes. We wasted the time by singing and making bracelets. Now it’s about 10:15 and the men are playing their little pointless card game, and the writer, Alex Eby, is about ready to go to bed.

The Least of These

Well it has been a couple of days since we posted but we are back. Yesterday we spent the day in Antigua shopping much to the men's delight. They were very patient however considering us women needed to have a man with them all the time. It was a fun experience to have to barter with the vendors. We all decided we would not want to have to do this all the time. Charlie and Karen Weaver were with us for the day. Those of you that know Charlie know how he likes to walk on the wild side. So he convinced Matt, which meant he asked him, if we would like to put off fireworks. They are not illegal in Guatemala so we had quite a show here last night. Boys (or men) and their toys.
Today we were back at Los Gozosos to finish up the work we had started there on Tuesday. The men put in a new swingset which we got to enjoy with some of the kids before we left for the day. These children are so precious and we left with many tears being shed. These kids are definitely "the least of these."

Feeling Connected

Well, we have internet up and working (clearly since I'm writing this online) and it's a strange yet warm feeling being connected to those back home again! Not only are we connected online but as a group our connection has grown these past few days through different activities we've done whether that be working or playing. We have visited three orphanages so far, though a group of thirteen of us were able to visit another orphanage on Monday, however the name of the orphanage slips my mind. We spent Tuesday at Los Gazosos, a special needs orphanage that houses eleven children, doing manual labor such as weeding, mixing concrete, and organizing building materials that were left laying around. The main job was to build a pilla where laundry and dishes are done. The director of the orphanage, Maureen, has wanted one for years but could not afford one (it only costs $30 in American money). We also were able to bless them with a lawn mower! We had the opportunity to spend some time with the children there as well and what a blessing it was for me to feel stretched out of my comfort zone and for others as well. On Wednesday we had the opportunity to go to two different orphanages: Luz de Maria and Dory's Promise, both were extremely fun! At Dory's promise we spent most of our time with the older children (ages 2-11) out on the street playing soccer while some of the men got in touch with their feminine side. Lane and Brad were sporting pink and green fingernail polish on their thumbs and stick on earrings on their ears! I don't think the people of Guatemala knew quite how to react to them however with our amazing Spanish speaking skills (sarcasm to the extreme) we were able to overcome all obstacles! The children had so much fun and quite a few of us discovered how quickly you can fall in genuine love with a child that is a complete stranger to you. Lane, Nicole, Grant and Carter had the unique opportunity as a family to come back to the spot where they first met and finalized the adoption of their son, Grant. He was able to go back to the spot where he slept and see some of the workers that were there when he was an infant. What an experience! It was quite touching and surely an emotional experience! At Luz de Maria there are around thirty children under the age of five. The younger girls did so good here just holding the babies and cuddling the toddlers! Most of the children that live at Luz de Maria were abandoned on the streets. The youngest child they have there is Luiz Angel who is two months old. When he was brought to the orphanage he was only three pounds. Found on the street at one o clock in the morning by a police officer, this child now weighs ten pounds and sees to be doing very well! He was a favorite to hold of the younger girls on the trip (Shaina, Janessa, Mariah, Morgan, Tessa, and Makenzie). Language barriers don't hold up as the greatest language you can speak to these children is love; a touch of their hand, running your fingers across their face, playing with their hair. It's as simple as that! Last night we had so much fun playing games: a Haus tournament was set up as well as some crazy games of Zilch also known as Farkle. At one point I asked, "Why is everything so funny?" I believe it was a mix of being tired and the fact that we kept making so many funny mistakes. Just ask Gloria where she found Uno cards that have orange cards! Well I need to stop hogging the computer! We pray all is well back home! Someone else will be updating again very soon! (Thanks Karen for asking me to update today!) In Christ, Jenna Meyers and the rest of team

Unfortunately the group does not have internet service so they will not be able to update the blog. They arrived safely on Monday without any problems or delays. They are working hard and so far everything is going well. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue their work in Guatemala.

Getting Ready To Leave

It is hard to believe that in 2 short days we will be on our way to Guatemala. We have a team of 26 going to work in orphanages and minister to the people of Guatemala. We are excited about the possibilities that await us as we head out to serve. I will post our itinerary but as they say in Guatemala, "nothing is final until it happens." I think that means that flexibility is the key for our trip. We hope to be able to post every day so keep checking in for updates and please keep us in your prayers.
Team Members:
Rodney, Karen, Jenna, & Janessa Meyers; Shaina Neidemeyer; Jason, Kim, & Tessa Redcay;
Kaye & Alex Eby; Brad & Kate Zimmerman; Ken, Kathy, & Zach Wall; Bev Funk; Gloria Burkholder;
Lane, Nicole, Carter, & Grant Burkholder; Matt, Karen, Morgan, Makenzie, & Mariah Burkholder
ORI Leader: Randy Boll

WEEK'S ITINERARY: July 26-August 2

Monday:

Meet at MBIC @ 1:15 AM to leave for Baltimore (travel by Motorcoach)

Leave BWI on Continental Flight 1727 @ 5:59 AM

Arrive in Houston @ 8 AM (snack will be served on flight)

Leave Houston on Continental Flight 463 @ 9:05AM

Arrive in Guatemala City @ 10:58 AM (snack served on flight)

Arrive and get settled in at My Father’s House, Team orientation

Tuesday:

Work day at Los Gozosos (be dressed to work)

Visit of a clinic near Los Gozosos at Casa Angelina

Wednesday:

Another work day at Los Gozosos- Burkholder’s and Wall’s will be breaking off to visit another orphanage or a clinic

Thursday:

Visit Antigua-shopping

Friday:

Work day in the morning at Los Gozosos, at approximately 1pm we will have a party with the children

Saturday:

Take children from Nuevo Reto to the Zoo

Sunday:

Church, possible visit another orphanage

Monday:

Leave Guatemala City on Continental Flight 457 @ 7:15 AM

Arrive in Houston @ 11:04 AM (snack)

Leave Houston on Continental Flight 326 @ 12:45PM

Arrive in BWI @ 4:54 PM (snack)

Drive back to MBIC