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.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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.
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.
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