Teamwork

It truly is amazing to see how we are coming together as a team. As we get together to share pizza, ideas, and prayer requests we are truly getting to know each other. It is amazing to think that we wouldn't have known each other if it hadn't been for this trip.

A couple weeks ago we got together to share pizza and also talk about more of our trip plans. We are continuing to pray for support and can't wait to see how God is going to show up. It is also great to see the kids/students that are going with us as we get together to talk about our trip. We know that they are going to have such an impact on the children of the families we are going to serve.

 

 

We also had a service day set up with Westover. We wanted to be able to serve together before we went on our trip. Se we all met at the church one evening and walked around picking up trash and cleaning the lamp posts outside of the church building. We tried to make it a competition to see who could get the most trash, but when it became obvious that the guys we winning, we called it off. :-) It was a great time to get together and just hang out, serve, and pray together for our team.

 

Please continue to pray for our team as we are getting ready for our final preperations. Praise God that all of our passports are now in!! Please also pray for our support to come in so that we are able to meet the requirement for funds. We are so excited to see what He is going to do.

Raising Support and God's Provision

One of the hardest parts about going on a mission's trip (so far) is raising support. I think it is one of the first actions where God really calls us to humble ourselves, get out of the way, and trust Him to show up. That is not an easy thing to do at times. However, if we truly believe that this opportunity is one that He has given us and called us to, then we have to trust Him to provide the means to do it. When you think about it, it is kind of like God providing us a chance to put ourselves in the people of Guatemala's shoes. We cannot possibly do this trip without the financial and prayer support of others. It would be kind of silly for us to say "thanks, but no thanks". We have to acknowledge that we can't do this on our own. Likewise, it would be silly if we went to Guatemala to help these lovely women and they said, "thanks, but no thanks". It truly is a blessing to serve and to be served by others. While we 14 may be the ones getting on a plane and serving, we are able to go and make a difference because you have answered the call to support us.

Having said all of that... we are excited that right now we stand at 61% of our team goal for necessary funds. We know we have a little ways to go before we leave on June 15th, but we can't wait to see how God is going to show up and grow our faith. Thanks so much for your continued support and prayers.

A Plan of Action

We had another team meeting yesterday afternoon. It is awesome to see how things are coming together. Chip (our fearless leader) skyped with Rick (missionary we are going to help serve) earlier in the week. They discussed how we were going to serve when we arrive at Guatemala. We thought we would share this with you so that you know what and how you can be praying.

In the mornings we will be doing any work that they need us to do. We will also be meeting with the seven women that have been "adopted" by Redeemer's House. Six of these seven women have been abandoned by their husbands and left to raise children on their own in poverty stricken circumstances. They will be teaching us their trades ie. tortilla making, bracelet making, etc. In the afternoons we will be helping kids in the after-school program. We hope to help with reading and really just loving on them. We also look forward to lots of soccer (futbol) games being played!! The boys on our team are very excited about that. On Wednesday evening we will be throwing a "Zero Party" . Maria and Casimiro are one of the families that Redeemer's House serves. They were loaded with debt due to their belongings and home being destroyed by a flood. They will be making their final payment while we are visiting. We are so excited to be able to celebrate this with them. You can read more about their story here: http://redeemershouse.org/stories-of-redemption/maria-and-casimero/.  In the evenings we will be helping with dinner and sharing meals with the differemt families that work at Redeemer's House.

We are acquiring a list of things to take with us and it is so exciting to think that the things that we bring such as streamers, balloons, lifesavers, and soda can tabs can be a blessing to others. We are so excited to see how God is going to use us. Please keep praying for us.

Blessings,
The Guatemala Team