A Great Week!

I am horrible at this blogging! My dad is 100% correct about my inconsistency in blogging. Missionaries are too busy to blog (Unlike some other people–LOL)!

On January 28th, 12 people arrived in Guatemala for one week of serving. Here are a few of the my favorite things about the trip:

The team served breakfast at the school on Friday morning. This is always great because our children like the extra attention. Mrs. Aninha worked for 2 days in completing crafts for all of the children. I pointed her towards the classrooms and she took off. She was fantastic with the children.

On Sunday, the group attended worship service at Iglesia JET. This was a special time as we recognized the staff and Colegio JET and Pastor Adan. After the service, the families enjoyed hot dogs, chips, and ice cream. It was a fun time!

The team built and dedicated 10 houses in 2 different locations. Now that our children at the school are pre-teens, we are allowing some of them to build alongside the groups. On Friday, 2 of our children built the houses alongside their sponsors. On Monday, 3 of our boys built with the group. On Tuesday, 3 of our girls built with the group. This is a highlight for the children. It is fun to watch them interact with the teams.

We had a medical and dental clinic solely for the families at the school. Did we see large numbers of people? Nope. The families had to schedule an appointment for the doctors. The doctors were able to spend time thoroughly making diagnosis and talking to the patients. A huge “Thank You” to Dr. Rich and Dr. Garett for taking them time meet physical and spiritual needs. Thank you for showing compassion towards the people. Natalie Hannah did a superb job at organizing and running the pharmacy. The doctors were impressed with her ability to handle everything with such ease. Dr. John and Robin evaluated all 160 children on Monday. The children who needed dental work returned on Tuesday and Wednesday to complete it all. Our teachers and some of the families benefited from the dentist also. Who were the translators? Our wonderful teachers! They did an excellent job with the doctors, the pharmacist, and the dentist.

We had a couple of sponsors who were able to spend quality time with their sponsored children. A trip to the mall, buying some groceries, and buying new shoes, will make any child smile. On Monday, one sponsor bought some groceries for a specific family. Due to ridiculous traffic, they did not have time to take them to the house. On Tuesday afternoon, they went to the house to deliver the groceries. They were not aware that as they delivered the groceries, the mother would almost simultaneously be given the news that Tuesday was her last day at her job. The mother arrived home in the evening knowing she would not have a job to support her 5 children. When she opened the door she saw all of the food on the table. She said it was a reminder that God is her provider. Perfect Timing!

The group participated in 2 food distributions. They were able to give 200 bags to families.

Bonnie Cain did a great job at training 3 Guatemalan women on how to cook! The food was delicious! Tacos, fajitas, lasagna, hamburgers, peach cobbler, brownies, carrot cake–the team did not go hungry! The best part was being able to help the women earn some income to provide for their families.

On Monday night, a doctor came to the mission house to administer Covid test to 11 of the team members. Everyone received a negative test! They left Guatemala on Thursday morning with no problems entering the United States! This was the first group to return to the US with new regulations. The uncertainty is always a little scary, but we are grateful that everything was smooth.

“I have been coming for 13 years and this has been the best trip yet!” Robin

“I cannot express how much respect I have for you and your ministry. It is the only one I have ever been a part of that I could see how the loop is closed. The follow up is there.” Natalie

(These are photos from the team members. I am really bad at blogging and taking pictures.).