A Week of G.R.A.C.E.

This post will be long as I try to recap all of the events taken place over the past week. We were excited to have a team of 37 people from 4 different states come to serve alongside us. They were extremely busy with lots of different activities.

Here is a summary of the past 7 days:

Quinceañera–The Quinceañera was a huge success! The girls were thrilled to be pampered and celebrated for their 15th birthday party.

Soccer Clinic–Bro. Abel had a group of young men to host a soccer clinic on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The boys loved this clinic. The young men with the group did an awesome job at making relationships with all of the students. They made the boys feel like they were professional athletes. On Sunday the boys had a soccer celebration with soccer games, medals, and lunch. The boys loved being able to celebrate with their families.

Spa & Basketball Night–The middles school students were brought to the mission house for a special time to spend with the group. The girls stayed at the house for pedicures, manicures, and facials. The boys played basketball against the North Americans. They all enjoyed pizza at the end of the night!

Building Houses–The team built 18 houses! There are 18 families who have a new roof to provide shelter. They have a concrete floor to keep their feet dry during the rainy season. It has rained so much during the past week, so the houses have been a true blessing. Thank you to Pastor Walter and Pastor Adan for helping for the families in need.

Food Distributions–The team had a food distribution at a local church in El Tejar and one in Acatenango. The food distribution in El Tejar was difficult because we were under a small tent in the rain. There were 75 people who walked in the rain to take a bag of food valued at $7!

Chimaltenango Dump–The team fed the workers at the Chimaltenango dump a delicious meal of spaghetti, French bread, brownies, and banana. We had extras so the team walked around and gave a second helping. After a long day of working in the dump, the men, women, and children left with a full stomach.

Colegio JET Students–We love being able to share with the teams about all of the amazing things God is doing with our students! The team was able to listen to the students sing, hear the testimonies of some of the children, sing with the students, and receive a millions hugs.

Men’s Breakfast–The men from the team cooked, served, and ate with the Guatemalan men on Sunday morning. Mr. Dane shared a testimony with Alex as his translator. It provides an opportunity for Pastor Adan to build relationships with the men in our community.

Iglesia JET Church–The people of Iglesia JET were blessed to have Bro. Abel preach on Sunday morning and Bro. BJ preach on Wednesday night. We had church the basketball court on Sunday morning in order to have the extra space. The basketball court was filled with 165 people! We had no lights on Wednesday night, but the church was still packed! Bro. BJ preached and Casandra translated with limited light. A few years ago someone gave us the funds to purchase a silent generator. If they only knew how often we use it! It was nice to be able to have music, microphones, and stage lights through the use of the generator. Sabrina, BJ, Alex, Hudson, Anna Kate, Bethany, Candy, Rebekah, and Elizabeth did an excellent job leading us in worship during church services and devotions.

Relationships–My absolute favorite part is seeing the relationships between the sponsors and the sponsored children. We have no way to describe the excitement from the children when the sponsors come to visit. They feel so special. The sponsors were able to spend time with the families by having lunch with them at the mission house. The older children were able to go out and build with the sponsors. It is such special times.

Salvations–We had 4 people accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior during the house dedications! We had 2 people pray to accept Christ at a church service! This is why we do what we do! All of the activities simply provide us an opportunity to share the love and salvation of Christ!

Papusas in the El Tejar Park, sliding down the pole at the fire station, playing soccer on a muddy field, building in the rain, food distribution in the pouring rain, church services in the dark…. This is what makes a trip memorable. This team had an absolute wonderful attitude every single day!

Last night, we welcomed Pastor Eddie Burdette and his team to Grace Mountain. Pastor Eddie is a pro at international missions. We love his heart for missions.

***Soy has lots of videos and photos on his personal facebook page!