Friday: Are there grown men and women crying? Yup...all of them.

This morning I was awoken at, what Madeline would call, “an unholy hour” to watch the sunrise. The sky was orange, pink and blue with the silhouette of the trees off in the distance. I turned and saw pink clouds surrounding the volcano. Guatemala is truly a beautiful place. I turned around again and saw the 80 bags of food we were going to give out to hungry families.

Today we were working on our “last day” of work for the roof at Iglesia Gallelia. From the first day standing in the church and looking up straight to the sky then today looking up and the view was blocked by beams. I look at the beams and stand in awe of how God has allowed this opportunity as well as how we have worked together as a team. The girls spent time cleaning the beams with gasoline, then Drayk, Kristopher and I painted them. The beams get moved to cutting by Jared and Sean, and afterward welded by Corby, grinded by Matt, and all the tough guys that pull it up in place together. It was amazing to see all the different talents that God has gifted each of us to form this team to put on a roof for Iglesia Gallelia. On an even bigger scale, I loved the opportunity to see Tono, Oscar, Lester, Rudy, and all the other Godly men of Iglesia Gallelia and our team work together for the goal of a future place to bring people to Jesus. God has truly blessed our time in safety and progress on the future place for the gathering of God’s body. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

In the middle of our time working we were interrupted with a pleasant surprise. The kids from the school had put together a performance for us.  There were a couple dances, a group who sang a song, and a skit. We could all tell they worked very hard and were very excited to do their performances. Afterwards, all the kids in the whole school lined up to give us hugs. One after the other, all the children gave each of us a hug with a “thank you.” (They love to speak English to us.) I cant really put this experience in words. I will just say that there were many tears, many from the tough guys who were on the roof. One of the boys rubbed my tears off his face, leaned in and gave me another hug. This was truly an overwhelming experience. These 5 minutes made this nine-day trip worth it. To see the appreciation of the children and putting faces to the work we were doing, made it so much more rewarding. Later we got to hand out the bags of food to the families, who were very much in shock and appreciative.

Tonight we got to go to youth group at Iglesia Gallelia in San Lucas. Tono lead worship with four other girls, two of them are our cooks. (Their food is muy bueno.) They sang the same songs that we sing in church and listen to on the radio in Spanish. Us Americans were singing the same songs in English as they were in Spanish. It made me realize how BIG our God is; two different countries and languages singing to the same Almighty God. It’s encouraging to see how Christians in a different part of the world have hearts for Jesus. Jared and Sean preached on Gods faithfulness. How even God remains faithful no matter what, and His faithfulness on this trip has been very evident.

Thank you for your prayers and support! Please continue praying for finishing the church, the children and parents of the school, and safety for us coming home. See you all soon!

Samantha

Today was filled with hundreds of hugs, countless smiles, loads of laughter, tears of joy, overflowing hearts, tons of fun, and some more hard work. Today was the most eventful and emotional day of our trip so far, and we were reminded of the purpose for the work we are doing as we came up close and personal with the people of Guatemala, specifically those in Membrillal, that we are here serving and reaching.

What an incredible blessing it has been to see how our team has worked together this week to accomplish so much! I have been especially blessed to see how faithfully and willingly each team member has been in completing various tasks to achieve a common goal- from mixing mortar to painting to cutting to welding to lifting to laying bricks and much more.

We paused our work mid-morning to watch a fun program that the children of the school put on for us. Afterwards, the children of the school (approx. 80 kids) lined up and all gave each and every one of us a hug. There was not a dry eye among our team members-both men and women. With each hug, with each look into these children’s eyes, with each “hola” and every “gracias” we were reminded of the reason we are here. I learned this week that the average age in Guatemala is under 16 years old. If there is any hope for change here in Guatemala, we must start with the young, we must reach the children. The school was built with this hope in mind-providing Bible-based teaching, education, two meals a day, and hope for these children.

The ladies of our team had the opportunity to have lunch with the Ezra, the pastor of Iglesia Galilea in Membrillal, and his wife, Brenda, and their children, who are also very involved in the school. It was great to get to know more about them and about the church that we are building the roof for. Currently they meet inside the school (which sits behind the church building). We were made aware that their church is made up primarily of children-averaging about 35 kids and 6-7 adults weekly. Many, if not most, of the children who attend church there also go to school there. It is very difficult to reach the older generations here in Guatemala. They are praying that more parents of these children will come. They have also requested that we pray that God would provide them with a piano and guitar, as lessons are offered for the children on Thursday nights, and also that God would continue to work through the teachers of the school as they instruct these children and raise them in the love and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today was also the last day of VBS. Jared shared the gospel with kids who came today, and we had more fun playing futbol (soccer) and doing crafts with the kids. We were able to take Polaroid photos of each of the kids and give them all ice cream cones, which were both big hits! It amazes me how we go in with the intention of blessing these kids, but how we are the ones who walk away blessed. How sweet it is to see kids recite prayers and sing songs of praise to our God, to see the smiles on their faces, to hear the gratitude they have with each “gracias,” and to receive endless hugs and kisses. I have also been blown away at how just simply being here means the world to these kids. At the conclusion of VBS, we were able to hand each family a bag of food and household supplies to take home. We have been constantly reminded this week of just how blessed we are and of what God has entrusted us with, and how with this comes responsibility of giving to those in need. What a privilege it is to see this first hand as we provided these families with the basic things we so often take for granted. We have learned this week just how grateful the people of Guatemala are, and not a family walked away without a “gracias” and a smile on their faces.

What a great privilege and blessing it has been to be a part of this team and to see the amazing work God is doing here in Guatemala through Iglesia Galiliea. I have seen and learned a lot, and am so grateful to have been able to have this experience with this incredible team of God’s servants. Our God is so great!

Kenzie