Today we got the opportunity to go back to Panyebar!
Thanks for everyone´s prayers. We were able to go back to visit with our Guatemalan family and continue work on the house we began on Monday. And, it was an amazing day. We weren´t really sure we would get back there when we left our hotel this morning but I know God knew the desires of our hearts and he provided the way for us. There were still roadblocks but with Tony and Freddie´s help we were allowed through. We did have a little trouble climbing the mountain in a 15 passenger van since it was loaded with 16 passengers, so we had to stop half way up and wait on another van to come pick us up. We were hoping we could just strap a rope to the van and let Mick pull us up but we couldn´t convince him to do it. I don´t think anyone minded admiring the beauty that surrounded us as we waited on this mountain...the view was amazing! Words don´t and won´t do it justice. I don´t even think our pictures will do justice to the views that we saw from half way up that mountain as we were looking down on Lake Atitlan and the beautiful villages that surround it´s coast.
We made it to Panyebar about mid morning and we were excited to see the progress that the family had made on the house since we had been gone. We all worked on preparing, laying and spreading morter on the block house for a few hours before it was time to stop for lunch. It was nice to take a little break and at this point the children in the village had started to make it home from school. We went to the through the corn field to the village´s little church next door to eat our lunch and every time we would look toward one of the windows of the church we would see one of the kids peering in at us to check us out and see what we were doing. They were so excited that we made it back and just couldn´t wait for us to come back and play with them.
After lunch Mick, Jenn, Charlie, Ashley, Brandy and myself went back to the house to continue working while the rest of the team stayed at the church to do Vacation Bible School with the kids. I can´t speak about their experience but I know we could hear lots of singing and laughter through the corn field and all of the kids came back with big smiles on their faces. I know we were excited to get to go back to the house to continue laying block because we all desperately wanted to get it as close to finished as possible.
Unfortunately our time ran out before we were able to get it finished and our day of working in the clouds...literally, we were working above, and in the clouds...was about to end. But, before we left our entire team gathered in the small structure along with the family, Freddie, and the village pastor to dedicate the house. It was a really touching experience as the husband spoke to us to express his gratitude. Our leader Amanda spoke a few words to tell them how grateful and appreciative we were to get the opportunity then Ashley prayed for the family, the house, and the pastor before we had to say goodbye to the kids and head back down the mountain. Of course they loved the candy that we passed out as we left the village and we even had two kids jump in our van before we could get the door closed but they ended up being the lucky ones because they got lots of candy.
After an hour or so on the bus we made it back to the compound for dinner but before dinner we had some time to play with the kids from the neighborhood. They loved kicking the beach ball in the street, at least until we had to stop for dinner. We didn´t really hang around after dinner because we are being picked up at 6.15 a.m. ...yes, 6.15 in the morning and we wanted to get back to the hotel for our evening devotional before we turn in for the night. Therefore, I´m going to wrap this up so I can get going but I wanted to say....
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR PRAYERS....WE FEEL THEM AND WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THEM!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Plan B
Hello all!
The day started a little earlier today, in hopes that the roadblocks to Panyebar would be removed. After breakfast, we all piled into a van headed to the "roadblock." Upon arrival, we were very much taken back by what we saw. There were 20-30 men sitting on the side of the road guarding the entrance to the village. As we were sitting there, even more men came with tires and boulders barricading vehicles from passing through. Tony and Freddie, our Impacto guides, got out to talk with the men. Meanwhile, we were in the van interceding that God would make a way for us. The men finally agreed to let us through, but said they may not let us return home. Through our leaders' discernment and wisdom, it was decided that we should turn back. We would really appreciate your prayers, that God would move on the hearts of these men and allow us to return to Panyebar.
Plan B was to do vacation school at a local school church and help with the construction of "the Promise Land," a retreat center and pastor training facility being built by Impacto. On the way, we were able to stop in San Juan and watch a parade of local children. It was nice to be a part of the community and get a real sense of the people.
The Promised Land was absolutely beautiful! Situated on Lake Atitlan (one of the prettiest lakes in the world), we enjoyed fellowship and our bag lunches. Following lunch, we laughed as we moved mounds of dirt helping lay a foundation for part of the building. Then, onto vacation Bible school.
Immediately exiting the bus, all the men in our group were greeted with hugs from all the little girls. Children came from all throughout the community when they heard we were there. We sang songs in Spanish and English, Amanda Lepper, with much animation, shared the story of the little boy who gave Jesus his lunch to feed the 5,000. Our craft was coloring fish, Jesus, and a little boy to help them remember Jesus' miracle. As we left, our hearts were filled with joy and their mouths were filled with candy.
Praise God for another great day!
Please continue to pray for our team's health, safety, and that God's Spirit would continue to be poured out on us and He would be glorified.
Brandy and Ashley
The day started a little earlier today, in hopes that the roadblocks to Panyebar would be removed. After breakfast, we all piled into a van headed to the "roadblock." Upon arrival, we were very much taken back by what we saw. There were 20-30 men sitting on the side of the road guarding the entrance to the village. As we were sitting there, even more men came with tires and boulders barricading vehicles from passing through. Tony and Freddie, our Impacto guides, got out to talk with the men. Meanwhile, we were in the van interceding that God would make a way for us. The men finally agreed to let us through, but said they may not let us return home. Through our leaders' discernment and wisdom, it was decided that we should turn back. We would really appreciate your prayers, that God would move on the hearts of these men and allow us to return to Panyebar.
Plan B was to do vacation school at a local school church and help with the construction of "the Promise Land," a retreat center and pastor training facility being built by Impacto. On the way, we were able to stop in San Juan and watch a parade of local children. It was nice to be a part of the community and get a real sense of the people.
The Promised Land was absolutely beautiful! Situated on Lake Atitlan (one of the prettiest lakes in the world), we enjoyed fellowship and our bag lunches. Following lunch, we laughed as we moved mounds of dirt helping lay a foundation for part of the building. Then, onto vacation Bible school.
Immediately exiting the bus, all the men in our group were greeted with hugs from all the little girls. Children came from all throughout the community when they heard we were there. We sang songs in Spanish and English, Amanda Lepper, with much animation, shared the story of the little boy who gave Jesus his lunch to feed the 5,000. Our craft was coloring fish, Jesus, and a little boy to help them remember Jesus' miracle. As we left, our hearts were filled with joy and their mouths were filled with candy.
Praise God for another great day!
Please continue to pray for our team's health, safety, and that God's Spirit would continue to be poured out on us and He would be glorified.
Brandy and Ashley
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
It´s all good until someone falls down a sink....by Alonya Franklin
One thing we can say about our trip so far is that God has a funny way of doing things. Sometimes things don´t go as we plan, but in the end God always gets the glory and we experience a new joy because of it. We enjoyed breakfast this morning with the team from South Carolina on their last day here in San Pedro. A few of us were looking forward to the yummy eggs, homemade torillas, fruit, and refried beans we had the day before, but instead we had fluffy pancakes, home fries, fruit, and arroz con leche (rice with milk). Yes folks, we are eating pretty good down here! As we prepared to leave and head to Panyvar, we were told we were going to stay at the compound and paint due to a roadblock (literally) that was preventing us to make it up the mountain. Some of us were a little sad because we had already connected with the family and the children of the town, but God had another plan. Thus our mantra for this trip.....Let go, Let God!
We rode into town to purchase paint for our project from the mercado aka ¨Super Quic¨. Those of us who are gifted in this area rose to the challenge. I know I personally thank God for Charlie and Jenny for their crafty and creative skills. They were great at instructing us on how to paint and what needed to do be done first. We each grabbed an area and dove into the task. Amanda Lepper provided musical relief by singing Journey´s ¨Don´t Stop Believing¨ and just like that we all started singing songs from our childhood. Yes, even New Kids On The Block made our songlist.All 14 hands were on deck and we were able to change the lunch room from white and burgandy to a tropical blue! It was during this time of fun and laughter that our comic relief entered the day. Ms. Amanda Catherine Kelley decided to stand on one side of the sink to reach the side of the shelf. Now in order for you guys to understand where this story is going and how funny this is I must describe the sink. This dear friends, is a stone sink that has flat stone counters connected on each side. Did I mention that this sink is probably at least 4-5 feet deep and that she is about 4 foot 8? Now you get the picture...So as I was saying, Amanda Kelley stood on the side of the sink that was covered with a cloth as we did not want to get paint on it. Somehow, she placed her left foot on the seemingly supportive surface and before we knew it, our lovely teammate was chest deep in the sink and terrified. Gratefully Thomas jumped to her rescue in a matter of minutes and pulled her from the dark watery pit they call as sink. Meanwhile, everyone else was snorting, hunched over, crying, and laughing harder than humanly possible. Yes folks, Amanda is ok and she even let a few laughs go. Needless to this has been the joke of the day, well... at least until someone else does something.
Due to the rain, we didn´t get to do much outside today. But I believe we will have a great day tomorrow. It seems like one day it´s sunny in the morning and slightly rainy in the afternoon then the next day is sunny then lots of rain. If this pattern stays the same, it will be a better day. We ask that you join us in prayer that the roadblocks are removed tomorrow so that we can return to Panyvar and finish building the house. We love you all.
We rode into town to purchase paint for our project from the mercado aka ¨Super Quic¨. Those of us who are gifted in this area rose to the challenge. I know I personally thank God for Charlie and Jenny for their crafty and creative skills. They were great at instructing us on how to paint and what needed to do be done first. We each grabbed an area and dove into the task. Amanda Lepper provided musical relief by singing Journey´s ¨Don´t Stop Believing¨ and just like that we all started singing songs from our childhood. Yes, even New Kids On The Block made our songlist.All 14 hands were on deck and we were able to change the lunch room from white and burgandy to a tropical blue! It was during this time of fun and laughter that our comic relief entered the day. Ms. Amanda Catherine Kelley decided to stand on one side of the sink to reach the side of the shelf. Now in order for you guys to understand where this story is going and how funny this is I must describe the sink. This dear friends, is a stone sink that has flat stone counters connected on each side. Did I mention that this sink is probably at least 4-5 feet deep and that she is about 4 foot 8? Now you get the picture...So as I was saying, Amanda Kelley stood on the side of the sink that was covered with a cloth as we did not want to get paint on it. Somehow, she placed her left foot on the seemingly supportive surface and before we knew it, our lovely teammate was chest deep in the sink and terrified. Gratefully Thomas jumped to her rescue in a matter of minutes and pulled her from the dark watery pit they call as sink. Meanwhile, everyone else was snorting, hunched over, crying, and laughing harder than humanly possible. Yes folks, Amanda is ok and she even let a few laughs go. Needless to this has been the joke of the day, well... at least until someone else does something.
Due to the rain, we didn´t get to do much outside today. But I believe we will have a great day tomorrow. It seems like one day it´s sunny in the morning and slightly rainy in the afternoon then the next day is sunny then lots of rain. If this pattern stays the same, it will be a better day. We ask that you join us in prayer that the roadblocks are removed tomorrow so that we can return to Panyvar and finish building the house. We love you all.
Monday, June 20, 2011
First Day in the Village - Charlie \moore
To all our supporters,
The first day in the village was great! We met some new people, learned new skills, and shared the Word with each other and the missionaries. The day started early for some of us. A few of us drug ourselves out of bed and went to the lake to try and see the sun rise. It was a peaceful time to read and relax, just a great way to start the day.
The team had breakfast at 7 am, we road the bus over to the church in San Juan with a team from South Carolina. The South Carolina team was very nice and we got to know them a little. The breakfast was amazing! Delmi and her staff did a great job. We had eggs, refried black beans, fruit, and homemade corn tortillas. We shared some verses with each other and Pastor Luis shared about his joy for the beatitudes. It was an enjoyable time.
Next, a bunch of fat and happy missionaries got on the bus and rode for about an hour to the village. We met the family we are helping, the pastor of a church, and the local people. The family has four children and live in a one room house about 10 feet by 10 feet. The father has a humble gratitude about us being there.
The work started with us preparing sand for mortor, and notching blocks for the base layer of the house. We all did a little of each job. Many of the local men came to help as well. This continued on for most of the morning. Freddy is a our Impacto translator and leader. He is a great guy and knowlegeable about what we need to do.
At noon we stopped for lunch, and played with the kids. The kids are full of joy and happniness. We played frisbee, hit a beach ball, and passed out candy. We are their new best friends.
After lunch a truck showed up with a load of cinder blocks! It took about an hour to unload 430 blocks by hand! It was quite a job. It was a great team activitiy. After the blocks were unloaded some of us started laying the second layer of blocks for the house, and others played more with kids. We got a great start. We departed about 4.
Dinner was great! We had fried chicken! Thomas shared about the day and how he found God in the chicken. |He had only eaten Power bars so far and had told God he didn't think he could eat one more! We ate with the South Carolina team the Paster shared an emotional word about Pastor Luis, and what he has meant to him over the the past 14 years of working together. Tonight will end with devotions with the team, and tomorrow will be much like today.
It was a Day with God.
Charlie
The first day in the village was great! We met some new people, learned new skills, and shared the Word with each other and the missionaries. The day started early for some of us. A few of us drug ourselves out of bed and went to the lake to try and see the sun rise. It was a peaceful time to read and relax, just a great way to start the day.
The team had breakfast at 7 am, we road the bus over to the church in San Juan with a team from South Carolina. The South Carolina team was very nice and we got to know them a little. The breakfast was amazing! Delmi and her staff did a great job. We had eggs, refried black beans, fruit, and homemade corn tortillas. We shared some verses with each other and Pastor Luis shared about his joy for the beatitudes. It was an enjoyable time.
Next, a bunch of fat and happy missionaries got on the bus and rode for about an hour to the village. We met the family we are helping, the pastor of a church, and the local people. The family has four children and live in a one room house about 10 feet by 10 feet. The father has a humble gratitude about us being there.
The work started with us preparing sand for mortor, and notching blocks for the base layer of the house. We all did a little of each job. Many of the local men came to help as well. This continued on for most of the morning. Freddy is a our Impacto translator and leader. He is a great guy and knowlegeable about what we need to do.
At noon we stopped for lunch, and played with the kids. The kids are full of joy and happniness. We played frisbee, hit a beach ball, and passed out candy. We are their new best friends.
After lunch a truck showed up with a load of cinder blocks! It took about an hour to unload 430 blocks by hand! It was quite a job. It was a great team activitiy. After the blocks were unloaded some of us started laying the second layer of blocks for the house, and others played more with kids. We got a great start. We departed about 4.
Dinner was great! We had fried chicken! Thomas shared about the day and how he found God in the chicken. |He had only eaten Power bars so far and had told God he didn't think he could eat one more! We ate with the South Carolina team the Paster shared an emotional word about Pastor Luis, and what he has meant to him over the the past 14 years of working together. Tonight will end with devotions with the team, and tomorrow will be much like today.
It was a Day with God.
Charlie
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Feliz Dia Papa!! - written by Amanda Lepper
What an amazing day! We all agree that today has been the longest day known to man, but there is no word that can describe what a beautiful day it was. Last night at dinner... which consisted of beef stew.... delicioso... Pastor Luis asked if we would share a song and if one or two people would be willing to share a testimony this morning at church. Whew!! The spirit started moving and prompting people and stories were shared sitting around the table after dinner. It was a powerful evening for us. This morning we got up, headed over to a fabulous breakfast prepared by Pastor Luis's sister Delmi. We had what was basically an egg McMuffin along with a traditional Guatemalan breakfast dish of rice, milk, and sugar with cinnamon. Pastor Luis asked a few of us to share one or two of our favorite scriptures and we enjoyed a brief devotional this morning. Shortly thereafter it was time to load up the bus with ALL of our supplies including all the shoes we brought and more to take with us to Lake Atitlan. The church service this morning was in honor of Father's Day and we were SO blessed to be able to share a couple of songs with them. Sabrina followed the prompt to lug her guitar all the way to Guatemala and was able to play while ALL of us... except Jenn Brown who was kind enough to video this moment... sang two worship songs. Sabrina and Jenny both followed the prompting of God to share their testimonies and what a powerful moment that was. It was incredible to watch them be open and willing to share their hearts with these people we had just met. Definitely a God moment. We were invited to go play outside with the children while Pastor Luis was teaching. We had bubbles, footballs, kites, and many more goodies to share with them. We had a great time playing and loving on them. Though most of us don't speak more than one or two words in Spanish, it's true that hearts connect no matter the language barrier. Right after church we loaded up the bus where Delmi passed out our sack lunches for the 3 hour journey to the Lake Region. About half of the trip was on nice paved, semi straight roads and we were thinking to ourselves "this isn't so bad". About that time we turned off the main road and began the rest of the journey. We wound up, up, up... back and forth around hairpin turns on pothole filled roads. Thank goodness none of us suffer from motion sickness. By this time it had begun to rain, and as we topped the mountain to head down the other side to the Lake, we couldn't see anything but fog. As we decended further down the hill the lake and the small towns surrounding it came into view and we were all glued to the windows. It was a beautiful sight. We came into one village where we stopped to eat dinner. Delmi prepared spaghetti and we fellowshipped around the table. One more time on the bus... still in a nice steady rain... and we drove to the next village to where our hotel is located. We unloaded all the luggage from the top of the bus... thank goodness it had been secured under a tarp to prevent soaking!!... and the rain is still falling steadily as we sit here in the internet cafe a block from the hotel. Tomorrow morning we head up to the village of Panybar where we will spend the day working on construction of a block house. Of course we are also looking forward to spending some time with the people and the children of the community.
If the past 24 hours are any indication... this week is going to be utterly amazing. Full of God-sized moments. I continue to be so grateful for the team of people He has put together. Thank you for all your prayers back home. Pray we will continue to stay healthy, that we will continue to be sensitive to and step out in faith to follow His promptings. Pray for the people of the village of Panybar. We will be working in that community all week. Again, we'd love to be able to hear from you any words of encouragement... comment if you can.
AND... Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our lives!!! Feliz Dia Papa!!!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow....
If the past 24 hours are any indication... this week is going to be utterly amazing. Full of God-sized moments. I continue to be so grateful for the team of people He has put together. Thank you for all your prayers back home. Pray we will continue to stay healthy, that we will continue to be sensitive to and step out in faith to follow His promptings. Pray for the people of the village of Panybar. We will be working in that community all week. Again, we'd love to be able to hear from you any words of encouragement... comment if you can.
AND... Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our lives!!! Feliz Dia Papa!!!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow....
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Guatemala-Day 1 by Jenny Long
Hello friends and family! We made it to Guatemala City safely! Our flight was delayed about an hour, but me made up time in the air. Pastor Luis met us at the airport and we were on a bus to the Guatemala City compound. As soon as we arrived, we put our stuff in our bunk rooms and walked across the street where Pastor Luis' sister cooked us an amazing lunch. We ate grilled cheese, a delicious potato soup and the yummiest guacamole dip I've ever had. Amanda Rogers even tried some! Thomas did not, but he did eat 2 grilled cheese sandwiches which is still out of his very tiny food box. Yay!
We were supposed to spend the afternoon in Antigua, but its been raining all afternoon, so we napped and took walks around the gated compound and sat around just talking. Ashley was talking to Pastor Luis' sister after lunch and heard an awesome God story. A woman from 12Stone has been to Guatemala two times, while she was here she taught the women how to sew. Recently, one of those women was able to support her family finacially with her new skills after her husband lost his job. God knows what he's doing here in Guatemala.
Input from the team: Amanda Rogers wanted me to mention that our flight was full of missionaries from all over the southeast.
What I know about tomorrow: we are going to church and then traveling by bus to Lake Atitlan. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 hour bus ride.
Please feel free to comment, we'd love to hear from our family and friends.
We were supposed to spend the afternoon in Antigua, but its been raining all afternoon, so we napped and took walks around the gated compound and sat around just talking. Ashley was talking to Pastor Luis' sister after lunch and heard an awesome God story. A woman from 12Stone has been to Guatemala two times, while she was here she taught the women how to sew. Recently, one of those women was able to support her family finacially with her new skills after her husband lost his job. God knows what he's doing here in Guatemala.
Input from the team: Amanda Rogers wanted me to mention that our flight was full of missionaries from all over the southeast.
What I know about tomorrow: we are going to church and then traveling by bus to Lake Atitlan. I'm pretty sure it is a 4 hour bus ride.
Please feel free to comment, we'd love to hear from our family and friends.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Meet Ashley McLean
One thing that I am definitely looking forward to about this trip is to be away from life as normal (i.e. phones, computers, Atlanta traffic). I am excited to be with people from another culture, interact with them, serve them, and share the love of Christ with them. I also look forward to making new friends with those on our team. God has put together a great team of people with a variety of different gifts and strengths, and I am excited to see how God uses us together to fulfill His purposes.
One funny fact about me: I really like deals!
Prayer requests: For our team and all those we meet to grow deeper in love for Christ.
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