Our Last Day

Today was our last full day in Guatemala and it was full of fun! We went to Pana to the ziplines! Everyone had a great time flying through the air! After that, we went on a boat ride across Lake Atitlan to a market in the village of Santiago. Lake Atitlan has twelve villages around it and all are named after the disciples. The day was a great way to relax and to reflect on the trip and what God has done in each of our lives as well as the lives of the Guatemalans to which we ministered. We finished the evening with a wonderful dinner at Hacienda Real and are now packing to head out in the morning. We leave Guatemala at 9:45am (11:45am Kentucky Time) and, after a layover in Dallas/Ft. Worth, will arrive in the Cincinnati Airport at 9:35pm. It will be a late night tomorrow night, but it is definitely worth every minute to have had the opportunity to serve the Lord in Guatemala. Please pray for our travel home tomorrow. We'll see you tomorrow night!

Extreme Makeover: Guatemala Edition

Today was our last work day. We went to the work sites and finished up both of the homes and chicken coops. The families left the area around 10am and we went in and set up their new home. To think about where they were living (a 6ft by 6ft metal shack) and the home that we built them (a 20ft by 20ft wooden home) is amazing. As Allen shared in our team meeting time this evening, most Americans would turn their nose up at a home like this one. But this home would significantly change the lives of these people.

For each home, we had a dedication ceremony. While the families were gone, we went in and set up a plastic table and chairs and provided them with dishes, towels, pots and pans, brooms, a trash can, and staple food items. Also, we provided each home with an oven and a pila, a place for them to do dishes and laundry. We all gathered together and dedicated the homes. Both home recipients were very appreciative and were overcome with emotion at this enormous gift.

The last day of VBS went well. We continued to lead the children with a puppet show for the Bible story, games, and a snack. We also gave a gift to all of the children, 125 total. They seemed to enjoy Escuela de Biblia (Bible School) and really appreciated the gifts.

Men's ministry has gone wonderfully. Most of the men on the team shared their testimonies and had a great impact on the men of the community. They asked lots of questions and our guys wre able to have great conversations. The men who came to the meeting were mostly non-Christian and generated a lot of discussion among the group.

Tomorrow is a fun day. We will go to Pana and have an adventure on a zipline! Thank you so much for your prayers this week. Continue to pray for the community we worked in. Cindy mentioned tonight that we have ministered to the women, the men, and the children so we have covered every age group of people.

Another Work Day

I didn't get a chance to blog last night, but I wanted to give you a quick update before we head out for our final work day today. Yesterday morning, we got the opportunity to climb Pacaya, on of Guatemala's active volcanoes. We are working on the mountain, so it was really neat to travel to the top! We rode horses to the top (all but a brave few) and then walked all around the volcano. We were still quite far from the actual peak of the volcano, but we were pretty far up there. We walked all around and got to see the effects of the eruption last year. Some of the group roasted marshmallows and then we walked back down.

Work continued in the afternoon with VBS, more work on chicken coops, and finishing touches on the houses. Men's ministry also started yesterday and they had a great meeting.

More details will come later today, but right now it's time for our morning devotion led by Julia Little!!!

Day 2 Complete!

Work continued today on each of the work sites and ministries. We continued work on the homes and they are both almost finished! The chicken coops are coming along nicely as well and will be finished by Thursday.

The VBS group changed locations today in order to be in a more centrally located place. Our hope was that it would attract more children by being closer to homes. It worked! There were 115 children there today! The group did a puppet show for the children for the Bible story and they made streamers and played games as well.

Women's ministry went well again today. The women are very receptive to what we have to say and are very welcoming to us. Jan shared her testimony, Cindy taught a lesson on God's comfort for believers and Ashley talked about the importance of generations and passing on the legacy of faith to our children, family, and friends. We also washed each lady's hand and massaged them with lotion as an illustration of God's comfort to us. We also gave away tote bags full of various goodies and the rest of the aprons today. The ladies were all very appreciative of all the gifts we gave them and they all spoke blessings over us as we parted ways.

It was a very good and full day! The weather held off until the afternoon again so we had a good number of hours to work in the clear and/or overcast skies.

Please pray for the following:

--The women of Pacaya, that they would seek answers to any questions they have and accept Jesus as their Savior. The seeds have been planted!

--The men's ministry is starting tomorrow. Pray for receptivity among the men and good attendance for the meeting time.

--VBS, that the leaders of the children will remain calm and not get overwhelmed by the massive numbers of children who could be in attendance tomorrow and Thursday. Pray also that the children understand what is being shared with them through our Bible stories and activities.

--The weather (again)!

--The recipients of the homes we are building. Pray that they would be strengthened in the Lord and would be examples to those around them of true followers of Christ.

--The team members. Pray for strength and endurance as we enter the last half of our time in Guatemala. Pray for boldness in sharing our faith with others. Pray also for continued team unity.

Work Day 1

Happy 4th of July! We hope you had a wonderful holiday! Hopefully, you enjoyed the church picnic and Ernie's fireworks last night. We know they were wonderful!

Today was our first work day. We are working in one of the small communities along the road to the top of Pacaya. The town is on the mountain, built in the side of it. This morning everyone did construction. There were two groups of people building houses and one group building chicken coops for each of the homes. The chicken coops provide a source of food and income for the family.

One of the recipients of the home is a single lady who couldn't go to church because she lived too far away. The pastor of the church chose her to receive one of the homes so she could go to church. The other recipients are a young family. The couple is in their 20s and has one baby, Jessalyn, who is 10 months old, and the mother is due to have a son at the end of the month. Each of the homes is 20'x20' and will have three rooms and a front porch in that space. Each of the two bedrooms is 10'x10' and the living room/kitchen area is 14'x10'. The front porch will be 6'x10'. These homes are nothing compared to the homes in which we live. The recipients, though, are all so proud of their new home and are so excited to see the works in progress.

In the afternoon, two groups of people broke away from the ongoing projects to do VBS and women's ministry. There were about 45 children at VBS and they were so happy! They got to play with the puppets and numerous toys that we brought with us. We had soccer balls, jump ropes, frisbees, balls, and lots of other things.

The women's ministry time was very special. This ministry is very new. We have never done anything like this before and I don't think the ladies in the town have ever experienced anything like it either. We met in the church and about 30 women were there. Cindy and Ashley both shared their testimonies and then had a craft time with the women. We made tea towel angels and told the women they could take them home and use them. Most of them indicated that they would use them that evening! We also had a time of singing and women were asked to come to the front of the church if they had a burden and needed prayer. We were able to pray over them. We found out later that many of the women are interested in accepting Christ into their hearts! This is a very special time because we are going back tomorrow for the last day of women's ministry. It's so exciting!

At the end of Day 1, the framing is complete at both of the houses and they are in the process of putting up the walls. Most of the exterior walls are done. They have made a lot of progress on both homes. The chicken coops are over halfway finished as well. Jerry Little referred to them as "chicken condos".

There are many things to pray for today:

--For Dan. He is a Guatemalan who speaks English very well. We are not sure about his situation at this time.

--For the weather. It didn't rain today until around 3:30, so we had a lot of good working hours today. It was a beautiful day until that time.

--For Sandra, the young mother and one of the recipients of the homes.

--For the children in VBS and their receptivity to the message we are sharing with them this week.

--For the women who will come tomorrow. Pray for open hearts and minds and openness to the gospel. We are having a time of invitation tomorrow at the close of our time together.

Thank you so much for your prayers and for keeping up with the team by reading of this blog! We covet your prayers each day as we serve. Please pass this along to your friends so they can be praying as well. Dios le bendiga! (God Bless You!)

Mission: Antigua

Buenas Noches! That's Spanish for "Good Evening"! We hope you enjoyed the skype message from us at church this morning!

It's been a full day today here in Guatemala. We started off the day in the town of Magdalena with church. You may remember Magdalena because we have worked here each year during the mission trip. We worshiped in the church we helped (along with other mission groups from the States) to build. It was an especially sweet time for Christel and Chuck, though. They were here in 2007 and, when they left, there were four walls and a few rafters up. The service lasted about 2 hours and it was full of singing, sharing, and preaching. There was even a time where people who had birthdays would come up to the front of the church! Everyone sang a birthday song to them and then the entire church came up and gave them a hug. Our very own Cole Stevens, whose birthday is tomorrow, got to take part in this time. His word for the experience was "interesting".

After church, we went to Antigua, a popular tourist town in Guatemala, to do our shopping for the week. We all shopped in the Artisan Market and were free to roam around the town in groups as we desired.

For supper we ate a delicious Guatemalan meal prepared by Edgar's wife, Rome (pronounced Rome-y). Edgar is from Guatemala and works with Fontaine and Paula in the ministry here. It was a wonderful meal of rice, potatoes, meat, beans, and homemade tortillas. It was wonderful!

We just had our team meeting and we were filled in on some details for the week. We will do construction in the mornings and then VBS each afternoon. Along with VBS, we will do women's ministry on Monday and Tuesday, and men's ministry on Wednesday and Thursday. All of our missions efforts will take place in Pacaya.

Please pray for the following things:

--That God would be glorified through our efforts this week.

--That we would be bold in sharing our faith with the Guatemalans in Pacaya. This area is not largely exposed to the Gospel and it is not looked at as a place people would go for a mission trip.

--That the Guatemalans' hearts would be open to the Gospel message.

--That the language barrier would be demolished and that we would be able to clearly communicate and understand.

--Weather is always an issue at this time of year since it is rainy season. Pray that the weather will cooperate with us this week and that the rains would hold off until evenings after we leave the job sites.

Thank you so much for all your prayer support this week! We truly appreciate it and are praying along with you!

Blessings to you! Until tomorrow!

We're Here!

The team is now safely in Guatemala! Christel, Allen and Ashley arrived around 10:55am and the rest of the team arrived around 1:45pm. We were greeted by Fontaine, Paula, their family, and the girls at Mimi's House. The trip, though wasn't as smooth as we anticipated.

The large group left the church at 3:00am this morning and, once they arrived at the airport, they were told that the crates they bought for the supplies couldn't go on the plane. After a lot of discussion, they frantically packed the supplies in with their personal luggage and got most everything on the plane. If they weren't awake before then, they definitely were awake after that excitement and drama! What a way to start the day!

Once we all arrived, everyone unpacked the supplies and we have spent the afternoon preparing for the week ahead. We are excited about the ministry opportunities that God will present to us!

For dinner (or supper, whatever term you choose to use), we enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by the girls of Mimi's house--chicken tacos. At least that's what they called them. They tasted more like chicken fajitas and they were delicious! We also had brownies and homemade whipped cream for dessert. Yum!

We are getting ready to have our first team meeting and then head to bed for the evening. Praise the Lord for safe travel for everyone!

Packing Pictures

Enjoy a few pictures from our packing night!

Getting Ready to Leave!

Last night was our packing night. We all met at the church with our extra bags and packed all the supplies we have collected for our trip to Guatemala. It is always a little chaotic when 20 people get together for this purpose. Everyone wants to help and stuff just starts flying everywhere! I think we are a little more organized in our packing this year, though, which will be very helpful. We organized (or tried to organize) our supplies according to the ministry project to which it went, and Candace diligently labeled each crate or suitcase when it was packed. The guys all weighed the bags and made sure that we were under our weight limit. They are currently all stacked up waiting for Saturday!

We are ready to go! The anticipation excitement builds each day leading up to our departure! In case you don't know the names of the people on the trip, they are listed below. Please pray for the team as we pack our personal things this week and prepare for the adventure ahead!

Team Members are:
Karla Adams
Pat Adams
Allen Belcher
Christel Belcher
Tad Everett
Ashley Feather
Daniel Gossom
Robert Hignite
Josh Hunley
Jerry Little
Julia Little
Barry Moser
Jan Moser
Brent Rowe
Erin Rowe
Kenny Rowe
Brenan Short
Chuck Stallard
Cindy Stallard
Candace Stevens
Cole Stevens
Jim Stevens
Liz Stevens

Because of flight schedules and ticketing availability, three team members will leave on Friday. Christel, Allen, and Ashley fly out of Cincinnati at 6:30pm on Friday evening and have an overnight layover in Miami before flying the rest of the way to Guatemala on Saturday morning.
The remaining team members leave bright and early on Saturday morning and will arrive in Guatemala early Saturday afternoon.

Here are some things you can pray for as we prepare to serve:

--For the people of Pacaya, that they will be open to the gospel and to our service in the Lord to them this week.

--For Fontaine and Paula, the missionaries with whom we are working, along with their family, for strength and endurance as they work with teams week after week.

--For language barriers to be demolished!

--For the weather, that the monsoon rains will stop and allow us to maximize effectiveness in the building projects, VBS, and other ministries.

These are just a few items of prayer. Most of all, pray that the Lord would be glorified through our words and actions. Pray that our hearts would be fully devoted to Him throughout the trip and that our actions will come as overflow of His working in our lives.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Calvary in Guatemala blog! We will post an entry each day during the trip to Guatemala, July 2-July 9. Check back each day for updates and happenings in Central America!