Some More Adventures with God in Guatemala

Hello, my friends and family! I know I haven’t been as diligent about posting blogs this trip as I was last year, and for that I am very sorry! In this blog I am going to try to get you caught up on the highlights of the past week!

First of all, it is so good to be back in the Petén! I don’t know if I can call it home yet, but there is an amazing peace that I have every time I am here. It was also so good to see Jimmy, Shelley and the boys! I can’t believe how much they have grown! So I might as well get started on our week or this is going to be a long night.

After spending all day in three different airports, we finally landed in Flores early Monday evening. The anticipation had built up, and I was no longer exhausted from traveling! Needless to say the excitement didn’t allow me to get much sleep! Tuesday was our first whole day in Guatemala! We immediately started planning several of our activities that are lined up for this month. Racheal (a lovely young lady from Crossroads Baptist Church in Daytona Beach) and I spent pretty much all day cutting out 40 yards of fleece! What fun!! Oh, and I squeezed in some time singing and playing with Jonah and Silas! Love them!

Wednesday was an adventure in itself! A family in Santa Rita had lost their son a few months ago, and they were finally being allowed to go and pick up the body in order to have him properly buried. We started out our morning by going to pick up 30 relatives of the family, and then heading to Sayache, which is a town about 40 minutes away to pick up his body. Their son’s name was Lucas, and he was only 18 years old. Pretty much he got caught up with the wrong crowd. He was invited to go out and drink one night, which ended up being his last night here on earth. We don’t know if he was saved or not, but his dad and several other family members have been attending the Bible study in Santa Rita. We went with the family to the cemetery and waited with them while they had their son’s body dug up. It was heart wrenching, and I wish more than anything that I could have brought some sort of comfort to them. The song, “Just Love them Like Jesus” by Casting Crowns was all I could think about. Jesus is the answer to all their heartache and grief. I pray that someday soon that family will come to know Christ as their personal Savior, so they too can enjoy the riches of His amazing love! We then took the body back with us to Santa Rita, where the family had a small funeral service. After that we walked behind the truck to the cemetery, where they buried him. As sad as this day was, I was really thankful for the reminder that life is short, and there are people that are dying every day without knowing about the hope of eternal life. It definitely challenged me to more aware of the lost people that God has in my life right now, as well as flame the passion I have to reach the lost souls in Guatemala!

Thursday was another prep day! Jay, Rachel, and I were kind of itchy from our trek through the Guatemalan jungle the day before to the cemetery. But we sucked it up, put some anti-itch cream on, and got to work! We finally finished cutting out all the fleece for our teen girl’s activity! The plan is to make heart pillows, which I am super excited about! Please pray for me as I prepare the devotional for that day! I am excited to share with these precious girls what God has placed on my heart! It was a great day though getting caught up with Jim and Shelley! I have missed them so! God is doing some great things through them, and it is so exciting to be a part of it!

Friday we took the day and headed to Belize! Jimmy and Shelley needed to renew their visas and get new tires for the truck. Jay and Rachel were excited about getting another stamp in their passport, and the twins were all about going to a new place! Last year when Brittany and I went, we saw the Cayo Deaf Institute that is outside of Spanish Lookout, the Mennonite Civilization in Belize. I was hoping to spend some time there again this year, but was sad to find out that all the deaf students had gone home for the summer. Instead I went with everyone else on the hunt for tires! We had lunch with our friends from last year! We talked a lot about starting a deaf school in the Petén, and they even learned some new signs! After a delicious lunch and some amazing mango, we set out buy some goodies from the bookstore and grocery store. We indeed found some tires and at a great price! We finished up the day with some great Belizean food and ice-cream!

Saturday Jim and Jay, who by the way is an intern from Appalachian Bible College that is staying the month in the Petén as well, had a list of errands to get accomplished. We girls spent the day keeping the boys entertained while Shelley worked on her Sunday School lesson. I also worked some on my Fruits of the Spirit Lesson! It is coming along....but still working on some minor details! That night we enjoyed Shelley’s amazing spaghetti. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, not expecting all the action that was waiting for us! We took a quick swim in the pool, and then started an intense game of phase ten under the tiki hut! About mid game the lights suddenly went out! Talk about being in complete darkness! We stupid gringos only had my camera for a light; needless to say we all were freaked out although Jay tried to play it cool. We formed this awkward chain, and eventually made it back to our rooms. The electricity played games with us all night; I think it was just their way of welcoming us to the Petén! It was quite humorous!

I think today was my favorite day yet!! I woke up to the sound of lovely birds singing praise to God...I just wished it wasn’t as early as 5! At about 10 though, the three of us took a trip over to the gas station to talk with a deaf guy we had heard about. I was a little bit nervous, but a lot excited! I brought my worn out Guatemalan Sign Language (LSG) book, and we did our best to cross two language barriers! His name is Gildardo, and I was surprisingly was able to understand more than I expected to! He knew his Alphabet in LSG, as well as a few other signs. We mainly used gestures and paper and pen! I was very thankful for Jay, who helped write several things back and forth in Spanish. We are going to try and meet a few times a week and learn some signs together! Maybe by the end of the month, Gildardo and I will be able to actually hold a whole conversation in LSG! He also told us about 6 other deaf that live in the area. I hope to be able to cross paths with them as well! I was on such a high!! We spent the rest of the afternoon watching Spain barely beat Holland in the World Cup, and I even sneaked in a little nap! I was so excited to go back to Santa Rita for Bible study. It has continued to grow, and it was good to see all my friends! We sang “He Knows My Name” and I still have goose bumps! What a thought! The maker of the universe knows my name, and not just my name, but the name of every Guatemalan living throughout the jungle of the Petén! We ended the night with Pollo Campero, or skinny chicken, which I have to say, is better than Chik-fila!

Tomorrow is our children’s Bible study in Santa Rita, and that is just the start to a week full of outreaches and ministry activities! Hope you feel a little bit caught up on all the action, and I will try to do better with future postings!! Please continue to pray!! Lots of love from Guatemala!