runlindsayrun

Guatemala Updates

From Mike in Guatemala - Mar 31.06

Hello everybody!!!!

wow have the last 2 days been action packed! yesterday we only got back to our hotel at 9:30 so we even had to cancel our evening debreifing session.

yesterday we woke up early again and headed off for the project just after 8. we continued painting where we had left off the day before. even though our group was much more tired which slowed the pace down we still kept finishing all the work they told us to do. however a pattern started to develop, as we were about to finish a job, we would be informed of more painting that needed to be done. so we continued to paint. yesterday was very very hot, many of us were baking but we stayed well hydrated and overall continue to be healthy.

yesterday afternoon we got to join the children again at the project. it is very difficult to describe how amazing this time was. first we got to do our puppet plays and sing some spanish songs for the children. then we went into the classes with the children to join them in their compassion schooling. during this time most of our youth had the opportunity to give their gift to their sponsor child. how precious it was to see child after child{s face light up with delight as they recieved their gifts. i could tell that a lot of you moms spent of lot of time packing due the the incrediable amount of stuff that was squeezed into those backpacks. when jenni-lynn{s 3 year old sponsor girl opened up her bag and grabbed this little yellow duck out and hugged it with glee and happyness, i was again blessed to see a divine connection between a child and us. God has been doing amazing things. since the time was going so well with the children we stayed as late as possible at the project, since i just didn{t want to put an end to the day. i can{t wait for our youth to tell you guys all about it.

today we left for the project just after 8 again and got back to painting. we had tonnes of high stuff left, and needed all the will power and determination possible to finish in the blistering heat. i also really need to mention Mike R, not only did he never complain, but he was on the ladder longer, and he worked harder then anybody else in our group. although we had planned to go to lunch at 12, we decided to finish our job so we worked and hour extra to do this. i am extremely proud of our group for all the hard work they have put in these last through days. a few of them shared tonight how they really felt that they did not have the strenght to do the work that needed to be done, but God helped them with the task that was before them.

today in the afternoon we again went on some home visits. all of the youth that had not yet seen, or not had a chance to give their sponsor child a backpack were able to do that today. the groups came back blown away by the gratitude and the generousity of the homes we visited. consitently the mom{s and dad{s could hardly contain themselves, they felt so blessed by the support compassion provides them. in the home i visited, the family had no home, so compassion provided the materials to build one. they are a family of 5 and seemed to have lots of health troubles, and as each of their children ran into various health problems (some more serious then others) compassion was there to help them out.

please continue to pray for us. pray for health, ryan is doing better, but others are feeling somewhat sick, in particular pray for Jamy{s and Jess{s health (and Mike Rempel{s sun burn from being on the ladder all day). tomorrow we are going to Antigua, please pray for saftey and that in the afternoon as some of the older youth from the project join us that we would be a blessing to them. Please also pray for Sunday morning as we will be doing a puppet play and Sam will be sharing his testimony. i also will be talking if you want to pray for me.

i shared with our group tonight how very very proud i was of them and for the hard work they have put in, and for stepping out of their comfort zones and investing in the lives of these children. it has been an amazing first 4 days, it has gone by soo quickly.

posted by Lindsay @ 9:09 PM