Picaya!

Tuesday the team did a medical clinic in Embaulada. Everyone always loves spending time there because of many relationships that have been built there over the years. We saw about 50 people, the majority of them being children. It is always great to see familiar faces, and I think the people there feel the same way because some of the kids even remember our names. God has used Due West United Methodist in such an amazing way there and it is awesome to see how much a church body can do when it is serving the Lord. Today, Wednesday, was the team’s free day and we went to Picaya. It is a volcano that is still active and erupted a few years ago. It’s about a 2 mile hike to the top, and the terrain is very difficult to navigate because of the volcanic rock. Cindi, Olivia, Melanie, Carolyn, and Lyndy rode horses to the top, but the rest of the group hiked the entire way. Needless to say we were all pretty exhausted when we finally reached the top, especially because we were at such a high elevation. The way down was a little bit easier but the volcanic dust made it hard to keep sure footing. All in all we made it back to the mission house in one piece, but a few of us were completely covered in black volcanic ash. Once we returned to the mission house, Dale began to prepare for the skype call between Boy Scout Troop 444 in Marietta and the Boy Scout Troop 7 in Guatemala. Because internet connection in Guatemala can be scarce, Dale drove to Embaulada to pick up the boy scouts and bring them to the mission house, where chairs and a projector were set up. The Guatemalan boy scouts filed in quietly and sat in their chairs patiently awaiting the video skype. It was such a neat experience to see two very different groups of kids come together for a common cause. Dale worked very hard to set this meeting up and I’m sure the whole team would agree that it was a great success. The boys in Guatemala then watched some videos of themselves that Ken had made from last year. They really enjoyed seeing themselves. After the skype call, everyone dressed in their Sunday best and got ready for Wednesday night church. Tonight we preformed Noah’s Arc and made necklaces. Keeping children’s attention for more than five minutes can be very difficult, but Olivia, Taylor, Jen, Jordyn, Bobby, Hunter, Jay, and Ken did an amazing job of keeping all of the kids interested in the story. The craft came next and it was a little harder to coordinate, but we managed. Since it was the last night we will be in Embualada, there were many sad goodbyes. It’s tough because we spend the most time there and we get to see the same kids so Wednesday night is always our final goodbye. The people in Embualada, like majority of people in Guatemala, are so full of love and our group is always so blessed by the love that we feel in Embaulada. After returning from Embaulada where we also found out that Cheryl Leigh (daughter of Tom and Elizabeth) is coming back to the states with us on Saturday to spend 2 weeks with us. We are very excited. We had a very special devotion via skype from Chris Moss who we all miss very much here in Guatemala and at home.

Boy Scouts Mejores!

Our men had quite the experience with the boy scouts on Saturday. Though we had mapped the day out during the previous night’s planning session, our activities always seemed to run their course more quickly than anticipated, and the team suddenly faced a rather daunting challenge. Yet despite having only a single Spanish-speaker in our ranks and over 40 kids to care for and entertain, the team rose to the challenge, leading our scouts through many activities such as fire-building, singing camp songs, picking up trash throughout the community, and an impromptu game of futbol all while making sure they learned important lessons of the scouts like the salute and motto. Although it was challenging, all the team members agree that it was a worthwhile endeavor that definitely made an impact on the kids and the team, as evidenced by our “reunion” after the church service with many of the children. Truly, our trust in God helped create an amazing opportunity out of a potentially crazy situation. Sunday’s are always a very interesting day because we go to church and get to spend the day in Antigua. Because the majority of the team members this year are veterans, many of us don’t think twice about the Guatemala church service that we attend. However, it is a very different experience, and it is hard to prepare for what happens during the hour and half worship service. The Guatemalan people come to church with the expectation of seeing God, and they don’t hold back. Since the entire service is conducted in Spanish, the group usually leaves with the children for children’s church. This year we re-enacted David and Goliath. Our acting may not be the best, but it was fun seeing Hunter throw bean bags at Dale. After the skit, the kids colored their own mini Goliaths and threw little rubber balls at them, like David threw pebbles at the real Goliath. These kinds of activities never take as long planned so the last half of children’s church was spent running around and chasing kids. The second half of Sunday was spent shopping and sightseeing in Antigua. Many of us bartered for things in the market like quilts and purses, and of course many of the guys bought knives. After shopping, everyone met up for dinner. On Monday, we did a medical clinic in Gorion, some of the boy scouts and church staff live here. We saw upwards of 80 people and Kathy saw 23. Carolyn also got the hair salon up and running, and the boy scouts help do lice washes and braiding. We are currently preparing for a clinic in Embaulada and we are excited to see how God will work today.

We're Here!

After traveling for seven hours, the whole group, minus Olivia's luggage, made it saftely to the Hearts for the Children Ministry house in Guatemala. Friday was a day of planning, as we prepared for medical clinics and the boy scout campout. That night everyone went to sleep pretty early to get ready for the week ahead. On Saturday, the team hit the ground running with a medical clinic in Barcenas and a Boy Scout Jamboree and Campout in Embaulada. Many of you may not know that Barcenas is the town of our beloved bus driver, Mochilon, who was shot in January. We are happy to report that he is doing well, and was extremely supportive of our teams efforts today. Although our team has less than perfect spanish, we were able to see 105 people with the help of Pastor Tom and translators. Olivia, Carolyn, and Jordyn worked the triage table and were at the frontline of patient care. After triage, the people were able to see our wonderful doctors Cindy, Tom, and Jon. These three worked very hard to see every person that came to the clinic, and they made sure that no one was turned away. The pharmacy was the final step after seeing the doctors, and Melanie and Lyndy ensured that everyone got the medicine that they were prescribed. I know your thinking that the pharmacy is surely the end of the line as far as the clinic is concerned, but there is no way that our clinic would be complete with out Kathy, our dental hygenist. With the help of her assistant Jennifer, she cleaned the teeth of 25 kids. Over all the medical clinic was a huge success and went very smoothly, even though all of the man power was at the boy scout camp. Although in the past our team has concetrated its efforts on the medical clinics, last year we started a boy scout troup in Embaulada. This year the guys in the group continued their efforts to establish the pack. Today they gathered all of the boys in Embolada and taught them how to start a fire and they learned all of the ways of the scouts. They are currently spending the night in the basement of the church and we won't have a full report util tomorrow. However, Dale, Ken, and Jay came back the mission house to get to sleeping bags and they seemed pretty worn out. I'm sure they would welcome your prayers because you know how men can get when they been around kids all day. We have already been so blessed by all of the people in Guatemala and we are excited to see how God will work this year! None of this would be possible without the support that we have received from all of you at home, and we continue to ask for your prayers while we're here. Also, Pastor Tom has become very sick and he needs your prayers. We know that God is the great physician and we are praying and believing in that power.

Guatemala Day Nine - The Return Trip

I wanted to write one last time to say thank you for all the prayers; the support that Due West has given us over the past seven years; and all the comments about the blog. We had some late nights trying to get it done. Thanks to all who allowed us to post pictures and a big thanks to Melanie for staying up even later than I sometimes to make sure the message was posted and the pictures were in.

Our last day was an early rise, a long ride home and it was a welcoming site as we touched down in ATL. One of the last gifts was the sunrise we received...at about 4:30 in the morning as we headed to the airport in Guatemala City. Posted the only shot I got. I'm sure there are some better ones (Mike and I were back with the luggage and it was a tough shot to get from the back) :).

I'm sure you have already heard many stories and be prepared to hear many more. Plans are already in the works for a Mission Fiesta in August. We will let you know more about that in the coming weeks.

Until next time...Vaya con Dios!
The Guatemala Mission Team

Guatemala Day Eight –“There’s no way this mission is already over!”

It always sneaks up on you…the last full day in Guatemala. We have prepared for months to be here and then the week flies by. The mood tonight is of disbelief and mixed emotions. So many are excited about going home to their own bed and getting a shower, but then we have enjoyed this time together so much they don’t want it to end. There were a lot on the agenda for today and we were able to accomplish them all.
This morning we woke pretty early to leave for Guatemala City to worship with the homeless in the city there and to reach the lost in the area. It is an area of drug addiction, prostitution, and violence. We were also prepared to serve breakfast to them and provide a medical clinic to the homeless.
It’s always a long ride into Guatemala and we didn’t leave exactly when we wanted to. By the time we got to the city plans had to be modified. We ate breakfast first which is very different from past trips. We had always worshiped with them first, served them and then ate. It did give some of us time to set up the clinic and pharmacy while worship was going on.
The day was a blur… We were eating one moment, worshiping or doing set up the next moment, and moving people through the clinic the next. There are always some very interesting cases when we go into the city. You will see evidence of knife fights, drug abuse and malnutrition. We go where the need is and there is certainly a lot of need in Guatemala City.
As soon as we had started we were finished so soon, and heading back to the mission house. We always have a wonderful last night. The Allan Family always sends us off right. We have the equivalent of a fiesta, with a mariachi band, fireworks, a wonderful meal and lots of dancing. It was sad to have to say goodbye to all the people we have grown so close to in the past week. There were definitely tears of sadness as we said goodbye.
To close out the night Dale provided the final devotion and shared with us the message he spoke to the congregation here in Guatemala when he visited in March. It was a moving testimony that really spoke to why we are here in Guatemala. Dale had a near death experience here in Guatemala his first year here. You would think that would keep him away, but as he tells it that was his “awaking experience” and drew him closer to God. Dale shared much with us tonight and yes…more tears.
It is time to draw this mission trip to a close. We have had the amazing opportunity to touch the people of Guatemala and the Holy Spirit has certainly touched our lives during this trip. Thank you so much for all the prayers and support. It is the 3,000+ back home that have also made this trip what it is.
Thank you and God Bless,
Chris Moss and the Guatemala Mission Team

Guatemala Day Seven – Pews to the Church

Today was not just an ordinary day…but what day in Guatemala is?
Today we held a medical clinic in the mission house. This was a first last year and quite the success. We did not have the turnout like we did last year but some wonderful things were accomplished through the medical team, the dentistry, the hair washing crew, and the prayer team.
One of the new ministries begun today was the foot washing team. Asa, Alex, Bubba and Jordyn stepped up a washed the feet of those who had come through the clinic. As one was washing the feet of the person another was praying for them. You can see the joy in their eyes as others washed their feet. Some said they were not worthy, much like the disciples when Jesus washed their feet. I was able to witness one exchange between a student and a little boy while having his feet washed. Something I am sure he will remember for a long time.
While the medical team and other ministries were hard at work, the pew builders took about the full day to transport the pews to the church. We were able to convince Tom (with Elizabeth’s help) that it would be a good idea to go ahead and use the pews in the church unpainted. The wood will dry out faster and it will help to protect them. We had a pick-up truck to make the deliveries. We were only able to take four at a time so it took seven trips to get it all to the church. Once the pews and the communion table were in place it was such a wonderful transformation. People from the community came by to see the work we had done.
To close out the day we transported the whole group to the church and had our evening devotion in the church with the new pews. We had Morgan sing Amazing Grace again to start us off. Then we all circled around the pews and prayed over the pews “Guatemalan Style”, which is all praying at once. After the prayer we had a devotion from Alex, Ashley and Libbi. I wanted to share with you one of the closing comments Ashley made that I thought was a wonderful example of our purpose here on earth. “A steward might not own a ship that they work on, but they must care for it and its passengers as they do. Christ gives us our time, wealth and health; what we do with those is important because we don’t own them. These are given to us here on earth. A big part of how we use those is in service. Service echoes a Christian lifestyle. Christ taught this in Matthew 25.”
Tomorrow we will be heading into Guatemala City to worship with and feed the homeless at the Mary Magdalene house. We will then hold a clinic in the city before coming back to the mission house to get ready for the return trip home. It is sad to say that tomorrow is our last full day, but we are anxiously anticipating our return home to see our family and friends!
Thanks for all the prayers!
The Guatemalan Mission Team…
A birthday message from Jennifer Klann- HAPPY BIRTHDAY Steve-o! I love you and miss you! Come home safe! Love J-Bug

Guatemala Day Six – This Was the Long One Folks

You would think that going back to the same place and working on the pews again would mean, well, “same-old, same-old”. Far from the truth friends…It was a day of many blessings, completed projects and worship. Dale said that it is days like this that create the memories of the trip, and that is very true.
Today was a very long day for our medical team that returned to the same town as yesterday and the word must have gotten out of all the great work they did there. There was a much larger crowd today and the team had to put in overtime. We’ll get to that in a minute …The pew team had a monumental day completing not only the pews but also made a communion table and cross for the church. Check out the pictures below. Today was really a finishing day. Most of us were sanding pews either by hand or with power sanders. With the extra time we had a few of us took the time to pray for those who would be using the pews as we sanded each one.
The pew team also had a great opportunity to meet with Elizabeth as she came to see our work. Elizabeth is Tom’s wife and a huge part of this ministry. She shared with the team about their ministry and how it is so dependent on others. The Allan family have so many stories of how God has provided…they just had to have faith.
The medical team had a full day today. It really does not bear repeating in detail what the medical clinic was like since, for the most part, it was a carbon copy of the day before – only much longer with many more patients. We’ll touch on a few highlights.
The newest ministry this year has been praying for each patient and their family as they leave the clinic. We thought we were doing a pretty good job of this until we had a guest translator today named Carlos. Carlos is actually an ordained minister and works for a very large church in Mixto, Guatemala. Carlos showed us how to learn more from the patients on where they happen to be in their walk with Christ. Surprisingly we found that some of the folks were not believers at all.
One particular lady who only found out today that she had severe type 2 diabetes, ultimately, through a discussion with Carlos decided that she would accept Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. The prayer that was said over her after that resulted in many tears flowing and a grand awakening that she truly is loved by Jesus and with His help she can tackle this newfound problem.
The hair salon continued operating on all cylinders. With a couple of new helpers they saw even more customers and did some even greater creative styling. I think we may even be ready for feet washing. Maybe you will read something about that tomorrow?!
As the teams reconnected we shared a wonderful meal and then headed to Embaulada for the Wednesday worship service. Not only did we have a wonderful Children’s church time with Stuart and Derek as the stars of the show, but we also had a great number of students get up and sing for the congregation. Asa and Joe provided the acoustic music and then Jessica, Alex C. and Libbi sang first. Next up was Ashley and Jenn and then to finish our time Morgan did a wonderful rendition of “Amazing Grace”
Tomorrow we will have a medical clinic here at the mission house and the pew team will be transferring the pews to the church!
Keep the prayers coming!
The Guatemala Mission Team…
Here’s a birthday wish from Alex Chambers: HAPPY BIRTHDAY mama. I love you and miss you.