Lutheran Church of St John Groundwork Guatemala Mission

Today was our last day of ministry as we wrap up things here in Guatemala.  In the morning some went to a coffee roasting facility and some on home visits.  On the home visits we got to meet Mario and his family.  Mario is sponsored by the kids of our Sunday School.  We have a video greeting from Mario to bring back for everyone.  In the afternoon children from the area around the city dump came to the ministry house.  We only had about 15 kids for this lesson, which was OK since we just meet in the garage.  Like the other locations it was great to share the Gospel with them and they proudly shined their lights!  After our day of sharing we had to say goodbye to the missionaries.  That was tough.  They are amazing people who daily share God's Word and compassion with the people of Guatemala.  We were all inspired by their service and encouraged by their passion.  We hope to bring that home to share with all of you.  The night was spent reviewing our week and preparing for the trans

If you want to see the fun we are having you can find us on Facebook at the Lutheran Church of St. John page.  Enjoy.

Welcome to another beautiful day in Guatemala! After breakfast and devotions the team headed out to Gonzalez Park. This park was quite different from the parks we see in the US, it consisted of a large slab of cement between two block buildings. After we arrived at the park, some of the team members went to make home visits. During one of these home visits I got to meet my sponsor child, her mother, her brother and her sister. We received many hugs and refreshments of Coca Cola and tasty tostadas. After returning to the park after the home visits we found that the park had been transformed. Several shade tents had been set up along with stools for the adults. We read books to the children, jumped rope and blew bubbles while waiting for all of the children and adults to arrive for the faith lesson. Once again the children enjoyed the singing and doing their crafts. I had a chance to spend more time visiting with Keyli and her family throughout the afternoon. On our way home, we had a su

Today was adventuresome!  It was an early morning because we drove two hours to get to our village, Buena Vista.  On the way, we got to see the four volcanoes around our area.  Fuego was erupting but from the road, it looked like black smoke.  It was an amazing sight to see! In Buena Vista, we met a lot of interesting people.  We made some home visits to meet several  families.  There were lots of chickens, ducks, pigs and some really cute dogs which we were not allowed to pet.  Our faith lesson went well. It was held on a soccer field under the mango trees where it was shady.  Miss Rochelle and several other team members played soccer with the children.  On the way home, we got to see the men of the village work in the sugar cane fields.  They burn the sugar cane to remove the leaves before they chop it down with machettes.  This is how they make their living.  Crystal

Today was our third day here in beautiful Guatemala. We began our day bright and early with breakfast just the way we like it at 7 o'clock! We had a lovely (very long) morning devotion led by Manuel, one of the Guatemalan missionaries. We left the house and started our hour long journey to El Rincon, or The Corner. We met Carlos, a man who experienced God's mercy throughout his entire life. We were blessed to use their new and improved "bathroom." We went back to the corner and split into several groups and went on some house visits. There was one visit with a family whose daughter is sponsored by someone from our congregation. Her family's story was simply amazing, and her faith in the Lord is so strong. It was so amazing getting to connect with the young girl and getting to talk to her and pray with her. After the home visits we shared our faith lesson with the kids and played with them a little bit. They were very well behaved and very sweet and fun to work wit

    Our morning started with a delicious breakfast of pancakes and fresh fruit at 7:00.  We then had our morning devotions led by Julian, one of the Guatemalan missionaries, reflecting on Ps.119:7-20. He spoke of the need to search for God and to keep our eyes open to the needs of others.          We then proceeded to visit the ministry "Only a Child". This ministry was established by George Leger, who left his employment as a pastry chef in Boston upon being moved to minister to "street boys" in Guatemala City.  He felt he received a calling from God in 1994 to do this.  "Only a Child" provides shelter, a woodworking shop for employment and opportunities for education and advancement. For more information go to www.onlyachild.org.   Then our group went to the city cemetery which borders on the city dump, the "land fill" for Guatemala City.  Private and city trucks come there daily to dump their trash and other items which have been discarded

We have had another blessed day in sunny Guatemala!  This morning, we attended a spirit filled worship service.  We started with praise and prayer complete with singing and clapping with a full band, dancing and several singers. God was definitely in that worship!  A lay leader then presented the sermon. I understood only a few words of his speedy Spanish but he was very animated and had a such a good sense of humor, I felt so uplifted as if I understood the whole sermon!  The service lasted about two hours...about half of it was standing. This afternoon was spent unpacking, counting and putting away all of the donation items we brought from our generous congregation. (Thank you!)  We spent the remainder of the afternoon reorganizing, playing cards, plus several napped since we arrived so late last night. In the evening, we practiced our songs...in Spanish...and our lesson that we will share with the kids this week.  The theme of our lesson is John 3:16.  Pastor then led the group in

Well it was a long day, but uneventful.  That's always best when we travel.  We rolled into our home from the week about 12:30 am.  Everyone is tired from the long day, but excited at the same time.  We are getting settled into our rooms and getting ready for an amazing week.  Thanks for the prayers.  We will also be praying for you while we are gone.  Come back for more tomorrow.

In just a few minutes we will be gathering in prayer and loading up the vans.  It will be a long day.  After the drive to Chicago our first flight takes us to Houston.  There we have a long layover before leaving for Guatemala City.  If all goes according to plan we will be getting to our home for the next week around midnight.  Pray for safe travel and that we stay well rested for our week. Months of preparation, weeks of waiting and hours of prayer are about to come to an end.  God has an amazing adventure planned for each of us.  We will see some things we never expected and have great opportunities to serve and share.  And through it all we will come home changed, new and improved from the work of God in our lives. Come back often to hear how God is working. 

 Our group of twelve is anxious and excited to leave for Guatemala.  We will be flying out of Chicago on Saturday and arriving in Guatemala late Saturday night to begin our adventure.  While there we will be teaching John 3:16 to hundreds of kids and sharing in the work of the missionaries at Groundwork Guatemala.  Come back often and check out what God is doing not only in Guatemala, but in the lives of our servants.  Thanks for your prayers.