Today has been an eye-opening experience for our team. We began our day with devotions after breakfast. Devotions were led by one of the Guatemalan missionaries, Carlos. Carlos burst into a song of praise during his devotions and touched many of our hearts. We then visited a ministry focused on "street boys", called Only a Child. The boys live 24/7 in this ministry and work by crafting beautiful wooden boxes. They attend alternative school on the weekends so they can receive an education. Many of the these "boys" are in their 20s and are still working on their junior high education. This ministry is started by a man who was a pastry chef in Boston, George Leger, but now he works full time with this ministry. The boys have to follow strict rules in order to receive their lodging, food, and education. The team was then introduced to the Guatemala City dump. This is a very large dump where people scavenge for anything that they can sell for money. People follow large numbers of dump trucks until they unload their garbage and then they search through the piles for anything worth recycling or selling for money. After lunch and more getting to know the missionaries that work for Groundwork Guatemala, we left to do home visits. We divided into three groups, two of our groups went into the "dump" area. These "homes" consist of metal sheeting roofs, blankets used as walls, dirt and concrete floors. Dogs and cats and flies were everywhere and the smell of the dump was overwhelming. We met with women and their children, talked with them, shared bible verses, and prayed together. The third group visited the home of one of the ministry's missionaries. His father recently had surgery and the team went and prayed with them. This family expressed their thankfulness for the ministry and the blessing it has been for their family. Their son, Cesar, takes a bus for an hour everyday to get to and back from the ministry. Today was a moving day for our team. The full day was closed with devotions and discussion of the activities of the day and plans for tomorrow. We are excited about the opportunities that await us.
We had a great day yesterday. We had a wonderful breakfast fixed by our hostess Ginny then we went to a Guatamala Church, Sendero de la Cruz. We know the last word is cross. It was a great experience to see how the Guatemalans worship. They had about 30 minutes of just praising and singing before the church service. The service was about two hours in length. We spent the afternoon preparing a craft that will be used next week and unpacking and storing all the supplies we brought. We also rehearsed our faith lesson we will be teaching the children in the villages this week. The temperature was in the low 80's. We are a mile high here so it seems warmer. Connie And Greg visited their Quincy friend and family for dinner. The rest of the team remained at the mission house. Bedtime devotions were on Beautiful Feet, Romans 10:12-13.
Thanks for the info about your day! We have been praying for you all. Everyone asks how things are going, its awesome to share this with them.
ReplyDeleteLove you all! Be safe!
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
ReplyDelete-Acts 1:8
We continue to pray for all your wonderful service and miss you
ReplyDeleteall. Thanks for the updates and for sharing your experience!