June 13th

June 13, 2006

We arrived in Campur, Guatemala last night at around 5:00. The trip was a good one. One of our buses had a flat tire, but as always, God was good, the tire was changed quickly, and our bus was back on the road in no time. God also gave our biggest soccer fan, Greg Krech, a blessing in disguise. His bus did not have the flat, and waited at a rest stop, complete with a television set that was broadcasting the United States vs. Czech Republic soccer game. Greg was pumped, until the U.S. went down 1-0 early.

When we arrived in Campur, we were greeted by throngs of people. The people in this small rainforest community have grown to love Wooddale Church. They love our students, and truly feel like they are a blessing to them. I think our students were surprised at how quickly the villagers showered love on them. Dozens of little children wanted to smile for digital photos, touch the hair of any girl with blond hair, or kick the soccer ball with the guys.

We had a dinner of spaghetti (Guatemalan style), pineapple, and bread. After dinner it was time for our church service. The service ran three hours from start to finish, with translation from English to Spanish to Queche Mayan. There were more than a few people who took a good nap through portions of the service.

This team is larger than any other that we’ve brought here before. Because of this, only 24 women and 26 guys have beds. The rest are sleeping on the floor on mats. I chose to sleep on the floor with several others. We sleep in the church. It took quite a while for the church to clear out so that we could sleep. I lied down on my mat, and fell asleep quickly. I awoke to the sounds of children crying and women talking. Apparently several of the townspeople slept in the church with us last night. Talk about a surprise way to wake up!

I spent the day with our Children’s Team today. They had four presentations and did a great job. One of the things that they added to their program this year was skits done in Spanish. All three skits were preformed today and the students did great.

Our medical clinic saw over 120 patients today. They had a long and tiring day.

Our basketball, mime and service teams worked on the finishing touches of home construction for two homes that we raised money to build. They helped pour concrete, attach a roof, and more. The basketball and mime team also had a game at 4:30 this afternoon.

God has kept our team well, and strong. I’m really very proud of this team. They are acting very mature, and representing Christ well. I´m going to try to post some photos, but the Internet Cafe that we are at has a very slow connection, and it probably won´t work until we leave town.