One week completed!

Hello again from Guatemala City. Its hard to believe we have already been here a week. We just wrapped up a very rewarding two days of service in Villa Nueva. There were many people seen at the medical and dental clinics held in the host church (Iglesia Vida).church (Iglesia Vida). The mime and childrens teams perfromed at local parks the first day and then went to different churches on the second day.
At the second church of the day for childrens the rains came as they arrived - it was so loud on the tin roof that you had to cover your ears or it hurt. In spite of the rain there were over 200 children who came from the surrounding barrio and they had a great time. The service team spent the 2 days painting the inside of the host church. It is a converted lumber wharehouse so it was more high painting. This time they had good, sturdy ladders and so was not quite so adventurous. Last night (Saturday) the youth group of Vida Iglesia had a get together with out students and sang songs and played games and had a great time of fellowship. Jeremy had the opportunity to preach to the group and he did an awesome job.

Everyone was in homes stays here and I think they all had a tremendous experience. This is the first time Vida Iglesia has done this sort of thing and they were so excited to have gringos in their homes. They went out of their way to make the stays comfortable and to welcome us into their families.

This morning we attended the regular church service and then were back on the road. We went to a local sort of hospice. It is a residence for ill children who have no other place to go. Most of them are HIV positive, but there are some with other ailments as well. They veyr much appreciated the attention from the students, and I think the students were really touched to see how something as small as a hug or a piggy back ride could bring so much joy.

Tomorrow it is breakfast at 7:30 and then on the road by 8:30 for the 6 hour (Guatemalan time) drive to San Marcos. It is a beautiful drive through the highest part of Guatemala. Hopefully there will be a break in the rain so we can see the countryside. Some local friends from previous years (Luis and Immanuel) stopped by to visit tonight. It ws good to see them again. They said it has been rainy and cold in San Marcos - cold enough to have frost on the ground in the morning. So if that is still the case it will be quite a chanbge for us.

Thanks for your continued prayers. It seems that everyone is getting their plumbing back to normal so that is an answer to many prayers. We see God working every day and know that it is in part the result of your continued prayers. Thanks so much for your support. More in a day or so. (We'll try to get pictures on here one fo these days!)


Here is a collaborative entry from a group of the students:

Hola Familias y amigos;
Today we traveled back to the Missions Home from the church and home stays in Villa Nueva. Villa Nueva was a really cool place. So much different from Chisec. It's a suburb of a Guatemala City, so it's really busy and full of traffic and whatnot. From what I have heard,everybody had a great home stay and loved staying in Villa Nueva. The last thing we did was attend a a service lasting about 2.5 hours. On our way home We took a detour to a hospice for HIV patients and played with the children for about two hours. I really think they all enjoyed us playing with them. We once again went to the mall food court for dinner and now are back at the missions home for the night after a great day.


Happy Fathers Day from everyone :-)