Day 3 Chapter 2

Well, it was a longer night than planned, but it was a good night.  Its coming up on 11pm,
and we will be up to breakfast by 6:45 so we can be packed up and on the road no later than
8 (Guatemala time, of course).  The church service with the people of Iglesia Renuevo was
great - a wonderful time of praise and worship through music and a powerful message from Mark
on trust (from Proverbs 3). The mime team also performed their entire 30 minute program, most
of which the rest of the team had not yet seen.  They did a great job.  They said they were
extra-pumped to be able to do the program for the entire team.  It was a very nice wrap-up to
the 2 days of service here in Guatemala City.

In the past 2 days the medical team saw nearly 400 patients, the mime performed their presentation
to an estimated 6-800 people, the childrens team presented their program to at least that many
school children, and sports and drama performed their skit for 4-500 people.  In addition to all
that the service team did a lot of work at the church, hanging sheetrock, re-stuccoing a wall,
painting and fxing some plumbing.  God has been at work through the team, creating opportunities
large and small to reflect his love and build the desire in the people we have served to want to
know Jesus more.  During our travel day tomorrow I will try to get some input from the students
and staff so that you can hear from them what they have experienced.

Because sports and drama, mime and childrens were all serving in Villa Nueva it was decided to
bring our lunch there instead of driving all the way back to the church.  We ended up having a
picnic at a national park with a beautiful vista over the Lake Amatitlan valley.  It is a large
volcanic lake just south of Guatemala City.  At the park there was also a historical area where
there were replicas of famous edifices from Guatemalan history.  And there were swings and a
teeter totter.  It was nice and cool among the trees and it felt good to walk leisurely through
the park - a good place to enjoy our Guatemalan hotdogs and each other's company.

Going into our travel day, the word of the day comes from the devotional we are using on the trip.
The verses are from James 1:26-27: "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep
a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God
the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." It is a great affirmation of God's calling
to the work we have been doing here in Guatemala City and have yet to do in the next towns.  It is
also a good reminder for us to pay attention to the interactions between each other.  When we travel
it feels a bit like a day off, but We need to remember that during this time we serve each other as
well as the Guatemalans, and the travel days are an excellent opportunity to build each other up in
preparation for whatever God has in store for us in the next town.

The verses also especially reflect the medical team's patient population yesterday.  The clinic
was at the church, and the peple from the church went around the streets and found mothers and
children who were living in the streets, who had absolutely nothing, and brought them in for
medical care and prayer. It was a live example of how the medical treatments were one benefit for
the people who came in, but that experiencing the love and compassion of those working in the clinic
and doing prayer and teaching was an even stronger medicine.

I don't know what the opportunity will be for accessing the internet in Malacatan.  I will post
something as soon as  can so you know we have arrived safely at our next destination.