First Day in Malacatan

It is time for bed, but I wanted to get a note out on today's activities. It was our first full day in Malacatan, and the teams were busy all day. It started out clear and sunny, and the heat was coming up nicely (although it really did not cool off much during the night).  By the time we finished lunch and headed out for the afternoon sessions, though, the clouds were building and by 4pm we experienced a full-on tropical thunderstorm. It really did not effect any of the service teams, though, and we all enjoyed the drop in temperature.

Medical went to a small community just outside Malacatan. They had a nice facility (in terms of space and rooms for the doctors), but it leaked a bit when it rained.  And since it was a tin roof it was difficult to hear even with raised voices. They had a long day, but were able to serve 200 patients. The doctors and nurses are feeling like they are getting the rhythm down so things are getting smoother. The pharmacy is running smoothly, the prayer and teaching has been very well recieved, and overall the students are becoming very efficient in their work in the clinic.

Sports and drama played at 2 different schools, in front of a total of over 600 students of various ages. During the rain they were in a covered court so it worked out.  They have acquired a copy of the song 'Everything' in Spanish they will be able to use for their future skits, so hopefully it will make their presentation even more effective. So far they are enjoying the playing and meeting the students at the schools.  Everyone is holding up pretty well, but the feet are getting a little tired.

The Service team helped at our host church Ciudad Deseada. They are replacing the ceiling in their sanctuary  so our team is help rehang the sound tiles and do some painting and other construction tasks as they are able. We have a service planned for tomorrow evening so they have a deadline to meet!

The mime team did their full program twice today. They were excited to finally add the rest of the material to the original 13-minute sketch. They will continue to improve as they add performances and fit in some additional practices where they can. They are also getting good practice at fitting their sketches in all sizes and shapes of stage areas.

The Childrens team went to the same school twice today. In the morning (8-12:30) the K-8 students attend school.  The childrens team had about 2 hours to perform their program and play with the students.  Our students enoyed the extended opportunity to connect with their students playing soccer, chalking pictures, jumping rope and just practicing English and Spanish.  In the afternoon when we returned to the school the students were high schoolers. We modified our program to account for the older students and added a couple of worship songs that our students sing. Their students seemed to enjoy the program, and then afterwards we played soccer with them, our boys vs their boys and our girls vs their girls.  The rain came in as we started the soccer, which was good, because even though the court had a roof, it was tin and so all we could hear was the roar of the rain on the roof and the crash of the thunder.  The games ran for about an hour, and then we decided to brave the rain and run the 100 yards to the bus.  Of course over the course of the 15 minute ride back to the church the rain stopped.

After dinner the host church had a special event for us.  They rented time at a local indoor soccer arena so we could have a US v Guatemala soccer tournament.  Our group split into teams of boys and girls, and then they rotated through playing teams of Guatemalans, many of whom attend our host church.  The players had fun with the competition (for those who need to know no one kept track of the wins so the tournament was called a draw) and also with the opportunity to interact with the Guatemalan players.  The OCA members who did not play enjoying watching some pretty good soccer.

And now everyone is off to their homestays to get some rest before we meet at the church in the morning for another day of service.  Tomorrow night we will have a worship service with the youth of the host church- hopefully the sanctuary will be ready by then!

The scripture from one of our student's faith story today was Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

As we complete our time here tomorrow we pray that these familiar verses will come to our students' minds. We continue to encourage them to be aware it is through God we are able to accomplish whatever it is we will do here, and that we are here to fulfill his plans rather than our own.

Talk to you in another day or 2!