Guatemala

Construction Week

This week was a very fun but hardworking week. I did a lot of things that I never did before. We were building the Children’s Feeding Center and got to the site each day around 10:15 and left around 5:30

Monday:
The first thing we (Stephanie, Sarah, and me) did was take wood off of a cement column. And then we took wood off of a window pane that they had set the week before. Then we mixed cement and carried buckets of cement for about 2 hours or so and we made more columns and laid a floor. I started to dig out a ditch that had been laid a few years ago and then it was time to leave.

Tuesday:
I was stuck in my ditch all day long. It came up to about my knees and I had to break up and shovel the dirt out for hours. That was all I did all day long.

Wednesday:
This day we were all extremely sore. We did not want to move or do anything. We made more cement and dug out a little bit more of the ditch. Then, we collected all the broken pieces of block and moved a whole pile of dirt to another location.

Thursday:
This day was the hottest day. We were short people because we are dropping like flies. We had a girl hurt her back the other day and then another girl got a metal thing dropped on her head and had a really bad headache and left for the day. We mixed cement and helped pour it and because we did not have as many guys us few girls had to push the wheel barrow full of cement and then shovel it into buckets and lift it to the guys (me and another girl were the only ones strong enough to push the wheel barrow) because it was so hot we were splashing nasty water on each other to cool us off, we did not care how nasty it was because we were so hot.

Friday:
Again we were short people but it was not such a rough day. We left the work sight at 3:00 today. We made more cement and poured window panes. Today one of the volcano’s was smoking. (we have volcano’s where we live its pretty sweet) we made some more cement and then cleaned everything really good.

What we accomplished at the construction site this week:
Laid a floor
Poured many cement columns
Laid a ton of brick
Cleaned out trenches


We did not finish the building because it is so big, they have been building it since 2007. It was a ton of fun and I really enjoyed it but, I do not think I would want to do that the rest of my life.
Friday night we feed the homeless again!

Again, thank you for your continuos prayer and support! It is greatly appreciated by both Jess and me!

I uploaded some pictures 2 are from some of the things we built for construction, one is of my room, one is of the clown/children's ministry, and just some view pictures. next week i am hoping to get more of the construction pictures up here i just did not have time to upload them to a flash drive

Week 7

Week 7

This week was a lot easier week than last week. We had class and did our service ministry jobs. At the furniture factory we built five bunkbeds – they are almost done! And class this week we were taught on prayer and fasting.

Unfortunately I do not have much to say this week. But next week we will be out doing construction all week. We are going to be continuing to build the children’s feeding center. Please keep us all in your prayers there will be at least 19 of us out there all week and this week we had a team from Ohio down building on it and one of the guys got sick because of the heat.

I would just like to thank you all for your continuous prayer and support for me while I am down here. God has definitely been growing me and teaching me many, many things. One of the ladies that is down here for only a few months has told me that she has already seen God changing me and growing me into a more effective leader/person and she has only been here for a month or less with me. It is just amazing how God is working in all of us. He is slowly by slowly making things clearer for me. Maybe not as clear as what I would like but it is slowly getting there. I am learning that I have to be patient and God will show me when He knows I am ready. Believe me it is not an easy thing waiting but I made a decision this week that while I am waiting to find out what God has in store for me I am going to serve Him with out any hesitations. I will go where ever He wants me to go and do whatever He wants me to do and when He knows it’s the right time He will show me, show me my ministry, my mission field.

This past week the kitchen crew went into the kitchen and opened one of the cupboards and found about 11 cockroaches in a hudle just chillin there. it was gross and then we sang the la cocarocha song like all week and almost everytime we went into the kitchen we found one. at least they are not getting in the food tho!!

So that is really all for this week! I am sure next week is going to be amazing and exhausting but I can not wait to share with you all about it!

Guatemala Week 5 and 6

So first off sorry I did not get a blog out to you guys last week. It was just really insane and I did not have time to type one. Then, this week was even crazier. A lot of things have been going on. Last week we just had a lot of class work. We had to write our first actual sermons and read a book and study for tests. We did not go and do any ministry work but we were being taught on how to go out and do them.

We started practicing for dramas last Friday night. I was the main person in one of them and when we put them on I got bruises and I cut my foot at on point some how and it got infected so now I get to clean it like 3 times a day and change the bandage as often as possible. Yippie!! Not J

Monday was our first day going out and doing the drama evangelism. We just went to a school and did the skits explained them to them (1^st-6^th graders) and then we had clowns come out and preach it was really cute.

Tuesday we drove 3-4 hours to a village and passed out school bags we had made and then we had the clowns come out again and they preached. The children just love the clowns!! It was sad when I was handing out the bags bc children were hiding them hoping to get 2. It was like man they need them that bad or want them that bad that they would hide them for the hope of getting two. It was only pencils and rulers and erasers and stuff like that too. Things that we in America take advantage of or lose them and are like well I got plenty.

Wed we went to central park and put on the dramas it was pretty cool. People were not as receptive as last time but we were able to lead about 5 to the Lord and plant many of seeds. I did not preach this day but this is the day I cut my foot!!

Thursday we had a ladies luncheon. The pastors wife preached and I really enjoyed it. I heard what she talked on before but it was still nice. She talked on like how everyone is beautiful and not to look in the mirror and be like eww but say how beautiful you are. It reminded me of when Lauren B talked to his beloved and when we had to make the magazine picture things at the lock-in.

Friday we went to Antigua again. We put on three dramas. The heart, four corners, and the chair. I was in the chair and the four corners. The chair I was the seductive flirt I had to wear a sign that said sexo which is sex and then I had to put it on the sinner stuck in the chair when he would not come with me and we had 3 other people try and get him off the chair a person that is friendly, a strong person, and 2 that are drug addicts or alcohol addicts. And then finally salvation comes and gets him off. The four corners I was the main character it reminded me of the life house skit there were four corners I could go to one had drugs the other had alcohol the other had vanity and the last had sex/abuse. They would all be nice to me at first and then put their signs on me and shove me away the abuse flung me on the ground and then kept hitting me. and then when I went to all four corners they came and attacked me and then jesus shoves them away and he helps me off the ground and takes my signs and puts salvation on me and we walk off together all happy. Today at the end of my skit I had to preach the second time I preached I did an altar call no one raised their hands saying they said it but I did see some guy repeat after me so we went up to him and talked to him and he was catholic then uriel asked me if I had any questions for him and my question was if he had any questions for us and then that opened up a door for us and we were able to lead him to christ!! I loved it!!

I preached on mark 10:1 (the reason I did that was bc for the rest of the time down here we have to preach from certain parts and he gave me mark 10:1-12 and those are the only versus I can start a sermon on. We can go to other versus but he is teaching us to work with certain ones so we a can learn how to tear apart scripture and really dig into it) Mark 10:1 says “then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the otherside of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.”

I stressed the again part and how you don’t go to someone a second time a 3^rd time or even a 4^th time if you did not agree with what they said the first time

Then I used John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever and the bread that I shall give is My flesh which I shall give the life of the world.”

I went into saying how everyday we do things that give us death. We go them again and again, over and over again but Jesus said I am the living bread. I went on to ask a question and that was Why do we keep going to other things when we can go straight to the one who can set us free? Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but through me . So why choose another way when Jesus is the ONLY way? And then I went in to an altar call!!

So that is really all this week we had about 15 people come to Christ and were able to plant many many seeds