Home Again

So we made it back to Rusk about 8:30 Tuesday night. Monday and Tuesday were unpleasant as I was struggling with a stomach bug that made traveling very uncomfortable. Spent all day Wednesday in bed, and now I'm up and at em. I wasnt able to go to church last night, and really missed my kids, so I went to the high school lunches today to see them.
I'm uploading a few more videos to my youtube account (search fbcsm71 on youtube.com) and all my pictures to my picasa account. You can view them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/fbcsm71
I'm thankful for the chance to go and minister to people who are hungry for the message of Jesus Christ. They seem to be so much like the Philippian church in that they have so little but are able to give so much. What a joy it was to have a small window to peek into their lives.

Pics

Gonna use this post to try and upload some pics. The connection we have has been painfully slow in uploading until now, so i'll try and catch up a bit. I'm also putting some more videos on youtube. You can find mine by searching for fbcsm71 there.

Blessings for Saffarino and Maria

Today most of us stayed around the compound before church (2:00 start) and worked on repairing things here. Steve, Will and Eric set them up with a shower head with a self contained heating element. They've never had a hot shower here before. Let me tell you, they were excited! Eric and Tim fixed a 2500 watt generator. Trampus, Banjo and I worked on the computers getting virus protection up to date and parental controls set. Others worked on odds and ends like we did.
Church today was an experience. We were treated to music, preaching, an engagement announcement, business meeting, financial report, revival weekend committee election, announcements and activities and one little girl slapping her brother as hard as she could for messing with her hair. They are still a very works based congregation, but Terri is working to help the pastors understand the grace of God. Pray for her.
Tonight we had a celebration feast and singing with our host family to follow. It was a very sweet time as we sang several songs in Spanish and English simultaneously. Knowing that our God can make sense of the noise of separate languages singing the same song makes me look forward to the day when we will all sing the perfect song to Him.
We have laughed a lot on this trip. Someone on the outside looking in might get the idea we argue with each other, but we have the joy of true friendship. We have made fun of Eric being insecure, of Trampus being a redneck and of Steve's ten thumbs. I praise God for these men. I count it a privilege to serve with them.
The two videos I'm including are of us working and of Jerrod playing and singing for two girls who were at our worksite each day. The taller of the girls is Lucia, one of the residents of the new house. Eric and Jerrod sponsored her education for this year. I'll talk to you more about sponsorships when I get home. Its a great opportunity!

Completion

We finished both houses today! The receiving family came into the new structure and we prayed over them and it. As we were leaving we went down the hill, across the bridge and up the next hill. Looking back toward the house, they were all lined up and waving at us. We were so far away we could barely see them, but they were still watching us leave. The impact of our time here has been profound. It is very humbling to be plugged in to where God is at work.
During the work day, there was some down time, so we took out our football and taught the boys who were helping/hanging out how to throw and catch the ol american football. It was a blast. The connection with individuals here has been very touching. The common bond of Christ's love is powerful.
I would like to revisit the story in yesterday's post. Santiago and Paulina are now believers. They have received salvation. There was a conversation earlier in the trip about the seed corn each family keeps to plant next year's crop. We were reminded of that conversation when we began to talk about their deceased son, Joseph, and his desire to see his parents come to know the Lord. His seed was planted and bore fruit. I absolutely LOVE that God has planted us in Rusk to take root and spring forth with fruit. I am absolutely amazed/ thrilled/ humbled that He allowed us to be part of that couple coming to Christ.
One of the 'other' things we are assisting with is a soccer ministry where a coach invests time in kids to teach them soccer and share with them the gospel. We packed in about 60 uniforms and half a dozen soccer balls. They were sorted and made ready for the coach to pick up. The Lord's activity comes in all shapes and sizes. It is such a blessing to be in the midst of His work for a time here.

Our Amazing God

Salvation reached to the remote village of Vasquez tonight! Last year when we were here there was a boy we met named Joseph who worked closely with Terri. Two weeks ago today he died in a bicycle accident. He was a believer who fervently witnessed to and prayed for his parents. His mom and dad asked us to come visit when they heard we were in the village. They knew Joseph loved to work with the mission groups that came in. At the end of a careful explanation of why their son is now with the Lord, they asked to pray to receive salvation. What an amazing God we serve!
Work today was tiring. I chatted with Melo earlier this evening and told her I didn't get sleep last night because a slat fell out from under my bed about the time I was falling asleep. That made today pretty tiresome. However we did progress far enough that we will be putting on lathe and clay tiles tomorrow. That means we also get to present and dedicate both houses tomorrow! Very exciting!
I have finally gotten a couple of pics to load and will try more tomorrow.
Thanks for prayers and encouraging comments!

Comments

Thanks for the comments as you read the posts. They help a lot!!

Day 3

I'll begin this entry sitting in Juan's parents house. We are having bible study with 5 of the local villagers. Grace is our topic of study taken from Hebrews and Romans. As the simplicity of the message (that is sometimes complicated btw) is light shining on their lives. I can see it. God is giving understanding even through translation into spanish and sometimes then into k'iche'.
I'll finish this laying on my bed, worn out from work and walking. The house is coming along well, with walls up and window spaces allowed for. Rafters will go on tomorrow.
We went to a neighboring village after work to the bible study I mentioned earlier. After the study we ate with them. I have to say the food has been a very pleasant surprise. We have had a lot more noodles than anything else. Breakfast was pancakes this morning. We even had fried shrimp last night.
So anyway, after supper we walked back to Terries. The elevation changes here are brutal! But tonight was a bit easier and I suspect will continue to be as we go through the week.
Juan is the missionary that was sent to Nicaragua when we were here last year.
Here is a picture of his family with Trampus.
He is back in Guatemala serving his village in civil service. He is serving as the superintendent of schools, but will head back to the mission field when this term is up. Juan shared his heart about the work in Nicaragua. The seeds we are watering here will produce fruit for generations to come.

Day 2 was full of drama

The Ladies Drama Ministry that is. We worked all morning laying block and mixing mortar. Our half of the team consists of Trampus, Steve, Eric, Jerrod and me. After a delicious lunch of black beans, rice and grilled meat that was most likely goat, we rode up the mountain to a local pastor's house for the ladies drama. Last year when we were here, there were about 40 women involved in the ministry. This year about 60 women were participating. The bible story we 'dramatized' today was Ruth 3 and the story of the kinsman redeemer. The story was read in Spanish and translated into K'iche' for the women. This was done twice, then acted out. The first goup of actor were yours truly as Noami, Trampus as Ruth and Steve B as Boaz. The ladies and we laughed a lot during the acting of this story, but the point was definitely made. The story was then acted out by some more of our group and finally acted out by the ladies themselves. Each time it was read from the Word. What an incredible impact this is making on a people group that does not yet have a translation of the bible in their native language. We were thrilled and honored to have a part in imprinting the Word on their heart.

We had to walk the jungle path back to the compound. This is the path that is vertical on both sides. To the right it goes straight up and to the left it goes straight down; a long ways! Ten thousand feet of elevation and mountain climbing are pretty rough on this fat boy's lungs. The rest of me does fairly well, but the lungs were a-burning on the way back tonight.
Once we got back to the compound we had a debriefing time and a chance to share some things that impacted each of us from the day. I'm on this trip with some of the best friends I have in the ministry. I respect them greatly. They are men of God. To hear them pour out their hearts blessed me tremendously. There is an openness and honesty among us that is rare. We prayed for each other and encouraged each other. There are lots of things I am enjoying about this trip, but seeing God's activity in them is one of the most enjoyable!

Things I saw...

...on the way from Guatemala City to Vasquez:
A car with a Stephen F. Austin State University sticker on the back.
An entire family riding on a motorcycle.
A Dodge Caravan (not grand caravan) hearse. Silver.
Eleven grown (and some over-grown) men in a 1986 Toyota minivan. That was us.

All kidding aside. It is wonderful to be back with this precious family that houses and feeds us. Their love for our God is evident in their love for us. We do not communicate well with them, as they speak a combination of K´iche´ and Spanish. But our hearts are knit together because we are one in Christ.
Terri Littrell is the missionary we work with here. Pray for her. She battles unbelief, works mentality for salvation, government and old Mayan practices.

Tomorrow we work on the two houses and with the ladies drama ministry. Trampus gets to be Ruth, Steve gets to be Boaz and I get to be Naomi.

The Flight Out

We are thru security checks and waiting for boarding. Revisiting memories of last years trip has been hilarious and at the same time has generated excitement to be there and join in Gods activity there. Thank you for sending me well. The names of the ladies we will be helping are Lucia Puac who has a 13 year old son and Delfina Lucia who has an 8 a 5 and a 2 year old. Pray for our work with these two families.