On July 2nd, Thursday, we went to Bejucalito with Diana and brought some jugs of water to a couple families.
On our way to the village, there is a part of the road that always has mudslides. They have begun constructing a retaining wall to prevent mudslides. However, there is one problem. They believe that the mudslide is a snake and by finishing the retaining wall, they may harm the snake. It rains pretty much every day and this road is the only road leading to the village. Please pray that there will not be anymore mudslides and that they will finish constructing the wall before July 16th.
Gilmar is one of the boys in the village and Kristen has become very good friend with him. He has only been to the city one time so Kristen wanted him to come back with us to visit. We went to the apartment and hung out for a while before going to the mall and going to see Cars 3. Instead of seeing the movie, I hung out with Pastor and Autumn at the mall. We had some really good conversations and some really good laughs. We found that pastor gets really funny when he is tired J.
On Sunday Gilmar went to church with us and then they brought him back to the city. I am glad Gilmar was able to come to church and learn about Jesus. He and his family are not believers but we are praying for them and praying that a church can be planted in his village. I hope that his visit to the city did not promote material wealth by bringing to the mall but rather promote spiritual wealth by fellowshipping with the body of Christ.
After church we went with Pabs and ate some awesome crepes! Yum.
Every Sunday afternoon they carpool out to Santa Louisa which is about 2 hours away and have a church service out there. Me and Autumn rode with Pastor, Diana and Israel. It was a great experience worshiping with the people of Santa Louisa. We met a precious family who is from Guate but has been living in Indiana. They have two daughters Monica and Andrea, who are 12 and 8 and they are adorable. They also carpooled with us to Santa Louisa.
Monday= Happy 4th of July!
Little Monica came and hung out with us for the day. We went by the hotel and met with Ceaser and then went on the hunt for fireworks! Then we went to the grocery and bought stuff for our cook out. We cooked for all our Guatemalan friends. We had hamburgers, hotdogs, baked beans, potato salad and corn on the cob. After Bible study we made Sundays and shot off fireworks!!! It was such a great day with many learning experiences. I can truly say that I am proud to be an American!!!
Tuesday we went through Palencia to a school in Hierba Buena. We will be bringing a team there to build a retaining wall so the children will have a place to play. Always we will be doing VBS everyday with the children. We will have a great opportunity to share Christ with them. As of right now I am the translator for that site. Please pray that God will give me understanding and wisdom! We went back to the city and checked into the hotel. We came early so we will be familiar with it before the teams arrived. Welcome to the Suite Life of Monica, Autumn and Rebekah!
Wednesday was maybe one of my favorite days so far. We visited San Antonio, a village that Efrain delivers food to. I was able to see Jake and visit with him for a little bit. He is crazy but I love him!
Then we went to Antigua and met up with Pabs at the coffee plantation. We had lunch together and then went zip lining! It started to rain on us so it made it faster. It was great and the tour guides were awesome. Then Pabs made us some frozen coffee drinks which were delish and he gave us a tour of the hotel. It is gorgeous! We came back to church and had a candle lit Bible study.
Thursday we went to Santa Louisa with some men in the church to put up a sign and start the foundation of Charlie’s house. We didn’t do much but we were able to play with some of the kids. They are precious! And they love to pick flowers for us J
Friday we bought food, water, and crafts for the teams and then ate at a wonderful steak house. Yum!
God has been teaching me so much this past week. We had a security/safety issue on Monday. God has been protecting us the whole time we have been here but we were able to clearly see his protection on Monday. I have never been very patriotic but this was the first Fourth of July that I was truly truly thankful to be from America. There are so many things I take for granted.
Also it reminded me of how life as I know it can change in a blink of an eye. I go through seasons when I hold onto my family so tight and then there are season when I have a peace about Jonny’s situation. Sunday night I really wanted to be home and be with my family. Through Monday’s situation, I was reminded that there are bigger things with which to be concerned. I need to set my mind on things above, not earthly things. I think we all need to be reminded of this daily!
Also God has been moving in Efrain’s life and I have enjoyed seeing him grow and experience God’s hand in his life. He has become more open to talk about the things of God and more sensitive to the Spirit.
It is election year in Guate and violence has escalated. One of the men running for mayor is in jail and is accused of killing two of the other candidates. One of the men running for president has a daughter and she was told that she could not park in a certain place. She wanted special treatment and wanted to park there. There was an argument and the men who told her that she couldn’t park there were killed- just over a parking spot. And today one of the famous singers/peace promoters of Latin America (kinda like Bono) was assassinated. Due to campaign promotion rallies in the street and other protests, major highways may be closed. Please pray that we will still be able to travel safely with no traffic to church and to the villages.
Our first team arrived today and I am excited to get to know all of them.
PRAY PRAY PRAY J
No comments:
Post a Comment