Sorry, that we have been unable to update. We have not had any access to the internet.
The group is doing great... no illness and we have been working hard at medical and agricultural sites. We hope to send another update on Saturday when we travel to the city.
Most of us did feel the earthquakes this morning. But, no damage and we are all fine.
Thanks for all the thoughts & Prayers!
Link to photo.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Update from Guatemala
Greetings! The team has arrived safely and is adjusting well to their new community. In the past few days they have gone through orientation, visited all the ministry sites, and begun serving. Each team member is serving at one of three sites; two are medical clinics in Magdalena and a nearby village, the third is an agribusiness site where they will be working with the health and development of animals. All team members will rotate through these three ministry sites during their time in Guatemala.
The team had the privilege of meeting the town mayor and having their picture taken with him. They also are excited to play a soccer game as as a community event tomorrow after their work. Each night they have spent time listening to and learning from the ministry leaders in Guatemala and hearing their personal testimonies. Everyone on the team is doing great and their days have been busy and full of new experiences. More updates will follow soon. Please keep praying for the team, for their health, energy, and ministry opportunities.
The team had the privilege of meeting the town mayor and having their picture taken with him. They also are excited to play a soccer game as as a community event tomorrow after their work. Each night they have spent time listening to and learning from the ministry leaders in Guatemala and hearing their personal testimonies. Everyone on the team is doing great and their days have been busy and full of new experiences. More updates will follow soon. Please keep praying for the team, for their health, energy, and ministry opportunities.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Packing and last minute details…
Tonight our team is meeting at 6pm to load up the vehicles that we are taking to the airport. Loading up early seemed like a good idea so we wouldn’t be playing a nasty game of Tetris at 3:30am. On Thursday, Megan, Mackalah and I had breakfast and a packing party. We have 8 boxes of donations which consist of clothes, school supplies, medical supplies and other random items.
Big thanks to:
Kim Trautman’s cousin who gave 2 boxes of medical supplies
Light and Life Christian Church in Phoenix, Arizona
Betsy and Mike O’Hara
Anonymous giver of clothes
As we head out tonight, please keep us in your prayers! We’ll be keeping you updated as much as possible…
Big thanks to:
Kim Trautman’s cousin who gave 2 boxes of medical supplies
Light and Life Christian Church in Phoenix, Arizona
Betsy and Mike O’Hara
Anonymous giver of clothes
As we head out tonight, please keep us in your prayers! We’ll be keeping you updated as much as possible…
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Trivia Night = Success!
Cupcakes, soda, friends and fun described what happened on Sunday at our Trivia Night. We had 16 teams show up with about 85 people all together. The room was packed! Our team baked their little hearts out. Some of the cupcakes that came through the door could have been in a Martha Stewart magazine! I was impressed… We raised a total of $636.44! What a blessing! As you can see, we are almost there with our total funds as a group and we still have 1 more weeks to go.
We had one of our last team meetings last night. We will have one more meeting and then some group packing time before we go. I went over a handful of logistical types of things and then shared a “Learner, Servant, and Storyteller” model that is an important aspect of short term mission experiences.
Here is a short description of each:
Become a Learner-
You take responsibility for yourself and what happens to you. You trust God to use you. Ask questions to make the most of your experience- questions about what you are seeing, hearing and feeling. As a learner, you come to another culture to find out how people think and what God is doing among them. Your expectations are based in learning what God is already doing and not in your own ability to convert others or to make a lasting contribution.
Become a Servant-
As a servant, you follow Christ’s own example. He labeled himself a servant rather than a leader. Servants are rare in our culture, but our attitude allows them to facilitate in their own unique visions. A true servant asks, “How do you want this to be done?” instead of saying, “Let me show you the right way to do it.” God has given His vision to people all over the world. As a servant, you try to understand the particular vision God has given His people in your host culture, then offer your help to facilitate others.
Become a Storyteller-
As a storyteller, you feel free to tell your own story because it belongs to you. It is easier to share what God has done in your life, though, if you listen first to others’ stories of their lives, their culture and their perceptions of the world. The students are encouraged to share their experience with others as the return to the states.
Things that you can pray for:
Safe travels
Open heart, open hands, open ears
Good health
Students International staff
Our host families that will be taking care of us while we are there
Our ministry sites
Thank you so much for all your support and prayers! We are very excited for our trip!
(We will be departing from Greenville at 3:30am Monday morning (the 25th) and catching our plane at 6am. We will be arriving in Guatemala around 2pm....)
We had one of our last team meetings last night. We will have one more meeting and then some group packing time before we go. I went over a handful of logistical types of things and then shared a “Learner, Servant, and Storyteller” model that is an important aspect of short term mission experiences.
Here is a short description of each:
Become a Learner-
You take responsibility for yourself and what happens to you. You trust God to use you. Ask questions to make the most of your experience- questions about what you are seeing, hearing and feeling. As a learner, you come to another culture to find out how people think and what God is doing among them. Your expectations are based in learning what God is already doing and not in your own ability to convert others or to make a lasting contribution.
Become a Servant-
As a servant, you follow Christ’s own example. He labeled himself a servant rather than a leader. Servants are rare in our culture, but our attitude allows them to facilitate in their own unique visions. A true servant asks, “How do you want this to be done?” instead of saying, “Let me show you the right way to do it.” God has given His vision to people all over the world. As a servant, you try to understand the particular vision God has given His people in your host culture, then offer your help to facilitate others.
Become a Storyteller-
As a storyteller, you feel free to tell your own story because it belongs to you. It is easier to share what God has done in your life, though, if you listen first to others’ stories of their lives, their culture and their perceptions of the world. The students are encouraged to share their experience with others as the return to the states.
Things that you can pray for:
Safe travels
Open heart, open hands, open ears
Good health
Students International staff
Our host families that will be taking care of us while we are there
Our ministry sites
Thank you so much for all your support and prayers! We are very excited for our trip!
(We will be departing from Greenville at 3:30am Monday morning (the 25th) and catching our plane at 6am. We will be arriving in Guatemala around 2pm....)
Friday, May 8, 2009
16 days and counting....
The end of the school year is drawing near! Please pray for the students as they finish their classes, study, take finals, pack and wrap things up.
On Sunday, May 10th, we will be hosting a Trivia Night at the college as our last attempt to fundraise on campus (besides our t-shirt fundraiser). Megan Troupe has gone above and beyond the call of duty with planning our event. She has called a variety of restaurants, salons, movie theatres and grocery stores to ask for donations for prizes for our Trivia Night participants. The majority of places have responded with so much kindness and enthusiasm which will make this night a success as far as prizes go! We have divided up all the jobs amongst the group for the big day. My mother always said that many hands make light work J
God has been so good to us throughout this whole process! Amazing things have happened in the last couple of weeks which just confirms that God wants all of us on this trip. For example, Tom Reinken, who I would like to compare to Ryan Franklin, the St. Louis Cardinals closer, really is “the closer” for our team. During our IGA cookout, I had to leave Tom and Nathan there by themselves at the very end because I had a game with my high school softball team. Tom called me later to tell me that they sold every last piece of meat and every cupcake there was! I was amazed because there was a lot of meat left! And yesterday (the last day for Trivia Night sign-ups), Tom called me to say that he rallied 4 teams of 5 to sign-up at dinner in the DC. We were all nervous that we weren’t going to have enough teams to pull the event off, but Tom came through with a handful of participants! Many members of the team have really come through with force at the perfect times. From t-shirt orders to anonymous donations to Trivia night teams. They have all been absolutely wonderful!
Overall, the entire team has contributed wholeheartedly! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of students participating in this mission trip. It is amazing how everyone meshes well together, prays together, laughs together and encourages one another, especially during times of uncertainty, but God has been so faithful to us.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12: 1-2.
Please pray that the entire team would run with endurance for the next couple of weeks as they finish up school and continue preparing for this trip.
I am thankful for all the encouragement and love that all of you have given us!
On Sunday, May 10th, we will be hosting a Trivia Night at the college as our last attempt to fundraise on campus (besides our t-shirt fundraiser). Megan Troupe has gone above and beyond the call of duty with planning our event. She has called a variety of restaurants, salons, movie theatres and grocery stores to ask for donations for prizes for our Trivia Night participants. The majority of places have responded with so much kindness and enthusiasm which will make this night a success as far as prizes go! We have divided up all the jobs amongst the group for the big day. My mother always said that many hands make light work J
God has been so good to us throughout this whole process! Amazing things have happened in the last couple of weeks which just confirms that God wants all of us on this trip. For example, Tom Reinken, who I would like to compare to Ryan Franklin, the St. Louis Cardinals closer, really is “the closer” for our team. During our IGA cookout, I had to leave Tom and Nathan there by themselves at the very end because I had a game with my high school softball team. Tom called me later to tell me that they sold every last piece of meat and every cupcake there was! I was amazed because there was a lot of meat left! And yesterday (the last day for Trivia Night sign-ups), Tom called me to say that he rallied 4 teams of 5 to sign-up at dinner in the DC. We were all nervous that we weren’t going to have enough teams to pull the event off, but Tom came through with a handful of participants! Many members of the team have really come through with force at the perfect times. From t-shirt orders to anonymous donations to Trivia night teams. They have all been absolutely wonderful!
Overall, the entire team has contributed wholeheartedly! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of students participating in this mission trip. It is amazing how everyone meshes well together, prays together, laughs together and encourages one another, especially during times of uncertainty, but God has been so faithful to us.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12: 1-2.
Please pray that the entire team would run with endurance for the next couple of weeks as they finish up school and continue preparing for this trip.
I am thankful for all the encouragement and love that all of you have given us!
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