Back to the USA

Our flights have gone very well so far!  One last flight to go and we will be back home to Sioux Falls! Thank you all for your prayers once again. 

¡Dios te bendiga! 

Time to be Tourists!

Yesterday we were in a bus all day to get to our other location to stay for a day before preparing for or departure tomorrow. We had some choices for our last day activities today including hiking a volcano or going to the chocolate museum for a tour and some shopping. A majority of our team decided to wake up at 4:00am to have breakfast at 5:00am and leave around 5:30am to get to the volcano.  The others of us who did not want to hike or be up that early stayed back and will head out shortly to shop and tour! God has blessed us so much thus far and we are so thankful for all of the prayers and blessings throughout our trip.

Final Clinic Day

Good morning!  We are currently having breakfast at the hotel and preparing for our final day of clinic. Yesterday was another successful day of serving God's people as we saw a total of 120 people. I'm our morning devotion we talked about shaping and using the power of the Holy Spirit to share the gospel. Have a great day!

Seeing God in all we do

We just finished with our nightly devotion and after our closing prayer we went around to everyone in the group and asked them to give an example of a time when they saw Jesus in someone's eyes or could specifically see God at work in someone's hearts throughout the day. The responses we received were rather similar,it's pertaining to our teamwork, the happiness and helpfulness of the children, and the opportunities granted to us today.  As I sit here writing this, it is currently downpouring and the sound and sight is truly incredible, which leads me to one of the main moments of thanksgiving for the day.
It was very hot all day today during our clinic hours, but right after we finished serving the last patient, we started to hear thunder and see lighting off in the distance above the mountains. The patients had all left the clinic sight and the only people to remain were some helpful children, our host pastor and his family,  and our team members. As we started to move things to their place for the night, the rain started to come, but it only lasted until we had to leave on the bus to get back to the hotel. Once we arrived safely, the rain seemed to start once again!  During dinner it was raining a little, but not downpouring like it is right now, but, once again, when we needed to walk outside to eat back to our rooms, the rain seemed to stop. After everyone returned safely to their rooms after devotions, the downpour started and has been heavy ever since. Thanks be to God for keeping us safe (and dry) Throughout the day!
Another amazing event which took place today was the opportunity for a few team members to head out to two different houses to deliver water filters so the families who lived in and around the home could have clean water. One of the houses visited was made of sticks tied together. The home had a tin roof and sticks bound together topped with hay as their beds, and a successful eggplant farm behind their house. The other location visited was  a house made of cinderblocks, and to both families the water filters were a lifechanging blessing. With the ability to have access to clean water, their health can be improved greatly. Also, pastor and his wife went along with the few team members and told about the power of the Word when spoken with the water through baptism.
Opportunities such as these seem like small gestures to us, but the long-term effects can be enormous. After serving 121 patients today, we are all tired and are ready to call it a night!
Thank you for your ongoing prayers as we are halfway through our trip, and please feel free to comment any thoughts and questions you have for our team.
¡Dios te bendiga!

Let the poor say "I am rich" because of what the LORD has done for us

Good morning from Guatemala!  Yesterday was a very busy day for us here with many marvelous blessings. We saw a total of 72 people, 51 of which were children under the age of 12 years old. Among those children was a young girl, 10 years of age, named Telma who was only 4 months last time we had seen her. Her story is truly incredible and many of us were moved to tears when she came over, told us her name, and we were able to see how much she had grown. Not only had she grown in in height and maturity, but also in her faith.

Our church service yesterday morning I found very moving as our team was  able to partake in the Lord's Supper with the members of the church and their families. I found myself moved to tears when taking and witnessing the cultures becoming One through Christ and his body and blood.

We give thanks for what the Lord has done for us and continues to do for us as we serve His people.

Goodnight!

We are all ready to call it a night!  It has been a fantastic and busy day! We had our first day at clinic today and we served a total of 64 people total. We also had the opportunity to visit our clinic sight for tomorrow. We were blessed with a beautiful building to carry out our clinic today and are so thankful for our host pastor and all of our translators and others who helped us with all aspects of the clinic today.

We Have Arrived!

We are successfully on our way!  Our team had a 4:00am arrival at the airport this morning for our early flight to start today's travel. We had an absolutely stunning view of the sunrise while on the runway and during takeoff as well as being awestruck by God's beautiful creation once again as we flew over the ocean toward our destination (pictures will be posted when we get a better internet connection). Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to travel today. We have been blessed with smooth transitions so far today and are very thankful for that! We have stopped to have lunch and are currently on our way to the hotel with full bellies, happy hearts, and tired eyes! 

Servant Hearts Prepared and Ready to Embark

Hola y bienvenidos a nuestro blog!

Hello and welcome to our blog!

This is the place to access day-by-day stories, Bible verses, and summaries of our team's time in Guatemala! As you read through the experiences posted on this page, feel free to comment your questions and thoughts! Access to the internet is not a daily guarantee, but posts will be shared as often as possible.  The process before heading out onto the mission field was filled with God's Word, packing lists, and smiling faces, and as we plan to leave in just a few days, our faces are still smiling, our bags are finished being packed, and God continues to be with us.  Thank you all for your prayers and ongoing support shown to our team leading up to our departure, and please continue to pray for our team, team leaders, translators, hosts, pastors, and the patients we will be seeing this week.