Guatemala 2009

The End

2009-07-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Our trip was one of the best mission trips that I’ve been apart of mostly because our team was so great. God blessed us with amazing students, leaders and team unity. It was an incredible, life-changing experience for all of us, and although the trip may be over, God is still working in and through us. Thanks for follow along on our journey and for all of the prayers that helped make our trip a success.

To check out some of our photos from the trip CLICK HERE!

Day 12 – Friday, June 19, 2009

2009-07-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today is a bittersweet day because we have to leave Guatemala and out new friends, but we get to come home to friends and family and modern bathrooms. We woke up in our nice hotel and ate some really good donuts from a local bakery for breakfast. Then we drove the hour of so from Antigua to the airport in Guatemala City. We said our goodbyes to the Jonathan, Alicia and Doug at the airport and waited to check-in for our flight. We had 28 people check-in for the flight successfully, but when the last person went to check-in we were informed that the flight was full and they would have to wait until tomorrow to fly home. So, as the trip leader, I gave up my seat and ended up staying an extra day. The worst part about staying was that the rest of the team had already gone through security, so I didn’t get to say goodbye to them and I didn’t get to experience the rest of the trip with them. The good news is that the team made it home safely after a 3 hour layover in Houston.
I on the other hand, was put up in a 5 star hotel and had all of my meals paid for. Plus, Jonathan and Doug met me at the hotel and we spent the day running around Guatemala City, and relaxing at the Hotel. Then on Saturday, I flew home safely in the comfort and luxury of First-class, which was a first for me.

Day 11 – Thursday, June 18, 2009

2009-07-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today was our last full day in Guatemala. This morning, we got up ate breakfast, did our devotions, and spent some time cleaning the base and preparing it for the next team that's coming. Our clean-up time was actually cut short because of the threat of rain. We needed to get to Antigua before it rained. We are staying in nice hotel in Antigua tonight, which will be a nice change from staying at the base. The hotel is in the middle of Antigua and just a short walk from the market. Everyone's pretty excited to be able to sleep in a real bed tonight.
After checking into the hotel, we spent the rest of the morning and all of the afternoon at the market shopping. The market is fun because you get to barter with the people in order to get a good price. There were so many different you could buy from blankets hammocks to knifes and jewelry. It was a lot of fun and some of our students got to be pretty good at bartering. As we were finishing up at the market it started to rain, so instead of walking back to the hotel, our group decided to take a Tuk Tuk, which is a three-wheeled motorcycle with a bench seat in the back to carry passenger. It was fun to ride along as we passed cars and weaved in-and-out of traffic.
After we arrived back at the hotel, we went out for our final team dinner in Guatemala. We ate a place cale Ni-fu Ne Fa, which is a really nice steak house. They brought us plates filled with different kinds of meats from steak and chicken to ribs and sausage. The food was amazing.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and met together to debrief the entire trip. We went around the room and every student shared some spiritual and practical lessons learned on the trip. It was so fun to hear what God was challenging students with and to laugh about so many of the fun times on the trip. At the end of the night, we able to bless Jonathan and Alicia with a very nice HD-video camera, which we brought just for them. It was a huge blessing to them and an answer to prayers because just a few weeks earlier their video camera had been stolen. It was amazing to see how God used us to meet a need that we didn’t even know they had. We spent the rest of the night hanging out at the hotel talking and enjoying our last night in Guatemala. Today was a great last full day in Guatemala.

Day 10 – Wednesday, June 17, 2009

2009-06-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

We woke up early today to clean up the base before we headed back to Guatemala. It took us about 4 hours to drive back, which included stopping for some snacks just across the Guatemalan border. The first gas station we stopped at was charging us a lot for snacks, so Jonathan made the decision to head to a different place that would be cheaper. So about 30 minutes down the road, we stopped again and bought just enough stuff to get us back to Antigua. When we got to Antigua, we ate at what might be the nicest McDonald’s I’ve ever seen. It had a full, garden courtyard that was gorgeous. The students were excited that they also had free computers with internet access for them to use. I’m pretty sure some of the students would have traded their meal for more time on the internet if we had let them. After McDonalds, we explored Antigua a bit. We went the square where students had their first encounter with street venders. They followed us all through town selling bracelets and necklaces.
After our exploration of Antigua, we visited a special needs orphanage. I’m not sure if I can explain in words what we saw and felt there. All of the kids and teenagers in the orphanage have a physical or mental disability and many of them are kept in cribs that look like cages. It was a surreal sight to see, but after a spending some time adjusting to what we saw, the students hearts were broken for the kids. One by one students starting taking the kids out of their cribs and holding them and playing with them. You could see the excitement on the faces of many of the kids. Then at dinnertime, our team fed the kids of the orphanage either with bottles or by hand. It was a humbling and breaking experience for all of us. We spent a few hours with the kids, but I’m sure the effects of our ministry there will last for lifetimes.
As we left the orphanage it started to rain pretty hard, which wouldn’t normally be a big deal accept that we needed students to ride in the back of a truck back tot he base, so we found some brave volunteers who were willing to get soaked. We tried to hide under a tarp, but we all were pretty soaked when we got back to base. We cleaned up and ate some pasta and tomato sauce, which was delicious on a cold, rainy day. Then we hung out and went to bed.

Day 9 – Tuesday, June 16, 2009

2009-06-23T09:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was full of hard work, so we were tired this morning. Jonathan gave us some time this morning to relax and do some devotions on our own. It was a good time of recovery. It’s still pretty hot here, but being able to see and hear the ocean makes it all worthwhile. In the afternoon, we walked to a local school to do an assembly there. We a short assembly full of dramas and testimonies, and we ended by making balloon animals for the students. It was fun to see them keep coming back for more balloons. Some of the students ended up with 3 or 4 balloons.
After returning from the school, students too advantage of the last opportunity to enjoy the ocean by swimming and chillin’ on the beach. Jonathan even busted out the surf board to try and catch some of the nice waves that were crashing. We finished up the evening by eating Papusas, which are a traditional El Salvadorian meal. They were tortillas filled with cheese and topped with cabbage and a salsa. These were better than the ones we had at the church. We then played a pretty intense game of mafia, but don’t worry it didn’t end in a fist fight like the last team they had. Today was a good, relaxing last day in El Salvador. Tomorrow we drive back to Guatemala to finish out our trip there.

Day 8 – Monday, June 15, 2009

2009-06-19T06:34:00.002-07:00

After breakfast today, we spent an extended time worshipping together and waiting on the Lord. Then Jonathan gave a short talk equating the excitement of surfer culture to how we as Christians should live. It was a cool parallel. After that, Mike Sawyer shared a devotional from Ecclesiastes on how there’s a time for everything, and now is our time to minister and let God work through us.
After the devotion time, it was work day. The guys spent the morning mixing and pouring cement for a patio, while the girls went with Alicia to a lady’s house to prayer for her because she had cancer.
After lunch, we got back to work on a number of different projects. Some of the girls cleaned the beach, while others painted one of the houses. Some of the guys mixed and poured cement in the driveway, while others helped clean up the pool patio. The rest of the girls walked the beach in search of small, decorative black rocks to help accent the cement. It was a long, hard day of work in really hot, humid temperatures. After dinner, we had the night off to relax and swim. While swimming, one of the students was hit in the lip with a surf board. He had to be taken to San Salvador, which is about an hour and a half away, to get stitches. Thankfully, the hospital had a plastic surgeon on call, who was able to stitch his lip back on. It was a close call, but God worked it out. Plus, Pastor Josh has pink eyes and was able to see a doctor to get some meds for his eyes. His total medical bill was $12.44, which is still unbelievable. It was also cool to say that a few of us have now been to San Salvador.

Day 7 – Sunday, June 14, 2009

2009-06-19T06:34:00.001-07:00

Today, we got up early because of the heat. We had coffee and rolls for breakfast and hit the road to El Salvador, which was less than a mile from the church where we stayed. We crossed the border without any trouble, and we were on our way. We stopped at a gas station about half way to pick up snacks and stretch our legs. In El Salvador, they use the American Dollar for currency, so we didn’t have to worry about changing any money here. It was fun to buy snack and pop at the gas station for only a fraction of what it would’ve cost back home. After stocking up on snack for the next few days, we continued on to the base in El Salvador. The base is breathtakingly beautiful. It sits right on the ocean and shares a private beach with just a few other places. One of the neighbors is a Quicksilver surfing school, which charges over $250 a night per person to stay there, but because the surfing is great here they are busy all year round. The base has a number of nice houses that overlook the ocean, and it even has a swimming pool.
After a quick orientation about how not to drown in the ocean, we had the rest of the day off to relax and swim. Most everyone took advantage of the ocean and spent time feeling the powerful waves of the ocean. After swimming, we spent a low-key night, just playing games and relaxing. It was a much-needed break.

Day 6 - Part 2 – Saturday, June 13, 2009

2009-06-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

After leaving the missions base in Puebla Nueva, we drove over 2 hours to the border of El Salvador, where we are staying the night tonight. Also, it is much hotter and more humid here than it was in the mountains in Antigua. After, we took some time to get used to the humidity and temp, we ministered in the local Assembly of God church there, which is also where we’re staying tonight. The service was awesome. Pastor Josh and a few of the team members from Mora helped lead worship, and we even had the people clapping on beats 2 and 4, which is no easy task in Latin America. Leah Sawyer and John Shull gave their testimonies, and both did a really great job. After a few dramas, Pastor Kyle Chamberlain from Hermantown preached a good message highlighted by the microphone shocking him so bad that he screamed and dropped the microphone, but he picked it right up and continued preached like nothing happened. He did a great job, and when Jonathan gave the alter call the response was amazing. Two people even came up to receive Christ before he was finished. Then the altars were flooded with people pressing in to the presence of God. They were so full that you could barely move. Then Jonathan asked our students to start praying for the people, and the students boldly went through the crowd praying and hugging the people. It was incredible move of the Holy Spirit. After an extended time at the alters, the pastor dismissed the church and we spent time hanging out with the people from the church. Then we ate a traditional El Savadorian meal, and are going to bed while still sweating from the heat and humidity. The girls are sleeping in the church and the boys are staying outside in the classrooms. During our debrief time, there was a massive rat that was spotted, so we’re praying that we don’t have any late night encounters with him.

Day 6 – Saturday, June 13, 2009

2009-06-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

We had another relaxing morning capped off by an awesome time of devotion, worship and prayer in the prayer forest, which is a wooded point that overlooks two valleys. It was absolutely amazing and a great place to hear from God.
Today, we are traveling to the border of El Salvador, where we will minister in a local Assembly of God church. Then tomorrow, we will be crossing over the border and spending the next few days working at the missions base in El Salvador and we might find some time to slip in some swimming and surfing in the ocean. We’re all really excited to hit the road.
We won’t have internet access while in El Savador, so we won’t be posting any updates till we get back to Guatemala on Wednesday, but we’ll fill you in when we get back. We are thankful for your ongoing prayer support. God is doing great things through our team and in the lives the students on the team. We can’t wait to see what He’s going to do the next 6 days.

Day 5 – Friday, June 12, 2009

2009-06-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

Today, we had the morning off to sleep in a little to rest and recover. It was nice to have a short break from all of the assemblies and services. We spent the morning playing card games, exploring the village, and chasing down the base dog, Max, who is a master escape artist. After lunch at the tienda, consisting of steak stuff, rice, and guacamole, we headed out to a school assembly. This was the same school we went to on Wednesday, but today’s assembly was over 1000’s pre-teen boys, which made for an interesting assembly. The students started out with a lot of energy, which was great for the dramas and story, but made it difficult to preach. From the school we traveled to the city square/park in Chimaltengo. We set up and started off the service with some songs. This brought people in. After all of the dramas and give-a-ways, the crowd had grown to over 100 people. During the alter call, we saw many people respond to the invitation to accept Jesus. Lives were touched and the tears in their eyes evidenced it.
After tearing down and picking up all of the candy wrappers, we once again piled into the vans and the truck and went to a food court in a local shopping mall. It was just like a mall in the states except everything was in Spanish. Most of the team ate tacos and burritos from Taco bell while others had Mc Donald’s and Dominos. After supper, some of the team went to the delicious ice cream stand. During our debriefing back at base, we were informed that the street ministry had gone better than the Missionary, Jonathon, had expected because the last street ministry event was only able to draw in a total of 4 or so people. He was blessed and encouraged by the ministry that took place.
The trip is starting to take a little bit of a toll on us, but at the same time we are growing closer to God and to each other.

Day 4

2009-06-12T09:23:00.001-07:00

We woke up at around 8:00 to devour our pancakes. We’re finally getting used to the over anxious roosters. After breakfast, we decided to practice our new skit for the story of Noah’s Ark, thanks to the ingenuity of Laura. 6 of us practiced another skit called “The Doctor’s Office.” After practicing for about an hour we left at 10:00 to go to the same school that we did a service at the previous night, but this time the kids were younger because they were the morning students, there were about 150 of them. The setup was a little different due to the fact that the kids were all around us, making it a little difficult to face the crowd. The kids were definitely excited for Noah’s Ark and la casa se quema, as usual. After we were finished with our program, the kids returned to their classes. Afterwards, we went to the church where the local pastor teaches the poorer mothers how to do certain things that are necessary to get along. There were also things for children to do. We did a program at the church 2-3 hours after we met there for lunch. The program we did included la casa se quema, and Noah’s Ark. There were only about 30 children at the church. The children were over excited to see us there. It was the first program we did where the kids didn’t kill each other over pieces of candy, “dulces” as they say in Spanish. After we did the dramas the kids played musical chairs and “pato, pato, ganzo” which is duck, duck, goose in Spanish. After the game of duck, duck, goose, we handed out balloons and played with the kids for a while. We returned to the neighbor’s afterwards for lunch, which consisted of chicken, rice, and potatoes in some sort of gravy. We played with the village kids for a while and then headed out for the next school. It was a private school, but one of the services with a larger response, a lot of the kids responded to the altar call. The kids were older, and there were about 50 kids. We did la casa se quema, and the courtroom drama. Sam Fermenich gave her testimony. We left directly afterwards. We are staying up later tonight, because we don’t have to be up until 9:00 for breakfast. At 12:00 we are having lunch, and we don’t have a school assembly until 3:30. It was another busy day, but thankfully we will get time to rest tomorrow.

This blog post was written by Joseph Walker.

Day 3

2009-06-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

Woke up again this morning to the sound of the rooster and all of his friends singing a chorus. After breakfast, we finished up a courthouse drama and headed out for our first school assembly, which was an elementary school with 1200 girls students. The girls were full of energy and it was a good assembly, where we did the statue drama, la casa se cama (The house is on fire) drama, and Cassy gave her testimony. After the assembly, the students swarmed the team asking for autographs, which was a new experience for all of them. After that assembly, we went back to the local tienda for lunch, where we ate beef and rice with a broccoli and cucumber salad. After lunch, we went into the town of Chimautenango where we held an assembly at a high school. The assembly went well and we saw students respond to the dramas and message. After spending a few minutes giving away candy and talking with students, we left and enjoyed some authentic Guatemalan Burger King. Then we went on to the final school of the day. It was another high school in a harder part of town. The missionary said that half or more of the students at the school were affiliated with gang activity. Despite that we had another really good assembly, and at the end of the service, we had a great worship experience. It was great to see our students along with the students from the school worshipping together. We had a very successful assembly, and God worked in the lives of many of the students. Overall, we had a very long, but great day.

Day 2

2009-06-10T20:53:00.002-07:00

The first night in Guatemala was a night of adjustment because of all of the unique sounds that ring out throughout the night like the confused rooster, who thought he was supposed to crow every hour or so starting at 11:00 p.m. and around 3:00 a.m. he got all of his rooster friends t o join in to help welcome us to Guatemala. There were also other interesting sounds like those of stray dogs fighting and barking though the night.
We woke up around 7:00 a.m. and ate pancakes for breakfast. We then spent some time doing devotions on our own. The rest of the morning and the early afternoon we spent working on our dramas and even learned a few new ones. The students did awesome following direction and the dramas turned out really well. We even managed to put together a garbage can “stomp” style routine, which will work well to draw a crowd when we do out street ministry.
Around 4:00, we had the opportunity to go to our first orphanage here and ministry to the students in a short presentation that included some dramas, and a short message. At the end of the message, when Jonathan invited students to raise their hand for salvation, hands shot up from around the outdoor gym, where we were meeting. It’s an awesome experience to be apart of something as incredible as seeing a life changed for Christ. Following the service, we spent time playing the kids. Some played futbol (soccer), some gave out bracelets and other trinkets. The children swarmed to the students to get pictures taken and hang out. It was a great time.
We returned to find the table ready for a hotdog and chips dinner. Then we spent the rest of the night polishing some dramas that will be used in the 3 school assemblies tomorrow.

Day 1

2009-06-10T20:53:00.001-07:00

Today was a long day. Most of us were up by 3 in order to make it to the airport at 5:00 to catch our flight to Houston. We finally arrived in Guatemala around 2:00 p.m. local time. After a short drive to the mission base which located just outside of Antigua in Puerta Nueva (New Village), we had a short orientation with Jonathan, Alicia, and Doug. We learned all about the not-so-modern toilet facilities and how to use them without having to go “fishing” as well as other basic information. After that we had a short time to get settled in and find our rooms and test out the plumbing for ourselves. Then we walked to a local restaurant for some authentic cooking. We had fried chicken, rice, coleslaw, and of course tortillas. Some students even were adventurous and tried the home made hot sauce, which was quite spicy. After dinner, we had a time of worship followed by a short message by Jonathan and Chris Mancl, who is a traveling evangelist, who is helping us out this week. Then we spent the rest of the night getting ready for bed, and the lights were out by 10:00, because everyone was already sleeping because of the long day

T-minus 1 day and counting

2009-06-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

God birthed the dream and destination for this trip in our hearts over a year ago and tomorrow we will head off in fulfillment of that dream. Our team has meeting together in prayer and preparation for this trip for 6 months now, and we are as ready as we will ever be. I can't wait to see what God's going to do in and through our students in Guatemala and El Salvador. I'm also excited to be working with missionaries Jonathan and Alicia Farrant as well as Doug Burwell.

There are so many last minute details that still need to be taken care of like packing, so here we go...

God use us in incredible ways to love people as you would.

Welcome

2009-06-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

This blog is to give you a running synopsis of our missions trip to Guatemala and El Salvador. I don't know how often we'll be able to post updates, but ideally we'll post updates and pictures every day. So, follow along as our team from Minnesota is used by God to help spread the message and love of Jesus Christ.

~Pastor Josh

Ps. Please keep us in your prayers as we could use all the prayer we can get.