Back from Guatemala

Sorry I have neglected to post since we were in GU. We all arrived back in South Florida safely (after a minor flight delay). It was great to see family again and be in a place where you don't have to constantly be thinking about whether or not you can use the water. I still hesitate every time I turn on a faucet. I miss what I experienced in GU but would not trade my life for anything. I like my routine and the challenges that are unique to my calling.

Many of you may be considering sponsoring a compassion child after following us through Guatemala and the good news is that it is never too late. If you are interested in sponsoring a compassion child, just go to www.compassion.com and click on "sponsor a child".

Realize that if you do, it is not just about sending money - that is the easy part. It is about building a relationship with your child through letters and pictures and maybe even going to visit them someday.

I am already beginning to think about the next time I will get to visit with Ericka - hopefully Melissa, Nick, and Bailey will get to meet her too.

6/19/9 Update

Another great day in GU. It was our last full day on this trip. We left this morning to visit our third project of the week. Robey and I had the opportunity to visit with the pastor for the church that partners with the project. In this city, they are fighting gangs, spiritual warfare, witchcraft, child abuse, and so many other things. It was great to talk to the pastor and I would ask that you add him to your prayer list.

We then went on a home visit. The home was very spartan, but the family had joy on their faces. We asked them to show us some letters from their sponsors (2 kids were sponsored in this house). The mother said they keep them in a very special place. They pulled some out and as we looked at them we realized that some of the letters were from April, 2000 and some of the pics were from April, 1999. They had kept these letters and photos for 10 years! If you ever wonder how important it is to write to your sponsored child, that should clear it up for you.

We left there and had lunch at Pizza Hut - I requested a moment of silence for pizza before we ate. I have missed my simple American diet. It was great and there was great conversation.

After that, we went to a local market and got some amazing deals on some gifts to bring home. The day ended with dinner and a wonderful debrief where we took time to honor the compassion staff that has done an amazing job on this trip. Thank you Brenda, Claudia, Laura, Sandra x 2, and Pablo. You guys were awesome. Some of the folks are leaving at 3:30am, but we are leaving for the airport at 9am. Looking forward to getting home to families.

Over the next few days I will try to break down some of the experieinces in more detail. Thanks for following us this week.

Below are some pics from the day:

Robey and I with the pastor and our translator - Brenda

The view from the project

Our crew behaving

Our crew misbehaving

6/18/9 Update

Today we got to spend the day in a local amusement park with the children we have sponsored. In our group from West Pines there were 3 children sponsored. My family had the privilege of being one of those sponsors, so I got to spend the day with our compassion daughter, Ericka and her mom, Leticia.

It was am amazing day. Seeing the park through the eyes of a little girl who has never been to a place like this before was truly amazing. I was really nervous about the day, because, as most of you know, this is usually Melissa's area of expertise. I had already asked Letty, Robey, and Rebekah to spend the day with us to help me make it a great day for Ericka and hopefully, deal with some of the awkwardness. Little did I know that Ericka would be the one who made it easy and anything but awkward. Having met me on Monday, she knew who I was when we got off the bus and ran over to me and gave me a big hug. She was so excited to go to the park and spend the day with her "padrino" which means Godfather in Spanish. Her father left them 5 years ago after her younger brother, Miguel Enrique, was born. She grabbed my hand and held on all day while we walked around the park, rode rides, and played games. It was an amazing day made even better by getting to share it with friends.

Here are some pics from the day:

Me, Ericka and Leticia (mom)

Ericka and I

Ericka teaching Rebekah a song on the swing

Ericka opening the gifts we brought for her

Ericka showing off her new sunglasses

At the end of the day, we taught her to play UNO. It was tough to say goodbye. She wanted to know when Melissa, Nick, and Bailey were coming to visit. All of the child visits went extremely well. It was a great day. More home visits tomorrow. I will keep you posted.

6/17/9 Update

First, A Few Pics from the last few daysThe Family we visited in their home

Their Kitchen

Their Stove

A little Boy at the first compassion project

Little Girls waiting to throw confetti on us

Today started out with a little relaxation time at the hotel while we waited to checkout and head back to Guatemala City. Some folks walked around the city, some slept in, and some did other things. After that, we all loaded the bus and headed to Guatemala City. After a short stop at a mall, we stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

Then we headed to the Compassion country office in GU city to tour and meet the folks that make Compassion happen in Guatemala. We got to see all the behind the scenes stuff that helps support the children and keep the communication up between the children and the sponsors. These folks churn out a lot of work with a small staff, but do a great job from what we saw.

That was followed by a presentation about the Leadership Development Program, which is a program for Compassion Children that have graduated and would like to go to college. We have spent most of the week with Magda, who is an LDP graduate and is now responsible for 12 projects in Guatemala. She had already impressed us with the program because of her amazing presence and leadership. We heard from 3 current LDP students and then got to have dinner with them and ask questions. We also met 2 other LDP graduates who serve on the Country Office Team.

Tomorrow, we get to take the kids that our group has sponsored to an amusement park in Guatemala City. Everybody is very excited about that. Should be fun.

6/16/9 Update

Sorry for the late update, but last night was a little rough. Guatemalan food not liking my stomach.

We had a great day yesterday. First, we traveled to another Compassion Project and from there we split into groups and visited homes of people whose children attend the project. The poverty was shocking. They were so happy to have us. They were so excited that we came to visit them. Our host even cooked tamales for us. It was humbling to see their environment but encouraging to hear all that compassion is doing for them.

Next, we had lunch at a local restaurant before heading back to the project for a special presentation from the kids. They sang for us and were very excited that we came. They also did a short play and some special music.

After the presentation, we got to tour the administrative offices and see the way compassion has built accountability into their program. As an administrator, I was very impressed. They have an amazing system for holding the projects accountable so that the funds you send go where they are intended. We then got to observe the kids in the classroom. They have a great teaching staff.

While everybody else was touring the facility, Robey and I got to meet with Pastor Alfredo, who is the pastor of the church that is associated with the project. He is the only pastor of a 80 year old church of 1500 people that he is trying to transition to a more contemporary style so they can attract more of the local community. Please pray for him as he has a difficult battle ahead of him. We were able to encourage him and pray with him. It was an awesome experience.

After that, we headed back to Antigua for some dinner and rest. I will try to post some more pics tonight, as we have wireless internet at the hotel in Guatemala City that we are headed to today - cool.

Keep those comments and prayers coming.

BTW - Rebekah got her bag last night - thanks for the prayers.

A few pics from 6/15

The countryside as we drove to the Compassion Project

The kids welcoming us to the project - humbling experience.

6/15/9 Update

First of all, I apologize. We have not had internet access, but I just found some. Cell phones also not working like we expected. We are in Antigua. Everything worked fine in Guatemala City when we landed but as soon as we got to Antigua, everything got spotty. We will be back in Guatemala city Wednesday afternoon.

I am going to give you the highlights, because only a book would fill you in completely. This morning we left for one of the Compassion projects in Guatemala. When we got there, the kids welcomed us like royalty. They sang and danced and threw confetti on us. After that they did a short presentation of some of the things they have been working on for our visit. Then we broke up into groups to do different things. Robey, Danny, and I were in charge of recreation (go figure) and got to play basketball with the best 10 year old basketball players in the world. They schooled us, but it was an amazing time. By the way, they were also girls - quite humbling. It is so easy to bond over games like that. We ran around, laughed, got rained on, and kept playing. During this time, the other groups were doing a craft project with the other kids and just palying games and hanging with them.

During our game, I got word that our family's compassion daughter was there to meet with me. So, sweaty, wet, and dirty, I got to meet her and her mom. What an amazing thing. I showed her a picture album that Melissa put together and told her about my family. When I told her she could keep the album, her eyes lit up. She gave me several hugs and thanked me many times. After that, I asked how we could help them. Her mom began to explain that she has a problem with alcohol and then just broke down and asked if our family would pray for her so that she can overcome this problem and be a good mom for Erika and her 5 year old brother. We prayed with her and then Erika showed me around the school, holding my hand the whole way. We were leaving for lunch and she asked the translator a question and the translator said yes and she came over a gave me a big hug.

We had a great lunch at a local restaurant then headed back to the project. Erika was still there and I got a chance to meet her little brother and give her a stuffed animal we had gotten for her. We said our goodbyes, but only for a few days as she will be coming to meet me at the amusement park on Thursday when the other sponsors get to meet their children.

After that, most of our group began the service project - to paint some of the school. While they were doing that Robey and I got to meet with the pastor of the church that compassion works through to sponsor this project. He introduced us to some of his deacons and elders and shared his vision for reaching this community and also for a church they are planting in a neighboring community. We had an amazing time talking with him (thru a translator) and hearing him talk about some of the same struggles that we face doing ministry back home. We got to visit his church and his home. We got to have coffee with his family and spend a lot of time just understanding what he faces doing ministry in Guatemala. We asked how we could help him and his first request was that we continue to help the compassion project because that is where the kids are hearing the gospel. His second request was that we pray for his church daily. It is amazing to think that neither of his requests were about us giving money to his church, which is what we would assume would make everything better. It is funny how your priorities get challenged by those who have less.

After that, we met up with the rest of the group and headed back to the hotel for dinner and debrief. Still have not gotten Rebekah's bag, so please pray for that. I offered her some clothes, but I don't think she is that desperate yet. Please pray that the rest of the trip will go as well as today. It was an amazing day. I will try to post some pics tomorrow.

Headed to Antigua

We are on a bus headed to antigua to check into our hotel for the evening. Flight was warm with some turbulence, but ok. Lost one bag (rebekah's) but everything else made it. More to follow......

Headed to Antigua

We are on a bus headed to antigua to check into our hotel for the evening. Flight was warm with some turbulence, but ok. Lost one bag (rebekah's) but everything else made it. More to follow......

Off we go

Here is our crew. We will keep you posted.
Robey was really disappointed with the brevity of this post so I changed it.

Firing the blog back up

Well it has been a while since my last post. A lot has happened. I am back in full time ministry (where I should be) at a wonderful place called West Pines Community Church. Melissa is also on staff there. I feel like we are back in our sweet spots again. The kids are having a good year - getting really big. That kinds of catches you up.

Now for the real reason that I am starting back up. Tomorrow I am heading to Guatemala on a mission trip with Compassion International. We are taking a team of 10 people from our church and I can't wait to get there. I am committing to keep everybody updated on our trip through my blog (assuming I can get on internet), so stay tuned. We have some cool things planned for our trip that I will be sharing along the way. I look forward to making you a part of it.