Day Tres!

There is nothing better than to wake up in Guatemala, having the assurance you have been called to this place for a reason. Today, our team's eyes were opened to some of those reasons.

We had a great day. It started off with our devotionals and breakfast at our contacts house (Hoses and Jane). In our devotional, I picked some key points from the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 to share with the group. One of the points that I left the team with is the disciples feeling inadequate to provide for all the people. When the disciples came back to Jesus, He multiplied what they had, and blessed many people. I found this to be true all day.

Shortly after breakfast, our contacts described in some detail their calling in Guatemala. It entailed the sacrifices they had made to live here and be witnesses for Christ in this city of Chiquimula. It was inspiring for us all, thus I cannot promise any parent their child will return unchanged.

Around 10:30am, we loaded up the big red van and headed to a supply store (it was a future teacher's dream store - pencils and paper, pens and poster board of every size, shape and color) to prepare for the day. We headed to a church outside of town into the mountains a bit. Our goal was to liven the place up with some cleaning and decorating.
Our team was split into different groups according to our abilities and interests. A handful of us went to play soccer with what started as a group of three that soon turned into almost a dozen kids playing soccer at the main arena in town. They had a blast and were able to encourage the kids and even the grounds keeper, even with a language barrier. I am constantly impressed with this team overcoming the inability to verbally communicate, but using laughter and a smile to communicate so much more.

Others like myself, who love cleaning, found ourselves with a broom or a scrubber in hand getting to work on floors or the bathroom. We discussed in our debrief tonight that we won't always see the ripple effect of something so small, but it has the potential to bless many people! There were several boys that came back to the church after a sweaty game of soccer to hang out. Wes, a fellow team member has been given many opportunities to use his Spanish skills. It was neat to see the team in so many ways, serving the Lord.

The third group (in which we all ended up) were given the vision of Noah's Ark. We drew, colored, cut and pasted animals and an ark on a wall in the children's part of the church. During this time, we were able talk and discuss about the night's activities, which we knew included a... TALENT SHOW!! We each needed a talent to show to an audience of about 35 people. It was a blast to put together skits and stomps, beat boxes and strength contests. We were also able to hear some beautiful solos from our team and others in the Guatemalan youth group. As it turned out, doing this talent show really prepared us for the future schools we will be heading into next week.

The night ended with chocolate covered frozen treats! We were able to pick from bananas, strawberries, and pineapples with a variety of toppings for them. It was delicious! If you were concerned at all, at anytime about our eating - don't be. The food is excellent!

Thanks so much for reading and staying up to date with our blog. Hopefully, we can post some pictures soon! Continue to pray for our team and the work we will be doing here. May God be glorified in the things we say and do. A prayer of mine, since the beginning is that we would look different from the world. That we would be known by our love that comes from the Father.

Many blessings to you,
Addie Swihart