my last post from Guatemala

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my last post from Guatemala

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Today was our last day in Guatemala. Tomorrow we take a road-trip back to Guatemala City and then catch a flight home on Saturday morning.

To top off the week we decided to pack up the girls and take a trip over to check out Vina Studios. Vina began years ago as a part of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Today they are carrying on the legacy of Wycliffe translating the Gospel into the languages of indigenous people groups around the world. Not only were we hoping to reinforce a high view of Scripture in the lives of our children and instill a vision for the Bible being made accessible to all people, but also expose them to a unique project Vina has been working on. Vina is specifically targeting the next generation…children. And they are doing it through an incredible show called “Deditos,” which literally means “little fingers.” Vina is doing a series of children’s videos telling the major stories of the scriptures through finger puppets. We got to see the sets that are being designed and used as well as tour the sets on which these films are shot. Finally we got to preview the story of Noah’s Ark. Vina is doing an incredible job of telling the story of the Scriptures in an accurate, compelling, and culturally relevant manner to a generation of children that is primarily illiterate. We were excited to see such an incredible tool that is going to be used to reach many with the Gospel!

Then just for a little fun we hit the local market in Panajachel for a few souvenirs and of course the girls first tuk-tuk ride!

The bottom line goal of this trip was to both construct and to reinforce the culture of our family. These last few days have been about continuing to place guardrails in the lives of our children to nudge them not only to God, but joining Him on mission in this world. Here’s to hoping that these last few days have been seared into the minds and hearts of our little girls for the rest of their lives…and here’s to hoping that God uses the environment we’re creating in our family to do something incredibly special in our girls for the sake of His Kingdom!

See you stateside soon!

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation

Guatemala Day 5

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Day 5 in Guatemala is pretty much in the books, and it was a fruitful day!

We headed back up the mountain from Panajachel to Eagle’s Nest to spend some more time at the orphanage and the feeding program with the kids. On our first day at the orphanage I met a little boy named Carlos Raul. Carlos is around 2 years old and has been at the orphanage for about 3 months now. He has been really slow to open up, interact with other people, and even receive affection and love from people. It really has just been since last week that he’s even letting people hold him and love on him with out pushing people away or crying. Each day I’ve gone back this week it’s been so cool to see him open up more and more. He loves playing with my sun glasses and cell phone. Today he stood right up when I came in and held his hands up. Without a sound, he was asking me to hold him…and I was happy to oblige. He sat in my lap and rolled a basketball back and forth to the girls…he was super content to just be held.

The girls spent time with the preschoolers again today. Leading a Bible story about Naaman, the military leader, and the little girl who should have been his enemy but instead pointed him to Elisha to be healed. They also spent some time doing crafts with the kids. After lunch we worked at the feeding program again, but before serving the kids lunch the girls shared that same Bible story again with the kids from the community. They had some help from their friends Parker and Anna Kate (the missionaries children that we are connected with down here). Parker and Anna Kate have been incredible for Kennedy and Mia this week. They’re just a couple of years older than our girls. So being a bit more mature, and understanding the lay of the land down here, it’s been great for my girls to have two friends to look up to who are providing a great example to them on their first mission trip. Leadership has no age limit!

After coming home and getting the girls down for a late afternoon nap Lee and I ran by the coffee shop he introduced me to yesterday to pick up some whole bean coffee for the trip home. Incredible coffee! Right from the growers here in Guatemala and then roasted this morning. You can check out the website here. Let’s just say there are going to be a few happy coffee lovers when I come home.

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation

Guatemala Day 4

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Today the girls got their first taste of being flexible on the mission field.

Due to “a planned power outage” in the area (and by “in the area” I mean what seemed like half of Guatemala) we got a bit of a late start today. The late start came because it took a bit longer to do dishes and clean up after breakfast, having to boil water on the gas stove for hot water to clean the dishes and then “borrow” some water from a local pool to flush the toilets, etc. Then when we got to the orphanage to do Bible stories with the kids we discovered that it was National Arbor Day in Guatemala. So the kids were planting trees instead of doing their normal school routine. Which all of that meant the word “flexible” became pretty important today. However we did get to participate in serving at the feeding program again today, and the girls are doing great serving and loving on the kids here at Eagle’s Nest. After a quick nap for the girls this afternoon we went for a treat and visited a local coffee shop owned by one of the guys at the “House Church” we attended Sunday. It was INCREDIBLE! Coffee right from the grower in Guatemala, roasted right there in the shop, and brewed that day. You can bet with my love for coffee they’ll be a post coming later this month about the story of the owner and the coffee of Guatemala.

Looking forward to spending another day with the orphans at Eagle’s Nest tomorrow!

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation

Guatemala Day 3

Monday, May 30, 2011

Day 3 in Guatemala went great! It was the girls first day spending time with the kids in the orphanage.

Before lunch we had the opportunity to see, hold, and play with the babies! As expected it was sad to hear the stories of each of the children and yet heartwarming to have the privilege to love on and play with each of them. Afterwards the girls got to work with some of the preschool aged children. They went through the story of Jonah and the whale using The Jesus Storybook Bible and some puppets and props that they had made. Then they did a craft with the kids. We toured the facility with the Radford’s and heard the story of the ministry happening through Eagle’s Nest. There is a local church that meets on campus, a daily feeding program for children in the community, a school, they host large groups as a camp and retreat facility, and obviously they care for orphans. After eating their own lunches, the girls helped serve at the feeding program for children who come each day for a meal. So proud to see my girls serving and putting others first. Here’s to hoping that their hearts get attached to these little kids they’re serving this week.

It’s great to know that there are people here in Guatemala living out the Gospel in a tangible manner, and I’m glad to call them friends. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a small part of it.

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation

Guatemala Day 2

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Day 2 started a little earlier than expected. The exotic birds decided to sing us a song or two…felt like I was in a real life version of the movie “Rio.”

It was a great day of introducing the girls to Guatemala. After a great night of sleep following a long day of travel the girls got to experience “House Church.” There is a small gathering of believers that meet in a home here for fellowship and teaching. We sang songs for a while and then watched lifechurch.tv online together and discussed the sermon. It was an awesome experience for our little girls and a refreshing and authentic moment of a simple expression of the Church. After Church we went out to lunch to introduce the girls to some authentic Guatemalan food…no one got sick! Then we walked the streets of Panajachel to take in some of the local people and culture for a bit. Finally we stopped by the local market and picked up some local grown veggies for dinner! It was a fun day for easing the girls into the culture of Guatemala. Tomorrow we head to the orphanage to work with the children there. Can’t wait to see how they do with the kids there. Praying God breaks their hearts!

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation