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

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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

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Guatemala Day 1

Saturday, May 28, 2011

It started at 6:00am EST in Atlanta and ended at 7:00pm EST Panajachel, Guatemala and in between was one great big adventure!

The girls were so ridiculously cute with their backpacks and blankets going through security in ATL. For them it was all new, so even the long lines and walking through security with no shoes on became fun! Thankfully, neither of them had to be patted down by TSA…that might have set things off in the wrong direction. You should have seen the girls faces as the plane took off! It was worth a million dollars! I love how excited they get over simple things. Thankfully all of our luggage arrived with us, and we were off through customs without hiccup. The Radford’s met us at the airport and down the road we went. Stopping along the way at McDonald’s (the service is WAY better in Guatemala), and later to cover the luggage with a tarp (it was tied down to the roof). Along the way we ran into some flash flooding…some of the streets looked like small rivers, and let’s just say some people are going to have a hard time starting their cars in the morning. The girls made a game of counting stray dogs along the road. I made a game of counting guys urinating on the side of the road. We stopped to grab a Coke and saw some cute rabbits in cages, only to discover they weren’t pets, but were on the menu at the local restaurant. As we got into the mountains we started literally driving through the clouds…visibility was down to 20-40 feet! My buddy Lee (missionary here in Guatemala) said it was the worst he had ever seen it! Sadly we even saw a fatal accident along the way. Then as we came down the mountain into Panajachel the girls saw their first waterfall and then their first volcano. All said, it was one great big adventure getting here…can’t wait to see what the week holds!

As internet access allows, I’ll do my best to keep you updated this week about what’s going on with our family mission trip to Guatemala!

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation

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why i’m taking my 6 & 7 year old to guatemala

Monday, April 25, 2011

In just a little over a month school will be out and my wife and I will be climbing onto a plane with our 6 and 7 year old daughters to take them on their first international mission trip to Guatemala! After spending time on mission trips together all over the world, Lisa and I are excited that we finally get to expose our children to something that has been such an important part of our lives, marriage, and ministry. We are thrilled about the opportunity to be working with some friends of ours (Lee & Angel Radford) who help run an orphanage in Guatemala and who have children at similar ages to ours. We’ve been waiting for this day, and below are 10 reasons why.

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation