This morning we visited the site of a mudslide that occurred here in San Pedro less than one month ago.  I have never seen anything like what I saw today.  When you stand on the shore of Lake Atitlan, you see the exquisite beauty of the mountains and the water, but when you turn around and face the land, all that meets your eyes is destruction.  People´s homes were destroyed, their crops obliterated.  Everything is covered in mud.  Debris littered the area–ruined clothes, shoes, dishes, toys, chairs.  We even saw a gift that a child had made for...

Thursday, we attended a festival in San Juan.  Our team broke into small groups with the goal of praying for the city and talking to people about Jesus.  Chelsey, Lizzie and I walked around and said ¨Hola¨ to all the little kids, including three shoe-shine boys.  After we passed them, Chelsey said, “Hey guys, I think we should go back and talk to those boys about Jesus.” Lizzie and I felt skeptical because of the language barrier, but Chelsey convinced us.  We walked over and sat down next to them while Chelsey pulled out a Spanish tract and...

As we unloaded out of the pick up trucks, kids started crowding around us.  People began to sit and get ready for the service.  One family with two elderly people and a young girl came and sat in the front next to me.  All were seated except for the young girl–I was confused and intrigued.  The service continued with songs and skits and testimonies, but, out of the corner of my eye, I could still see the girl standing.  At the end of the worship, Pastor Antonio welcomed the family to the front and we prayed over them.  It turns out that the girl was...

Wednesday, our team hosted a children´s program at Pastor Eduardo´s church.  We performed skits, sang songs, read Bible stories, learned verses and made crafts.  The children seemed so content with what they had and just so happy to spend time with us.  God really shone through the kids and showed me how blessed I am and how appreciative I need to be.  God spoke to me through these kids.  We all need to live a life for Christ and realize how blessed we truly are and not be selfish.  God can do amazing things so just stay strong!  Gracias a...

As we landed at the Guatemala City airport, the natural beauty of the country overwhelmed us, but we did not anticipate how the beauty of this place would continue to overwhelm us as we set out for a prayer walk on Tuesday morning.  We saw a beautiful lake surrounded by amazingly green volcanos and hills all set below the bluest sky with the whitest clouds you can imagine.  As we greeted the people we passed on the street, their joy and inner beauty overwhelmed us.  The children´s smiles overflowed with joy, and their eyes lit up so bright that they could blind...

After reading Psalm 145 together as a team Satrday morning, we declared it a day of praise and celebration.  As a group, we committed to praise the Lord continually, regardless of our circumstances, and to celebrate all the things we see Him do as a way to firm them up in our memory and share them with others. In addition to celebrating all the little truths the Lord has taught us and few team successes at our training tasks, we also had a very special event to celebrate today: Lizzie turned 15!!  We surprised her after dinner with a bunch of homemade presents, a cake and a...