Hello everyone!
Well, we've come to the final day of our 2010 Guatemala mission trip. Wednesday started much like the others – with the sun rising behind us and shining ahead, first on the upper peaks of the volcanoes in the distance and then slowly bathing the lower hills and valleys with brilliant light, revealing a beautiful panoramic view that I can hardly begin to describe.
This was a day of dedication and a day of reflection.... We've travelled great distances throughout our week here – nearly 2 hours each way to the village. We've seen sights and vistas on the way to the remote village of Paraj Bey (mayan words meaning “walkway”) that have to be seen to be believed. We've experienced a variety of personal moments and encounters that have caused us to grow in our faith and in how we look at the world around us. We've met and interacted with incredible people who give as much (or more) love back as we give to them. We've worked in a seminary where the Word is alive and well. We've held beautiful children in Amor del Nino orphanage. We've also seen poverty and neglect. We've seen those same beautiful vistas in the distance yield to garbage and grime up close. We've interacted in a world with no safety net for the disadvantaged.....And, we built 15 houses.
What does it mean that we built 15 houses? What did we accomplish? These are not easy questions to answer, and will mean different things to each member of our team. Read on to see what it meant to me.
In the process of building 15 wood and aluminum houses, we've learned how to be a conduit of God's love to those who need it most. We came here to give, but we have also received. I came with an idea that we were going to 'help'. We do help, but it is far more than building 15 houses – which is a mere drop in the bucket. We are building relationships with the 99 family members who received the 15 houses. We're interacting with people who are teaching us what love truly is and what selfless giving is. We worked side by side with villagers and family members in building the houses. We learned about them, and they learned about who we are. They saw selfless giving, we saw selfless giving. They gained 40 team members praying for them by name plus 15 families in Michigan who donated the funds who will also be praying for them when we get back. We gained nearly 100 people who will remember us and continue to pray for us as well. We grew as a team as we allowed ourselves to be pushed beyond our comfortable box. Friendships were made. Lives were committed to Christ. Building 15 houses transformed numerous lives.
Today we dedicated those 15 houses. In this village, it turned into a mini-party with firecrackers at nearly every site. We split into two teams, one led by Max (an evangelist in Guatemala city who speaks only spanish) and one led by Mario (a pastor who will be leaving for a 15 year commitment in spain within a few months). Before we left in the morning, we committed to spend as much time as needed with each family at each building site to share with them our story, to hear their story, and to give them the housewarming gifts that we brought.
I understand a fair amount of Spanish and can communicate a little bit, so I stuck with Max so I could roughly translate what was going on to the others. He shared with the families the fact that we were here to show God's love to them and the house was not from us but a gift through God. He shared I John 4:9 with them as a theme about the importance of being saved through Christ, and laid out the idea of the Bible as a great road map for life. He then prayed for strength and safety for the families, and that they might be blessed. We gave the families handmade crocheted prayer shawls that were made by members of the churches in Moline and Fremont along with other gifts. As the families spoke to us, I was deeply moved by the fact that they really do not have anything. One father broke down as he thanked us, saying that “I have nothing to give you. The only gift I can give you is God's love. Thank you for all you have done...we may not meet again here but will again in heaven”. That really got to me. There were numerous hugs and plenty of tears of joy.
After dedications we handed out food in another village due to a drought in the region. We were able to help 200 families with basic needs and were able to interact with them in the limited time we were there.
It struck me today how much is involved in coming down for this trip and putting 15 houses together. The generosity of those who support those who come is overwhelming. As is the willingness of families to sponsor houses for people they do not know and will probably never meet this side of heaven. THANK YOU!
Now, gonna get a couple hours of sleep. Up at 3 am for our trip back. Please pray for safe travels as we travel throughout Thursday, targeting 9 pm to be back in moline.
Dios te bendiga!
Ryan Bennink
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