Dedication Day

We started with devotions on the rooftop today, it was a beautiful morning to begin our day reading God's word and singing His praises to prepare for the day ahead of us.  Today is a day devoted to dedicating the homes to their new owners.  Upon arrival to the village, we split into two groups and began walking to different sections of the village to dedicate the homes we built.  Each home built was sponsored by a family, business, or individual from home and was selected to be dedicated by a specific team member based on the connections made throughout the week.  The teams arrived at the new homes that were beautifully decorated with balloons and pine needles that signified a celebration of happiness and gratefulness.  The dedication process is special for both the families receiving a new home as well as our team members.  We were given the opportunity to participate by blessing each family and home with the help of a translator as well as handing them their Bible's (children's Bible, adult Bible, and solar-powered audio Bible) and other house-warming gifts.  It was very gratifying to learn that all the families we built homes for were Christian's, and tears were shared as we recognized our oneness in Christ.  Additionally, we were able to dedicate the homes alongside three elders of the church who had taken the week off of work to help us build these homes.  The elders were able to challenge the homeowners to always make Christ the center of their home and family.  We closed each dedication with prayer over the family and home, sang the Doxology in Spanish, and ended the celebration with a bang - firecrackers! 

We ended our day back at the mission house with singing and group sharing.  Many of the experiences and stories shared reflected back on our theme from Matthew 28:19 (The Great Commission).  There were so many moments this week that we felt God's leading, strength, and protection in the work we did and the relationships we built.  He is God all the time, whether we are at home or in Guatemala.

Mary Westhouse

Bill Fennema

Jessie Kool

Zach DeKock

Tuesday's adventures

  Hello,
         We started out our day with breakfast at 6:00. After that we headed upstairs and had devotions, led by Jessie Kool, with some help from Chloe Westhouse. It was based on our theme verse for this year, Matthew 28:19-20, the Great Commission. After devotions we got ready for the day, made our lunches, and packed our bags. From there, we split up into two groups. 12 people went to the village to finish building the houses, and the rest of us went to the El Tejar City Dump and then the Love the Child orphanage.

           At the El Tejar Dump, we passed out sandwiches, chip, cookies, and juice boxes to the people who live in the dump. This was part of Lazaro and Glendy's ministry. They believe that the people at the dump should know and understand how much God loves them. This is important because those people that live at the dump pick up recyclables and turn them in for money. They live off of about $5 a day. The dump is smelly and dirty. We don't realize how blessed we are until we see the people that don't have as much as we do.  The people were overjoyed when they received their food.

           After the dump, we loaded up the vans and headed to San Lucas to the Love the Child orphanage. They had a new facility to operate in. When we got there, Shyerl Osborne greeted us at the entrance. She led us upstairs to the newborns and toddlers first. They were adorable. The toddlers were all in bath time, so we had to take them one by one after they got out of the bath. We each either played with the toddlers, or took a newborn to hold. We were there for about 4 hours showing love to the kids. We loaded up the vans again and went back to the Mission House.

          We socialized for a few hours until dinner at 7:00. We had chicken and rice, with some carrots and jello. It was delicious. It was a really good day and we can't wait until tomorrow.

Kyle Bennink
Erika Velthouse

We were fortunate enough to head back out to the village today in order to put the finishing touches on the houses. The day started with us feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work we had yet to accomplish and the limited number of people available to help, but as only God can, we not only finished early, but we also had time to play with some of our favorite kids for an extra hour and stop for a little ice cream (;  In this extra hour, Ryan had the opportunity to take a moment and sit down.... and wouldn't ya know within minutes he was surrounded by kids, sharing laughs and taking selfies (looks like Ryan got his good side). We may have lost a few super balls as well. Unbelievable time for all of us.

Everyday in this hospitable village we have had the privilege to build along side both the men and women that will be living in the homes. This village has made a unique impact on us because the people consistently call us by name and ask when we will be back. Having built relationships early in our week and being able to continually build on them has taken a hold of our emotions and we look forward to seeing them as much as they appear to look forward to seeing us. Getting to know the children this week has been a blessing to say the least, and through them, building close relationships with their parents as well. Parents and other adults have been very involved in getting to know us and helping out throughout the week in all endeavors, more so than other villages we have been in.

Tonight, Juan Manuel, our local foreman, and his family were able to join us for dinner at the mission house. After a great dinner prepared by Auntie Sandy and Becky, we ended up upstairs visiting. Before long Spencer DeVries started playing with a box drum to the delight of Juan's young children, and after a short time, they joined in with him. It was awesome. Scott Westhouse started tickling the ivories and Juan's oldest son kept the beat on the box drum for a heck of a duet. Again phenomenal! And for the closing act, Jess Kool jumped on the piano joined with Juan's two young daughters and performed an awesome grand finale. They may not speak English and we may not speak a whole lot of Spanish, but we all speak joy and music. Fantastic end to a fantastic day. We are so lucky to be here, thank you for allowing us this opportunity.

Mike DeVries
Tori Vonk

Monday's Memories

This morning I had the opportunity to see God in the faces of many, many Guatemalans in the Market.  The sites, sounds and smells were amazing but nothing beats the moment when your eyes meet a strangers and you both smile.   We were purchasing house warming gifts to be given on Wednesday during house dedications, shopping for gift giving is always extra special to me but this was fun on another level.  Shopping was followed by assembling hygiene packets for our food distribution tonight as well as putting together the housewarming gifts.  I'll let my amigos share about food distribution.  BEST.  DAY.  EVER.  (Michelle Vonk)

Today we had the chance to go to the Dream Center/Feeding Center.  The day began with helping in the kitchen getting a very healthy lunch ready for when the 45 kids arrived on the bus from school.  When the buses arrived around 1:00 we were greeted with many hugs and smiles from all the kids.  This made us all feel so special.  We then were able to help with serving them lunch and getting toothpaste on the toothbrushes after they ate.  At break time we played soccer with them on a very dusty field, but so much fun.  The kids were SO polite and appreciative of all we did for them. Sadly our day was cut a little short compared to other groups because we had the amazing opportunity to go back to the village in the evening for the food distribution. Seeing all the people from the village come through the line really makes you appreciate what you have back home! This was a very rewarding experience for the whole team to see the love of God show through not only our fellow team members but those we were helping and serving.
(Kris Dekock and Ethan DeVries)

Numbers 6:24-26  "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

We came to Guatemala to be the hands, feet, and face of God for the people we interacted with.  Building homes, interacting with the home owners, and leading VBS are ways that we have worked to be the hands of God.  Today as we gathered at the church to distribute food, hygiene products, etc. to 150 families that had been identified as families that would be really blessed to receive such help, there was evidence that several members of the group have found ways to turn the shining face of God directly upon people, especially children, in this community.  Those who are on the Guatemala service trip for the first time were positioned in front of the distribution tables to distribute goods, allowing those who were returning to be in the background, observe and report.  As the families filed into the area where the food was being distributed, the children, and parents broke into smiles as they recognized faces of the workers and eagerly gave hug and smiles of friendship.  As with God, they felt accepted, valued, loved and respected. Standing back to observe this was truly a blessing for all of us.  (Ron Grassmid)

Today was our day of rest and relaxation. It was about a 2 hour van ride to our destination. This gave us all plenty of time to get to know each other even better, sharing our stories and also lots of laughs. When we came home, there was time for more fellowship and we also prepared all the supplies for tomorrow night's food and clothes distribution. It's going to be at the same village that we've been working all week, so that will be another opportunity to get to know the families there even more. We're all excited to go back to work in the village tomorrow.  Enjoy our top 10 list of the trip thus far!

Top Ten List
1. Matthew 9:13.  A message from Tico highlighting our need for the Great Physician.
2. Grateful families for the houses that are built.  The houses may seem so little to us, but it means so much to them.
3. Daily Prayer Partners:  We have a daily prayer partner that is assigned via drawing a name out of a hat.  It is touching to see the impact as we pray for each other individually.
4. An impromptu singing of the Hallelujah Chorus with a Guatemalan church choir
5. "Tough guys use duct tape instead of gloves"
6.  A visit to The Feeding Center to see a dream come to fruition -- a daily healthy meal that can help families in the community, one child at a time.
7.  Eye-opening experiences of gratitude from the Guatemalans.
8.  Worship time with devotions and singing at the Mission House.
9.  Duck-Duck-Goose (Pato-Pato-Ganso), a cloud of dust and a lot of laughing.  Guatemalan kids and our kids playing together.
10.  God's promise for tomorrow!

--Laura M., Rylee W., Rol J., Scott W.

God is so good! That is something we are constantly reminded of here in Guatemala. Today the 3 of us writing this post, Abby, Becky and Jack, spent the day under the sun in the hugs and tickles of the precious children of our village. We are constantly astounded by the generosity of these children. The kids are eager to share the nothing that they have. During Bible School, we were offered candy from some of the sweet children that came. God is definitely doing amazing things through these kids. If they have nothing to give us they are sure to give us countless hugs, smiles, giggles and memories. We had about 40 kids come to Bible School today and many of them said this was their first time hearing about Jesus! How awesome is that? The love we are receiving from these children is a perfect example of the love God shows us. Not only are we blessing them with toys, new houses and games but they are also blessing us in immense ways.
-Abby & Becky Hendriksma, Jack Door

When you have the opportunity to provide something without any expectation of anything in return, it truly is an act of giving.  Yet when you are able to provide an act of giving and combine it with a humbling experience (and gain something in return) of seeing a boy hold a tape measure to help build the house for their mother or a father hammer a nail to build the foundation, you are seeing His miracles at work.  How incredible is it to build a house? Extremely, when you witness these homeowners partaking in this gift from God.  I have been blessed to join a very inviting group, yet again, to welcome a stranger among them to have a part in a mission much bigger then helping the people of Guatemala.
Again, there have been others outside the village that have been brought in my path to share this experience and add just as much.  My trip began, well before this February and with the help of a friend from last year, Mary Jo, my prayers for reaping the most of this adventure started weeks ago.  My journey's challenge will be to continue my efforts even longer than I was able to after last year's trip.  With Ron's devotion this morning talking about a passage from Joshua, I hope I can find the same strength to further my service and lessons I continue to be shown here in Guatemala.
Thankfully blessed.
Ed Taylor Jr.
 

God Moves in Guatemala

My fellow blogsters and I decided we would focus a bit less on day to day details for this blog
and a bit more on how we see our mighty God's hand move in the smallest of things. For me I
was moved again to see how he takes a rag-tag team thrown together with no design on our
part, and places just the right people for just the particular need where and when they are
needed. Even back home Nathan Ebenstein is praying for my cold virus that kicked in the day
of our departure, and I was healthy as a horse today. We pulled up to the church that we did our
Bible School program at and there posted on the steeple was the theme verse of our mission
trip. Finishing the day at the site of a house two of my new friends in Christ that I had only met
6 hours earlier were teasing me in a language I barely half understand, and were were laughing
in a way that is so rich and deep, it can only come from the Holy Spirit. Good progress was made today in a village 45 minutes west of Chimaltenango, and most of the details were much like many other trips. What we wish to share is how profoundly the God of the universe showed up in such tender ways in our daily experience today in this place.

- Don Westhouse

Every trip I always see God in so many ways, but one in particular always stands out. I never
really think about the van rides too much, we just all load up and go to where were going. I
realized today that it really is hectic and quite dangerous to drive here in Guatemala. We were
on our way back from the village going through town and nearly hit a man on a motorcycle. He
swerved just in time to not hit us, of course this wasn't intentional, it was just a very busy
intersection. The first thing I thought was that God really works to protect us out on the roads. It
helps me to put trust in our drivers because I know God is protecting us.

- Spencer D.

This is my first trip and so far I love it. On this trip so far I have seen so many ways God has
worked through people. Today was our first real day out in Guatemala and it was so fun. Today I
did a little work on building houses but the rest of the time(which was pretty much the whole
time) I played with the kids. From the time that I have been here I love the kids already. One
thing that stood out to me was that the kids are so happy here even when they don't have much.
They are all so bubbly and curious. For the rest of the day I worked in VBS and it was so fun
even though I couldn't understand some of the things they were saying. I'm so glad I'm on this trip and can't wait for the rest of the week.

- Vivian J.

We had such a great first day in the village! We started building the houses and getting into team-mode. The team I worked with climbed up a mountain, into a small opening that was just big enough for a house. There was no way that it was a big enough space, but God knew better. We had just enough room for the house with a foot to spare, and the view was spectacular. No one got hurt climbing up and down that hill (just a few bumps and scratches), and we were able to finish one house by the afternoon. God is already making everything work out for us, and I can't wait to see what is in store for the rest of the week.

-Paige M.

Thank you for your prayers!

Greetings from Guatemala! 

Thank you for your prayers.  Travel went smooth all the way to Guatemala City and we breezed through customs faster than we are used to.  After that, the only snag we had was to experience a true Guatemala City traffic jam that put us back a couple hours.  We were [are] tired, for sure, but the silver lining was getting to know each other a bit better with more time in the vans.

We arrived safely to the mission house at 4:30, went out for dinner to Pollo Campero with Lazaro's family and Tico, and are now winding down so we can be rested for tomorrow.  

Tomorrow will be an important day as we meet those who we will be serving this week.  Please pray that we can be fully present, that we seek out opportunities to show God's love, and that we will have the courage and will to truly engage with those we come in contact with.  

Thanks!
Ryan Bennink

Wednesday, 1/18/17

Wednesday was our last day here in Guatemala. We spent the day dedicating the 12 houses that we had built over the past week. We are amazed every year by how God works though this team to reach the hearts of the people of Guatemala. After the dedication of our first house, that was donated by Seth and Cambree Harkema, the recipient of the house gave Cambree a picture. He gave this picture because he knew that he could never pay for his house, so he gave this to show his gratitude to them for this new home. The picture was of a field. The picture shows that all your work will be blessed wherever you may be. He was blessed by God though our team by receiving this home.

Another family that has especially touched our hearts is Juan, his wife, and four children with the  fifth on its way. Juan works for Grace Ministries, and also relieved a house from us this year. The whole team grew very close to this family by spending lots of time with them this week, even with a very strong language barrier many good times where had. Everyone clearly saw Jesus shine through this wonderful family.

It was a very emotional time when we finally had to say goodbye and leave the village for the last time. Kids gave countless hugs and kisses. As we left we closed by singing praises to God with the children. Another thing we will really miss is leaving the little bakery with the tastiest doughnuts in the world. Which supplied us with multiple doughnuts through out the day.

We also got the chance to visit the feeding center ran by Lazaro and Glendy, We had lots of fun listening to all the older children sing to us in English, Afterwards they greeted us all with hugs. We then had a chance to play with the children. We did everything from face painting to soccer, swinging on a rope swing, and playing on their playgrounds. We ended our time their the same way it began hugging the children goodbye, and waving to them as they drove away in their buses.

We ended the night off sharing our experiences with each other.

~Quinn Grassmid and Erika Hulst

p.s. Justine we found out is the most amazing funny person we know. Could not imagine my life without her awesomeness. ~Justine

Tuesday, January 17

Today started at the usual 6-6:30 breakfast, followed by devotions.  We packed our lunches and headed to the Chimaltenango dump.  Lazaro has a ministry to people who make their living there, searching through the trash for anything they can use or turn in for recycle money.  It is a dirty, smokey place.  A huge ravine, covered in trash, smolders in various spots day and night.  Trucks come in and are unloaded by hand, and then the mostly women and children begin picking their way through it.
The women and children we met with seemed familiar with the message of the Gospel as Glendy, Lazaro's wife, spoke to them for a few minutes in Spanish.  You could tell it was an encouraging and applicable message, and also very heartfelt, as the women and children listened and responded to what she was saying.  Following her message, we handed out lunch bags and then sandwiches, juice boxes, fruit, and snacks.  Some saved them for later but many at them immediately.  We learned that the children could not attend school as they would need uniforms and supplies that cost around $100 U.S. each year.  To make it even more difficult, uniforms change frequently and additional costs come up often.  There is such a huge need here, in so many areas of these peoples' lives.
When we left the dump our group split up, with some going to the orphanage to visit the children and finish painting, and some going to the village to finish the fronts of houses.
The orphanage got the outside walls completely painted in a nice, clean, bright white.  All but two of the houses got the fronts put on and completed.  The two that did not get completed had industrious owners who put down cement on the porch area right away, so we couldn't walk on it today.  A couple of teams of 3 should be able to finish those in short time tomorrow.
When we were walking to complete another house front, a car pulled up and the man inside seemed very interested in what we were doing.  He also enjoyed using his English.  As we talked, a young woman came up and through our friend in the car, Mateo, we learned she wanted us to know she needed a house.  Her name is Anna, and she has 5 children.  She does not currently attend the church, which is how the builds were coordinated and planned out.  We told her we were here to show God's love to them and encouraged her to talk to the Pastor and share her needs with him.  We told her we would be praying for her to receive a house also.  Hopefully today a seed was planted that can lead to a growing relationship with Jesus for Anna and her family.  Please pray for Anna and her needs, as well as all the people in Guatemala who have to work so hard for even the basic needs.

Monday January 16, 2017

We got back on our building schedule this morning after our sleeping in day yesterday. Up at 6am for breakfast and 6:45am devotions before 3/4 of our group went to the village to continue building and the rest ventured to the market in order to gather items for house warming gifts for Wednesday (house dedication day). 

In the village, we had five more houses to build. We started with two that were on the side of a mountain, very very high up. It was quite a hike! The post hole digging was extremely difficult; the house sites were basically carved out of a mountainside. As hard as it was, our team was still able to get  4 1/2 houses done, even with a lower number of our team in the village building. God provided lots of energy and motivation for a hard work day in the sun! Thankful for no injuries or sickness on this long day! 

In the market, items were purchased for the house warming gifts. This included things such as baskets, brooms, laundry soap, rope for clothes line, and large tubs for water. These are all things that seem non-essential or easy to get for us simply with a trip to Meijer, however they are difficult for the villagers whom we build for to buy. Even the people whom we bought the items from in the market showed more gratitude for our business than we are used to. 

In the late afternoon, both groups met in the village at the local church where we are building the houses. Many of our team members spent time playing with the children and getting to know them. Once the food truck arrived, we had the privilege of handing out 3 weeks of food to 150 families. This food distribution was the highlight of many, as some of them had no food to feed their families tonight, we were told. 

Once the food distribution was complete, our hard working team decided to work until we lost daylight. God definitely put a group of hard working people together on this trip! To end the night, we came back to the mission house and had another fantastic dinner, complete with strawberry cake. Our cooks are so good to us! 

- Matt & Nicole Bouwman

Sunday - January 15, 2017

We were very fortunate to start our Sunday by sleeping in a little extra!  We enjoyed another delicious breakfast meal by our wonderful cooks, followed by devotion, and then some free time to enjoy each others company and the surroundings of the mission house.

We then departed to Antigua for lunch and shopping at the market, as this was our day of tourism and site seeing.  One van departed early from Antigua to attend church service at the Feeding Center.  By late in the afternoon, we all gathered back at the mission house and were privileged to receive a tour from Paul Leythem and his son Robert, of the Enon residence and coffee plantation.  It was richly informative and enjoyed by many.

Kirk Lightfield joined us for dinner tonight and then graciously provided the equipment to Skype Tico Vargas for an evening devotional from Miami, FL, where he was given the unique invitation and opportunity to speak to a congregation there. He shared the story of how it came to be that he was invited to Miami to speak, and how intricately God's hand guided him there,

It was a very big day for Lazaro Surey and his family as they took their daughter, Marcia two hours away to start her first year of college.  Marcia invited Dana to join them on their trip to her college, and in exchange, our group received the bonus gift of having their son Josh join us for our day.  Please remember to keep Lazaro and his family in your prayers at this transitional time in their lives.
Grant,  Laree, Maryssa, and Alivia Depies

Saturday, January 14

We started the day with devotions done by Cal Buquet. He talked about John 21, the story of Jesus telling the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. After devotions we discussed the days plans which were to split up and go to the orphanage as well as the village. Dave's van went to the orphanage, Courtney and Kendra went to the orphanage. Shawn and Brad's vans went to the village.

At the orphanage we got a tour of their new building, which included a playground, more rooms for the kids, nicer kitchen, and dining areas (even central heat!). After the tour we spent time playing with the kids and holding all the babies. After lunch a few continued to play with kids while a few others painted various walls outside around the playground. They currently have 45 kids living there, the average is around 50.

At the village, they put metal siding on one house, and had two real difficult houses to build. After this they looked for the next building sites, but found that none of them were ready.

For supper we had a baked potato bar, and enjoyed company from Lazaro and family, Juan's brother Eli, and a couple families from the feeding center.

Kendra, Courtney, and Shawn VanderWoude

January 13, 2017 - First Day in the Village

We started our morning out with devotions on the Great Commission.  During this time we reflected on how sometimes it tends to be the Great Omission as we sometimes fall short of spreading the gospel.  We were challenged to share it both at home and in foreign countries.  For those of us who attend Dorr CRC this message was very familiar for us as our own church is striving to reach out to those in our community and surrounding areas.  

It was then time to load the vans and head to the village.  For those experienced in this trip, it was a nice surprise to find that our ride to the village was only 15 minutes away this year.  The village we are in is over the mountain behind Paul's house.  We were warmly welcomed with hugs and smiles from lots of kids when we arrived.  The building process went well and we were able to complete 4 homes today and started a 5th before heading back home.  The most challenging part of the day was digging the holes for the posts as the ground was HARD.  We had a few families help out with the building of their homes.....they are so willing to help and so proud to contribute.  

VBS was also held in the local church with tons of kids in attendance.  There were many smiles and laughs coming from that building.  

As we were wrapping up our day and heading back to the vans, we were filling our water bottles and shared a cup of ice cold water with one of the families.  The look of joy on their faces as they tasted our ice cold clean water was humbling as we take it for granted.  We decided to refill their glasses and fill their pitchers with what water we had left........it was a win win situation as we had an empty jug to carry back and they had good clean water.

We're looking forward to tomorrow night as we will be hosting Joselin (the girl that we sponsor) and her family for dinner.  Please pray that our time together can be a blessing for both them and us. Since meeting Joselin last year, she has become more than just a girl we sponsor in another country, she has become more like family to us. 

Thanks for all your prayers,

Randy, Michelle, and Rachael Bosse