Today was dedication day. We returned to the homes that we had built and spent time with the families and prayed with them. We gave them house warming gifts, but more importantly we gave them a Bible, a children's Bible, and an audio Bible. We reminded them at every house, that we did not come to Guatemala to build them a house, but we came to share the love of Jesus Christ with them. Multiple people gave their lives to the Lord and some rededicated themselves to Christ.
After an emotional morning in the village, we headed off to the dump to serve pizza to the families that make their living within it. The families that we served find their primary source of income in the dump, not as paid laborers, but by refurbishing and recycling things from the dump. The families were overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for the food and gifts that they received.
We ended our night by sharing how the week had affected us and the ways we saw God at work. We worshiped together and expressed how we need to continue encouraging each other when we return home. We need to continue stepping out of our comfort zone and keep our candle burning.
Run the race God has set before you.
-Rayanna and Justin Oetman
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Tuesday (Jan.)
Hola from sunny Guatemala!
Today we had another excellent day that started with breakfast, singing, and devotions that were led by Sarah Westhouse. Sarah challenged us to seek out the meaningful tasks that are a part of our sometimes seemingly meaningless days. After devotions, our team split into two groups. One group went to Tava, which is the refugee camp where many survivors of the volcano eruption were taken last year. They worked on painting the new library and put on Vacation Bible School for the kids. This was complete with three pinatas. The other group went into the village and finished up the houses that we have built this week. Unfortunately this week we heard about a woman that died in a house fire. We were called to help the family with funeral expenses and a casket. The family was very grateful for the help that was provided for them. Today was emotional for us all as we helped them tear down the burned house and move all of the woman's possessions. As we were tearing the house down we noticed a cross nailed to one of the house posts. This strengthened our knowledge that she was a Christian and comforted us that she is now in heaven with the Lord.
On a lighter note we were all able to hangout with many kids and stop for Ice cream on the way home. Over all this was a very rewarding and good day. It gave us the opportunity to follow God's calling and continuing the Lord's work here in Guatemala. Tomorrow we look forward to dedicating the houses we built this week ,and serving a warm meal to the families who live in the dump.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Aly Tanis & Rachael Bosse
Today we had another excellent day that started with breakfast, singing, and devotions that were led by Sarah Westhouse. Sarah challenged us to seek out the meaningful tasks that are a part of our sometimes seemingly meaningless days. After devotions, our team split into two groups. One group went to Tava, which is the refugee camp where many survivors of the volcano eruption were taken last year. They worked on painting the new library and put on Vacation Bible School for the kids. This was complete with three pinatas. The other group went into the village and finished up the houses that we have built this week. Unfortunately this week we heard about a woman that died in a house fire. We were called to help the family with funeral expenses and a casket. The family was very grateful for the help that was provided for them. Today was emotional for us all as we helped them tear down the burned house and move all of the woman's possessions. As we were tearing the house down we noticed a cross nailed to one of the house posts. This strengthened our knowledge that she was a Christian and comforted us that she is now in heaven with the Lord.
On a lighter note we were all able to hangout with many kids and stop for Ice cream on the way home. Over all this was a very rewarding and good day. It gave us the opportunity to follow God's calling and continuing the Lord's work here in Guatemala. Tomorrow we look forward to dedicating the houses we built this week ,and serving a warm meal to the families who live in the dump.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
Aly Tanis & Rachael Bosse
Monday, January 20, 2020
Monday (Jan.)
Monday
Monday morning started with a time of group singing and devotions from Steve. We split up into two groups. One headed into the village to continue working on the houses and one group went to the market to purchase our gifts for the house dedications. The group in the village worked on the houses, wrapped up the concrete and a group of them worked on VBS. The group that went to the market were able to meet up with everyone else in the afternoon to finish up the houses.
A number of us were blessed to be able to go to the visitation for the lady who passed away unexpectedly in the fire yesterday. We were able to meet and pray with the family. We also held our food distribution tonight at the local church. So many families were blessed! The smiles were amazing.
The cooks made an amazing supper and we once again enjoyed each others company. Its been an amazing week loving on the people of Guatemala!
Thanks for all your prayers!!!!!
Dan, Betsy, Seth, Jamie, Cambree and Jolie Harkema
Monday morning started with a time of group singing and devotions from Steve. We split up into two groups. One headed into the village to continue working on the houses and one group went to the market to purchase our gifts for the house dedications. The group in the village worked on the houses, wrapped up the concrete and a group of them worked on VBS. The group that went to the market were able to meet up with everyone else in the afternoon to finish up the houses.
A number of us were blessed to be able to go to the visitation for the lady who passed away unexpectedly in the fire yesterday. We were able to meet and pray with the family. We also held our food distribution tonight at the local church. So many families were blessed! The smiles were amazing.
The cooks made an amazing supper and we once again enjoyed each others company. Its been an amazing week loving on the people of Guatemala!
Thanks for all your prayers!!!!!
Dan, Betsy, Seth, Jamie, Cambree and Jolie Harkema
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Sunday (Jan.)
This Sunday morning, we woke up at our usual time, but instead of our usual work day we headed to Antigua to have a day off of work. We split into two groups, one heading straight to riding quads up a mountain. The other, went to the market and shopped. Half way through the day, us groups met up and ate at Mono locos, a restaurant in Antigua. We enjoyed a nice meal, then split up again switching spots.
Our quad excursion consisted of riding through the streets of Antigua and heading up a mountain. We stopped at a little chocolate factory and were taught all about chocolate. We then heading farther up the mountain to a restaurant that overlooked the city of Antigua. We headed back and had a scenic route the way down the mountain.
The market consisted of many vendors with many handmade items for sale. We spent about 2 hours at the market then headed back to the Mission House. Once we got back to the Mission House, we put together care packages for the families that we built houses for. We then had a jam session to the guitar. After the long jam sesh, we ate a great dinner. Tico led us in devotions, focusing his message on challenging us 'to go'. Tico received a phone call stating that a woman in a village close to the one we are in this year passed away unexpectedly. Her family could not afford a casket however the Lord always provides. After an emotional prayer, the team gathered more than enough funds to cover the price of the casket.
-Mike & Malia Brink
Our quad excursion consisted of riding through the streets of Antigua and heading up a mountain. We stopped at a little chocolate factory and were taught all about chocolate. We then heading farther up the mountain to a restaurant that overlooked the city of Antigua. We headed back and had a scenic route the way down the mountain.
The market consisted of many vendors with many handmade items for sale. We spent about 2 hours at the market then headed back to the Mission House. Once we got back to the Mission House, we put together care packages for the families that we built houses for. We then had a jam session to the guitar. After the long jam sesh, we ate a great dinner. Tico led us in devotions, focusing his message on challenging us 'to go'. Tico received a phone call stating that a woman in a village close to the one we are in this year passed away unexpectedly. Her family could not afford a casket however the Lord always provides. After an emotional prayer, the team gathered more than enough funds to cover the price of the casket.
-Mike & Malia Brink
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Day 3 - Saturday
Woke up to a beautiful morning of misty rain, which was a surprise to most because of it being the dry summer season. Today our team split into two groups, one headed to the refugee camp established after the devastating 2018 volcanic eruption and the other group went back to the village to continue the building projects.
The village group split into three teams, two building teams and one concrete team. The building teams accomplished alot today! All twelve houses are near completion; thanks to all the local children who were eager to lend a hand! In the afternoon, a small group did another successful day of VBS. Around 60 kids showed up to do a craft, hear a story and play parachute games. The concrete gang worked hard, finishing seven floors under the guidance of Josh, who works for Grace ministries. One floor was accidentally decorated with a set of puppy paw prints across it!
The group that went to the refugee camp had the task of sanding and priming a building that will be re-purposed as a library and held a VBS for the 150 living in the refugee camp. The weather in the camp was a warm 96 degrees with no breeze, but the team persevered and got the job done! It was amazing to see how much God has accomplished in the year since we last visited.
-Quinn and Zoey Grassmid, and Gillian Van Duine.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Day 2 - Friday
Friday, January 17, 2020
We are all thankful for a mostly seamless travel day to Guatemala. The large group of 38 from Michigan made it without a hiccup, while the lone traveler from Dallas (who has never left U.S. soil) somehow managed to encounter every flight delay known to man. But in the end, everyone made it safe and sound.
It was only a 20 minute commute to our villages, which was a blessing in itself. The views have been breathtaking, especially so for our first-timers who were not aware of the beauty of this country. What has been even more breathtaking is the smiles of the children we have been blessed enough to spend time with. Our group of 39 total split up into three groups to build homes in different places throughout the village. There was plenty of people on job sites building, which left ample opportunity for others to building meaningful relationships and connections with the families.
In the afternoon after lunch, a small group broke off of the building sites to help with VBS at a local church. We were pleasantly surprised with the amount of children who were there that we were able to share the story of Noah with. After the story was shared by Josh, a local Guatemalan, a take-home craft was done with the kids to remind them of the rainbow and it's symbolism for God's promise. What followed VBS was what might have been the most epic street soccer game ever played, complete with roadblocks for traffic!
The group is blessed to have a Vet along with us, who's expertise was direly needed to relieve a puppy from pain due to a wire collar. This puppy then managed to melt the hearts of the whole team, but especially Aly's, who could've very easily brought the dog back to the mission house to make him the official mascot.
Ended a great day with a full belly, thanks to a pair of wonderful kitchen staff and the world's best coffee. Looking forward to what God has in store for the rest of the week and the connections we have made and are going to make.
Brad and Tonya DeVries, Ada VanderWeide, and Aly Partridge
We are all thankful for a mostly seamless travel day to Guatemala. The large group of 38 from Michigan made it without a hiccup, while the lone traveler from Dallas (who has never left U.S. soil) somehow managed to encounter every flight delay known to man. But in the end, everyone made it safe and sound.
It was only a 20 minute commute to our villages, which was a blessing in itself. The views have been breathtaking, especially so for our first-timers who were not aware of the beauty of this country. What has been even more breathtaking is the smiles of the children we have been blessed enough to spend time with. Our group of 39 total split up into three groups to build homes in different places throughout the village. There was plenty of people on job sites building, which left ample opportunity for others to building meaningful relationships and connections with the families.
In the afternoon after lunch, a small group broke off of the building sites to help with VBS at a local church. We were pleasantly surprised with the amount of children who were there that we were able to share the story of Noah with. After the story was shared by Josh, a local Guatemalan, a take-home craft was done with the kids to remind them of the rainbow and it's symbolism for God's promise. What followed VBS was what might have been the most epic street soccer game ever played, complete with roadblocks for traffic!
The group is blessed to have a Vet along with us, who's expertise was direly needed to relieve a puppy from pain due to a wire collar. This puppy then managed to melt the hearts of the whole team, but especially Aly's, who could've very easily brought the dog back to the mission house to make him the official mascot.
Ended a great day with a full belly, thanks to a pair of wonderful kitchen staff and the world's best coffee. Looking forward to what God has in store for the rest of the week and the connections we have made and are going to make.
Brad and Tonya DeVries, Ada VanderWeide, and Aly Partridge
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Thursday (Jan.)
Hello all, sorry for the delay on the post. We have had some internet issues with getting the blog to post. We will try to make posts each day about what we are up to but the internet issues may stand in the way just as a forewarning.
However, because of your prayers at home and a God who answered them, we arrived safely without any major hiccups. We just returned from dinner and are all settling in for a good nights sleep before out first big day tomorrow. Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers and we are all really excited to see what God has in store for this team over the next week. God is good!
Emily Westhouse
However, because of your prayers at home and a God who answered them, we arrived safely without any major hiccups. We just returned from dinner and are all settling in for a good nights sleep before out first big day tomorrow. Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers and we are all really excited to see what God has in store for this team over the next week. God is good!
Emily Westhouse
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