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.