Moline CRC Mission Team

Wednesday, January 18 :)

2012-01-18T14:15:00.001-08:00

Home dedication today and there aren't enough words in ANY language to describe the feelings that come from this experience! God is good. All the time. This is specifically one of those times that only the phrase "it is more blessed to give than to receive" is appropriate. I'll try to summarize the experience, forgive me if I stumble with emotions blog style:

We arrived with housewarming gifts for the 15 home owners and their families. Our intent was to pray with the families, ask them if they know Christ as their personal savior, present the gospel appropriately, provide home supply gifts including adult and child geared spanish Bibles, share a picture of their home sponsors (whomever from the USA paid for the building supplies) and sing the benediction in their native tongue. The experience was distinctly different at each home. The second home our group dedicated with the family received Christ for the first time ~ to witness that step of faith knowing I likely won't meet them again until Heaven left me both in tears of gratitude and completely speechless at the handiwork of the Spirit in that place. Another family, already Christians, were so grateful for God answering their prayers for a home that they couldn't stop crying and thanking. They confidently exclaimed God will continually bless us so we can continue to bless others generously. A third home supplied us with homemade lunch and pop, an expense they I'm very doubtfull they could afford.

We followed each home dedication up with a little fiesta - well just fireworks and cheering :) Isn't the fattened calf supposed to be cooked for celebration after the lost son returns home? We'll continue to pray for these families to be blessed in their home and in their faith walk, whatever that might be, for many years to come. Please join us in that endeavor knowing all of this transpired on God's strength not ours and He can do amazing things (I would've mucked things up quite nicely if left alone!).

Tomorrow we depart the mission home at 3am and, Lord willing, hope to be back to church in Moline by about midnight. Please pray for travel safety and health - we're eager to return to our families renewed and ready to share the details!
~ Michelle Vonk (the newbie)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

2012-01-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry about not having a post yesterday. It has been very busy and we forgot. I will try to combine both yesterday's and today's together.

Monday started out by going back to the village to put the fronts on the houses and hang the windows and doors. All of the concrete work had been finished in the houses by the families. It is our understanding that the families are encouraged to get involved by doing their own concrete if they are able. There was also a group doing Bible school with the children while the houses were being finished.

I went with a few people to do one of my favorite things...shop. It's not the shopping that I love so much but where we go to do it that I love. We went to the local market in Chimaltenango to purchase the gifts for the families receiving the houses. I love this market because it is a real taste of life in Guatemala. The women go there to purchase a chicken still alive, or purchase their vegetables, or some raw meat or fish. There are hundreds of locals selling their wares and it is fascinating. There is uniqueness to the sights, the sounds and of course the smells. We have a couple of vendors in the market that we go to every year, Mirna and Jose, and they know us now by sight. They see us and there are smiles on their faces. (Might be because they are going to have a really good day in sales.) But they do know us and we know them as well.

From the local market we went to another local market to get more fruit for the team. Then it was on Economica, the local Family Fare, to purchase soap and other things for the families.

Today, we split the team up and had a group go to the local Bible Seminary to work on a building project that they have going. The group that worked there worked really hard I am told. They spent the day laying part of the foundation and then backfilling around it. They were all tired at the end of the day.

The remaining ones in the group went to Amor Del Nino to play with the kids at that orphanage. When we got there the older children were off to school so we played with the younger ones and held the babies. Lots of hugging of those beautiful children. After the older children had arrived home and had some lunch, we did some Bible school with them. Mily our translator told the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem. After hearing the story, the children had a parade with streamers and lots of singing.

After getting back from the orphanage and the seminary we went to a local church in El Tejar to pass out clothing and food to the people of the church. I am always amazed and humbled by how grateful they are for a bag of food and a few clothing items.

Tonight after our dinner, we had Mily's parents do some singing for us and they told us some of their story. They were fun to listen to and it was very interesting to hear their story.

It was a great day again. God has blessed us over and over again throughout this week. We thank all of you back at home for all of your prayers. We give all the glory to God for such a great experience this week.

Love you all and miss you.

P.S. Hoping you have lots of snow to greet us when we get home. (That part might only be from part of our team.)

Donna

Sunday - Jan 16

2012-01-16T03:51:00.000-08:00

Another awesome day! The day started out with another wonderful breakfast from our wonderful cooks!!! We then had a time of worship with alot of singing. Braden spoke on the topic of prayer from Colosians 4. He challenged each of us in our prayer walk. We can do nothing on our own but only with Christ's help. We then paired up and spent time sharing and praying for each other over issues that we needed to turn over to God. We then went on the roof top and sang Amazing Grace. It was a powerful service.

The day started out cool and cloudy but by the time we arrived in Antiqua the sun started to burn through. We had a wonderful dinner at our traditional restaurant with a lot of good fellowship. The group has been a real blessing and everyone has gotten along wonderfully. After dinner everyone went shopping and had an enjoyable time.

After arriving back at the Mission House we began to prepare for the local church to arrive for a night of supper and worship. Several weeks ago at our last meeting, Dave and Donna ask if our preferce was to go to Lake Attilan on Sunday or go to Antiqua. If we went to the lake, we would not be back in time to have the local church come to the Mission House. We think we made the right choice!!

We don't know how many people were here but it had to be close to 100. There was plenty of food as always and a lot of wonderful fellowship. We then all gathered upstairs for worship. We sang a number of songs and then shared communion with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It was an amazing service and reinforced that we serve a Great God.

Praise God that Brandon Ebenstein was healthy again and able to get out of the Mission House for the first time. Pray for continued health and safety and that we can be a blessing to those we come in contact with.

Randy and Luanne Ellens

Saturday, January 14, 2012

2012-01-14T19:04:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful day in Guatemala. The day started with devotions led by Randy Ellens on living 'in Christ' and leaving a legacy. Since we accomplished so much building yesterday, the pressure was off a little today. When we arrived this morning many of the new casa owners had their concrete floors completed. All 15 homes were constructed up to floors and front walls by the end of the afternoon.

Bible School met in a church building several blocks from construction sites. There was concern that not many children would be there because it was down the street from their homes, but after doing some 'canvassing' on the curbside much like Ceasars Pizza man we soon had over 35 children. After Mily led some "aerobic" singing she told the story of Noah's and God's promise. The story was visualized with a flannelgraph and was followed up with coloring etc. We sent them off with a tortilla rolled up with Nutella and then took a lunch break. At 2:00 we started again with lots of singing and games reinforcing the Noah story. We finished with small family groubs of children, praying over them by name. It is difficult to describe the affection you experience from these children as they cuddle up to you to hear a story. No wonder our Jesus was/is so drawn to them.

We were back to the mission house by 5:00, quite early. All of Max's family, including Eswardo and Ruth, were able to join us for another delicious dinner from the cooks. Tonight we are unpacking the supplies for distribution next week, all precious gifts from our friends back home. There are a few games going on here and there, along with some deeper conversations we seldom take time for back home.

It has been like a graceful dance we have enjoyed as a family of God since our start here. There is no meaningful substitute for the family of God when all our thoughts are directed toward him.

submitted by Don & Mary Westhouse

January 13: Day 1

2012-01-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

Greetings Family and Friends,
We all arrived to the mission house safely yesterday. Customs all went well and we found our "Luggage Angel" at the airport again!! Travel from the airport to the mission house all went well also.

We began our Friday morning with a devotions from Dave and Donna Westhouse talking about our theme for the week. "Roots, Shoots, and Fruits." We all broke off into small groups and talked about what being rooted in Christ really means.

After a little singing and devotions we headed off to the village for our first day of work. For those of you that went last year, we are working very close to the village we did last year right by the beautiful volcano. We were able to see one or two of the kids from last year.

After arriving, we began by getting to know the families that we were building the homes for and praying with them over the work site. By the end of the day today we have nine houses built, the 10th started and cement started in two. Great way to start off the week :)

Throughout the day we were all able to make some new friends and really get to know the families that we are working for. How ever, we were not able to do a Bible school lesson with the kids because of not having much space. Max and Juan were able to get us into a church in the village tomorrow to do a lesson with all the kids. We were able to do many activities with the kids today which they all enjoyed very much. All of the kids were so grateful when receiving something as small as a sticker. The many smiles on the kids faces put a joy in my heart and makes me realize how blessed i really am. I gave a little boy some hand sanitizer today and when I saw him sharing the one thing that I had given him, I told him, Thank you for sharing with them. After having held him for about 45 minutes, he insisted I put him down and as I watched him run to all his friends to share with his many friends, he just about put me in tears. To see that little boy, with so little, share the one thing he had gotten from me with all his friends, he put a big smile on my face!!

Thank you all for the many prayers, we can definately feel them and have seen answeres to many of them already!! Hope you all are doing well at home. Miss you all!

Written by: Stacy Westhouse

P.S. Braden Kok wants you all to know, He is the sword master with the balloons :)

2011-01-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day. We were basically done with all the buildings before today so we could concentrate on the dedications today without distraction. We are so blessed to have so many people back at home who have made the commitment financially to sponsor homes. I wished so much you could see the look on the faces during the dedication. The hugs that they give, the tears that they shed, and the fact that several people in the village committed their life to the Lord made it all worth while.
The fact that there are so many people and faces that after today will become a memory in our hearts makes it a bittersweet day. But I think lives have been changed both North and South of the border. We will all go home wondering why God has blessed us so much while so many people work so hard for such a meager existence. We will think of the ladies spending every day grinding out corn and making tortillas. We will think of the children running down the rocky hills barefoot and of the kids who look about five years old carrying their brother or sister around on their back. We will think of the men and women carrying bundles of logs and sticks on their back which we found out later we could barely lift. We will think of the 87 year old lady who lived at the bottom of the hill who broke her hip three months ago and is still having a great deal of pain. We will think of the tears shed by both the natives and the gringos as they get the Bible, the prayer shawl, and the other housewarming gifts.
We have been so blessed over the last week that words cannot express it. Those who have to go home and try to explain it to their friends and family who are not here have a difficult task. The people met in the village, the taste of the dust, the beauty of the volcano as it rumbles and we see the silvery glow of lava going down the side, and the building of relationships on the team is unexplainable.
I am so thankful for those who helped us in this week. Max, Samuel, Luisa, Amanda, John, Paul, and all the rest have truly been a blessing to us. I pray that we will have been as much of a blessing to them and to the people of this country.
Pray for traveling safety as we go home. We will see you this weekend.
Randy Ellens

2011-01-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

Last day, and what a beautiful day it was. We started out with our devotions, team picture in the front of the mission house, lots of laughs and a few jokes.
Then we went to the village to start dedicating the homes.
This is a very emotional day, both spiritually, and physically. It was my favorite day of the week. To see the faces and the tears of joy from the new home owners is beyond words.
We had a young mom give her life Jesus today, to witness that was really a powerful time for me, it was followed by a tear filled prayer - WOW made my whole trip.

Tuesday Evening

2011-01-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

It was another great day in Guatemala. We began with devotions that challenged us to quit wrestling with God as Jacob did in the Genesis passage.

After receiving instructions for the day, we split up and has some people go to the seminary to take care of some plumbing repairs, two vans when to Amor Del Nino to visit with the children in the orphanage and to do some painting. The other van went to the village to finish up with the building.
All the building is complete now and we are preparing to go back to the village tomorrow for the dedications of the homes.

The children in the orphanage were excited to see us when we arrived. We had plenty of time to play with them and then to have a Bible School with them. Bible School did not begin until the older children were done with school. These older children are the ones that we have seen many times over the past years. They recognized old friends and made new ones.

It is hard to believe that our week here is almost done. It has been a wonderful week of seeing God's blessings in many ways as well as seeing the way He is moving in Guatemala. It has been especially fun to watch the first-timers and their excitement of being in this beautiful country,seeing the way the people live and the many things that are truly a culteral experience.

Thank you for all of your prayers and continue to keep us in your prayers as begin to travel home. Also, please pray for the families that have received a house that they have a relationship with Jesus Christ or accept Him for the first time tomorrow at the dedications.
Dave and Donna Westhosue

Thoughts for Sunday

2011-01-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

Thoughts for Sunday ….

What a day we had today. We headed out to worship with the team at Paradise Bound where we met a mission team from South Olive CRC. What a beautiful setting to be in while singing praises to God. As you look around you see all of these mountains and ravines, clouds, and sun….absolutely amazing!! We had a very powerful and thought provoking message from Dan Smith of Paradise Bound. His message came from John 18:1-11. He used Peter’s example of working for God and not with God to challenge all of us to make sure we are working with God and not just for Him.

We had quite an adventure on the way out. All of our vans couldn’t make the steep, bumpy hills and had to back down, partially empty the vans, and make a run for it. After a LONG walk up the hill to meet the vans, we finally made it out and were on our way to the Market. We had lunch at a nice steakhouse in Antigua and then did some shopping.

Tonight we had the congregation from New Life Church join us for dinner and music. It was awesome to see everyone singing praises to God in their own language. We also learned a praise song in Spanish that we will be working on for the rest of the week.

We have seen a lot of beauty this week and can’t deny that God’s hand created all of this. We have also seen a lot of poverty and thank God for all of our blessings and realize how much we truly take for granted. We have done a lot of work this week so far, but there is still more to be done and we have seen God’s hand in each project we’ve been on.

Randy and Michelle Bosse

Saturday Experiences

2011-01-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Greetings Everyone!! We definitely appreciate all of your prayers as we continue our work in Guatemala. Fyi - The internet connection at the Mission House has been very unreliable, so we've not been able to send out info as much as we would like. Thus the post from Saturday on Sunday. There are a ton of exciting things going on!!! Too many to list…

This morning we woke up to another gorgeous day. Our devotions focused on John 4:48... "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe". It was in the context of Jesus healing the official's son and the official needing to trust that it was going to happen before it actually did. We talked about how receiving a house may be seen as a 'miracle' by the villagers who have next to nothing. We also talked about how there was quite a bit of trust involved....They were approached a month or so ago and perhaps told to tear down an existing structure they have on their property, level a 17 foot square patch of their tiny plot (no small feat in this hilly country), and then they would receive a house at no cost to them. I daresay that many of them have been told things before and they have not come true. The fact that they trusted was probably fairly difficult, but now they are seeing this as reality. We would like to make sure that this is not seen as ‘luck’ to them, but is seen as it really is….God providing this ‘miracle’ to them through us.

Working in the village was an incredible experience again today! There were plenty of smiles and laugher amongst the children, and a great number of relationships were formed both within our group and with the villagers. About half the group worked on houses, a few worked the concrete team (hard work!) and the rest had a blast with the kids. As I was walking between job sites I heard ‘Hosanna!!” from a bunch of children’s voices. It was a little parade of some of the VBS leaders and children beaming and singing. From what I understand, VBS went great and Millie did an awesome job along with everyone else keeping the children engaged and interested.

We handed out food in a different part of Alotenango tonight to 150 families. There were a lot of ‘Dios Te Bendiga’s (God Bless You), smiles and hugs of gratitude being exchanged. So much need…I wish I could describe the people accurately. Pictures will capture it better. Young, old, healthy, physically disabled, smiles, care-worn faces, worry, apprehension, joy...

Until next time. God Bless all of you!
Ryan Bennink

2011-01-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful day! We visited Paradise Bound - a ministry based in West Michigan and working here in Guatemala. Meeting the team of 12 who had recently arrived from West Olive CRC was so much fun....(dutch bingo even works this far south!) We toured the new facility: a worship center with dorms and a clinic and a new orphanage. They have work to do yet but so much has been done - the Lord is truly blessing this ministry! We worshiped together with song and message; encouraging each other in the work we will be doing in the villages this coming week. What a blessing! Leaving Paradise Bound we had to go up a VERY STEEP hill. After almost ruining 3 transmissions (not really), we all got out of the vans and literally pushed. Lunch in Antigua then a couple of hours at the local market gave us a flavor for Guatemala tourism. Tonight we welcome the local church that meets at the seminary. Supper for 130?? A noisy building full of smiles and laughter - what more could we ask for? Tomorrow it's back to work in the villages. Having a great time - wish you ALL were here! God is good!!

2011-01-15T06:15:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy day! After an early breakfast made by our great cooks we met for devotions and got our instruction for the day. We loaded up our three vans and one pickup full of tools and headed for the village of Alotenango about 20 miles away from the Mission House.

We were excited to begin our work and see what God had in store for us today. The village is very poor with many people living in tin shacks without running water. Many have dirt floors. We cannot imagine that this is the norm here. We have so much that we take for granted!
We drove up an alley barely big enough for two vehicles to meet. There are children running everywhere excited to see us. The sites for us to build on were prepared and leveled. They were in small spots located by older, falling apart shacks. We began each house by first praying with the family and asking God to bless our efforts.

We spent the day working on the homes we are building, playing with the children and holding a VBS in the alley. Not like any VBS you've seen before! Even with the difference in our language, we were able to make many friends and share the love of Jesus with them. The love of Jesus is the same in any language.

We were blessed today by each other, by the men & women whose families we were able to help, by the children who bring laughter and smiles wherever they go but mostly by our Heavenly Father. We are thankful he has given us the opportunity to serve him this way. We pray for the families we met today that they may see the love of Jesus through us.

Thursday, Day 1

2011-01-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

We all arrived safely and on time. Thank you all for your prayers. Once again our "luggage angel" came along and got us through customs without one bag being searched or even x-rayed.
Tomorrow our day will begin with breakfast at 6:00 am and devotions at 6:45. Lots of excitement by the team as we will also go to the village we will be working in for the week. We have been told that this village is about a 45 minute drive away.
Please continue to pray for the health of the team, safety of all and for the families that we will be building homes for as well as the children that we will teach in VBS.

Blessings to all of you
Thank you again for all your prayers.

Dave & Donna

A beautiful Wednesday in Guatemala

2010-01-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

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

Terrific Tuesday

2010-01-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Hi to friends and spiritual family of Moline CRC,

God filled this day with many more blessings, as He has since we've been in Guatemala. I'm reporting for the group that went to Guatemala Bible Seminary. We were involved with many work projects around the campus in the dorms, cafeteria, and classroom building. Also, we had the opportunity to mingle with the students who started a new semester just today. I had the opportunity to attend chapel and hear testimonies from many students. Did I understand the language? Not much, but I understood the passion and love for Jesus that came from their hearts. I also had the opportunity to teach a class to the new students. They had a deep commitment to knowing their Bibles and asking tough questions about following their Savior, Jesus Christ. We are really growing in our partnership with this Bible school. We have great relationships with many faculty members. I hope to share more about this part of the Guatemala ministry, especially in our support to the students and faculty through prayer and financial commitments. May God bless us together as we seek to serve Him. Pastor John

Half the group went to Love the Child orphanage. The needs there were great with the many children that need attention. There are sixteen babies from 1month to 1year. Many toddlers and older children who all wanted our attention. We believe there are 50 total children living there at this time. Judy, Helen, Shannon, Melanie, Tonya, ,Debbie, and Curt all had there arms full holding the little ones.The others played with the toddlers, and older children coloring, playdoh,games, blowing bubbles, and pushing the kids on the swings.

The smiles of these beautiful children just melt your hearts and you could not help but to smile back. The staff is dealing with sick children at this time. There was a need to paint the dining room so Brad, Rob, Randy, Dave and Dellen all stepped up to the plate to paint. Most of it made it on the walls. Jose and Hannah were there waiting to greet us and Hannah lit up when she saw Nate!!!! Jordan Ritsema had quite the group of girls hanging on him by the end of the day. The girls enjoyed pushing some of the children in the hammocks.

It was a blessed and joyous day. May God continue to bless Steve and Cheryls mission!

Kim and Debbie

Earth shaking Monday

2010-01-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

Some of you have probably heard the news that there was an earthquake in Guatemala today that measured 6.0 on the Richter Scale. Good news is we are all safe. Most of us were in the village finishing up the houses. We did not feel the earthquake in the village as it is a 2 hour drive from the mission house. Those who were at the mission house said the house shook for about a minute, ceiling fans were swaying and the only damage is 1 crack in the wall.

Working in the village we are torn between the beauty of the surrounding landscape and the poverty of the village. We have completed 12 houses with 3 left to finish. Our trip back to the mission house surprised us with a not so normal trafic jam. However we were welcomed home by a delicious chicken dinner. It is a quiet night in the mission house. We are missing the visitors whose fellowship we have enjoyed the last several nights.

Tommorrow is an early wakeup with breakfast at 6am and trips to the orphange and seminary in Chimaltanago.

Adios amigos.

Pastor Les VanDyke and Curt Crandell

Sunday Evening

2010-01-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

What a day. Not really a day of rest. I think everyone will sleep well tonight not because we worked because it was one of those emotionally draining days. We started out with devotions this morning led by Pastor John talking about Luke 7:36-50. He gave us a challenge on loving Christ like the woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears and her hair. This was despite the fact that both she and Christ were being criticized by the Pharisees.

Then at church Pastor Danny preached out of III John and how God wanted to bless us and make us prosper. This is in our spirituallife as well as our physical life. He challenged us to use wisdom on how we treated our bodies, how we dealt with our finances, and how we dealt with our spiritual life. Talk to God often, pray often, even continuously, and be fruitful in our spiritual life and prosper. It was a great challenge to all of us.

We the went into Antiqua and had dinner and went shopping. When we returned many took the opportunity to get a tour of the grounds with Paul and Christie.

Tonight we had the priveledge of spending the evening with Dannys church at the mission house. We shared dinner with them and had an awesome time of singing together. As Rol Jager said last year, "We saw a slice of Heaven tonight." God is so good. The music was beautiful as we sang songs together in one language or the other. Sometimes both. What an awesome day.

Randy Ellens

Saturday Jan.16

2010-01-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

We apologize for the delay of posting, out internet was not working....
yesterday we began our day with a devotion by Randy Ellens
We then were on our way to the village, we all went to the village on Saturday also. We built 6 houses again and did Bible school with the kids. Stacy, Abby, and Kendra also made ballon animals to hand out to the kids. They really loved them! They were so happy that they could have just one ballon. So we have finished a total of 12 houses and 8 of them have cement in them. Samuel has helped all the families put the cement in the homes, and the men of the village are willing to help do the cement. After we were finished building we did food and clothing distribution to 130 families. They were all very thankful for everything that they received. When we got back to the mission house, we had Max's family including Estuardo and Ruth as well as a few other friends that we have gotten to know, came over for dinner.

From,
Kendra and Stacy

Friday Evening

2010-01-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Blessings everyone from Guatemala!

Today we went to the village which is located on the other side of the mountain from the mission house. The drive took us two hours with the most spectactular view given to us by our loving God. We got six houses built and Helen got to share with the children during VBS about the Good Shephard and the Lost Sheep. We got to share with them how much Jesus loves them, just like the Good Shephard loves his sheep.The children made hand puppets that acted out the story. We also got to watch one of the women make clay pots. She was amazing. Shannon got to experience building houses for the first time. Some of the houses that we saw were made from mud bricks. It is funny how back home in the States we take advantage of the little things, and here the little things are these people's way of life. We thought not being fluent in spanish would be a challenge communicating, but we found that most of the adults in the village speak a Mayan dialect and don't understand Spanish.We are having an amazing time and are looking forward to tomorrow!!

Yours in Christ

Helen and Shannon

Thursday night

2010-01-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

We arrived safely in Guatemala. All travels went very smoothly. Thank you to all who were praying for our travels and for the customs process in Guatemala. You prayed us right through customs. We did not have one bag searched or x-rayed coming into Guatemala. That truly was an answer to prayer. The weather is somewhat cool. About 64 degrees for the high today. The sun is shining and it looks like we are in for a beautiful sunset. I'm sure it won't be long after sundown that everyone will be in bed with lights out. We are all exhausted but happy to be here and ready to begin working tomorrow.

Everyone just got to see the volcano let off some steam. The wonders of God's creation never cease to amaze me and this country is so beautiful in it's own very unique way.

Please continue to pray for this entire team throughout the week. It is through the prayers of many and God's wondrous grace that these trips even happen and go so smoothly. We are looking forward to all He has in store for us this week.

Blessings to all of you.

Donna

Guatemala 2010

2010-01-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

Once again we are back on the blog. Here is where you will get daily updates for our upcoming trip. We depart from our church parking lot at 12:30 AM on Thursday, January 14. Feel free to come to church that evening to see us off. We will begin gathering at 11:30 pm of Wednesday night. We will travel by bus to Detroit Metro travel through Houston and arrive in Guatemala shortly after 12:00 noon. We have a group of 40 people again this year and each one of us covets your prayers throughout the week that we will be gone. Please pray for safety, good health, relationships that are built, effectiveness in meeting the needs of Guatemalans that we will minister to but most importantly that we will be able to share the love of Christ to them as well.

Thank you for all your support of this trip and hopefully we will be able to keep you updated on a daily basis.

Blessings

Donna

Back Home

2009-01-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

We all arrived back home safely. We landed on time in Detoit and were back to the church parking lot by 9:00 pm. We had just a wonderful week working with the people in Guatemala. We saw God at work in Guatemala in so many ways.
We want to say thank you to all of you who followed our blog and prayed so faithfully for our team. God answered prayers in mighty ways throughout the entire week.
Blessings!

Donna

Wednesday: 01/21/09

2009-01-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

Today was our last day in Guatemala! While we are all sad to be leaving, we are certainly glad to being going back home to see our families and apply what we have learned to our communities. This morning we enjoyed FINALLY seeing the top of the volcanoes! They began spewing steam early this morning and they continued to spew steam for the rest of the day! We started the morning finishing the fronts of the houses by putting on the windows and doors.
As custom with the last day of the trip, we also dedicated the houses that we have spent all week building. We gathered up all of our gift baskets that had a Bible, water jug, brooms, tortilla cloths and food along with other things the family can use in their new home! We had chairs and tables delivered and many of us had a blast riding in the back of the delivery truck, holding on for dear life!! We delivered the chairs and tables to the houses and then gathered up at the church where we held distributions. We split into two groups and one house went up into the village while the other group went down in the village. One of the highlights of the day was at the last house that group two dedicated. Two brothers and their families both got houses and when they were asked if they knew Jesus, they answered no, but they would like to know him. Mario, our translator, who is a graduate student at the Seminary here, prayed with them and they prayed with Mario and ACCEPTED CHRIST INTO THEIR HEARTS! What an amazing thing for all of us to experience, not to mention their family! Pray for their families that they start learning about Christ and pray that their walk with the Lord is a blessed and filled with joy and happiness! Please continue to pray for good health for our travels on our way back home to Michigan.
We all miss you guys and can't wait to see you!!!
Written By: Stacy Westhouse and Jordan Crandell

Tuesday Evening

2009-01-20T18:32:00.000-08:00

Today we experienced something that less than 1% of Guatemalans have seen themselves. Not because they can't, but because they choose not too. Joel VanDyk had time to take us to the city dump and give us more insight to a forgotten people of Guatemala. These people earn their living off the dump. They actually live here, marry, have children, and die here. This group of about 11,000 are a proud people and work sun-up to sun-down for a meager $5 (at the most) a day. We entered the dump through a cemetary surrounded by turkey vultures and overlooked the dump from above. With the eariness of gloom and death all around, Joel took a passage from Judges 19 and helped open our eyes to see that God hovers everywhere. He cares for ALL his creatures and grace DOES flow like water and pools at the bottom. There is hope for the hopeless. Now, what do we do with this? That is the real question. Where do you start after seeing a picture like that, something that will forever be embedded into your memory? Randy Ellens' devotions this morning really hit home when he challenged us to be uncomfortable, to look where God can use us in our communties at home. God gave us all gifts and talents-don't look the other way when we get home. Look where God is . . . even the places we consider to be the "dark" places. It's truely God's hand at work here.
As for the morning, we split into 2 groups again. Some went to Love the Child while others went to help at the Seminary. This consisted of various tasks like painting, organizing, and lots of carpentry. We have been surviving the crazy driving here and dodging chicken buses! Your prayers and notes of encouragement are a tremendous blessing. We will be doing the dedications for the houses tomorrow and covet your prayers for the families who receive them.
"Above all, love others deeply . . . serve with the strength God provides, so in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power forever and ever." 1 Peter 4:8a,11

Tony & Allisun Westhouse

Monday Evening

2009-01-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

Today we split up into two groups again. Two vans went to the orphanage and the other van and pickup truck went to the village. We constructed the last two homes and put fronts on 11 of the 15 homes. The last two fronts will be completed tomorrow. Some of us spent the day with the kids around the last two homes. What great kids they were! It was a smaller group and they were so polite and fun to be with. We started out getting to know them by playing games like Duck, Duck, Goose and London Bridges and games with the parachute. After lunch we told them the story about Jesus' death and resurrection and they colored a picture and made cross necklaces. We also did some songs with the puppets. They LOVED the puppets! Before we left we used the puppets to pass out crayons, toys and crackers to all of the kids. They had to stand in line and ask "por favor" and the zebra would hand them a treat. They loved it!
This group of kids seemed like they had not had crayons of their own and were so thrilled to be given the gifts.
While the construction crew was finishing up we moved to the area where we did VBS on Saturday and played games with the kids there. Here there was a much larger group so we played a lot of group and relay games with them. They loved passing the football between their legs, over their heads, hopping on one foot with it, twirling in circles with it all in relay teams. We ended with rousing renditions of Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes, The Chicken Dance, The Hokey Pokey, and Father Abraham! From there we all drove to a church in the village. That is where we set up our distribution center. As families from the village came through, we gave them food staples, hygiene kits and clothing for their families. There were 130 families blessed through this distribution. It was a blessing to us distributing to watch the faces of these parents as they came through the line. Many of them were deeply touched.
Blessing to all of you. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Leon and Carla Proctor

Sunday Evening

2009-01-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

Its been another incredible day in Guatemala. We surprised ourselves by having all 40 members of our team ready and out of the door 3 minutes before we needed to leave for church this morning. We worshipped at Daniel and Milly's church. Pastor John gave the sermon and even attempted a Spanish joke with questionable results. We enjoyed singing Spanish worship songs with their praise band. Although not all of us understood what words we were singing, most tunes were familiar. It was a wonderful experience to worship our Lord together with the people of Guatemala. After the service we headed to Antigua for lunch and shopping. We ate at Las Antorchas. It was a beautiful restaurant and the food was delicious! Shopping at the market was a new experience for us. We found out that bartering was more challenging than expected. Everyone had fun and enjoyed the bright sights and sounds of the market. Before heading back to the mission, we all enjoyed a "world-famous" Magnum ice cream bar (and this time Don and Mary didn't pay quadruple the worth for thier bars). The trip back to the mission house proved to be a challenge due to a parade through the streets of Antigua. We spent some time stuck behind a chicken bus waiting for the parade to pass by. Back at the mission house, Paul, the coffee plantation owner, gave us a tour of the plantation that the mission house is on. His gardens were beautiful and the variety of plants was incredible. We had many guests at dinner due to the invitation that was given to the congregation to join us at the mission house. We served over 100 people for dinner. After dinner, we gathered upstairs for a time of singing. We sang some songs in English, others in Spanish, and a few in both languages at once. Nate and Jordan played/sang "In Christ Alone". It was a blessing to worship the same God in two different languages. Thank-you for your prayers.

Posted by Laura and Anna VanWyk

Saturday Evening

2009-01-17T18:49:00.000-08:00

As Donna said earlier, we split up into 2 groups, one going to visit Amor del Nino, Love the Child, orphanage which is run by Steve and Sheryl Osborn. What wonderful people! They moved houses and they moved into a larger home. It is 2 homes; one was originally made for a daughter and her family and the other house was the mother-in-law's apartment. They are able to house all of their children there and they are able to stay at the property too! What a blessing for them to be close to their children! Bev and I (Jordan) were talking while we were 'Dutch Cleaning' as Steve said (scrubbing the room top to bottom) how God truly knows what is going on and knows the needs of each family!
We started off visiting the children, seeing old friends like Hannah and Jose as well as many others. We read them the Christmas story with Anna VanWyk translating for us and then we spent 15 minutes coloring Christmas pages with the children! After this, the children ate lunch and it was incredible to hear them shout their prayer. Each child shouting their praises and prayers to God in the loudest voices! It was amazing! After lunch we began painting the dining room. We painted it white and ended up painting part of another room. We really worked hard and had a lot of fun while doing it, getting special help from our 'supervisor' Hannah. While all of this was happening, some of the guys who came with us were helping Steve build a play set for the children! We didn't get it quite finished so we will finish it on Monday when we return to the orphanage. After we finished painting, we played with the children outside, taking pictures with them and letting them take pictures for us and we all enjoyed jumping on the trampoline with the children. Their smiles were all so bright that it cleared up the already cloudy sky! We learned a lot about the situations of the children who were housed there and they all have incredible stories! All of the children are so loving and wonderful! It was an amazing day that showed God's love in every person that we came across!
We have wonderful news! Rol's Bible which has been missing for the past year has been found and is in Alabama!!!!! Another answered prayer!
Hello to Bev's mom Nellie in Florida and her neighbor Julie in Moline!
This posting is from Trish. Today was a big day in the village for both building and VBS. We had to walk a long way to find a space we could sit with children and play and hold a VBS. By the time we got there the original 12 children had grown to aprox 100. Stories with lots of pictures, bubbles, balloons, "crayolas" pages and pages of pictures to color kept us busy long after our energy was used up.
We blew and blew to inflate a giant ball for 30 minutes that was bounced unto the edge of a Casa (house) punctured and immediently ended that activity we were hoping would take a long time. So a prayer for children was answered abundently! All the VBS ladies were glad to be in the first van back to the Mission house tonight. The weather was cool, windy and very dusty. Hot showers and hot meals are a true blessings.
Mothers with families of many children were happy for a break for the day also stood at the edges of our activities and heard about Jesus also. Children were eager for attention and listened intently to learn a new song and story about Jesus feeding the five thousand. Pray for the many in that village who did not get a break from the press of daily tasks, not enough clothes to keep warm and unknown if there would be a meal. Every day here is an adventure of amazing proportions. Hello to all at HCA/CCG, GFS, Kids, and Mom at Brookcrest. Thanks Mom for your prayers. Love, Trish

Saturday Morning

2009-01-17T05:35:00.000-08:00

We woke up to a beautiful morning. Cooler temperatures yet. It has been very cool since we have been here. Yesterdays temps were low 60's with quite a strong breeze.
Today, we will be splitting up the team into two groups. One will be going to Steve Osborn who with his wife Shyrel run the Love the Child orphanage. We will be doing some work projects for him as well as have some time to play with the children. Steve has let us know that he has had 31 cases of chicken pox in the house in the last week or so.
The other group will go back to the village today to do some more building and Bible school.
We will post again this evening when we are back to the house.
Thank you for your prayers!

Donna

Friday 01/16/09

2009-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

This morning began with a bit of a mishap. A few of the rooms had their alarm clocks set for Michigan time, which is an hour ahead of Guatemala. So they came down for breakfast an hour early. Everyone had a little laugh and then went off to devotions and singing time.

Then we went to the village. There we built homes and did Bible School with the children in the streets. The story we did for Bible school was of Jesus' birth. There was a good turn out and a couple of activities based on the story. While some people where doing VBS, others were busy building. Six different homes where built thoughout the day and cement in three of them, and will finish cementing on Saturday. On Wednesday we will do the house dedications for all of the homes. Now we are all finishing up with dinner. Samuel, Juan Marcos, Steve and Shyrel Osborn, and Max and Teresa and Family joined us for dinner.

Written By: Elise Wiegers and Stacy Westhouse

Day 1

2009-01-16T04:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry, everyone, I tried to post last night and computer technology beat me.
We did arrive safely. God is so good! He even provided a police escort for a couple of our vans that got lost getting out of the airport and Guatemala City yesterday. Yes, it happened again but this time they asked a police officer for help and got an escort. It was kind of cool.
Prayers were answered. All of the luggage arrived. We now have everything with us in order to do the work we need to do.
It is great to be here again and see all the people we have come to know and love over the past years. Samuel greeted us at the airport with a smile on his face that never seems to leave. John King was there as well and graciously took our cooks to the supermarket to shop for our weeks supply of food. We especially enjoy the warmer weather of low 70's.
Last evening we enjoyed a great meal at Pollo Compernos. When we got back to the mission house it wasn't long and everyone was ready for bed. We had all lights out and everyone in bed by 10:00. Even the teenagers. That has to be a record. We were all tired after losing a night of sleep.
Please continue to pray for us. It is only through prayer that these trips are even possible and go as smoothly as they do. Thanks for all your prayers the entire team appreciates them.
God Bless!

Donna

Our First Post

2008-12-25T09:06:00.001-08:00

Hey all!

Here is where you will be able to catch up with our daily activities while we are in Guatemala. Each day that we are there the blog will be updated by various team members. We will be leaving from the church parking lot 12:15 am on Thursday, January 15. We will be departing by bus for Detroit Metro for flights that will bring us to Guatemala arrving at 12:30 pm to begin our week in Guatemala.