Friday morning the team was up bright & early, despite staying up late the night before participating in an hour of "roof top" worship. The day was proving to be a very warm day for our travel to Guatemala City.
The team was packed & ready to roll by 9:30 AM, we were ahead of schedule! Our first stop was in Mocohan, where Mr. Peterson was able to visit his sponsor children, a boy & a girl (twins). He was pretty pumped about this. Then it was on to Guatemala City. Because it was Good Friday, there wasn't much traffic on the highway & we made good time.
Once in Guatemala City, we stopped for a late lunch at Pollo Campero's & then dropped our luggage at the seminary Seteca where we were to stay the night. The team was then driven close to the central square in an effort to visit the Presidential Palace & the main cathedral in Guatemala City. Thousands of people were pouring into the square to view a large Holy Week procession & participate in a special mass. The team was instructed to maintain close proximity to one another as we wound through the press of people. We were surrounded with many inconsistent images; men dressed in black to participate in the procession, children & adults selling snacks, toys, sunglasses, jewelery and everywhere there were police and armed guards. We could feel the vibrations & hear the drone of dirge music from huge speakers in front of the cathedral. People lined both sides of the street & sat on the steps of the palace and the cathedral in anticipation of a procession. Everything was closed, so we didn't get to see what we were hoping to see, but then the procession began. Wheeled floats with images of Christ being betrayed in the Garden of Gesthemane, Judas' betrayal, Christ's trial & subsequent torture and ultimate death on the cross. The figures were life-size & life-like, but there was a recurrent theme of skeletons and skulls with each float, very eerie! The culmination was a huge float of Christ lying in state carried on the shoulders of close to a hundred men dressed in black. The final float was surrounded by men carrying pots of incense that filled the air with pungent smoke making it hard to breathe at times. Once the entire procession had passed by, the outdoor mass began. Three times our group attempted to move through the crowd to get back to our vehicles, but the crowd was too thick to push our way through. Finally, an opening was spotted & slowly the 40+ Canadians pushed their way clear of the central square.
Upon returning to our vehicles, the team found Israel (one of our drivers) doing what he does best; sharing the gospel. We prayed with the family who were watching over our vehicles & who had accepted Israel's invitation to make Jesus Christ their Lord & Saviour!
Upon our return to the seminary, we were able to freshen up for the evening while dinner was ordered. 15 of the largest Domino's pizzas we had ever seen. There were more slices of pizza than could be consumed by the team, even with 12 teenage males who made it a goal to eat eight or more slices each!
We then pushed the tables aside to form a large circle for our last group devotion of the trip. We went around the group & heard each team member share what they felt God is calling them to change upon returning to Canada. Some very personal challenges were shared that night, but all with the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The evening closed with over an hour of lifting each other in prayer. The lights in the dining hall were turned off at 11:30 PM bringing our Mission to Guatemala 2010 trip to a close. All that remained was our trip back to Calgary the next day.
Thank-you for following our pursuits in Guatemala, we hope you enjoyed the stories. If you are in Calgary on Thursday, April 15th, we invite you to join us for dessert, coffee & a time of sharing as we show some of our pictures and tell more stories of our time in Guatemala. This event will be held in the Bearspaw Christian School gymnasium starting at 7:00 PM. There is no charge for the evening. Perhaps we will see you there!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Update#1 - Mr. Werth
We lost our internet connection on Thursday, April 1st, so we haven't been able to give updates until now.
Thursday started well. As it was April 1st, Karren, one of the Impact Ministries staff, fooled us with a story about a potential 6.5 earthquake to occur at some time that morning. As she discussed the events of the morning, she gave directions on where to be if we felt nauseous or shaking; get out into the open, avoid being under overhangs and such. Some students were worried, but when she asked the group to remind her of the date, there was quite the mixed reaction when most realized the date. Good one Karren!
For the morning, 11A went into the market in Tactic to complete shopping for souveniers while 11B visited a small coffee finca to learn how coffee beans are processed. After a couple of hours, the groups switched activities.
After lunch, 11A drove to Coban, the provincial capital to visit the hospital. Team members took stuffed animals & blankets with them, to give to children on the pediatric ward. The team members took time to pray for each child to be healed of their illnesses, most being pneumonia-like. It was very humbling for all to see the lack of supplies for proper medical care, but quite a blessing to have families readily agree to being prayed with. Following this visit to the pediatric ward, the female team members were able to visit the maternity ward. Bags that were sewn by supporters of our Mission to Guatemala trip were filled with blankets & baby clothes and given to the new moms. What a neat experience!
Meanwhile, 11B was off doing sponsor visits in in Tactic & up in the hills of San Antonio. More opportunities to bless our sponsor children & be blessed by visiting and praying with them!
Both teams gathered together in the evening at the church in Chamche to participate in a joint devotion. Les Peters talked with the group about "reverse culture shock" & prepared team members for some of the challenges they may experience when leaving Guatemala and returning home. Then Les gave the team some homework. Our task was to prepare a response to the question "What is God asking us to change when we return to Calgary?"
I will share the results of the next day in another post.
Thursday started well. As it was April 1st, Karren, one of the Impact Ministries staff, fooled us with a story about a potential 6.5 earthquake to occur at some time that morning. As she discussed the events of the morning, she gave directions on where to be if we felt nauseous or shaking; get out into the open, avoid being under overhangs and such. Some students were worried, but when she asked the group to remind her of the date, there was quite the mixed reaction when most realized the date. Good one Karren!
For the morning, 11A went into the market in Tactic to complete shopping for souveniers while 11B visited a small coffee finca to learn how coffee beans are processed. After a couple of hours, the groups switched activities.
After lunch, 11A drove to Coban, the provincial capital to visit the hospital. Team members took stuffed animals & blankets with them, to give to children on the pediatric ward. The team members took time to pray for each child to be healed of their illnesses, most being pneumonia-like. It was very humbling for all to see the lack of supplies for proper medical care, but quite a blessing to have families readily agree to being prayed with. Following this visit to the pediatric ward, the female team members were able to visit the maternity ward. Bags that were sewn by supporters of our Mission to Guatemala trip were filled with blankets & baby clothes and given to the new moms. What a neat experience!
Meanwhile, 11B was off doing sponsor visits in in Tactic & up in the hills of San Antonio. More opportunities to bless our sponsor children & be blessed by visiting and praying with them!
Both teams gathered together in the evening at the church in Chamche to participate in a joint devotion. Les Peters talked with the group about "reverse culture shock" & prepared team members for some of the challenges they may experience when leaving Guatemala and returning home. Then Les gave the team some homework. Our task was to prepare a response to the question "What is God asking us to change when we return to Calgary?"
I will share the results of the next day in another post.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Day 7 (Cat)
I will remember today forever! We started the day off with home visits. Jill, Joel and I had the privlige of meeting our sponsor children. We went to Joels house first and met his family. The family invited Joel to ride their horse and told Joel that he could come and stay with them any time so that was pretty neat! After Joels visit we went to my sponsor child's house. I was greeted by a huge banner and balloons placed all around the house. Karen told me that the family wanted to go out of town for the week but they heard I was coming so they cancelled their trip. Jario said that he had been praying for me to visit and his prayers were answered. They offered us drinks and fruit and we talked for a while. They told us they own a small peice of land on top of the highest mountain in Tactic. On this peice of land thet fast and pray. One day they plan to build on this land to further God's kingdom. They also told us that they own a christian radio station and they let Les and Oki Dokie talk on the air. After my sponsor child we headed to Jill's sponsor child's home. Her sponsor family sells fruit and drinks outside of their house and gave us some fresh watermelon to eat. It was delicious!!! After our home visits we went to children ministry and had a great last day with the kids. It is so amazing to see children have so much joy in something as simple as bubbles. Oh and we finally experienced the HUG LINE. I can see why the hug line is so famous! but it didn't satisfy our class. We definitely had some issues saying goodbye to the kids and I know most of us could stay there forever or take them home with us. It blows my mind that kids can have so much joy even in the toughest situations. After children ministry we went back to the house to get ready for dinner. We didn't have time to stop for ice cream which was so sad but we must stop tomorrow because I must have one last scoop of Guanaba ice cream before we leave. At dinner we had hamburgers and I would just like to say they are WAY better then the big macs at McDonalds! After dinner we headed to the church to join 11-B in some shopping experiences but there was one problem.... the van wouldn't start so we got some of the strong boys in the class to push the van to jump start it and after a couple tries we got it going but Jill and I were convinced we were going to die but thankfully we didn't! At the church we did some shopping and we came back to the guest house for a night of dutch blitz and laying on the roof star gazing. I don't want to go home and I am pretty sure I could stay here forever but shout out to the best friends back home. Looking forward to many more adventures tomorrow but for now its time to dream big and say goodnight.
God Bless,
Cat
God Bless,
Cat
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Day 6 (Jacques Randshuizen)
Breakfast 6:30 am and what a wonderful morning it was (is) in tactic. The 11a class was off too Chicoy on a morning tour and then we were off to a BEAUTIFUL sinkhole in the middle of the mountain area in Chicoy. The sinkhole was around 125 ft deep .... what a walk!
The walk up too the sinkhole was a 5-7 minutes =( . Once everyone was in the hole we all gathered and sang. 4 rituals were taking place while we were singing and it became quite the distraction. After 15-20 minutes the other groups left. We all thought it was strange that they had not put their fires out. BUT the cool thing was, that while we prayed and cried all the fires went from full blaze to just smoke in just under 5 minutes. We all agreed that God was with us in the that place. 6 of us ended up re-giving our lives to Christ!!
The 11a's they found themselves digging up more dirt so that the Tactic school would be able to have their own sewer and water system put in place. It turns out that we are moving the same dirt pile that the grade 12's moved last year!! AWESOME !!
In the afternoon we (11a) did children's ministries and had the best time of our lives, playing or helping the 80-100 kids that showed up. Soccer is the best sport in the world!! Hockey is nothing, NHL players have NO skill compared to these 9- 10 year old Tactic children. O we ended up loosing to the local soccer team 9-4. WE GOT LUCKY!!! all of their team is in pro sports.
There are so many photos that are going to shared. Well it is 10pm and well its time to say good night.
The walk up too the sinkhole was a 5-7 minutes =( . Once everyone was in the hole we all gathered and sang. 4 rituals were taking place while we were singing and it became quite the distraction. After 15-20 minutes the other groups left. We all thought it was strange that they had not put their fires out. BUT the cool thing was, that while we prayed and cried all the fires went from full blaze to just smoke in just under 5 minutes. We all agreed that God was with us in the that place. 6 of us ended up re-giving our lives to Christ!!
The 11a's they found themselves digging up more dirt so that the Tactic school would be able to have their own sewer and water system put in place. It turns out that we are moving the same dirt pile that the grade 12's moved last year!! AWESOME !!
In the afternoon we (11a) did children's ministries and had the best time of our lives, playing or helping the 80-100 kids that showed up. Soccer is the best sport in the world!! Hockey is nothing, NHL players have NO skill compared to these 9- 10 year old Tactic children. O we ended up loosing to the local soccer team 9-4. WE GOT LUCKY!!! all of their team is in pro sports.
There are so many photos that are going to shared. Well it is 10pm and well its time to say good night.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Day 5 - Mr. Werth
What a day!
11B was up early & had breakfast at 6:30 AM so that they could go to the sinkhole @ Chicoy. There is a great deal of significance to the sinkhole site in Mayan worship; to access the sinkhole one has to walk up a very steep hill & then descend down into the sinkhole. Visiting the sinkhole allows for worshiping the gods of the over-world in a high place & then the gods of the underworld in a low place. Two in one! Witchcraft & spirit worship are a big part of the Mayan religion, and the sinkhole has been used for centuries by witch doctors to cast spells and curses. But, the team learned, due to short-term mission teams entering into the sinkhole & worshiping the one true God, the sinkhole has lost its power! What a testament to the truth of Ephesians 6:12, the passage about our struggles not being between flesh & blood, but between powers and principalities.
While 11B was at the sinkhole, 11A visited Chi'xim. Chi'xim is a catholic church the sits up on a mountain side, overlooking Tactic (another high place). Chi'xim is named after the corn god in the Mayan religion. The lessons learned here by the team were about the syncretism that is evident throughout Central America; the blending of multiple religious beliefs into catholicism/christianity. The team observed a ritual burning of offerings to the many gods of the Mayan religion...right at the feet of the catholic church. During Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter Sunday) worshipers can complete the one ritual of burnt offerings & then step into the church to complete other rituals. Again, two in one!
Following these visits, 11B went to Chamche to do their first childrens ministry & 11A went to Chijacorral to move dirt around on the work site. For the afternoon, roles were switched; 11B did work ministry & 11A did childrens ministry. The entire team was at Chijacorral for the afternoon.
Work ministry in Guatemala, due to Impact Ministries vision of building schools & medical clinics, is an opportunity to move dirt by digging down hills and filling up trenches. And there's a lot of dirt in Guatemala! Imagine 15-20 teenagers armed with pick-axes, shovels & wheelbarrows. What first comes to mind is chaos, injuries & lawsuits...but these teens quickly become an organized work "machine" that methodically levels ground for playing fields and school extension foundations! If the construction company for our Multi-Program Facility at BCS falls behind on their construction schedule, I know a few Gr. 11's who can step in & help out.
Childrens ministry preparation was a big part of February's activities for the Gr. 11's. Developing dramas, craft activities, practicing songs & learning how to organize games has paid off big time with our teens leading around 80 Guatemala children through 2.5 hours of FUN! What a blessing to see the big "kids" spending time with the "little" kids. Language differences were not a barrier in any way. All the parents back home would be proud of their daughters/sons with the way they interacted in such a caring way with the Guatemalan children. What a blessing!
11A had the opportunity to play soccer against what turned out to be a highly skilled team of Guatemala youths, and ended the evening with two very Guatemalan activities; churrascos (tasty beef strips in a tortilla with sauce) & firecrackers! We have heard firecrackers most mornings, bright & early, as Guatemalans celebrate birthdays. Now, it was our opportunity to participate in the popping, exploding, screaming & laughing that accompanies this activity. 11B will get their chance tomorrow, they can hardly wait!
Long day, but one worth writing home about (or blogging about)!
11B was up early & had breakfast at 6:30 AM so that they could go to the sinkhole @ Chicoy. There is a great deal of significance to the sinkhole site in Mayan worship; to access the sinkhole one has to walk up a very steep hill & then descend down into the sinkhole. Visiting the sinkhole allows for worshiping the gods of the over-world in a high place & then the gods of the underworld in a low place. Two in one! Witchcraft & spirit worship are a big part of the Mayan religion, and the sinkhole has been used for centuries by witch doctors to cast spells and curses. But, the team learned, due to short-term mission teams entering into the sinkhole & worshiping the one true God, the sinkhole has lost its power! What a testament to the truth of Ephesians 6:12, the passage about our struggles not being between flesh & blood, but between powers and principalities.
While 11B was at the sinkhole, 11A visited Chi'xim. Chi'xim is a catholic church the sits up on a mountain side, overlooking Tactic (another high place). Chi'xim is named after the corn god in the Mayan religion. The lessons learned here by the team were about the syncretism that is evident throughout Central America; the blending of multiple religious beliefs into catholicism/christianity. The team observed a ritual burning of offerings to the many gods of the Mayan religion...right at the feet of the catholic church. During Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter Sunday) worshipers can complete the one ritual of burnt offerings & then step into the church to complete other rituals. Again, two in one!
Following these visits, 11B went to Chamche to do their first childrens ministry & 11A went to Chijacorral to move dirt around on the work site. For the afternoon, roles were switched; 11B did work ministry & 11A did childrens ministry. The entire team was at Chijacorral for the afternoon.
Work ministry in Guatemala, due to Impact Ministries vision of building schools & medical clinics, is an opportunity to move dirt by digging down hills and filling up trenches. And there's a lot of dirt in Guatemala! Imagine 15-20 teenagers armed with pick-axes, shovels & wheelbarrows. What first comes to mind is chaos, injuries & lawsuits...but these teens quickly become an organized work "machine" that methodically levels ground for playing fields and school extension foundations! If the construction company for our Multi-Program Facility at BCS falls behind on their construction schedule, I know a few Gr. 11's who can step in & help out.
Childrens ministry preparation was a big part of February's activities for the Gr. 11's. Developing dramas, craft activities, practicing songs & learning how to organize games has paid off big time with our teens leading around 80 Guatemala children through 2.5 hours of FUN! What a blessing to see the big "kids" spending time with the "little" kids. Language differences were not a barrier in any way. All the parents back home would be proud of their daughters/sons with the way they interacted in such a caring way with the Guatemalan children. What a blessing!
11A had the opportunity to play soccer against what turned out to be a highly skilled team of Guatemala youths, and ended the evening with two very Guatemalan activities; churrascos (tasty beef strips in a tortilla with sauce) & firecrackers! We have heard firecrackers most mornings, bright & early, as Guatemalans celebrate birthdays. Now, it was our opportunity to participate in the popping, exploding, screaming & laughing that accompanies this activity. 11B will get their chance tomorrow, they can hardly wait!
Long day, but one worth writing home about (or blogging about)!
Another day in Tac Tic (Alexis)
Hola, gringos! That's what we've been hearing all day. Gringo is slang for a white person. Talissa would like to give a big "HOLA!" because she is sitting right here. Today, 11A went to Chi'xim. (Shi-Sheem) Chi'xim, is the Myan god of corn.
Sam just screamed at the top of her lungs because Josh dangled a green balloon in her face. She thought it was a snake. Hence the screaming. We haven't seen any real ones yet, but we have encountered cockroaches.
Anyways, in Chi'xim, we saw a strange blend of religions- Myan, Catholic, and some witchcraft. There was a ceremony going on with some people burning offerings of tobacco and alcohol to the gods. Needless to say, it was a very unpleasant smell. Then we went into the temple and heard a little more of what they believe from Les.
11B was at the sinkhole while we were in Chi'xim, they all said that it was a really good experience, but wouldn't say much more. Chandler said we should experience it for ourselves. Chandler and Ali have food babies. They also say "Hola!" (A food baby is when you've eaten so much you look a bit pregnant).
Finally, 11A went to children's ministry. I painted hands, so did Jacques, and Stephanie. Others did crafts, made balloon animals and played games. The ballon animals were VERY popular, so was my 'rosa' design. 11B did manual labour, digging and hauling dirt. Jenna Kim says "HI!" Seems that many people do...
Right now, my class is about to walk out the door to play soccer with some youth. Should be MUCHO fun.
ADIOS!
Sam just screamed at the top of her lungs because Josh dangled a green balloon in her face. She thought it was a snake. Hence the screaming. We haven't seen any real ones yet, but we have encountered cockroaches.
Anyways, in Chi'xim, we saw a strange blend of religions- Myan, Catholic, and some witchcraft. There was a ceremony going on with some people burning offerings of tobacco and alcohol to the gods. Needless to say, it was a very unpleasant smell. Then we went into the temple and heard a little more of what they believe from Les.
11B was at the sinkhole while we were in Chi'xim, they all said that it was a really good experience, but wouldn't say much more. Chandler said we should experience it for ourselves. Chandler and Ali have food babies. They also say "Hola!" (A food baby is when you've eaten so much you look a bit pregnant).
Finally, 11A went to children's ministry. I painted hands, so did Jacques, and Stephanie. Others did crafts, made balloon animals and played games. The ballon animals were VERY popular, so was my 'rosa' design. 11B did manual labour, digging and hauling dirt. Jenna Kim says "HI!" Seems that many people do...
Right now, my class is about to walk out the door to play soccer with some youth. Should be MUCHO fun.
ADIOS!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Day 4 - SAM HOGMAN
Hey there, Samuel Hogman here, filling in for Mike Stacey this time. He took a sick day... unfortunately along with two others (Jenna and Leah). But God's protected them and they're now back to normal.
So today was quite a hectic one, what with a complete schedule do-over and of course, the spreading of a bit of sickness which luckily was only a bit of heat exhaustion as far as we know. At the start of the day we had the pleasure of going to a beautiful house just outside of Tactic for an incredibly generous breakfast by a Guatemalan lady. It was great, but hard to eat, considering it could've easily fed a number of Tactic families for a day.
From there, we were off to a mountain village called Parachuch... I think that's how it's spelt. It was really something to see true poverty. Yes Tactic and the rest of Guatemala is in incredible poverty, but we later learned that the people of Parachuch didn't even have a source of water at the time being and hadn't for some while now. They have to make a several hour journey to Tactic very frequently down the rocky, tough road on which we had yet another adventure trying to drive up. Apparently, 11A had a very similar experience in the village they visited. It was amazing to see though, how God cares for and can reach anyone, we learned alot today from the faith of these people.
After lunch, we had a pretty relaxing afternoon; that is if you can relax while running around town on an awesome scavenger hunt! From chasing chickens down, to trying to find any English-speaking people, to having policemen laughing at us as we try to find a pig's-head or the post office, it was a fun time. It was the group that found an English-speaking guide and a van as a mode of transportation that won of course, but the experience was an amazing way of discovering this city. Oh ya, and the lunch was just incredible... as usual.
And now we end up at church! Let me tell you, what we call "church" up in North America... it just isn't church. What we witnessed today, that's how church was meant to be. God was in that place, as we watched the Guatemalans, children and adults alike screaming out, giving their hearts to their Lord Jesus Christ. Many came to the Lord that day, and me, Michelle, Josh and Brent had an opportunity to go up and pray over these newly-converted Guatemalan children. What a blessing it was to witness this church service. Tears streamed, voices broke, and hands reached up as we experienced the true church.
We finished off with a great time of reflection at the guest house. Again, more tears, reminiscing and overall just an incredible time of sharing. There is so much to learn I can't even get into detail about all of it. We learned how grateful these people are, and we learned what it truly means to be a good Samaritan. What a day.
And the end of the day; it consisted of us boys setting off multitudes of firecrackers! As well as talking with 11A and prayer and reflection. And now... journalling, talking with my buddies, and trying to get this blog down in time to get a good sleep, so that we can have another amazing day tomorrow, of learning, starting children's ministries, visiting the sink-hole, and continuing to grow closer to these people and to God. Hallelujah!
So today was quite a hectic one, what with a complete schedule do-over and of course, the spreading of a bit of sickness which luckily was only a bit of heat exhaustion as far as we know. At the start of the day we had the pleasure of going to a beautiful house just outside of Tactic for an incredibly generous breakfast by a Guatemalan lady. It was great, but hard to eat, considering it could've easily fed a number of Tactic families for a day.
From there, we were off to a mountain village called Parachuch... I think that's how it's spelt. It was really something to see true poverty. Yes Tactic and the rest of Guatemala is in incredible poverty, but we later learned that the people of Parachuch didn't even have a source of water at the time being and hadn't for some while now. They have to make a several hour journey to Tactic very frequently down the rocky, tough road on which we had yet another adventure trying to drive up. Apparently, 11A had a very similar experience in the village they visited. It was amazing to see though, how God cares for and can reach anyone, we learned alot today from the faith of these people.
After lunch, we had a pretty relaxing afternoon; that is if you can relax while running around town on an awesome scavenger hunt! From chasing chickens down, to trying to find any English-speaking people, to having policemen laughing at us as we try to find a pig's-head or the post office, it was a fun time. It was the group that found an English-speaking guide and a van as a mode of transportation that won of course, but the experience was an amazing way of discovering this city. Oh ya, and the lunch was just incredible... as usual.
And now we end up at church! Let me tell you, what we call "church" up in North America... it just isn't church. What we witnessed today, that's how church was meant to be. God was in that place, as we watched the Guatemalans, children and adults alike screaming out, giving their hearts to their Lord Jesus Christ. Many came to the Lord that day, and me, Michelle, Josh and Brent had an opportunity to go up and pray over these newly-converted Guatemalan children. What a blessing it was to witness this church service. Tears streamed, voices broke, and hands reached up as we experienced the true church.
We finished off with a great time of reflection at the guest house. Again, more tears, reminiscing and overall just an incredible time of sharing. There is so much to learn I can't even get into detail about all of it. We learned how grateful these people are, and we learned what it truly means to be a good Samaritan. What a day.
And the end of the day; it consisted of us boys setting off multitudes of firecrackers! As well as talking with 11A and prayer and reflection. And now... journalling, talking with my buddies, and trying to get this blog down in time to get a good sleep, so that we can have another amazing day tomorrow, of learning, starting children's ministries, visiting the sink-hole, and continuing to grow closer to these people and to God. Hallelujah!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
