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!