Team time...

So the past two weeks we have had the privilege of working with a team from Minnesota. They were a group of about 20 youth who were excited to serve God and it was an amazing time. Here are some of the things we did...

We went to the hospital where we got to go to the children's ward and put on a little program for the kids who were sick. Afterward we got to go from room to room praying for the kids and their families. This was a really cool time for me because I got to see some of the kids who we see during our weekly ministry at the Ronald McDonald house.




The next day we went to a place that truly inspired me called Hope for Guatemala. It is a program that is in one of the most dangerous places in Guatemala City. They serve about 220 kids lunch a day and then also give them help with homework, the chance to learn a trade through a carpentry shop and a beauty salon, a safe place to play, and Bible classes. It was amazing for me to see how this program is run because someday it is my dream to open up a house similar to this one. We went on a Friday, which was a play day, so we got to hang out and play with the kids. They had bikes to ride, video games to play, dolls, ping pong and the list goes on and on.


We also did some inner city outreaches. One night we went downtown and gave bread, coffee, and God's love to the transvestite and prostitute population. It was amazing when one of the people we were sharing with told us it was nice that we weren't judgmental or religious but loving and accepting. It blew my mind to even try and imagine the lifestyle they lead. We met one person, his street name was Jennifer, who had fled home at a young age because he was not accepted for the lifestyle he chose to live. Now he works on the streets as a transvestite prostitute and has a partner who doesn't know about the life he leads at night. He desires to change and return home to his Christian family and has even gone so far as cutting his hair short. We prayed with him and shared with him and are believing that God will use our encounter to help him on his way back to his true Father.

We also went to a place called the line that is known for prostitution. We went door to door passing out flowers and asking if we could pray for the women who work there. We were invited in to a room by a woman named Lesbie. She had worked as a prostitute since she was 15 years old and this year she will turn 50. She was really open to talk and we found out that she has a Bible but does not know how to read. She asks others to read for her each day and if she can't find anyone she said that she just opens her Bible and puts her face on it. I had the pleasure of reading aloud a little bit from the Bible and we shared with her the story of Rahab and how God used her. It was another amazing time where we could really show God's love.

We had a great time overall and I am looking forward to the next week and a half because another team is coming. Please pray for me as I am in charge of this team. I am very excited to see how God brings passion for missions to this next group of young people and to be a part of it!!!

Daycare

We go to this government run daycare every Tuesday morning. It is by far my favorite ministry that our base does. The kids there are so adorable and every time we pull up in our vehicle they start to shout one of two things in Spanish: 1. The missionaries or 2. the gringos. It is funny that they call us the gringos because that basically means someone from the USA and I am the only one from the group that is actually from the USA.

So we get there and walk through the door and they say "bienvenidos, pasen adelante, sientense" to each person that walks through the door in a very sing-song way. It means "welcome, come in, have a seat". It is precious and I find myself looking forward to it each Tuesday morning.

After we all get our warm welcome, we sing some songs with them, teach them a Bible story and do a craft or coloring page with them. Then we play with them outside. I usually end up squeezing my way into their little wooden house outside to play the role of the daughter in a very enthusiastic game of house. My jobs are usually to go to the "store" in my "car" and buy some "eggs, beans, or chicken" and then to deliver them to my "mom" so that she can make me some delicious "food". These are my friends, Naomi and Ashley out side of the house we play in

It is always amazing to me how impressionable these little ones are. The fact that we get to go week after week and build a trusting relationship with them AND share God's love with them is such a blessing.

Medical Clinic

Last week the staff of our base had the chance to help out with a medical clinic in Huehuetenango. It was a wonderful time where we worked alongside pre-med students from Lee University in Tennessee. Our job as YWAM staff was to translate for the doctors. The first day we arrived in a village and began to prepare for the day and each person got their assignments. I was horrified when I got assigned to translate for the dentistry clinic because I have had some of the worst experiences of my life in a dentist chair. I did realize that God was probably laughing up in heaven as I walked to the makeshift dentist office, but I was willing to do whatever He had for me.

I ended up having an amazing time translating for the dental clinic the first day and asked if I could do it for the rest of the week. It was pretty intense at times, but it was so good to help people with toothaches and to also share God's love with them. We saw people of all ages come through the door and I probably saw over 100 teeth pulled- including a few women who got ALL of their top teeth pulled at once.

A story from my time there that I will never forget happened on a Tuesday. We were going to travel to the Cuchumatanes, which is the highest point in Central America, and work with a village. The day started out by me finding a dead (thank goodness it was DEAD) rat in our dinning room where we were staying. Then we were trying to finish up last minute preparations when I went up to the room we were staying in and the door had been shut and locked on accident and no one had a key. We ended up breaking the glass window to get our water bottles and bags out and we headed out the door. We got on the bus we were to take to the village and it started driving us 20 minutes in the wrong direction. By the time we noticed and got turned around we were running late and so we hoped for a quick rest of the trip. So as you can imagine the roads to the highest point in Central America are pretty steep and the buses they use here in Guatemala are old, outdated school buses that they buy in the States and drive down. The bus we were on began to smoke as it huffed and puffed up the hill. The puff of smoke began to grow into a cloud that was coming into the bus through the dashboard. Finally the poor bus driver could not push his beloved bus any longer and it overheated and came to a complete halt in the middle of the road. We all quickly got off so that we might have the chance to breath fresh air again and we waited on the side of the road for another form of transportation.



Little did we know that the only other available form of transportation that the village had to offer us was this...

A cattle truck! We all piled in the back- 9 YWAMers and about 20 pre-med students and headed the last 15 minutes to the village.

One of our patients that day happened to be a little boy who was 4 years old- WARNING: This is going to be a disgusting story...

He had an abscess on one of his front teeth that had eaten away his gum so that the tooth was visible through the gum and at the bottom of the gum like a normal tooth. Now I like to consider myself someone who does not get easily grossed out since I used to teach elementary school and have been thrown up on and peed on but what came next was definitely something that challenged me. The dentist was working on pulling out the tooth and I was close by trying to console the boy. The next thing I knew I felt a sudden squirt on my nose. I looked down and the abscess had popped and the puss inside went right on my nose! I told the dentist who casually asked if it had gotten in my eye, which I replied to with a no and then she proceeded to tell me that it would be just fine then and that our skin is a great protecting agent. "Oh, good!" I thought to myself as I wiped the puss off my nose. We managed to get the tooth out and the poor little guy was a trooper through it all!

I really did feel blessed to be able to work with such a great team of people. I also felt blessed to be able to help people who normally would not be able to receive such medical attention. We had a great time serving in Huehuetenango!!!