What a great day! After breakfast we participated in El Dia de Los Niños. It started with a parable acted out in a skit about colors. Each person or color thought they were the most important but they learned that all colors are important. And so it is with the body of Christ. Good lesson for us too!
[Skit for El Dia de Los Niños]
After that there were games of tossing rings on cones, shaving cream off a balloon, rolling dice and doing what it said (Alle and I got bailar!) and the grand finale -- a piñata. It was a special day with the kids and we loved being a part of their celebration. And we ended with food as all celebrations should -- popcorn, M&Ms, peanuts and a juice made from the leaves of Guatemalan rose petals.
After that there were games of tossing rings on cones, shaving cream off a balloon, rolling dice and doing what it said (Alle and I got bailar!) and the grand finale -- a piñata. It was a special day with the kids and we loved being a part of their celebration. And we ended with food as all celebrations should -- popcorn, M&Ms, peanuts and a juice made from the leaves of Guatemalan rose petals.
After lunch we had various projects to do. Connie & Alle helped Todd in the officina, Christine, Kelsey & Kailey finished a handprint project with some of the kids, and Rafe, Jen, Jazmin, Aidan & Korissa continued the prep for the arrival of the house parents for Casa 4. This was very timely as they arrived this afternoon! And when the Lord brings kids to Casa 4 they will be ready. Until then, the house parents of Casa 4 will be helping the other 3 sets of house parents. We are still waiting for the arrival of the sibling group who will join the family in Casa 3.
About 3pm we started on our 1-mile walk to Chituc. When we arrived there were no children. But soon a few showed up and Julio asked them to tell their friends. We took a few pictures and once we had 10 we decided to start singing in hopes that more would join us. All of a sudden it started raining so we took cover under a nearby tree. We sang Yo Tengo Gozo, Rey de Reyes, Este es el Dia and Padre Yo Te Adoro. When we asked the kids if they like to sing, they said no. But of course once we started they joined in and did a great job. Praise God it cleared up!
[Singing with children in Chituc]
A few more showed up as Rafe started sharing the story of Joseph from the coat and being sold into slavery to being reunited with his brothers in Egypt when they came to him for grain. The kids were very attentive and answered Rafe's questions throughout the story. He then shared how Joseph was similar to Jesus and gave the Gospel message. By the end of Rafe's story we had 20 kids.
Next Jen told the children about the craft we had for them, which was bracelets. She shared how there were many colors and like Joseph's dad loved him we are giving to you this bracelet to remind you that Jesus loves you. Both the boys and girls loved the craft. And you must know what happened next...soccer! Some of us played soccer and some hung out with the kids. As we said goodbye, Connie handed out rubber band bracelets. The kids surprised us by lining up and patiently waiting their turn. All in all it was a sweet time.
[Julio our team leader]
[Boys...]
[Boy's house]
After dinner we prepared for our trip to serve the homeless in Antigua. Julio told us about the 4 locations we would visit, to stay in groups, and be ready to go when when called. But nothing could have prepared us for the torrential downpour, with thunder and lightning, that started shortly before we left. It was truly crazy. The water coming over the roof of our porch was literally a wall of water. Rafe prayed for our safety traveling down the hill to Antigua and for our time with those we would meet. By the time we walked from the kitchen to the van we were wet -- our shoes and socks were soaked. As we pulled out of the compound the dirt roads were rivers. The windows were fogged up and Julio was wiping the front windshield with a sweatshirt while we trusted that Byron, our driver, had some visibility. We guessed that there may have been maybe 1/8 mile visibility it but it really was only as far as the illumination of the head lights. It was unlike anything we have experienced. We may have floated for awhile. Before we even arrived in Antigua we saw answer to prayer. As we came around a blind corner the traffic in front of us came to a stop. We were able to stop in time to be the first car not involved in a multi-car accident. And praise God we weren't rear-ended. The ride to Antigua was an adventure in itself!
But once we arrived in Antigua it stopped raining. We met Mark and Dayle, the missionaries who go out every night to feed the homeless, then we set out with soup and tortillas. Due to the rainy weather there weren't as many people out as we expected but we did find several people to give warm soup and prayer. We finished our evening praying for Mark and Dayle, the leaders of the street ministry. Hopefully we can share more stories later (because it's late).
We leave first thing in the morning to deliver food bags to the families in the community. It will be another full day and we look forward to sharing it with you!
Praising God for His protection and presence!
Love, Christine and team
To learn more about how to partner with Village of Hope-Guatemala please go to: http:/www.lifesongfororphans.org/countries/guatemala/
To learn more about how to partner with Village of Hope-Guatemala please go to: http:/www.lifesongfororphans.org/countries/guatemala/
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