Day 4

“So, a break in the week…we ventured off to Antigua this morning, all 17 of us in a 15 passenger van (which made quite an effort to chug us all up the mountain), we arrived at an absolutely beautiful place, much like an outdoor museum. Huge chairs, carved wooden birds and caballitos (little horses) were just a few of the pieces intentionally set to appease the crazy art lovers like me and Debbie L.

This was just a bonus as our purpose here was to put on some gear and throw ourselves across hundreds of feet of Guatemalan countryside, hundreds of feet above the ground and hope for the best. While waiting for our turn, we stopped to take pictures, group pictures, and more pictures in front of the 3 volcanoes and suddenly one of them (the active one) began to vent (just smoke, but still exciting)…another bonus. Finally our turn. We climbed a platform, signed our lives away and each of us was handed a pile of gear and a helmet. One by one we stood still while a zip guide clicked and looped and strapped us up with a bunch of ropes and a few spanglish words. Then we stood on a box one by one, much like a plank on a ship, and were hurled, one by one, into the air at unbelievable speeds. We did this several times increasing in height and length each time. At some point, we climbed a 120 ft ladder which we jokingly referred to as Jacob’s ladder.

We thought this was the pinnacle achievement of the adventure, however Superman was still to come. Waiting for the hurdle from the Superman tower was much like the moment you think you might be about to die and there’s nothing you can do about it. There were hugs and kisses and thoughts of Jesus. And then….you fly…like a bird. Nothing like it. Followed by massive impact at the end and plans to visit the chiropractor upon US arrival. Tasia, our 90 lb, 17 year old, sadly had to be in a sitting position for Superman, rather than fly like a bird, (100 lb minimum weight limit) but she was such a trooper being quite unnerved about the whole thing to begin with. 

Following this life changing event (that we all survived, for the record) we were whisked away to quite possibly one of the best meals of my existence. Sky Cafe, deep blue painted walls, open air, practically at the base of Agua Volcano, we were served like royalty with platters of battered deliciousness and a trio of meat and sauces and tortillas, quesadillas, bacon topped jalapeño poppers, chicken spring rolls and fried yucca. A specialty there was Limonada Soda served in a soup bowl sized goblet. We were truly grateful for the rest and kindness showed by the staff and thankful to have both feet firmly planted on the ground once and for all.” ~Mary

“The Antiqua marketplace is fantastically overwhelming for a newcomer like me. Vibrant colors, Mayan patterns, bold florals, thick stitching, rich textiles fill the entire space floor to ceiling. Every nook and cranny is filled with displays of carved wood, stamped leather, painted mugs, nativity scenes, painted crosses, T-shirts - even Christian T-shirts, and purses galore. Stacks upon heaps of bags and table runners and every other textile use imaginable. 

“Business is business. How much you want to pay?”

“I give you special price.”

Storekeepers with big smiles are eager to show you eeeeeeverything! 

Within a few steps, you are gazing into the next store. Some shopkeepers do fall asleep with headphones in; teenagers…they seem so similar in every country.” -Linda

“I led devotions tonight on the topic of sleep - - - ill-timed sleep.  The scripture was Matt.  25: 1-13, the parable of the 10 Virgins about the return of Christ.   I focused on vs. 5 " . . .  and they all became drowsy and fell asleep."

I heard a Vietnamese Pastor speak about the situation of Christians in Vietnam.  He said the drink they had been given is bitter.   He went on to describe the bitter drink of persecution, suffering and hardships that Vietnamese Christians have experienced.

He then went on to describe the sweet drink the American Church has been given, where we have enough to eat, and we live in comfort and security.  We do not suffer persecution or death for our faith.   Our drink is indeed sweet he said.  But our drink is a sleeping potion.

We are distracted by our possessions, so that we don't spend the kind of time with God that Christians without such possessions do.  We can go through our days without feeling a need for God because we can provide for ourselves in many ways.

I was very impressed with our Guatemalan leader last night.  After movie night and a game, he suggested that we pray for the needs at Village of Hope.   I honestly don't remember the last time I was with friends and a need came up, where we stopped and prayed about it.

My hope and my prayer is that this opportunity God has give us to be on this trip to meet children and adults whose lives are less comfortable and secure than ours, will motive us to be aroused from our sleep to pursue God more intentionally and consistently, despite the sweetness of our lives.” -Ginny

Day 3

“The team goal for this morning was to be ready to leave Village of Hope at 10:15 am to go visit some friends of VOH who live nearby and deliver some food supplies.  That left a precious 90 minutes, or so, to make some more progress on clothes sorting in one of the casas and mural painting in the playground area.

Debbie L’s amazing vision for the mural continued to take shape.  The soccer field found itself with the beginnings of the silhouette of a player kicking the ball (that’s pretty much all you’re allowed to do with the ball in soccer) from one end of the pitch (that’s what soccer people call a field) to the other.  The dark-, medium-, and light-green arrangement has turned out really well, giving some feel of depth, although we thought our oil-base paint would have done a little more drying overnight than it did.  Debbie L. worked on the player.  Linda, Alle, Debbie C., and the male team member of the team did touch-up work from Monday.

Even if you live by yourself or you have a small family, you have to clean out and organize clothing from time to time.  Now is that time for Casa 2 at Village of Hope, so some of our team’s most accomplished clothing sorters rose to the task.  The male team member of the team is not among that elite group (see mural painting, above), so he’s hoping someone else has posted something about the experience.  We want you, our valued blog reader, to be fully briefed on it.

Ninety minutes flew by like a soccer game tied at 0, so, according to plan, we assembled for our home visits.  The families we were to visit have become friends of the VOH, and of the Blocks in particular.  Todd and Julio drove us about 10 minutes to the small community where these families live.  Most are extremely poor, living in small, dirt-floor quarters without plumbing or standard electricity.  We knew what to expect, but for some of us, this was the first time we had seen people living in such conditions.  We made deliveries of food that had been arranged ahead of time by VOH.  We talked and laughed and prayed with these families through Julio’s translation services.  Many of them gave thanks to God that VOH and people associated with VOH (like us!) care about them and make the effort to come see them.  We thanked God for giving us this opportunity." -Jim

We returned to VOH, and after lunch we continued some of the projects from the morning.  Three-thirty PM was Easter egg decorating time.  The children of VOH did an amazing job of decorating eggs, which will be the subject of some egg hunting on Thursday.  After the decorating, Debbie C. led a group in some knitting.  Several children showed promise as good knitters.

Debbie L. and a few others continued work on the mural.  The male member of the team, with a lot of Ronald’s help, continued installation of some sensor lights on one of the VOH residences.  This will be  the residence of the Block’s daughter, Addisyn, whose ministry goal is to house terminally ill infants in her home.  We installed a switch and ran wires from a junction box to the top of a gate where the lights will be installed, probably Thursday.

The plan for after dinner was movie night with VOH children.  “The Croods” was our featured presentation.  All went well until the 48th minute (continuing the soccer theme here) when the DVD froze up and wouldn’t re-start.  Even Ronald’s technical support skills were no match for this stubborn DVD player.  We weren’t about to forfeit  our remaining time with the kids, so playing a game was the unanimous decision.  Debbie C. wisely suggested it be a quiet, calm game, suitable for leading up to bed time.  The game selected involves counting numbers, ascending through the integers starting at “one” until such time as two players utter the same integer at the same time, in which case the game starts over.  Words fail to describe the fun and enjoyment this game brings, certainly more than would have been supplied by the last 36 minutes of “The Croods,” and at least as much as a soccer match tied at 0.

Ronald led us in praying for the children, and specifically for house parents for the two Casas, neither of which has any right now.  We felt God’s presence in our activities today.  We’re thankful to Him for leading us to this special place this week.  We’re thankful to you for reading our blog posts and praying for us.”

“Today was another great day at VOH. We worked on the mural a lot and have made huge progress. It looks amazing and Mr. Block told us that the kids are really excited about it. Before lunch we went and delivered food in a local village. Despite the dirty and harsh surroundings, the people we visited were all smiling and thanking us for coming. Their joy in contrast with their surroundings is something that strikes me every time I participate in food delivery. 

This evening after our movie time was up, Ronnie suggested that we all pray for more house parents to come to VOH. It was so cool to hear one of the girls pray for more house parents. And I absolutely love hearing people pray in other languages, so it was a really cool time.” - Alle

Thank you for your prayers, emails and comments on the blog! ~C

Day 2

Monday, March 21, 2016

“Today we ventured beyond the campus cinderblock walls and barbed wire into town. We had only seen it in the dark on our drive from the airport. We couldn’t make out much then; electric illumination is used sparingly here.

We strolled the main street surrounded by lush vegetation, stopped to gaze at the blooming peach orchard, and waved at the little girl peeking out of the mini market kiosk hoping for a customer. I marveled at the diverse homes lining our path. Some remind me of the California mission style we see here and there back home. Beautiful gates of wood and ironwork and cute brick driveways. Most of the homes, however, are shacks the size of American backyard garden sheds without the cute English country charm or clean industrial vibe. I was also reminded of a hut my brother and I played in on a California beach made by out of driftwood by bored dads. No sealed windows. No locks on doors…if there are doors. The Block’s youngest daughter pointed to some black string within her reach that was hoisted up by a large stick in the ground. “Those are their electric wires. Don’t touch them,”  she warned.

Julio, one of VOH’s team leaders and translators, called the kids out from their yards by name, “Vamos! Vamos! Vengan!”

He was gathering them up for a lesson and crafts.

Six followed our group down a narrow road. Twenty kids were already anticipating our arrival in the dirt lot below. They were bouncing on large rubber tires and jumping on each other.

We gathered them up quickly and sat down for Debbie’s story. I could tell the two girls next to me really liked that I had chosen to sit by them. We managed to exchange names, and they giggled at the quickly reached limit of my Spanish. 

Debbie pulled out construction paper sheets. She explained that she would tell them a true story written by God himself using colors.

YELLOW represents heaven’s streets made of gold.

BLACK is for our sin, which separates us from God in heaven.

RED is for the perfect Christ’s blood shed as payment-in-full for that sin, so that we may be with God.

WHITE represents the clean slate of those who believe in the above. 

GREEN is for the growth that occurs in God’s children when they read his Word and talk with him.

It was so heartwarming to hear the kids respond when asked what each color means. “Cielo! Cielo!” 

As a reminder and a tool for sharing the Gospel with their community, we made little bracelets with beads of each color. I saw a little boy thumbing each bead afterwards, gesturing to his friend as if he were talking about them. I really hope he was!

Please pray for the salvation of the Chituc neighborhood kids and that their joy in the Lord would evident in their community. Please pray that they will share the Gospel with their friends and family and become believers that persevere in faith to the end.

Please pray that our team and the believers in VOH would daily remind themselves and each other of the Gospel and it’s implication in all situations.

It was so refreshing to hear the foundation of our faith again today in simple words, stripped to its essence. All our hope in this life and the next can be understood by even a four-year-old and still baffle this 28-year-old.” -Linda

"One of the highlights of the day for me was the lunch we had at a Guatemalan home in Chituc, a nearby village.   Three lovely young women made a delicious lunch for 20 of us - fried chicken, rice, homemade tortillas and guacamole - all made in a very small and crowded kitchen.  God used them to bless us, just as He used us to bless them.

We were invited to look through the window to see the rest of their house -  which was just one room that served as a bedroom for the entire family, living room and family room.   There was a man laying on the bed and we were told he was passed out from too much alcohol.

I knew that alcoholism among Guatemalan men was quite prevalent, but seeing it face-to-face and knowing that one of the lovely women we met had to bear the brunt of his abuse was just heartbreaking.   On our walk back to Village of Hope, we saw a man lying on the side of the road, presumably because he was too drunk to make his way home.

The need for the hope of the gospel to replace the despair of their lives was made evident.   We pray that the boys with whom we shared the gospel later in the day will look to Christ with their needs rather than looking to booze." -Ginny

“Today we started our big work project for the week — the mural!!! We are painting one of the walls surrounding the soccer court green in the background (and the white outline of a soccer field) with a soccer player kicking a ball as the main focus. So far we have basically finished the green background - light green on the top, medium green in the middle, dark green on the below, and a small stripe of black on the bottom. It looks so cool!!!

We already had the wall primed by the team that came before us. Definitely such a help for completing this project. Without this pre-done work we would not be able to finish it in the time we are visiting VOH. The mural adds a liveliness to the entire area, making it a very inviting space to play. Working on it together as a team is also great experience. You get to see people’s creative sides come out and the ways in which what they are good at contributes in unique ways. From taking pictures of the process to taping the court outline to mixing paint, teamwork is needed. It is a long process but it is a great one, where you can build relationships and learn new things about one another.

Some team members also worked up in Casa 2 going through some of the kids clothes to decide what to keep and what could be passed on to other kids. It was an enormous project, and there are still two more Casas to go!!! 

Please pray that all goes smoothly for the mural and the clothes project, for both are complicated. It is so amazing to see what God is doing through this amazing ministry here in Guatemala. Thank you!!!” -Kelsey and Tasia

Tonight’s Devotion

"As we walked around the casas on Sunday praying, I felt a burden on my heart to pray for the biological families of the children at Village of Hope.  It’s easy to pray for the children and their children.  You see the faces and know there are heartbreaking stories behind those smiles.  And in some cases, a parent or another family member has sinned grievously against these children.  Our natural inclination isn’t to pray for people who’ve victimized or exploited children.  It goes against our desire for justice.  

In that time of prayer, I couldn’t ignore the fact that God is both just and merciful.  He sent His son to atone for my sin and because of that, I’m spared what I actually deserve - His judgment.  So I prayed for the family members of the kids - that they would repent and come to faith in Christ.  When you pray for VOH, the Blocks, the children, please pray for their families as well.  Like us, they are just people in dire need of Jesus and His saving grace.  We can’t overlook the power of God to change hearts of stone and bring sinners to repentance."

Please leave us a comment or send us an email. We would love to hear from you! ~Christine

For more information about Village of Hope or to sponsor a child please visit VillageofHopeGuatemala.com