Actors, Singers, Dancers . . .

That was our Friday evening as we went to watch Teresa Lara take part in a two hour musical . . . or at least it seemed like a musical. The students, all 12 of them, had to dress up like little children and explain different aspects of the Guatemalan and US culture in English through music and plays. The whole exam was from memory, nothing impromptu . . . not even the question and answer portion. Thursday we helped Teresa with her question and answer portion for about 3 hrs. We are glad to say that she did a good job!

Saturday, after our Bible study, we stopped by to pick up Samuel and Nestor for supper. Many of you who read this blog have heard of Nestor, but have never seen him. He is a 14 year boy that lives just outside Guatemala City. He is, most importantly, the son of Samuel. We were blessed to finally meet him and spend some time with him. This was the first time in years that Nestor has came to see his father. Needless to say, Samuel was grinning from ear to ear the whole time he was at our house! Please pray for Samuel and Nestor as they hope to see more of each other in the future.

Today, Sunday, we went to church with Max Lara. Plans were to watch Teresa get baptized, and we were going to officially name this blog “Teresa’s Happenings.” However, plans changed, and she was not baptized today, but we did have the privilege to see one man testify about his salvation and then be baptized. It has been a great and blessed weekend, and we pray that that continues as we go to our Sunday night study.

Please pray for us as we head out of town tomorrow. We will taking some R&R this week in Coban and Tikal before our busy summer starts. As always . . . thanks!

Still Amazed . . .

At the sites in this country. It is truly amazing that we serve a God that has created such beauty. The sun sets, volcano eruptions, and people that we see everyday remind us of

"How Great is Our God"!

The last two weeks have been busy as we have been in the process of finding villages and families in need of homes. Derrick and Samuel have been scoping out areas such as Comalapa, Santiago, and Itzapa. Yesterday they went to a village called San Antonio. It is on the outskirts of Santiago. Their are about 25 families in this village that still has no electricity and only a enough water to get by. We will be passing out food in this village in June, so please pray for hearts to be changed. It is the first time that we have really come against even the slightest hint of opposition as the leader sternly said he does not want change . . . spiritually speaking . . . in his village, but will allow us to share the Gospel.

Our Bible studies have continued to be a blessing. The children are always eager to hear stories from the Bible and color a picture that relates to the stories that we tell. Please continue to PRAY for these families, Garcias and Tzars, as we continue to share the love of Jesus with them. Our Saturday Bible study is a hodge podge of families, please lift them up as well. It was a privilege to have Bro. Teddie, Lisa, Dana, and Gina join us last Thurs. night. We always enjoy sharing with people from the states what the Lord has done in our ministry here.

Monday Blues

Monday was the boys last day. We spent the last few hours playing hide and seek and Xbox. They also had fun sliding down a hill side as if it was covered with snow. In reality it was covered with dust! But, they are experts at improvising, and they had a good time.

For our last hour with the kids we went to Taco Bell (again, a first for them). To see the looks on their faces as they looked at the menu was priceless. Even though we are in Guatemala, Mexican (Tex-Mex for some) food is rare for the locals. They had no idea what they were about to eat, but once it hit their lips, you couldn’t stop them!

After we arrived at Casa, a simple “Thank You” made it all worthwhile. We will treasure these moments, and hopefully they will too. We are blessed by the Lord to be a blessing to others.

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¡Se Levantó!

Se Levantó, Se Levantó, de la tumba Se Levantó. He rose, He rose, from the tomb He rose. It was a joy to sing this line of a song this past Sunday. Praise God for the fact that Jesus did not just die, but he rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of the Father.

Sunday morning we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ at our church, Canaan Baptist. It was the first time that some of the boys actually sat through a “real” church service. We sang, prayed, listened to the Word, and then partook of the Lord’s Supper. What a marvelous day it was!

After church, we returned to the house to eat lunch and have an Easter egg hunt. It was funny watching the boys look through the bushes, leaves, and flowers around the property. We even had a golden egg and gave a prize for the one who found it, and a prize for the one who had the most eggs.

In the afternoon, we headed back to Joya Grande to play some soccer and have our regular Sunday night Bible study. All the boys went with Jodie to the children’s Bible Story lesson and learned about when John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Derrick went with the adults to continue our study through the Gospel of John (we are almost to chapter 8). We were blessed to spend some time with the families and have bread and Pepsi with them after the study. The hospitality that we see always amazes us.

After returning home, a game of "aggravation" (board game) was
the highlight, and Carlos was the victor.

Playing, Working . . . Having Fun!!

Wednesday the boys came over and we really didn’t do much of anything except play Xbox and watch movies. The Xbox was pretty much the ultimate treat as they played it any and every spare minute they had.

Thursday was the first full day for the boys. We started the day with a devotional from Luke 22:39-46. After playing a little, we all went to Joya Grande to help out some farmers in one of our Bible studies. It was good for the boys to see a different culture than what they are used to.



They also had a good time playing soccer with the kids in our Bible study and just spending some time talking with people that they normally wouldn’t have the chance talk to.

Friday, while many people in Guatemala were participating or watching processions, we hung out at the house and talked about the death of Jesus Christ and what it means for us. We also had a good time watching movies and playing Xbox (as I said, it was a hit with the boys). We actually had a soccer tournament on the Xbox, and of course the victor was Derrick!

Saturday was a day to get out of the house. After going through the normal morning routine and talking about the Resurrection of our Lord JC, we headed to the capital. We went to a place called Planeta Maya where the boys were able to play arcade games, ride bumper cars, and take a walk through a haunted house (only two of them did this). The kids enjoyed the change and the chance to do something that they are usually not able to do.

Saturday night, we all participated in an an “American” tradition; we dyed eggs for the next day. This was a first for the boys, and they had a good time making the colors and their own unique designs.

An Easter Blessing

The Lord has blessed us this last week with the privilege to have 4 boys over from Casa Aleluya. The past week is known as Semana Santa in Latin America, and for the kids at Casa Aleluya, it is a chance for them to go spend the week with their families. However, there are many that stay at Casa because they have no family. And for some, the family that they do have does not care to spend time with them.

So, we brought Carlos, Josue, Chato, and Hugo (left to right) over to the house for a fun filled Easter week/weekend. Josue is the only one of the four that is considered abandoned by the government. The other three have some type of family, but their family chose not to come get them, and for Carlos, this makes 7 years without a visitor. It was a blessing to be their “family” for a week. The above blogs will show what we did during the week.