On Saturday morning I had the opportunity to do something extreme, and rather out of character, that I had never done before… motorcycling and dirt biking (Uncle Kenny, Kyle, and Grant… I know you guys won’t believe me until I put up pictures, so be patient)!  Anyways… three of my teammates and I rode with members of the church for a morning of fellowship.  For over three hours, on an absolutely beautiful day, we rode around Lake Atitlán and I am convinced that I got the best view of Guatemala!  The morning was a wonderful time of...

Last weekend my team and I were giving the opportunity to go out to Guatemala City for a weekend and do a lot of outreach. We got to go to a rehab center, a nursing home, and two dump sites. God worked in every place we went to. Not only did he work through us but he strengthened our faith in him by showing us things we have never seen before. God really blew my mind last weekend at the dump and I’m just in awe of how great He is! Arriving to the dumps I just felt discouraged about the oppression that was felt. I also got discouraged from not knowing what I would be saying to...

"Say what?" — my go to reaction for any and every situation. When we got up to go visit with women–normal women looking for a way to provide for their families–in prostitution, when we went to a hospital in Solola with 6 beds to a room and all (I mean ALL) of their families were around them, when I saw little kids fighting sickness in a dark blue room painted with some kind of green swirl as if that was to help soften the blow of the situation, when I realized that I couldn´t keep people at arm´s distance, but need to let my heart break with...

"And I pray that, you being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:17-19 Last weekend my team and I faithfully boarded a van to Guatemala City not knowing what was waiting for us there.  On our last day in the city we spent the entire morning in a garbage dump.  We separated into small groups and began to pray for everyone in sight....

Psalm 31:23-24 says, "Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." For the past two weeks we have each been paired off with another teammate and a familoy from our host church.  Lacey and I have had the priveledge of being invited into Marvin's home. Marvin is the youth pastor at Mi Re-to.  He has a wife named Alejandra and a four year old son named Alejandro.  They are also expecting another son due in October.  All three (soon to be four) sleep...

After living in a relatively small community for a month, you find out a lot about each person’s personality. The good, the bad, the funny, the weird. You also find out what main role each person plays. You’ve got the Peppy Pablo—always cheering you on, the Maternal Melanie—need ANYTHING a pharmacy carries?, the Energetic Evan—probably didn’t need that last pot of coffee, dear, and the Keep Crackin’ Jokes Kelly—no matter what, they’ve got the laughs. Some of us take on different roles at different times, but it’s important to know...

After reading over my past few blogs, I realized that I need to lighten up my topics and have a little bit of fun!  So, I thought I’d fill you all in on one of my tribe’s longstanding jokes… the Guat-Squat.  What is the Guat-Squat you may ask?  Well, it’s that burning sensation when you just have to go!  It is often the result of one too many choco-bananas, a few too many french-fries from Pollo Express, or that yummy but oh-so-dangerous street ice cream.  I am fairly certain that each member of our tribe has gotten the Guat-Squat at least...

On Tuesday, we had our morning worship time, and then were given very mysterious directions. As we read the first card, we realized that we were going to the Santo Tomas market and that the two people in my group that were fairly fluent Spanish speakers were muted from the time we left for the market to an hour after. We spent time in our groups and asked God to show us what He had in store for us. We asked for visions and pictures of people to talk to. Oddly enough, I had a picture of a woman with a meat cleaver.             We went on...

I must say that the mission has been a success since I have been in panajachel. The Lord is doing amazing things and it is getting better and better by the moment. I remember our first 48 hrs in panajachel, Megan, Sam and I led an un-believer to Jesus Christ and it was only less than 48 hours of our stay! Honestly, I took this sign as a confirmation from the Lord, that we were needed in Pana. Since then many people came to know Jesus as Lord. But it is not by our power but by the Lord´s and for his Glory, alone. From visting dump sites, swatting killer gnats and picking up my cross...

A few days ago we went on an ATL adventure (Ask the Lord). Our team was split into two groups and each group was given a packet with directions, money and our leader’s phone numbers in case of an emergency. Before we set off, our group spent some time praying, asking God for His direction and for Him to do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. Soon, the time for departure arrived and the 6 of us headed down the street to find a bus that would take us to the Puerto Barrios market.   We successfully hailed a bus and were safely on our way when suddenly we stopped....

8:00—wake up and chow time 8:30—meet at the front gate to find out the day’s assignments and pray as a team 9-2—WORK! Digging, shoveling, carrying, dumping, moving, and holding dirt and rocks. 2-3—chow time 3-7—feedback (group reflection on what went well/poorly throughout the day) nap, coffee, read, shower, have some great conversations about the Lord 7—chow time 8-?—more conversation with the great people on my team and then sleep and rest because work is starting again soon! Although each day holds the same hourly schedule more or less, you...