5 down...7 to go

Thank you for your prayers in getting the first half of our Missions team to Guatemala safely: Tara Mowreader, Jack Mowreader, Baudilio Mowreader, Tracy Hansen, and Kristen Hill. They will be meeting us in Santiago on Sunday after a few days in Xela, spending time in Baudilio's village. God speed, team.

As for me, this will be my 2nd trip to Guatemala-I went for the first time in the summer of 2009 and I don't think my whole heart ever left. The people, the beauty of the country, the overwhelming feeling of God's presence - undeniable one of the best times in my life. One of my most vivid memories was watching a large group of people getting baptized in Lake Atitlan on a sunny Sunday morning. I always tear up at this public profession of faith - to see people publicly proclaim that Jesus is their Lord and savior.

I feel like I have a lot to learn from people in this 3rd world country: humility, sacrifice, loyalty, love, faith, gratitude, friendship. Some people I have talked about this trip to have scoffed at me and said "why would you go to Guatemala when people in the U.S. need help". Because God called me to "go" - He called me to spread the hope of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to the ends of the earth - to Guatemala. To look into the eyes of a people who sacrificiously share their home (about the size of my bedroom) with entire family of about 6-8 and tell them "this is temporary - accept Christ and you'll live in a kingdom for eternity". They rotate the privelege to sleep on a cot vs. the cement ground - typically handing this privelege to the eldest in the home. Oh - and a cement floor is a luxury, by the way - dirt floors are more typical, surrounded by bamboo shoots or thin wood, wrapped in rope and covered with a sheet of plastic. Makes complaining about being upside down on our mortgage seem pretty superficial now that I think about it.

God called me to go, our team to go. Our plans - to build 3 homes and teach Vacation Bible School. His plans? These will be revealed to us I believe when our team comes together on the ground on Sunday. I pray our hearts and minds are open to receive His direction, to go where He calls us to go, to pray with those He desires to save, to serve alongside those who believe there is no hope and to share the Hope only our Savior can bring.

Will you pray with me?