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July 29

Last Day :(

Well, it has been awesome week for everyone involved here. Yesterday we finished up all of our work here in Guatemala City. Our construction group at Roca got delayed yesterday morning when political protests blocked the streets. But, around 2:45 in the afternoon they headed out to help the brothers at Roca finish up a few last things. Our ministry teams all went to Castillo Fuerte together and had 2 huge VBS parties. Hundreds of kids from local schools came out in the morning and afternoon. It was a great last day for everyone!

Today we loaded the bus and headed out for a little free day fun! Most of the group spent the morning visiting some Mayan ruins outside of the city. Around lunch time we all headed over to the city of Antigua for lunch and shopping. We spent the afternoon bargaining with shop owners for the best prices on some souvenirs.

Keep all of our groups in your prayers as we fly home tomorrow. Thank you for all the prayers and support from back home! We have had an awesome week experiencing God in new ways. Over and out for Mission Serve Guatemala!

July 27

Day 4

The work continues here in Guatemala City. Each squad headed out with enthusiasm to work hard again today! Our ministry teams at Castillo Fuerte really reached out to the community today. This morning they split into teams of about 5 and went door-to-door through the surrounded community sharing the Gospel, praying for people, and iniviting them to our block party/worship tomorrow night. It was a great opportunity to make some connections between the local people and the church.

Our other ministry group worked at Tabitha today. After playing with the kids all morning and telling bible stories to them, the team walked down to the dump to prayer walk and visit and pray for specific families connected to Tabitha. It was a powerful and moving experience to meet and pray for these amazing people.

Our construction team once again returned to Roca. After finishing up most of the demolition work, the squad had to clean up and sweep the church because tonight we had worship with the brothers and sisters at Roca. Tonight's worship was a great time of fellowship between believers with singing (Spanish and English), sharing, and worshipping God together. Bliss shared (through a translator) a little bit about what our theme of GROUNDED means and what we are studying this week. Four of our students even stood before everyone and gave a personal testimony of what God has been and is doing in their lives. Every one of the church members expressed their thanks over and over again for the work we are doing this week.

Tomorrow is our last day on the work sites! It will definitely be a bittersweet feeling of accomplishment in the work we have finished and the sorrow of having to leave these wonderful people and all of our new friends. Please pray that we can finish all of the projects that we have started this week and that we seize every opportunity that God places before us on our last day.

July 26

Day 3

Another awesome day today! Everyone hit the ground running this morning with breakfast and then leaving for the work sites. We had a minor bump in the road when we noticed a flat van tire as we were pulling out of the seminary. But 3 of our guys jumped right in and had it changed in less than 10 minutes. A NASCAR pit crew would have been jealous! Today the construction squad at Roca continued demolishing walls and clearing debris to expand the worship center. With most of the demolition finished, tomorrow the squad will clear up a few more things then clean up really well because we are worshipping with our Guatemalan brothers and sisters at Roca tomorrow night! Our ministry squads continued their work in local schools; sharing the love of Christ and inviting the kids to a block party/VBS party on Thursday. One squad spent the day at Tabitha playing with the children there. During the afternoon they went on house visits in the city dump to pray for people who live there. Overall, it was another great day here in Guatemala City.

Tonight in worship, Bliss challenged us to run the race that is set before us reading out of Hebrews 12:1-2:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Only 2 more days left on the worksites! Pray for dry weather and enduring strength as we try to finish strong! Don't forget to send a message to your favorite participant by clicking here!

July 25

Day 2

We made it through the first day on the sites! It was a long and busy day for everyone. We headed out around 9AM for three different sites. The construction group went to Roca to get started on a pretty hefty workload. Everyone got straight to work, hefting sledgehammers and pickaxes to bust up a concrete stage and a wall. We are clearing everything out so that the church can expand their sanctuary. While the demolition and destruction was being administered, a smaller group of our people were upstairs laying tile on the floor of another room. By the end of the day, the stage and wall were gone, as were the muscles of everyone working!

At another site, we had two groups going through two different local schools. They shared a bible study with the kids and then played games and made crafts with them. The kids were all invited to join us on Thursday at Castille Fuerte (local church) for a block party including food, games, balloon animals, VBS, a movie and more! Our last group was working with Tabitha ministries. They told bible stories and played games with children who live in the city dump.

It was an awesome day for everyone here in Guatemala! We are all worn out from the day's excitement but ready for another great day tomorrow! Continue to pray for us as we share the love of JesuChristo with the wonderful people of Guatemala City!

 

July 24

Day 1

Well, the first day is in the books for Mission Serve Guatemala. Right now the students are playing soccer and enjoying the cool nights as we get ready to hit the sack. After a few complications and delays, all of our groups finally made it in safely last night with the last group landing at 8:50. We took yesterday to settle in here at the Guatemala Baptist Seminary and rest a little bit as we prepare for the week.

Today we had a delicious breakfast of cereal, eggs, and beans! The we loaded up and headed out to Iglesia Evangelica Bautista Castillo Fuerte for worship. Castillo Fuerte is one of the churches that we will be running a ministry site (VBS stuff) out of this week. We had a great time singing and worshipping with some Guatemalan brothers and sisters in Christ. It was a great reminder that even though we live in different countries and speak different languages, we serve and worship the same God! And that God is bigger than the United States and Guatemala and the world! We had two people from our group lead some songs in Spanish and then Brother Leo from Fuguay-Varina Baptist Church gave the message. After church we all enjoyed an awesome meal at the new two-story IHOP! Then we went to visit Iglesia Bautista Roca de los Siglos. Roca is the site of most of our construction work this week.

After supper back at the seminary we had our first night of worship where our speaker, Bliss Steele, shared about our theme for the week GROUNDED. Tonight we talked about being GROUNDED in Christ. Bliss challenged us to make sure that we are firmly rooted in our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ before we try to do anything else this week.

Tomorrow is our first day on the worksites! We are all excited to get out there and serve this wonderful city, community, and country! Keep us in your prayers as we start off the week tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

Guatemala continues to be a great project for Mission Serve. Through our partnership will the Guatemala Baptist Convention, our students will be able to minister to children in local schools and assist churches with much needed repairs. Lodging will be at the Guatemala Baptist Seminary which has dorms and bunk beds for each student. The price includes lodging, meals, building materials, translators, transportation, and secondary insurance. This a great project for groups looking for their first time international missions experience. This a great opportunity to minister to local churches and to enhance their impact in the community. For more information contact us at 1888-421-4408 or info@mission-serve.com

Cost: $600

Project Coordinator
Joe Monk
jmonk@fvbaptist.org
919-291-9913

Construction Coordinator
Tim Reyes

Lodging
Guatemala Baptist Seminary

Speaker
TBD

Band
VZ

Spots Available
120