Here is the group at church singing my favorite song from the VBS about the 5 loaves and 2 fishes. The song is entitled "Miracle" and refers to the Feeding of the 5,000. Pastor Jasinto, his wife Nancy, and Nancy's sister Leyda (at the far, far right--almost hidden) are leading the singing. Trinity Roselle's team members are at the very end (minus Nancy who is Missing in Action and behind the camera!). So from left to right, you see Ilse (one of our wonderful translators), Carol, Michelle, Dolores, Gary (on the move!), and Cheryl. The kids just LOVE to sing God's praises, and it always feels so joyful, even if they do have to nudge each other AND bug each other during the singing! :-)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
NEW HOUSES AT LOS LIMONES
Rather than shacks made of tin, pieces of plastic, and any materials people can find...
some people have been fortunate enough to receive little brick houses with the all-important concrete floor. Some of these houses have been built by the Central American Lutheran Mission Society.
After the house is built, the family receives a plaque, a cross, and a special blessing.
And this hammock looked very, VERY inviting!!!!
some people have been fortunate enough to receive little brick houses with the all-important concrete floor. Some of these houses have been built by the Central American Lutheran Mission Society.
After the house is built, the family receives a plaque, a cross, and a special blessing.
And this hammock looked very, VERY inviting!!!!
LIVESTOCK ALERT!
On the way out to Los Limones, it does seem a little strange to see cows just wandering around. They are beautiful! This first one looks like Elsie from the Borden's commercials.
LOS LIMONES
Here is our poster in Los Limones advertising our VBS. And we know that the kids definitely saw it! On Monday we had 113 kids, and by Friday we had 287! This was besides the group that we had at church which ranged anywhere from 70 on up to 105 kids. Praise God!
Besides having the opportunity to work at church, the group enjoys working in the afternoon at an area called Los Limones. This is a very needy community with some really great kids! We are outdoors (usually under a tent). The first day the kids had a fun sticker page to work with, and they really enjoyed it. Discovering the Greatness of God was the theme of our VBS, and the sticker page helped to emphasize the many wonderful things of God's creation.
Besides having the opportunity to work at church, the group enjoys working in the afternoon at an area called Los Limones. This is a very needy community with some really great kids! We are outdoors (usually under a tent). The first day the kids had a fun sticker page to work with, and they really enjoyed it. Discovering the Greatness of God was the theme of our VBS, and the sticker page helped to emphasize the many wonderful things of God's creation.
THE GREEN AND YELLOW SCHOOL
The school is looking really good and getting ready to roll! Enrollment has started, and when we arrived there were already 48 students signed up. Little did we know at that point that there would be a total of 70 signed up by week's end! Wow! We met the woman who will be serving as the school principal and had a chance to see what the uniforms will be like. I remember wondering what a yellow and green school would look like when our Trinity people were painting last July. I think it looks great -- cheerful and soothing at the same time. Great choice of colors!
Carol and Michelle from our group enjoyed seeing the school for the first time. I love the beautiful ironwork on the windows!
FIRST VISIT TO THE GUALAN MARKET
After traveling from Guatemala City to Gualan (approximately 3 hours by bus) on Sunday, we arrived in time to attend church at Iglesia Luterana la Resurreccion. After service, we went out for lunch with Pastor and his family at a new place in town called Burger Diner. They had the most delicious pizza there. Have to say we all got quite a laugh when the waiter told us they couldn't cut the pizza slices into squares, because the pizza is round! They could only cut it into triangles. One of our team members drew a picture of what we meant, and lo and behold we ended up with square pieces. Pretty funny - I guess you had to be there!!!!
Afterwards, we went to the market and saw the place where Pastor goes to buy the daily fruit snacks for the kids. The MASSIVE fruit is papaya. They grow them big there!
Some of the fruits are fascinating, because we have never seen or heard of them before! I have no idea what this is that this lady cut open for me and invited me to eat.
Pastor tells us that it is better if we don't eat the fruit from the local market, just because we have no idea how their handwashing policies, etc. are. We always follow his advice, just knowing that American stomachs are used to different germs--not better or worse, just different.
Afterwards, we went to the market and saw the place where Pastor goes to buy the daily fruit snacks for the kids. The MASSIVE fruit is papaya. They grow them big there!
Some of the fruits are fascinating, because we have never seen or heard of them before! I have no idea what this is that this lady cut open for me and invited me to eat.
Pastor tells us that it is better if we don't eat the fruit from the local market, just because we have no idea how their handwashing policies, etc. are. We always follow his advice, just knowing that American stomachs are used to different germs--not better or worse, just different.
WE'RE BAAAAACCCKK!
Doesn't even seem possible that I haven't updated my blog since August! Things just got so crazy busy, and before we knew it, it was time to go! God just showered down blessings as far as donations were concerned -- HUGE donations of approximately 500 toothpastes, 3000 (yes -- count 'em!) toothbrushes, hotel size shampoos, and ingredients for our trail mix snacks (peanuts, raisins, M & Ms, cash donations, etc.).
Nov. 7 was here before we knew it, and off we went!
Nov. 7 was here before we knew it, and off we went!
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