We're in the Houston airport, waiting for our next flight -- the Houston to Guatemala City portion. Looks like we're on time! That's a good thing. That 5:30 a.m. departure out of O'Hare is a killer, but it's worth it so we can arrive to Guatemala early in the afternoon.
That's me
(NANCY), enjoying the wait with my traditional Auntie Anne pretzel. I am the fearless leader for our VBS trip. Mission trips are my passion, and I have been blessed to go on two mission trips to Honduras, this is my second trip to Guatemala, and I also went on trips to Russia and Romania. My biggest contribution to the team will be to use my Spanish. I always try to just relax and let the Lord take over and work through me! This is a huge leap of faith for me to have seen all the planning from beginning to end for the VBS. It has been a great learning experience.
I am pictured here with
GARY. He has led trips to Poland, Mexico, and (most recently) Slovakia. This is his second trip to Guatemala. He is a retired Lutheran school teacher with many years of experience in teaching, and he is also an accomplished puppeteer with a wonderful collection of puppets! His creativity and flexibility are amazing, and it is obvious that he has many years of experience in the classroom.
DOLORES has been on trips to Honduras, Guatemala, Poland, Slovakia, and Mexico. This is her third trip to Guatemala. She was quite a pioneer on her first trip, when she was in a group that went to Chajabal to help out with the construction of a church. She is a nurse and will help us all stay healthy! Her servant's heart makes her a great asset to any mission team. She is having a bit of a struggle with learning Spanish, and we are continuing to work with her on her pronunciation of the word "gracias". We think by the end of the trip, she just may pronounce it perfectly!
Here is
KAREN. We are SO excited to have her as a teammate, as this is her first mission trip. We were never able to talk her into going on a medical or construction trip, but we know she will be awesome as a VBS teammate. She taught in Lutheran schools for several years and is currently the director of our church's handbell group. I keep trying to convince her that we should bring the handbells to Guatemala, but I think it's a tough sell! Her gentle spirit and teaching skills will be much appreciated on this trip!
Here is
CHERYL, mission ministry member extraordinaire! She is an experienced mission "tripper" and has been to Honduras and Guatemala. She has devoted so much time to fundraising, organizing, printing up materials for the VBS, making banners (both paper and cloth!) and SO many other things that there's just not enough room to list them all. She really knows how to get things done! She also has the dubious honor (?) of handling the in-country finances...
MIKE is also enjoying the traditional Houston airport Auntie Anne's pretzel. His life was changed forever when he went on his first medical mission trip to Honduras in 2003. Up until that point, his family members could never convince him to go on a mission trip. But in 2003, the Holy Spirit really worked in and through him on that first trip, and since then he has led or assisted with many trips to Appalachia (with our church's youth), Honduras, and Guatemala. God definitely had plans for him, and shortly after his first trip, he accepted the chairman position of Trinity's Mission Ministry. His leadership and sense of humor are much appreciated!
So there we are! We are definitely pioneers on this trip, since this is the first official VBS we are doing in Guatemala. We realize that we are only assisting the local congregation with what is really their VBS. But with our small team (of six) and with God's mighty power, we hope to reach many children in Guatemala -- both churched and unchurched.
Ummm. Uh oh! Climbing down isn't quite as much fun! Isn't there a railing?! :-)
Thanks Mike for lending Nancy a hand!
Here was the view from up above. That's Ubaldo (a member of the congregation) on the left and Pastor Jasinto on the right. What a fun afternoon!
The area below is the ball court. It's fun to climb to the top and is quite a sight to see!
The banner was created and signed by Trinity students. It is wishing Resurrection good luck with its new school. What a blessing it has been to see this wonderful friendship develop. As we often say, it's a small Lutheran world! And whenever people gather in Jesus' name, great things happen!
And here is my personal favorite -- Blues-y! Gary did such a great job with the puppets. They always bring a smile to your face!
That's me (NANCY), enjoying the wait with my traditional Auntie Anne pretzel. I am the fearless leader for our VBS trip. Mission trips are my passion, and I have been blessed to go on two mission trips to Honduras, this is my second trip to Guatemala, and I also went on trips to Russia and Romania. My biggest contribution to the team will be to use my Spanish. I always try to just relax and let the Lord take over and work through me! This is a huge leap of faith for me to have seen all the planning from beginning to end for the VBS. It has been a great learning experience.
I am pictured here with GARY. He has led trips to Poland, Mexico, and (most recently) Slovakia. This is his second trip to Guatemala. He is a retired Lutheran school teacher with many years of experience in teaching, and he is also an accomplished puppeteer with a wonderful collection of puppets! His creativity and flexibility are amazing, and it is obvious that he has many years of experience in the classroom.
DOLORES has been on trips to Honduras, Guatemala, Poland, Slovakia, and Mexico. This is her third trip to Guatemala. She was quite a pioneer on her first trip, when she was in a group that went to Chajabal to help out with the construction of a church. She is a nurse and will help us all stay healthy! Her servant's heart makes her a great asset to any mission team. She is having a bit of a struggle with learning Spanish, and we are continuing to work with her on her pronunciation of the word "gracias". We think by the end of the trip, she just may pronounce it perfectly!
Here is KAREN. We are SO excited to have her as a teammate, as this is her first mission trip. We were never able to talk her into going on a medical or construction trip, but we know she will be awesome as a VBS teammate. She taught in Lutheran schools for several years and is currently the director of our church's handbell group. I keep trying to convince her that we should bring the handbells to Guatemala, but I think it's a tough sell! Her gentle spirit and teaching skills will be much appreciated on this trip!
Here is CHERYL, mission ministry member extraordinaire! She is an experienced mission "tripper" and has been to Honduras and Guatemala. She has devoted so much time to fundraising, organizing, printing up materials for the VBS, making banners (both paper and cloth!) and SO many other things that there's just not enough room to list them all. She really knows how to get things done! She also has the dubious honor (?) of handling the in-country finances...MIKE is also enjoying the traditional Houston airport Auntie Anne's pretzel. His life was changed forever when he went on his first medical mission trip to Honduras in 2003. Up until that point, his family members could never convince him to go on a mission trip. But in 2003, the Holy Spirit really worked in and through him on that first trip, and since then he has led or assisted with many trips to Appalachia (with our church's youth), Honduras, and Guatemala. God definitely had plans for him, and shortly after his first trip, he accepted the chairman position of Trinity's Mission Ministry. His leadership and sense of humor are much appreciated! 
, and floors. 
In the above picture, several of us are looking at the musical instrument "tun", which is an ancient Mayan instrument that is similar to a drum. They are made of wood and are beautifully carved. We also had flutes that were carved with the Guatemalan national bird, the "quetzal".
This market in Guatemalan City had all kinds of fun stuff!
We did several other things for fundraising, but it's pretty difficult to find a niche, as so many people are trying to raise funds for their organizations too. God was with us though and proved his faithfulness!
