Day 5 - March 28/09

Today was an amazing and relaxing day. First, we got an extra hour of sleep before taking off to visit some sponsor children. We walked to all of the children’s homes and each sponsor gave their gifts to the families.

I was supposed to continue blogging about what happened today, but right before I was about to write the rest… we started singing on the top of the roof of our complex and God just started moving like crazy, so I had to stop and go with the flow. We sang for about an hour all the songs that we knew and God began to speak to people in new ways and people began to cry out to God. My hands were shaking as I put my hand around a friend because I could feel the true power of God. We started talking about how we are so distracted in Calgary by all our stuff that it took a trip to Guatemala for us to realize how real and alive God is. The Guatemalan people have shown us that “…the meek will inherit the Earth.” We have seen first hand that when you have nothing, you have gained the entire world. In Calgary, we have everything we could ever ask for, but in reality, we have absolutely nothing. Finally, we prayed that we would bring our new perspective back home with us and change our school. It should not take a trip away from home for anyone to realize how real God is, and when we go back, we want to be able to strip away everything on a daily basis and connect with God. We now know that God lives everywhere and whenever “…two or more gather in His name, there He shall be also.” Today was an amazing day, and I know the other blogs will fill you in on the specific details of the day. A moment where God has vividly touched us is more important than the most detailed description of our daily activities. God is alive, and He is everywhere!

Karlynn

Hola!

Today was a very touching and challenging day emotionally for many of us on the team. We had the opportunity to sleep in this morning and it was greatly appreciated!

Both teams were split into smaller sub-teams based on the location of their sponsor children. One group went to San Antonio (high in the mountains) and Chicoy, while the other group visited sponsor children in Mocohan and Tactic. The opportunity to witness poverty and pain first hand, was overwhelming. Pieces of boards, metal and sticks were piled on top of each other and held together by mud. Many of the homes were no bigger than the equivalent of one of our standard rooms in our homes in Calgary.
The eyes of each of the sponsor children and their families lit up with joy and love at the sight of us “GRINGOS” walking up to them. As each sponsor child received his or her gift from their sponsor, smiles filled their faces and gratitude covered their hearts. It was obvious to us that these children and families had never been shown such love and commitment in their lives before. On the contrary, the love and welcoming spirit that they showed us was incredible, as many of them gave us hugs and smiles without even knowing our names or our stories. Our lives were touched greatly by their acceptance and openness to our prayers and songs. Meeting our sponsor kids added a whole new dimension to sponsorship. Seeing the impact that our dollars and prayers have directly on the future and well-being of the people, was incredible, and it inspired many of us to pray daily for our children’s everyday needs both spiritually and physically.

After a lengthy stay at many of our sponsor children’s homes, we headed out to the hospital in Coban. This was the hardest emotional experience for a majority of our team. The sight of children and newborn babies lying in a hospital bed with no nurses or doctors treating them brought many of us to tears. We had the opportunity to hear the stories of the children and their conditions from their parents, and then pray for them and give them stuffed animals. Many parents were brought to tears at the thought that people cared enough that we would pray for their children’s health and well-being. Two mothers were brought to the Lord courtesy of Israel and his undying passion to minister to the lost and brokenhearted. Over 80% of the children who he prayed with in the hospital had pneumonia. As many of you know, pneumonia can be easily cured with penicillin within days. Unfortunately, the hospitals in Guatemala have very little penicillin, and they are in HUGE need of it to cure those with this terrible disease. It broke our hearts to hear that a disease, which can be easily cured in Canada with the right prescription, can’t be cured in Guatemala because they simply don’t have the materials or the finances. Many of us have decided to start a program in order to raise money so that penicillin can be given to those who DESPERATELY need it.

Following the hospital we had dinner at Pollo Campero and headed back to the hacienda for a de-brief period with our team.
Several people from both teams started to sing worship music and pray together on the roof outside the hacienda. It was a great bonding experience with both our team and God.
We are very excited to experience church tomorrow and take on the Guatemalans in an intense game of soccer!

Have a great night!
Phil