Guatemala Short-term Missions trip

Today our group was able to go on home visits. This was one of the things I was looking forward to most of all... little did I know, the previous 3 days were going to be absolutely incredible and I didn't realize how much a day like today would impact us emotionally. We had 3 home visits - where we learned about the family, what they needed, and what their prayer requests were. The second house was the one that will impact us all for life. The second home included a mother, father, and 4 children. The father recently had appendicitis and became septic, so he had been out of work for over 3 months. The mother stays home with the children, and the children were gathered around her during the visit. We noticed that the children had very low energy (not talking, sitting, barely smiling), and were incredibly thin. When Ben asked the mother when the last time the children ate was, she admitted that it had been over 24 hours, and the ONE "meal" the day before was a little bit of milk and bread that a neighbor dropped off. This was a common occurrence - IF they were able to eat once a day, it was a good day. ALL of our hearts ached so much to see this. When we gave the children candy and small gifts, their eyes lit up like nothing we've ever seen. We were able to provide the family with meals that will last a few weeks, some money to help pay for groceries, and a Bible, among other things.  The mother was thanking God this whole time - she said that before her husband's surgery, they didn't trust in God as they do now. She said that she has seen God again and again in how He provides for them. She knows she has hope in Jesus and that He will never leave or forsake her. She continued to praise God - it was amazing to see. We can't even describe in words what this did to all of us..... our hearts are forever changed and our vision has become even more Christ-focused.

Today our group was able to complete the third and final concrete day. Most of the people in our group had done one concrete day already, so everything ran a little more smoothly now that everyone had an idea of what was needed. One of the things that really stood out to us was the group delivering the sand we needed for the foundation of the home. They really went above and beyond by not only delivered us what we needed, but they helped us move the sand to where we needed it for the home. At one point they were carrying wheelbarels full of sand over 100 yards to help us, which they did not need to do at all. This helped us complete our day so much quicker and we were all grateful for their help.

Once we finished our cememt day we realized one of the trucks would not start. Since it was a manual vehicle, we decided to push it down a hill in order to perform a bump start, but that did not end up working. Our next plan was to hook up a rope to our other vehicle and pull it all the way home. Unfortunately, the normal brakes on the truck did not work, so we were forced to use the emergency brake whenever we needed to stop. About halfway home the tow rope broke in a busy intersection and we had to get out and fix the problem, which we thankfully were able to do quickly. This situation reminded some in our group of something our leader Ben had told us at the very beginning of the week - "Things will not go according to plan every day, so blessed are the flexible for they will not get bent out of shape." Even though lots of things did not go to plan, we were still able to thank God for a great day where we accomplished what we needed, worked together great as a team, and were able to get home safely.