Tuesday in Guatemala

Well today has been kind of interesting...we worked in the morning and then had the break for the rain. Tonight we got to have a little taste of home...Dominos pizza!! Never would have guessed that we would be kicking back in Guatemala with a bunch of slices of Dominos, but it was really fun and the kids here love to eat their pizza. During the meal was our group's first opportunity to share some of our stories to the whole group here at NLCH. Nathanael Barker went first and did a great job of sharing about how God has helped him in working through his anger issues as well as just drawing him closer to Him. Then Murphy Blair shared about how she has battled with trusting God through her struggle with lupus. And how God has just been showing her that He is the One who will be her strength. They both did a great job and then Matt put together a little video presentation that had pictures from when he brought a group here in 2004 then updated it with some pictures from this trip. The kids loved seeing themselves 4 years ago. We have been told multiple times how great it is for the volunteers and workers here to see the older youth that live in the home actually interacting with the team. Apparently they usually just keep to themselves and stay away from teams. We have totally enjoyed spending time with them and playing soccer in the evenings...we actually had a Guatemala vs Gringos game tonight. It was great fun and everyone had a blast. I promised some pictures of us with the kids so here they are:

Sorry for the delay...

We had some issues with the iternet last night thus we did not post anything obviously. Here are some of the pictures from yesterday that will help you get an idea of all that we have been doing while we've been here. We started working yesterday on the boys' facilities...part of the group worked on plumbing, part on electrical sockets, part on sealing the bricks on the outside and then some on computer issues. We definitely have our work cut out for us while we are here.

We'll post again later tonight with more of a recap of our adventures. We'll also post some pictures of the children we're playing with here. Until next time...

Hasta Luego,

Guatemala Team

Sunday at NLCH

I do have to start off by saying that I read that Waco reached 102 degrees today...our group was sitting under a nice shade tree hanging out in the breeze with temperatures reaching up into the upper 70's...we could get used to this.
Anyway on to our day: this morning we went to church with the children at the orphanage. We were pretty amazed when we arrived to the church where we were going to be worshipping...I think I mentioned that it seats 12,000. The entire service was in Spanish so they handed us headphones and receivers in order for us to be able to have the service translated. It gave us a new perspective for those who visit our services that may not speak English. Some of the responses from our students were realizations that though we were speaking different languages, we were praising the same Jesus; the first song that we sang was Hillsong's Take It All which many of our students recognized and got really excited about; it just so happened that the sermon was a video tape of a guy who came and visited last week who was from Gateway Church in Dallas, TX--so the sermon was in English with a translater interpreting the message into Spanish (we thought that was kind of cool); we were also very excited about how spirit-filled the worship was in the service.

After church, we returned to NLCH for lunch which was excellent again...we have not been disappointed with the food one bit. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the kids here. More soccer, volleyball, frisbee, and the girls painted fingernails with some of the girls here and one reluctant Youth Pastor. Thus far things have been going very smoothly. Our students are building relationships with these children and really showing them the love of Christ. Some of our expectations have been completely turned upside down in a great way and God is truly moving in the ministry here.

One quick story about where we are...NLCH is located in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. It is tucked away in a spot where you are able to see two different volcanos...one dormant and the other active. On a hill that looks down into the valley where we are staying, you can see a squater's camp that blankets the landscape. It is believed that 500,000 people live on this hill in tin shacks and other shelters that are not very sturdy, especially during the rainy season. The location of NLCH is in what they call a red zone which basically means that it is so bad that even McDonalds won't deliver here (yes apparently Mickey D's delivers in Guatemala). In the midst of darkness that is so encompassing of an entire society, NLCH has become a light. It is a place where orphans come and feel valued, loved, and above all else accepted. When Jesus speaks of placing a light on a hill, I truly believe that this place is living that image out. There is no way that you can hide the Light that explodes all around this place. We truly are in the presence of the King.

We made it...

Hello all,

I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it safely to Guatemala. After a little bit of a delay in leaving from Houston, our travel was very smooth. We landed and made it through customs with no problems at all and then headed straight to the ice cream shop for triple dip cones...yummmm!!! Once we finished our ice cream, we jumped back into the vans and headed to New Life Children's Home. We had a brief orientation and then a tour of the facilities that will be our home for the next 7 days and nights. This place is really beautiful and the children's home is a great little place where 52 children reside. We got to meet them at dinner and they are incredible. Speaking of dinner, we had the first of our many differing styles of beans...according to some who have been here before, we are going to eat a lot of beans this week...yikes!! The meal was great and the coffee that accompanied was a perfect compliment. After dinner we headed out to go play with the kids. Soccer, volleyball, basketball...you name it and we played it. It was great to watch our students and adults jump right in and mix it up with the children here. I really think that this is going to be such a life changing week for so many of our group. Tomorrow we go to church in the city...it's a 12,000 seat auditorium and the service will be completely in Spanish so it will be an interesting experience for our little band of troopers. Please continue to pray for our interaction with the orphans here and that God will speak His love and grace through us despite the language barrier. Thank you for your continued prayer and support. We love and miss you all.

Guatemala Team '08
PS-this was the most comfortable place on the plane...I'm not sure that David Woodard could even breathe here.

Movie Night in the LifeCenter

Tonight at 7:30 we will be the first to use the LifeCenter (aka the new building). We're setting up the projector and rolling film for a night of fun for the whole family. Come around 7pm to secure your spot to watch the show. You will need to bring your own chair. See you guys tonight!!

Lake Day

Lake Day at Airport Beach
Thursday, July 24, 2008
10 am - 2 pm

We have boats and hot dogs and drinks which makes for a great combination for a day at the lake. Here is how you get to the fun...

Directions from Waco:
On Lake Shore Drive, turn west onto Airport Rd. Turn left on Skeet Eason Drive. Skeet Eason Drive will curve around the southern end of the airport. Take the first left into Airport Beach Park. Follow the road until it deadends into the parking lot at the beach.

Directions from China Spring:
On China Spring Hwy, turn right on Flat Rock Rd. Turn left on Skeet Eason Drive. Take the second right into Airport Beach Park. Follow the road until it deadends into the parking lot at the beach.

There are restrooms at the beach.

Cost to get into Airport Park Beach is $4 per vehicle.

No pets or glass bottled drinks are allowed.

Don't forget your SUNSCREEN!!!!

Paintball Monday

Below are the directions to Gizmo Guru for paintball on Monday. We will arrive there around 10am and leave at 1pm. The cost will be $15 per person (even if you have your own gun and you have to have a release form signed by a parent. We have the vans reserved if you want to ride with us (or follow the vans), but we will be leaving at 9:30am. If you want to check out their webpage the addy is http://gurupaintball.com/.

EASY ACCESS FROM I-35, EXIT UNIVERSITY PARKS DR. GO SOUTH THROUGH BAYLOR PASSING LA-SALLE, AFTER YOU CROSS LOOP 340 HWY 6 IT WILL BE YOUR FIRST CROSSROADS @ E. TINSLEY TURN LEFT AND THE FIELDS ARE ON THE RIGHT.

P.I.E. will be at Jason's Deli tonite!

H2O

Hey guys,

Just letting you know that H20 will be Sunday night July 13th at Maggie and Murphy Blair's house. They live at 1905 S. Old Temple Rd in Lorena. We will have maps in the youth room Sunday morning or you can google map it. See you there. BTW, those of you who went to camp wear your FC shirts to church.

HSM

This Sunday

Hey guys,

This coming Sunday we have a special guest leading worship in the services at 9 and 10:30am. The Steve Fee Band (who is a part of the Passion Movement) will be leading out and I think it would be really cool for us to go ahead and have the youth go to the 9 o’clock service for the music. After they are done with the music, we will go back down to the youth room and continue our lessons in the Psalms. So make sure to go straight to the sanctuary at 9am this Sunday. See you there.

HSM