DREAM TEAM......azul azul azul!!

DreamTeam here: Gary, Don, Jason, Tom, Kathryn, Leisha, Morgan, Kelsey and Krystal

We started the day in Santa Catarina at a small family compound.   The girls built the windows and doors in record time.  Then headed to play and spend time with the children.  Samuel, a Guatemalan who helped the team yesterday and has been building houses for years, was assisting another group for the day.  Samuel can put a house together in a jiffy (less than 2hrs per house)...today it took Dream Team 4hrs to assemble each house. However, lots of exciting activities were happening simultaneously such as; playing with new soccer balls, gato gato PERRO (duck duck GOOSE), coloring, English lessons, Spanish Lesson (for us), Australian Captain Ball (taught to all of us by our new Aussie friend and team "mate", Kathryn), run away goat crashing the work site, run away donkey loose in the streets, street dance parties, and limbo.  The children were all super excited to spend time and play with the DreamTeam and we felt the same.  The second house that we built today was an upgrade from the original house which took a lot of extra time to finish due to rocky ground.  Overall the DreamTeam had a great day and enjoyed spreading God's love to all of these wonderful people in Santa Catarina.

Today we have guest Post-ers

Several people have volunteered to post........

First work day in Guatemala

Hey, this is Don and it is about midnight in Guatemala.  We have just finished  4  hours of fun group games and it is time to call it a night.  Our first day on the work job ended with 5 of our 16 houses being finished.  We have four work teams and everyone worked very hard today.  A special feature of this years trip is to plan a family lunch with the Guatemala future homeowners.  Everyone made an extra lunch and when it was time for lunch, we invited everyone to join us in a meal.  It was a very special time together.  We also planned a one day Vacation Bible School for each of the houses that we built.  There were many children who enjoyed the crafts, coloring books and bubbles.  Day two will continue our house construction projects and spending time building love relationships with the Guatemalan people.  Continue to pray for us as we travel throughout the country side sharing the love of Jesus.

FIRST POST OF THE 2012 GUATEMALA MISSION TRIP!

Well. if you believe in omens, this trip didn't start great. One of our crew forgot their passport and wasn't able to make the flight out of Myrtle Beach in time....but they've made other arrangements and will be getting in Friday at 5 so it's all good.
The flights over were smooth and we made it to the Mission House safely. We had a devotion service tonight where we dedicated the different elements of the trip (building, food distribution. interacting with children,...) to God , along with our efforts and lives
More tomorrow as we come back from the worksites with pictures and stories.

Saying Goodbye

All of this week's pictures can be found at www.facebook.com/fbcwilmington.

It has been a fantastic week here in Guatemala. We have been blessed in so many ways.  The weather has been perfect.  Even when it rained, the timing was such that we were able to work on houses under roof overhangs.  We had one case of dehydration and he bounced back beautifully.  Our drivers have been outstanding and our hosts have been gracious and incredibly helpful. 

I can't say enough about our team this year.  It truly was a team.  They made room for, and celebrated and included, each person.  We have laughed a lot, cried a bit, played a lot of Farkle, and marveled together at all that God has done in our midst.

We have talked a lot this week about how God goes ahead of us.  We are here because God has nudged us to be here.  Maybe God is nudging you to be here soon too.  We were welcomed into the lives of the Guatemalans because God has gone ahead of us - through the missionaries here and through God's Spirit.  And the ten houses we built are not the end goal - they are simply tools; tools that God will use to remind those who see them and those who live in them that God is present, that his love is real and that hope is available to all who seek him.  The houses are not the end goal for our team either.  This is just the beginning.  Last night we prayed that God would show us why he brought us here and what he wants to do with us when we get home.  Join us in that prayer as well.

There is so much we won't forget - the cabbage, the donkey, the white horse, the crying babies, the boulders, the ceviche, Farkle, spoons, chicken buses, police stops, the madman with the machete, the children, bubbles, smiles, coca lights, the vans, the walkie talkies, the volcanoes, zip lining, ropes course, pot holes, the market, haggling, Mac-Donalds, Whoa!, seriously, creative roofing, Don's praise band, dogs, fotos, Max, Samuel, John, Noah, Denise, Reina, Paul, Christy... and so much more. 

It's been a great week.