Antigua--The Last Day, with Guest Bloggers Sue Schultz and Sara Zarnstorff

After blessing 713 individuals with eye glasses, this week, all around the country of Guatemala our  "mountain top" experiences continues.  10 members of our team were up bright and early to drive an hour and a half, climb a volcano for two hours, enjoy a beautiful view of God's creation, climb back down and drive back another hour and a half to join the rest of the group, who had also had a "mountain top" experience.

Nury took the rest of our team to visit the small village of Santiago Zamora, just outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  In this small village there is a Lutheran Church and School.  The school has provided a Christian education for children in Santiago Zamora and surrounding villages for 17 years.  The school is raising up leaders for the Lutheran Church here in this country.

The children of the school were so excited to see our group come to visit.  Nury is a "rock star" in the village and the children all ran to hug her.  The church in Santiago Zamora is continually trying to improve the school.  Today some teachers were away from their classes attending a continuing education opportunity.  The other children were working hard on their studies.  We were blessed by three children in the first and second grades class, who wanted to share an animal report that they had prepared, in English.  What a neat part of the day.  Look for opportunities, through MOST ministries, to help children in schools like this one in Santiago Zamora learn to speak English through an ELS mission trip.

The women of the congregation also brought their hand woven textiles for us to look at and purchase.  They were very grateful that we took the time to admire and ask questions about their masterpieces.  Many of the handmade items take months to make.  The women also prepared a "light" snack for us of some very tasty tamales and some fruit drink.

One of our team members had also had a chance to check up on the agricultural ministries he helped with in the village of Santiago Zamora for the past four years.  He was happy to see that they had planted a crop in the new way that the team had recommended for better yield results.  Oh I forgot to mention that to get to the cornfield we needed to climb a very steep hillside.  When we got to the place where the field was there was a "lookout" built by some men from the church that made a great place to pray and thank God for His amazing creation.

Another team member was moved by the many improvements that the school and church had made since she and her family were there fifteen years ago.

As we re-enter the western world we had a wonderful lunch at a coffee farm of a friend of Nurys and enjoyed a few hours of shopping in the city of Antigua.

The Cathedral (left), City Hall (right), and volcano above Antigua

The altar of the Cathedral in Antigua

Our dinner back at the hotel and devotion time topped off a great last day here in Guatemala.

Paula Welsh presents Pastor Ada with a stole woven by the ladies of the congregation of the church at Santiago Zamora

One of our teenage team members led our before dinner devotion with Matthew 28, the great commission, where Jesus said to his disciples, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  How appropriate for our time here but not something to be forgotten for any of us as we live in His kingdom.  Sharing the Good News is essential so that more can come to know Jesus our Savior.

[Sue Schultz's post ends here. I continued the post below with information about the climb of the active volcano this morning, "Volcan de Pacaya", by some team members.]

The climb was a fascinating adventure for the members who went on the climb. Volcan de Pacaya is one of three active volcanoes in Guatemala. We had ten members who went on the climb, along with a tour guide. We rented walking sticks from children at the base of the volcano before starting out. Several of us wondered how difficult the trek would be. We had heard it took anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours to make the climb. I hadn't planned on climbing, so I just brought my dress shoes along for the trip, so I was worried about whether they would work. Some of our team were wondering how the altitude would affect them.

Our guide made sure that we paced ourselves well. We stopped about every 5-10 minutes going up to catch our breath and rest a little. We didn't climb all the way to the top, but we got to the lava fields where nothing was growing.

Our guide bought marshmallows at the highest store in Guatemala so that we could roast them over a heat vent in the lava field.

The views were spectacular from the top of the climb. All of us made it without having to rent a horse.

Sara Zarnstorff shares her thoughts on this week:

Shout it on the rooftops that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Each morning we woke up to see God's beautiful creation. On the rooftop of the hotel in Xela we could see out over the city of one million people. At 5:00 AM celebrations were starting with firecrackers, marimba music, church bells ringing, and a blessing to celebrate one of the saints somewhere in the city. I could see the large clouds of smoke floating over the sky. We stayed at the hotel for three days. It was our place of rest and cleansing after the poverty we saw in Chajabal.

I saw the beauty in each place we visited as families cared for each other. I saw the true meaning of service to others when the elderly man climbed the stairs again and again with bowls of soup to serve us when they have so little.

Last Clinic Day

Sara Zarnstorff shares her thoughts at the beginning of this day:

Amos 1:1. God calls unlikely people to do His will. Our whole team is healthy. We have all tried new foods and things we thought we could never do. This morning we have a view of the volcanoes with the lake below. We ready to serve God again at the eyeglass clinics after a day of rest.

Today was the last of five clinic days for our team in Guatemala. We saw many children from the church school and orphanage near the Eagle's Nest at Solala. We saw almost two hundred children and a few adults this morning and afternoon. The children did not have the health problems that we had seen in Chajabal. They were quite active and fun for me in my evangelism station. In addition to describing the meanings of the different colors of the beads on the bracelets and knit puppets we handed out: red stands for the saving blood of Christ, shed for our salvation; green stands for our new life in Christ, etc..; I also quizzed them on their knowledge of the English words for the colors. They knew most of them. I used the Evangecube, a teaching device that unfolds in ingenious ways to depict different graphics that help explain the Gospel. For instance, the first side of the cube shows a figure standing against a black background. I said that this represents all humans, you and I, who are separated from God by our sins. The left side showed a glowing light that represents God, who is perfect and sinless. Then the cube would be opened to show Jesus on the cross. I would explain that Jesus died for our sins, taking them to the cross, paying the penalty that we deserved. Then the cube would be opened to show Jesus' tomb, with Roman soldiers guarding it.

I would ask, "What is this?", in Spanish, and the children would tell me. They were very well taught by their teachers and pastor. The school administrator, Job Isaac Fuentes Lopez, helped our team with registration.

By now, our team has become a fairly well-oiled machine. Today we set up our stations around a large fireplace in the dining hall of the Eagle's Nest for our testing and dispensing.

We saw most of those who came to the clinic in the morning. After lunch we saw about twenty more people and then we packed up and got on the road to Antigua.

I got to ride with Victor, one of our drivers, in his truck, instead of the bus.  Victor loves Antigua, his hometown, and he told me a lot of very interesting information about Antigua and other subjects. We followed the bus to Antigua.

We had dinner at the beautiful house of our MOST team Guatemalan coordinator, Nury. After dinner Vicki Sorensen, our team leader, told us what we might expect to feel upon returning to our homes on our return. Many people feel guilty about the materialistic overkill of their personal consumption. Some people get depressed and withdrawn for a while. Some might feel themselves superior to others who have not been on mission trips. We covered these possibilities and a lot of other ways we might react to coming back from this literal and figurative "mountain-top experience." The important thing to remember is that this is not about us, but about serving our Lord and our neighbor, both out of recognition and gratitude for the many gifts we have received in Christ, and also in obedience to His command to serve Him and our neighbor. Vicki emphasized the crucial need for a good debriefing partner and, as always, for prayer.

It has not been easy seeing the things we have seen this last week. Many feel pain that they are not able to help more, or, some, like me, feel anger at the effects of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, the legacy of Adam and Eve's fall from blessedness: poverty, disease, crime, and the like, all Satan's friends. May this sorrow and anger impel us to work to better the living conditions of our neighbors in need, and not embitter us or blind us to the blessed work of God in the lives of the people we have met this week: their love of God; their strong bonds of familial love through many generations; their faith, nurtured by their pastors and teachers and parents; the joy of receiving good eyesight with glasses that will enable them to see their friends and beloved family members, the beautiful hills and mountains of Guatemala, and the words of Scripture, and in Scripture, the Light of the World, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  And may those who contemplate going on a mission trip like this know that it is a wonderful-- in the true meaning of the word: full of wonder--experience. May God call you to share the joy we have shared, whether it be teaching your children and grandchildren about Jesus, or a domestic or foreign mission trip. The harvest is plentiful! God bless you. Tomorrow: volcanoes, farms, and Antigua.

Yesterday at Chajabal and Today's Visits

Panoramic view of valley of Quetzaltenango, Xela Ju, where we stayed for two days.

Technical difficulties prevented me from blogging yesterday evening, so today's post will cover Tuesday and Wednesday,

We had a second day of clinic at Chajabal on Tuesday. There were many more people who came to see us, probably because of word of mouth, 131 in total were examined. There were many children who came with their parents. We had a classroom for VBS with reading of stories from the Bible and coloring pages with Bible stories. Sue Schultz had a large classroom of children when I took this photo. I estimate that there were at least 20 children. Sue asked one of the students to read the story to the students. Sue told her that she was a very good "maestra." Maybe that will plant a seed in this girl's mind that she could be a teacher someday. Who knows? Well, actually, God knows. 

Brittany Garcia had a very good rapport with the children. She read books with several of the little ones.

We had a young doctor with us, Dr. Pablo Alejandro, who assisted us greatly for the last three days. We saw several people who had serious medical conditions: diabetes, infections, (one little baby had a severe ear infection) Pablo was able to prescribe medications for some of them and give them advice on their conditions. The big problem with treating many of these conditions is that the people are so poor that they cannot afford regular checkups or prescriptions. This sad fact affected many of us. We got to see firsthand the effects of a fallen world. But we also got to see how the light of our Lord Jesus Christ can give hope to even to those most suffering in this world that there is a loving Father in heaven who wants us to trust in His promise of eternal, joyful life to those who believe that His Son died for their sins. 

Today we took a rest from the clinics and left Xela (Quetzaltengo) to visit the Inter-American School fifteen minutes from our hotel. Michael McNabb, the director of the school, gave us a tour.

The school is about fifty years old. It was started for the children of missionaries in Guatemala in the Xela region. Today, over 80% of the students are Guatemalan. The school continues to provide an excellent, Christ-centered education from Kindergarten through high school. All of the courses are taught in English. Many of the graduates get scholarships to colleges in the United States.

The photo below is of our group on the school grounds with a beautiful view of the valley below and the large volcano in the distance.

After our school visit we travelled to the coffee plantation La Tranquilidad, owned by Martin and Diane Brodbeck. Martin gave us a tour of his nine acre coffee fields. We got to eat fresh coffee beans (sweet), and roasted beans (delicioso!) 

The Brodbecks also made a wonderful lunch for us with a tamale dish that is usually cooked for special celebrations. The Brodbecks were wonderful hosts.

After dinner we travelled to the Eagle's Nest near Solola, where we began this week. We had dinner by Lake Atitlan and did some shopping. We ended the day with devotions and a meeting. 

Every morning we have devotions and end every day with devotions and a debriefing meeting to talk about our thoughts on the events of the day. 

Tomorrow we have our last clinic day.  

Chajabal, with Guest Blogger, Amy Schultz

God is at work in Guatemala this week! Today was filled with many moments designed by God to use us as His instruments to bring His light into the village of Chajabal.  Just when you think that the day before could never be topped, God gives you another day filled with unexpected surprises. The God moments that were brought up at our team meeting this evening before dinner include:

• In the primitive village of Chajabal, we saw tremendous need, and yet we met a loving group of people who patiently waited while we sought to bridge the language gap of this modified Spanish/Mayan language. Although less people were seen today than our previous two days, the lighter lines allowed for other opportunities...

• At one point during the day, we looked out our window to see an elderly man wearing his new reading glasses and reading the Bible that our team member, Mark, had given him. What a joy to see how the gifts of clearer vision and God's word are already impacting his life!

• We met the pastor's grandchildren, Maricella, Alvania, and  his son, Martin Luther, who played soccer with us, read Bible story books in Spanish with us, and helped to serve us lunch made completely over a wood stove.  Many other children also came throughout the day and enjoyed playing catch with a football and even playing a little indoor soccer in the clinic because of the cool weather.

• A group of team members went to pray with the pastor's daughter-in-law, Andrea, who is facing kidney failure. It was an emotional time of prayer as they face the reality of the cost of daily dialysis while waiting for a kidney transplant. Tears were shed as they joined hands in prayer and asked for God's will for this family.  Pastor Mike was also able to pray with two of her children who we saw later in the day at the church and school where they attend. The youngest son, Moses, asked that we all continue to pray for his mother.
• After lunch, another group of team members went on a prayer walk to stop throughout the village to pray for God's work in Chajabal.  When we arrived in a central square area, a large group of grade school age children were playing.  We decided to pray in the grassy area where the children were and they quickly gathered around our guide, Nury.  She engaged them in conversation and before we knew it, we were talking, singing, and praying with them. When she asked if they wanted to pray, they said yes, and quickly got on their knees.  We followed suit, and as Nury interpreted Pastor Mike's prayer, the children echoed everything that was said!  As our bus started driving us back to the clinic, children were running alongside of the bus and two even came with us all the way back to the church. Pastor Mike and Vicar gave them the bead necklaces and told them what they meant. Their names were Pedro and Juan, or Peter and John, since they wanted to know the English version of their names.  Amy Mahnken told them in Spanish that in the Bible, Peter and John were friends with Jesus!

• The prayer walk allowed us the opportunity to GO into the village and meet these children. We encouraged them to come tomorrow to our clinic and bring their families to have their eyes checked.  We told them that we had many more necklaces to share with them and are praying that God will bring even more children and families to our last day of clinics there tomorrow.
• Please continue to pray for our team that we will all remain healthy despite the primitive conditions we will again face tomorrow.  Pray for Andrea's health, a child we saw today with cancer in his eye, another child who had a raging ear infection, and for more children and families to come and join us tomorrow. Pray that God will keep us rested, strengthened and renewed for the rest of our time here in Guatemala.  Most importantly, pray that His light will shine into the lives of the people we see so that they may see Him and his gift of salvation for all of us!  
  
    

2nd Day in San Marcos

We had a longer clinic today because we started earlier than on Saturday. When we arrived at San Marcos there were about thirty people-- men, women, and children-- waiting for us. We did a quick setup and rearranging of the examination tables for more efficient movement between stations, said a group prayer, and opened the clinic.

We distributed two hundred and three pairs of glasses today. There were many remarkable stories that we shared tonight before dinner. Most of them centered around how grateful, open, patient, and joyful the people of San Marcos were. Even though several of those we examined had serious eye problems that were beyond our capabilities they were so grateful for what we could provide.

One elderly lady received a cane to help her with walking. When she came into the clinic she was walking with the assistance of her daughter-in-law. After getting the cane, she started practicing walking with it, and soon was walking with much more ease and confidence.

The people we served showed us so much gratitude for every thing we did. I handed out little beaded leather necklaces and wristbands that tied into a presentation of the Gospel of salvation through faith in Christ by describing how the different colors represent God the Father-transparent; the saving blood of Christ--red; the new life in Christ--green, etc... Each person also got a printout of the description of the colors and what they represent. Along with the descriptions were scripture readings that tied into the colors' themes. Blue stood for the waters of Baptism. The reading was from Galatians 3:26-27:

           "for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (ESV) 

Pastor Ada told us that seven families today requested  to be baptized. What an amazing evidence of the power of the Word of God. The farewells at the end of the day were very emotional, with lots of tears and embraces and wishing God's blessings on each other. Persida Gudiel, a powerful leader in the church in San Marcos, (who also gave a very evangelical Gospel presentation to those waiting to be seen) expressed the thanks of her church for our coming to serve them in this mission trip.

One of our team members from Michigan, Karen Zehnder had a birthday today. At lunch, our hosts provided a birthday celebration that the whole team attended, with two beautiful cakes, a card, balloons, and firecrackers. We sang her happy birthday and had a great time.

We left presents of blankets, an audio player that presents the Gospel in Spanish for all those who helped us, from cooking our meals, translating for us, helping in so many different ways. Persida's husband, Juan Ramon, Alex, Cristina, Luis, Angelita, Marcosa, Patti, Dulce, Lidia, Maria, and others were recognized and thanked.

Tomorrow we will be in Chajabal, where many of the people will not be Spanish speakers. We have an assistant, Pablo, who knows Mayan languages who will be very helpful to us. We have an early start, so I will end this post now. I am uploading photos of today's clinic that I will add as soon as they are uploaded.

This week we will also have guest bloggers, so look for tomorrow's post. Buenas noches, hermanos y hermanas en Cristo.  Good night, brothers and sisters in Christ.

The First Two Days in Guatemala

Our group on Saturday morning before breakfast, with two volcanoes in the background.

The first two days of our trip were filled with travel by plane and bus, getting to know our Michigan and Iowa team members and our Guatemalan hosts and having our first clinic this afternoon. The flights to Guatemala went without a hitch, on time and smooth. I couldn't believe how easily we went through immigration and customs. We landed in Guatemala City and took a bus to Solola, where we stayed at a hotel called the Eagle's Nest. The men stayed in one room and the women split up between two rooms. We arrived after dark, so we didn't see the spectacular view of  Lago de Atitlan below us.  The next morning, though, we were treated to a magnificent view of the caldera lake with a view of two gigantic, dormant volcanoes, and, in the the distance, an active volcano with a plume of smoke coming out the top.

Beautiful morning lake scene. Active volcano right center.

"Which is clearer, one, or two? One...., or two...." (In Spanish, naturally.)

Preliminary screening for eye diseases.

We travelled about three hours to San Marcos and set up our eyeglass clinic. We unloaded the bus and van and set up very quickly, said a group prayer, and started seeing people. When we began, there were already around 30 people waiting to see us. We eventually saw about 125 people in afternoon. Tomorrow we will start early and will probably see many more.

Our host Nury de Milian is such a blessing to us, as well as Vicki Sorensen, our team leader. Nury has been filling us in on the history of the Lutheran Church in Guatelmala during our travel time, as well as other cultural information.

Tonight at dinner we recounted how we had seen the Lord at work today. People mostly mentioned how patient and forgiving the Guatemalan people were that we served. I saw that myself with the evangelism that I did in Spanish. The people were so respectful and friendly. I never heard a snicker at my mispronunciations or awkwardness, only smiles and many "gracias" from the adults and children.

Fine tuning of prescriptions. This table was busy all afternoon. 

We are happily tired tonight and look forward to a full day tomorrow. Blessings on all the family members and brothers and sisters in our churches who are praying for us and miss us this week. We will have many stories to share with you when we return.

Tomorrow night I will post again if we have an internet connection.