PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO READ DAY ONE AND DAY TWO FIRST IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY!
As I laid in bed at the end of day 2 writing in my journal and listening to the snoring of my exhausted friends. I began thinking about how amazing life would be if we stayed focused on God all the time and didn’t let the noise of everyday life interfere with our walk and talk with Him. I thanked God for calling me to this trip and saving that seat beside Lucia for me. I eventually fell asleep praying for the girls and for God to show me how I could make a difference in the lives of these girls beyond the 7 days we were so privileged to stay here with them. I realized I had never felt so close to God and didn’t think it had anything to do with the fact that we were at over 5,000 ft. altitude.
At 5:00 a.m. my cell phone alarm went off playing the Arkansas Razorback Fight song sparking a combination of moans, groans and laughter throughout the bunkhouse. A quick refreshing shower was followed by a traditional Guatemalan breakfast of Black Beans & Heavy Cream with Tomato Sauce and Sausage Links accompanied by Biscuits & fresh made Strawberry Jelly.
Austin led our morning devotional — “Have you ever been excited about what God is Doing?” It becomes even more obvious as the week goes on that the topics of the devotionals all week that were predetermined before our arrival in Guatemala were chosen by God. After a little reading from Romans, Austin shared about how excited that he gets about what God is doing in his life and how “on fire” he is for God (another Proud Dad moment). We all shared about how excited we were to spend more time connecting with the girls and getting to work on our projects for the week.
Got 30 minutes in toward the completion of the Gable project and then it was time to load up and head to the Market with Pastor Steve, Heather, Austin & Kay. Our purpose at the market was to purchase fresh vegetables and fruits to provide to 8 impoverished families that lived in the mountains that had little or nothing for their families to eat.
The drive through Guatemala City to the inner city market was an adventure in itself. There are seemingly no traffic laws and the streets appear almost impossibly narrow.
Armed guards are everywhere you look. It is nearly impossible to determine whether they are militia, mafia or private security guards as some are in uniform, some not, but all seem to carry very similar pistol grip pump shotguns which give them unquestioned authority to those not carrying the same.
The market was a beautiful, yet slightly unclean canvas splashed with an amazing variety of colors.
Tons of fresh produce, herbs, rice and beans, some familiar, some I have never seen before. Also Meats, Seafood and Poultry, not near as appetizing or sanitary as you would hope for.
I prefer mine with no FEET
Bought a few of these ??? to try… they were good
Fresh papayas were good too
We ended up buying about 20#’s each of Potatoes, Tomatoes, Green Beans, Squash, Papaya and a few other items all from the same vendor that Kay buys from every time they provide these families with food.We carried the food out in 8 separate bags and brought them back to Prince of Peace to be distributed to the families later in the day.
When we Arrived back at PoP, we worked on the Gable project for a little longer, broke for lunch (meatloaf, mashed potatoes, local squash & bread) and then finished the construction phase of the gable project with just enough time to quickly shower before heading up the mountain to deliver the food we bought at the market earlier in the day.We all loaded up in a bus with a few of the girls that had become attached to the families we were helping and split into four groups. The bus dropped us of at the foot of a mountain and we walked up the incline turned down a long narrow alleyway carved into the mountain and stopped at a makeshift pile of tin, cardboard and old wood that obviously served as a home for the family we were providing food for.
The Lady of the house was a 70+ year old woman with 6 unmarried daughters and 25 grandchildren living in the makeshift house with no electricity, no running water and a dirt floor with a metal grate sitting over a pile of partially burnt wood and plastic and trash to cook on. Even though they didn’t have much, there was still love in that house and love in the hearts of the children that ended our visit as I exited there house and stepped over the thresh hold by saying “I Love You” to me in English (a reminder from God, that I needed to hear)
When we got back down the mountain I remember thinking that was a pretty tough climb carrying that bag of vegetables and then God, as He did so many times throughout the week sent me a not so subtle reminder of how spoiled I am… a man walked by us as we sat on the ground waiting for the bus to return and pick us up with a huge stack of old rough cut timbers hoisted on his shoulder (it looked impossible to lift, let alone make it to the top of the hill) and as the man crested the top of the hill, he yelled “Gloria a Dios” (glory to God). Imagine praising God for the strength to carry old scraps of timber up a mountain to your family living in these conditions.
Enjoyed an excellent dinner of Chicken (no feet) & rice and were invited to Dessert and coffee by Paul and Lana (directors of the home and the only parental figure most of these girls know). Strawberry pie, brownies and Guatemalan coffee were a great ending to an awesome though exhausting day. One of Carol’s (a young lady that is a 16 year old artist and singer that lives in the independent living house) oil paintings hung in the living room of their home.
During our evening devotional led by Pastor Steve, he asked us to share one experience throughout the day that made us excited about what God is doing. I shared what I experienced on the trip up the mountian, Amber shared that she was excited that the girls she seemed to be connecting with most were the girl’s that other groups usually did not connect with and Austin shared that he experienced joy in helping an elderly lady back up the mountain side after she walked down the hill with them to show off the few ducks, chickens and a pig that she was so proud of.
God is at work all around you every day, get excited about what God is doing and put your Faith in action, but don’t forget to be still and listen to God, resting in the fact that He is God and you are not.
Day 4 will follow in a few days, check back for it… thank you for taking this journey with me, I hope it touches your heart and opens your eyes. it certainly has mine.
P.S. I recieved an email yesterday that contained a letter written to me from Estefany, a 13 year old angel at Prince of Peace and translated by a very special missionary named Casey. I wanted to share it with you, Estefany wrote
To: Doug From: Estafany
Hi. How are you? I love you very much. You are like my father and Amber is like a mom to me. Say hello to your family for me. Thank you for coming to Guatemala. I want to tell you that your family is like my family. It’s true. I want to thank you for being so caring. I hope you come to Guatemala again. Thank you for everything. Thank you for helping at the Home. You are my father. I love you very much. You are very special to me and to God and I thank God because you touched my heart for coming to Guatemala. My sisters and I (Velveth and Dapne) are sending you this letter. We want to say hi to you and your family and tell the group thank you for everything. I love you very much. You are my “papito” and Amber is my “mamita.” I love your family. Tell the group thank you for being so caring. I love you all very much. I will always miss you very much, you and your family. I love you.
Estefany and me
Posted by Steve Nelson on August 27, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Love it!
Posted by Amber Westgate on August 28, 2009 at 3:02 am
That day on the mountain with you is one that I will never forget! I have never felt closer to you or to God as I do at this point in my life. Thank you for being such a great man! I am so super blessed!
Posted by Charles Timm on September 1, 2009 at 1:06 am
That was one of the hardest things I have ever done for our Lord Jesus Christ and I’d give anything to do it again.
Posted by Gesina on February 21, 2010 at 7:09 pm
That unnamed fruit with the question marks is dragon fruit. Delicious! My husband and I tasted it while traveling in SE Asia after serving at an orphanage in Nepal. So wonderful to stumble upon your blog – we are looking to travel in Guatemala in a few weeks!