Hey! Lilly here. Sorry that I haven't been posting lately.... it got really busy (that's my excuse for not taking the time).
Anyways.... We had a fabulous time!
Going back to Wednesday, we started out in the morning with the regular VBS in the morning. That day we did the gospel story, with how we are sinners, we were saved by the blood of Christ, He makes us clean, we grow spiritually, and last of all we get to walk in the streets of gold. While the kids were doing a craft on that I was called away on a translating "mission" from one of our team members who needed help talking to a mother whose kid could not walk. The little girl was about 18 month, and had almost no muscle in her legs and bottom. She could stand, walk or even resist someone pushing up on her legs.
Since Mary- Beth (the team member who pulled my aside) was a OT, she and her husband made a makeshift bucket seat to put the child in. We bought a medium sized plastic bucket, and cut out the bottom. Then we got some rods and put a paint roller on in. We later put some holes in the bucket and slid the rod in which the paint roller inside, so that when we put the child in, the rollers would be by her stomach. It made it so the baby girl, Kimberly, would be safe and it would keep her upright.
While I was explaining all this to the mom, Mary Beth was telling me how the child should sit in it and how long, 3 times a day. We put Kimberly in the seat, and boy! Did she hate that thing! She was screaming and yelling. Mary Beth said it was because Kimberly wasnt used to using her muscles. After we explained this to the mom, I was ready to duck out to go play with the kids, but Mary Beth came up with something else.
Mary Beth turned to me and told me to tell the mom that she was going to put Kimberly on her knees. The roller was just in the right spot so that Kimberly could use that for balance. I was a little confused about this next step because Kimberly couldn't sit without it hurting/working her muscles, why would she be able to kneel? I didn't say anything to Mary Beth (she knew what she was doing) and once again explained to the mom and Grandma what this is doing. Poor, Kimberly hated us. She was screaming and the little baby tears were running down her face.
Just when Kimberly had settled down, but was still on her knees, once again I was ready to go blow bubbles with the kids but.... Mary Beth had another idea. She then showed the mother how to have Kimberly stand, when she could, with the little make shift box as her steady object. Once again, I didn't know why Mary Beth was showing this to them, when the baby girl couldnt even sit without screaming.
Once I had explained everything to the mom and Grandma, we took Kimberly out of the seat and her mom held her. Her crying had stopped but there were the little baby hiccups every once in a while. Mary Beth had was playing around with Kimberly's legs, giving them a little massage when Mary Beth's face lit up. I looked, and Mary Beth pointed at Kimberly's legs. While MB (easier to write) pushed up on Kimberly's legs, Kimberly decided to push back and fight the tension. IT WAS A MIRACLE!!! When Kimberly came in, she couldnt do that. After consulting MB, we figured that there was no way that the little girl to do that with just a little bit of time in the special seat. That was all God right there!
The mom and the Grandma were just delighted. They saw the change in Kimberly and it gave them hope.
The rest of the day, we went back to the orphanage- where we went in the afternoon, and the kids watched a movie. Mary Beth and I went to go the a special needs 12 year old boy who had CP and played with him. That was another highlight!
Later that night, we had a big send off party, where the pastors of the churches we served at came over for dinner. We got to learn a little big more about them and then later the biggest surprise was that they washed our feet. That was a really humbling experience. They wanted to show some gratitude for what we helped them do that week in their churches!
Thursday: So Thursday we changed it up. In the morning we went to Guatemala City and worked at a school called Precious Moments. There were did more bible stories with three different groups. We had a rotation since it would be to much to do 200 kids at one time. It was amazing to see how many kids could fit into a tiny tiny little space. The building was made to be a house, yet they turned hallways and closets into classrooms. Another thing about this school, is that it is in a very dangerous place. A lot of drug dealers and gangs hang around, and they recruit children to be part of their gang. So if you could keep those boys and girls in your prayers that would be great.
After having a great time in Guatemala City, we went to home sweet home (at least for me and mom) ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA!!!! It was so nice to be back home. We checked into the hotel and had the rest of the day to ourselves.
Mom and I went to go walk around town, got some cookies, went shopping and had time just mother- daughter. It was great. The rest of our group went to go shopping and then had dinner at some place... I dont know where they went. Sorry.
Friday: FREE DAY! We could do whatever we wanted. Mom and Amy went to Common Hope (the place dad worked when we lived down there) to talk to a man about helping teachers, help the students. After that most of the group went to the Choco Museo. For those of you who don't speak Spanish, that a chocolate museum. You learn about how chocolate was made in many different times.
While most of the group was there, mom and I went to see her old Spanish teacher, we went shopping and had lunch. Later, we took to other group members (Mary- Beth and her husband Jeff) into what we call the "real market." We did some more shopping.
Later that night, we had a another big send off party at a really good restaurant. It was great to have one last big party before we were home bound.
Saturday: Time to leave... :( Today was sad. We had to leave our beautiful Guate. It was also an early morning. Many of our members were not feeling the best, and some were up all night, so if you would pray that they feel better that would also be great. We didn't have any complications coming home--other than some Guatemalan guy look through my backpack, only to tell me that he thought I was cute. okay then...
Anyways, sorry again that I wasnt very consistent with the blog. SO... im going to go do some homework. Hope you all have a great night!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lil
P.S sorry if there are any mistakes grammar wise or anything like that.... its late. Teens dont do good when its late ;)
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Tuesday.
Today we divided into two groups, one group did a vaction Bible school program with the children in Sumpango in the am while the other group visited the homes of people in the local community. When the group doing the Bible school program arrived at the church we were told there was a change of plans. A woman in the community had died so her funeral was being held at the church, so we led the children down the street to an open grassy area next to the place were the ladies go to hand wash their laundry. We told the story of the shepherd who had one hundred sheep but lost one. The shepherd went out and looked for the lost sheep until he found it. We explained that Jesus is the shepherd and they are like Jesus's sheep. Jesus knows each one of them by name and will search for them until they are found by him. Since we were next to the local laundry there were some extra kids that were nearby listening while they waited for their mom's to finish thier laundry. We tried to draw some of the kids in by offering them the craft and snack that we were serving. We had to cut our day short though because there was no shade available and the pastor was concerned about how much time the children were spendig in the sun.
In the afternoon, we once agian divided into two groups. One group went to the orphanage to play with the children, while the others took the nuns that normaly care for the children at the orphanage out to lunch. The lunch was at a Italian resturant. It was immediately obvious that the nuns do not eat Italian very often. When we asked the nuns when the last time they ate at a resturant was and they said last year when your group was here. This was a big deal for the nuns. Occasionaly groups will come in play with the children but no other group acknowledges the nuns who are the day in and day out caregivers of the children. We presented each of the nuns with a book and expressed our appreciation to them for all of the work they do.
Allyson
Hi! Its me Lilly! That was one of our guest bloggers for today. The other one is Pat. He will be blogging (love that word) on what he did today... home visits.
Buenos notches!
We enjoyed a beautiful, warm day here in Sumpango, but have had to suffer with a mild sun burn. :-)
This morning the group (Amy, Mary Beth, Jeff, Pastor Marvin and Dora) I was a part of made 4 home visits. These visits are a time to meet with members of the local church and learn more about their families. We also use the time to share Scripture and pray together. Many of the families here struggle financially, suffer with health issues and have various family dynamics. A couple short stories to share: the first family we met with is a young couple with 4 children. The husband is out of work, so his wife is currently working to support their family. What is unusual for Guatemala is that the husband being a stay at home dad is taking care of the cooking, cleaning and getting the children to school. This family was very inspiring to me and was grateful to meet them and learn more of their struggles yet strong faith in Christ. Another visit was to a with a husband who is currently not attending church and refusing to let his family attend. He has beaten his wife in the past and struggled with alcohol. Our visit today was encouraging because when we first arrived he didn't invite us into his home, but after talking for a few minutes he invited us in. We were able to talk with him for about 20 minutes and then prayed for he and his family. We all felt encouraged that the visit was fruitful and are hopeful that God will reveal His love for him and his family soon.
This afternoon Dana, Leanne, Lily, Jeff, Mary Beth, Tim and I spent our time with the children at the orphanage. It was a very enjoyable time filled with games, baseball, ring toss, paper airplanes, snacks and hugs. I'm amazed at how respectful the kids are and how they look out for each other. It has been a joy to be able to spend time with these children and be a loving presence.
A couple other things to mention about the day. Volcano Fuego continues to spurt out puffs of ash, we're enjoying excellent meals, and Jeff averted a potentially serious injury due to a tricycle breakdown.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for this visit! God bless, Pat
Buenos notches!
We enjoyed a beautiful, warm day here in Sumpango, but have had to suffer with a mild sun burn. :-)
This morning the group (Amy, Mary Beth, Jeff, Pastor Marvin and Dora) I was a part of made 4 home visits. These visits are a time to meet with members of the local church and learn more about their families. We also use the time to share Scripture and pray together. Many of the families here struggle financially, suffer with health issues and have various family dynamics. A couple short stories to share: the first family we met with is a young couple with 4 children. The husband is out of work, so his wife is currently working to support their family. What is unusual for Guatemala is that the husband being a stay at home dad is taking care of the cooking, cleaning and getting the children to school. This family was very inspiring to me and was grateful to meet them and learn more of their struggles yet strong faith in Christ. Another visit was to a with a husband who is currently not attending church and refusing to let his family attend. He has beaten his wife in the past and struggled with alcohol. Our visit today was encouraging because when we first arrived he didn't invite us into his home, but after talking for a few minutes he invited us in. We were able to talk with him for about 20 minutes and then prayed for he and his family. We all felt encouraged that the visit was fruitful and are hopeful that God will reveal His love for him and his family soon.
This afternoon Dana, Leanne, Lily, Jeff, Mary Beth, Tim and I spent our time with the children at the orphanage. It was a very enjoyable time filled with games, baseball, ring toss, paper airplanes, snacks and hugs. I'm amazed at how respectful the kids are and how they look out for each other. It has been a joy to be able to spend time with these children and be a loving presence.
A couple other things to mention about the day. Volcano Fuego continues to spurt out puffs of ash, we're enjoying excellent meals, and Jeff averted a potentially serious injury due to a tricycle breakdown.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for this visit! God bless, Pat
Monday, February 16, 2015
Hello everyone!
Sorry, that I havent been posting at all lately. The last couple of days have been really full, and when we get home so late, its hard to want to stay up later.
Anyways, we arrived safely!!! On Saturday we didnt have any problems with any of our flights, and we arrived on time! That night we were supposed to do a bonfire with the kids of the Madre Anna Vitiello orphanage, but due to us stopping at the hotel first, and getting stuck in traffic, we arrived to late and we were not able to. That night we all went to bed tired!
The next morning, bright and early, we went to a small sumpango church, where we acted out Peter walking on the water story, and had some of our group memebers share their testemonies. Later that afternoon, we went to a different sumpango church where we did some carnival games! These were ring toss, trying to catch fish with magnets (not actually fishing), face painting, three legged race while trying to balance an egg on a spoon and a waterballon toss! After that, we did the Peter walking on water story again, plus we had a worship time, and then finished up the group testemonies.
Later that night, around dinner time, we went back to the orphanage (that we will be spending a lot of our time) to have our promised bonfire with extra large marshmellows. The kids loved to stuff the marshmellows in their faces, and after two they were all sugered up and ready to go!
After that, we went to Betty's house to have dinner. Betty is a Guatemalan tour guide who is currently working with us to be our translator, our host, and a coordinator who helps us with everything.
After our bellies were full with delicious homemade Guatemalan food, we went back to the hotel for reflection time and then bed!!!!!!!!
This morning we woke up around 7:30, ate breakfast and then left to start our day. Today we started off by going to the sumango church (the second one) where we did a VBS. We read them the story of Noah and the Ark, and had them act it out. One of our team members made little animal puppets so those were a big hit for them. While some of us were doing the VBS, another half of the team went on home visits where they went to go talk to people, pray for people, and read them a little bit of the bible. I heard that they were very powerful, and that it was a very emotional expirience for our team members and for that certain family as well. Yet another thing was going on, while these two groups were out. A lot of the families who go to church, are very young. The parents are around 16-20 and usually their husband beat the wifes who attend church. Sometimes even the kids. So one of our team members were helping them cope with that as well,
I wish i could tell you more, but the hotel manager just kicked me out... its closing time. So, ill try to blog tomorrow!
Have a great night!
Lilly Turnquist
Sorry, that I havent been posting at all lately. The last couple of days have been really full, and when we get home so late, its hard to want to stay up later.
Anyways, we arrived safely!!! On Saturday we didnt have any problems with any of our flights, and we arrived on time! That night we were supposed to do a bonfire with the kids of the Madre Anna Vitiello orphanage, but due to us stopping at the hotel first, and getting stuck in traffic, we arrived to late and we were not able to. That night we all went to bed tired!
The next morning, bright and early, we went to a small sumpango church, where we acted out Peter walking on the water story, and had some of our group memebers share their testemonies. Later that afternoon, we went to a different sumpango church where we did some carnival games! These were ring toss, trying to catch fish with magnets (not actually fishing), face painting, three legged race while trying to balance an egg on a spoon and a waterballon toss! After that, we did the Peter walking on water story again, plus we had a worship time, and then finished up the group testemonies.
Later that night, around dinner time, we went back to the orphanage (that we will be spending a lot of our time) to have our promised bonfire with extra large marshmellows. The kids loved to stuff the marshmellows in their faces, and after two they were all sugered up and ready to go!
After that, we went to Betty's house to have dinner. Betty is a Guatemalan tour guide who is currently working with us to be our translator, our host, and a coordinator who helps us with everything.
After our bellies were full with delicious homemade Guatemalan food, we went back to the hotel for reflection time and then bed!!!!!!!!
This morning we woke up around 7:30, ate breakfast and then left to start our day. Today we started off by going to the sumango church (the second one) where we did a VBS. We read them the story of Noah and the Ark, and had them act it out. One of our team members made little animal puppets so those were a big hit for them. While some of us were doing the VBS, another half of the team went on home visits where they went to go talk to people, pray for people, and read them a little bit of the bible. I heard that they were very powerful, and that it was a very emotional expirience for our team members and for that certain family as well. Yet another thing was going on, while these two groups were out. A lot of the families who go to church, are very young. The parents are around 16-20 and usually their husband beat the wifes who attend church. Sometimes even the kids. So one of our team members were helping them cope with that as well,
I wish i could tell you more, but the hotel manager just kicked me out... its closing time. So, ill try to blog tomorrow!
Have a great night!
Lilly Turnquist
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Getting ready for Feb 2015!!
The thing about technology is that when you enter a virtual room or space that has not been used or entered in a long time, you can't do anything to "kick up dust" so to speak. Bummer!
Well, I have allergies to dust, so I suppose that it is just as well. No dust kicked up here, but we are nearly ready to embark on the Feb 2015 edition of the James 1:27 trip! Most of the week you will "see" Lily doing most of the blogging...but for now, until we leave I am taking care of the blog.
This inaugural post is to give you our prayer list....it is also an "itinerary" of sorts; you can see by the list where we are going and what we are planning for each day. Thanks for being a part of this team through your love, interest and prayers!
Well, I have allergies to dust, so I suppose that it is just as well. No dust kicked up here, but we are nearly ready to embark on the Feb 2015 edition of the James 1:27 trip! Most of the week you will "see" Lily doing most of the blogging...but for now, until we leave I am taking care of the blog.
This inaugural post is to give you our prayer list....it is also an "itinerary" of sorts; you can see by the list where we are going and what we are planning for each day. Thanks for being a part of this team through your love, interest and prayers!
James 1:27 Prayer Requests:
2/14 thru 2/21/15
General trip requests for Allison, Amy, Connie, Dana, Jeff, Joyce, Leanne, Lilly, Mary Beth, Pat, Tim:
- Safe travel
- Good health / avoid sickness
- Team unity / no strife
- Experience a closeness to God
- Have fun / enjoy time together
- Keep ourselves unstained from the world (James 1:27)
- Be led by the Spirit in our prayers
- All the children/adults we meet and spend time with experience the tender love of Christ
- Angels to guard our way (Ps 91:10)
- We remember to put on the full armor of God each day (Eph 6:10-18)
- Restful sleep
- No theft of our belongings
- Betty& Miguel (adopted son): praise for one year together
- Van driver – Jorge: that he will be alert
- Cook – Regina: thankful for her work as our cook. Prayer for her health, safety.
- Lily will be able to complete all her homework
- Amy – team leader: will have peace, trust and wisdom leading our trip
- Deeper understanding of the love of Jesus for us and for all those we encounter
- Team blog will be useful for the glory of God
- Treasure our devotional and worship times
- That our visit would be used to plant seeds for the Kingdom and if God’s will that we could be used to help harvest seeds
- Jeff won’t have any allergic reactions
Saturday, 2/14: Travel / Orphanage
- Flights will be on time
- stamina for travel
- all bags and belongings will arrive with us
- no issues getting through customs
- opportunities to share the love of Jesus on Valentine’s Day
- that the children have a lot of fun roasting marshmallows as we will be at the orphanage for the bonfire which is a special time with the kids.
Sunday, 2/15: Church
- Faithstories will be fruitful during both AM and PM church services
- carnival will be a time of fun and laughter for all
- Stamina for the team as we will be involved in 2 different churches telling a total of 4 faith stories and 3 Bible stories as well as hosting the family fun "carnival" for the evening/afternoon church
- our visit will be uplifting and refreshing for the Pastors and their families
Monday, 2/16 – Wed, 2/18: Orphanage & Church
- that the older children who will need to leave the orphanage soon will be placed into safe and healthy homes
- Continued trust and strong relationships with the nuns
- VBS will be a blessing to the children
- Home visits to be a blessing and encouragement to those we visit.
Thursday, 2/19: Precious Moments School
- Our visit will be encouraging to the teachers
- The children will experience Jesus and enjoy the planned activities
- Gringos will win soccer match J
Friday, 2/20/21: Antigua
- Enjoy/refreshment on our day in Antigua
- Morning time of team debriefing
Saturday, 2/21/15: Travel / transition
- safe travel for James 1:27 and Bridge Builders teams
- Amy, Connie and Joyce will have smooth transition to Bridge Builders team
- Smooth transition for rest of the team back in Minnesota
- No issues getting through customs
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