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