Team A (for Awesome): The Formation of the Fellowship and the Beginning of the Journey

We made it!

All these single ladies took off with cheerful hearts this morning - it was such a blessing! Nobody ate anything (except me, Jessica, who had ramen) until after security and check in. I was amazed, to say the least! Coffee was flowing freely, however, and that might have had more than a little to do with it :) .

The pictures I had planned to include are being difficult, so they will probably be included later. Ah, well, first time for everything!

We had a short delay in Atlanta, but still arrived relatively on time. Jorge, our driver, met us and took us to our hostel right away. The hostel is absolutely beautiful! There are so many plants and open spaces. The ceilings especially are gorgeous! The plans are almost all fake, but they add a little something extra. We love it!

After dropping most of our luggage off, we then proceeded to one of the biggest malls in Guatemala City! In case I forgot to mention it earlier, we are staying overnight in Guatemala City tonight, four nights in Sumpango, and two in Antigua.

At the mall, we ate a delicious meal with Betty, the host missionary, at a fast food restaurant called Pollo Campero. Amy says Guatemala isn't the same without a trip to Pollo Campero, and I couldn't agree more! There is one in St. Paul, for all you Minnesota folks.

After exchanging with Betty for cash and visiting the ATM, we waited a while and then headed back to the Hostel. There, the team spent almost an hour with Betty, discussing her concerns, her heart, and her vision for this trip.

Our job is to hold a VBS for the children of Precious Moments, Busca a Dios, and the orphanage. Precious Moments is a dump school in Guatemala City, and it is what we will be doing tomorrow. There are 200 kids that attend on a daily basis! We are dividing them into the groups and telling the story of Moses Parting the Red Sea. Lorelei wrote the outline for the story, and we are all excited to get started! We will spend the entire day tomorrow at Precious Moments, including doing a teacher appreciation picnic, and then head to Sumpango.

If you're confused about who everyone is, there is a previous post introducing them, so I won't recap it now.

When Betty shared with us earlier, her heart for the Lord really came through. She knows that the only way to break the cycles of poverty and abuse is through Jesus Christ. Her heart is to bring economic gain to Sumpango, but, more than that, to bring dignity and the Life-giving water of God. Our job is to work where she needs us, as well as honor and respect this culture.

Often, we Americans give and give and give, which, while helpful for a season, creates a dependency on us. That will not bring dignity to these people. Betty is tirelessly doing the task of distributing donations in a way that causes more help than hurt.

Ok, I'm rambling and have been up for 18 hours straight, so I will close with prayer requests from Stephanie, our prayer leader.

1. Recovery from our extremely long day today! Most of us have been up for 20 hours straight and need rest.
2. God's power to be conveyed to the Precious Moments  kids tomorrow!
3. Extra wells of love for us to pour out on the kids who really need it.
4. Safe travel all day tomorrow, especially to Sumpango and through the rough parts of Guatemala City on the way to PM.
5. Overall Spiritual protection - Satan loves to oppose the will of God!
6. Some nerves for certain members of the team - just that we will all relax.

James 1:27 -
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep from being polluted by the world."

Signing off!
Jessica