Sunday, July 1, 2012
Grace and peace to you from the Guatemala Mission Team,
Sometimes there are no words to express how you feel. That happened to us today and we feel so very blessed!
We arrived at World’s Redeemer Lutheran Church this morning, excited to see the new floor ready for a service. The doors to the church were closed with a beautiful ribbon across them. We would have to wait a little longer.
When the time came, while everyone watched, the ribbon was cut, the fire crackers were shot and the doors were opened. The crowd joyously streamed into the church.
There were balloons, flowers, palm branches and the most beautiful floor we had ever seen! Our hearts filled with awe and our eyes filled with tears. The church was overflowing with love and people. They had to set up extra chairs both inside and outside. What a glorious service it was!
Songs were shared in both English and Spanish, but we all understood God’s love. As more hugs were shared one woman said, “no adios.” I believe she meant “until we meet again.” Our God is truly awesome!
All Glory be to God! Hallelujah! Amen!
Craig & Mia
Monday, July 2, 2012
¡Hola and Buenas Tardes!
A final greeting from the 2012 Faith Guatemala Mission Team as we begin our journey home. Just when I thought to myself , “our mission trip is ending” and I was reflecting on all that has transpired this past week, God reminded me that our daily life is, or can be, a mission trip for Him! As we were preparing to check-in for our flight home to the USA, it was amazing to once again observe our LHM host, Rebeca De Franco, witnessing to those around her.
After standing in line with us for over 1 1/2 hours (all of us wearing our team shirts) Rebeca began a friendly conversation with a woman in front of our group. Within minutes, Rebeca shared information about our mission trip and work in Santiago Zamora. The woman responded by wanting to give financial support for the ministry. She gave Rebeca $20 and asked how she could provide ongoing monthly support. The two exchanged names, email addresses, and the relationship began! This was one of the most important lessons I learned while on this mission trip.
My biggest fear embarking on this journey was doubting if I was prepared to witness. Through Rebeca, God has shown me that witnessing can begin simply by sharing God’s love through friendly conversations (even with a language barrier) with little children, women preparing meals, a young man with a recently found faith, a guide on a mountain trail, or a woman in the check-in line. We can share God’s love and message of salvation by simply being friendly and open and by engaging others in conversation. In Rebeca’s words, “we don’t need ‘fund’ raising, we need ‘friend’ raising!” Amen.
As a team we have grown closer together in God’s love and made precious new friends in Guatemala. We thank God and all of you, our friends and family, for giving us this opportunity to share God’s love with others. We look forward to sharing more about our trip and future opportunities with all of you. I pray that if you hear God gently calling you to join a future mission trip, you can respond by saying, “Yes, God, here I am, send me.” You will be greatly blessed! Gracias and God’s peace to you.
In Christ’s Love,
Becky Survant
That’s nice. Malawi would want to experience such kind of love.
Hi, Aubrey! We’d love to see that happen; keep praying. Hey, Lutheran Hour Ministries Friends: who’s up for an International Volunteer Trip to Malawi? Visit http://www.lhm.org/teams/, then give Chris Myers a call!
Greg, in fact Malawi has a good number of reserved opportunities for hand on outreach activities that Lutheran Hour Ministries friends offer. Contact Mphatso Thole, the Country Director for Malawi office, and get more insights about such God’s given opportunities for you folks.