<This past team, composed of both individuals from my home church of Hager Park and Hillcrest CRC in Hudsonville, Michigan, began with two village outreach clinics. From the beginning, this team worked hard and became one family despite not knowing each other for very long before the trip. I am so happy to now call many of them my brothers and sisters!
The first clinic was in a small village in the Tecpan region of Guatemala. This village had initially been investigated two years ago, but God had planned that this would be the night we would go and minister to the people there. I spent the night in the clinic explaining medications to the patients while many team members worked in the clinic or played with the children outside. It took a little while for me to get back into the routine of things, so I was grateful for a smaller village with fewer patients and less severe illnesses! Before I knew it, however, the clinic was over and we were outside showing the Jesus film to the village, singing songs, giving our personal testimonies, and listening to Hermano Jesus present the Gospel. As the invitation was given, numerous waves of people, including men, women and children, came forward to accept Jesus Christ! What an amazing sight to watch the group members lead the villagers forward and pray for them as God used their words, actions, and testimonies to show His love for these, HIS people!
As we listened to the championship World Cup match on the radio, we made our way on Sunday to another needy village in San Martin called La Rincon. This area of Guatemala was hit hard by Hurricane Agatha and thus brought with it many people to the clinic who were struggling with various diseases as a result of the storm. Again, I explained medications in the clinic, but along with many of the team members who were outside interacting with the people, I could feel a certain warmth radiating from the villagers. All of the people who passed through the clinic were quite ill, some even presenting with mysterious cases that we have to follow up on. However, regardless of their condition, the people smiled, listened intently to what I had to say, and even joked around with me! The clinic went late into the night, and as the rain began to fall in heavy downpours, the team was forced to move the people under the small roof to finish watching the Jesus film. We then moved into one of the small rooms of the school for the rest of the evening. In that room, God gathered us closely together as the villagers listened and watched intently as many young men from the team poured out their souls while giving their personal testimony. It was the words of these young team members that touched the hearts of many and soon brought almost the entire village to their knees, accepting Christ! You could feel the presence of God in the room as a cool breeze swept through and the light bulb that we were using to see the sound system exploded. After praying for the people and presenting them with a Bible, we proceeded to sing the song “Days of Elijah” together, rejoicing in what God had done that evening! As we made our way back towards the vans to head home, many children came forward to give us hugs – one little boy who I had never met before even came up and gave me a kiss on the cheek! That village will always hold a special place in the hearts of myself and the team members, but more importantly in the heart of our Heavenly Father who welcomed many of His children into His kingdom for eternity!
The next 3 days were spent building in a village called La Reina. This village is quite coastal, but the summer teams have not been able to access this village until now because one of the bridges leading into town was washed away by Hurricane Agatha. However, God has now provided a way for us into this village, not only so that we can begin building houses for the 100+ families who reside there, but also so that we can bring His message of hope to these cold and lost souls. Team Hager Park/Hillcrest certainly set the pace for the numerous teams who will be building in La Reina over the next few years. Although shy at first, the children and people quickly latched on to the team members by playing games and helping with the building process. Day one brought with it the completion of the framing, drywall, outside cement board, and the first coat of drywall mud on the inside. Although it rained on the second day, we were still able to get the walls sanded, a second coat of drywall on, stucco plastered on the outside, and the patios assembled and installed. We spent the evening in devotions and reverent prayer as we prepared for the final building day, which was referred to by the team as D-Day (Dedication Day). On the morning of the third day, awakening to a beautiful sunrise, we knew it would be a special day! We finished sanding, mudding and painting the inside walls as well as adding our own personal pictures and Bible verses while the roofing crews came around to install the roofs. We then placed the beds in each home and cleaned up our construction sites before breaking for an earlier lunch of tostadas.
After lunch, we began with the house dedications. The first home was for an older couple and their seven children and grandchildren. The mom has been a Christian for about 5 years or so, but on that day her prayers were answered as the entire rest of her family came to accept Christ as their Savior!
The second home went to the oldest son of this older couple and his young family. The father from the first house waited nearby during the dedication, almost as if he was praying and hoping that his son would make the same commitment to Christ as he had just made minutes before. Shortly after the dedication began, Justin and Dan sent out the word to have us pray against the distractions of the children, but more specifically for this son, and as I began to pray, I heard a rooster crow nearby. Immediately, I thought of the story we studied during devotions the night before, which was about Peter denying Jesus three times. I prayed and prayed that this son would not be like Peter, and as the rooster crowed for the third time, we began gathering as a team to pray for the house as this son, his wife, and his children were all on their knees inside, not denying Christ but recognizing Him as their Heavenly Father.
The third dedication was for an elderly couple and their 12-year-old daughter who are now going to be living in the house that I helped build throughout the week. Although the couple was not around much throughout the week, the 12-year-old daughter was always hanging around with her 11-year-old cousin. This precious girl had touched Dan’s heart in a special way, and as we joined them in saying the Salvation Prayer, we made sure to let her know that God was going to use her in a big way in the village of La Reina, whether that be in witnessing to the other young people or to her parents!
The fourth home was dedicated to a mom and her three children; her husband was away working. The only requirement that we have of families when we build for them is that everyone is present on the day of dedication, but I think that God had a different plan this day which involved the father NOT being present. Often times, a woman does not make decisions on her own or even accept Christ on her own without consulting her husband because of the “macho” attitude of the culture here. Without her husband present, however, this woman and her children were able to find love, comfort, and safety in the arms of their heavenly Father, the only One who can fulfill our every need and the only One who is in control of our lives. As we moved on to the last and final house, we made sure to encourage and support this wife as she will be pushed and challenged to share her faith with her husband once he returns home. We also encouraged her 11-year-old daughter, Joselin, as we felt like both her and her 12-year-old cousin from the prior house could provide the leadership and example that is oh so needed among the young people of La Reina.
From there, we headed to our fifth and final home of the day, which we knew going into that day was going to be our most challenging battle spiritually. As the team gathered with the family, Dan, and Hermano Jesus inside the house, many were in awe of the respect this father had for the Bible that was presented to him. He would shake as he held it, and he never put it down; he even knew exactly where to find the passage that Hermano Jesus was reading from in order to follow along. However, we quickly realized that our prayer for this father and this family was that their knowledge of Christ was not only a head thing, but a heart thing as well. As we prayed for both the mother and father to keep their focus, it was God who ultimately directed their eyes and their focus to Him as they accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior.
We proceeded to end our time in La Reina with singing and the breaking of the piñata. It was touching to also have one of the local women, who had been our cook for the week, thank us for all that we had done for her people. Many hugs were shared as we left that place, filled with both sadness and joy for all that God had done and will continue to do in that place.
On Thursday, we headed into Antigua for a day of shopping, and then returned for one last night of devotions together. At the beginning of the week, Dan had asked the team to ponder the question, “Why are you here?” and many received answers this special night. This night was like none I had ever experienced here before in Guatemala as many of the team members, especially the young people, approached the cross with tears streaming from their eyes as they laid their “storms” of life at the feet of Jesus. Some even gave their lives over completely to Him for the first time! After devotions were over, it was an amazing sight to see the team come together as many friends, brothers, and sisters remained around the cross, singing, praying, talking and crying with each other until the wee hours of the morning; it was also amazing to see those who were left speechless by the wonders of our Creator. God was so good this past week, and I know He will continue to be good as this team heads back home to America and serves as the hands and feet of Jesus to those they come into contact with!
Please continue to keep this team in your prayers, as well as those they ministered to at both the medical clinics and in La Reina. As I wrap up this post, the next team has arrived and is resting up for their first big day of building. Prayers would also be greatly appreciated for this team as they work with God this week. I look forward to updating you on their experiences as soon as I can.
Love and miss you all!
In the palm of HIS hand,
Erin
