Summit Church

We made it to Guatemala! It was a long travel day, but we cannot believe we are finally here! After a quick stop at Walmart, we made it to lodging for a brief orientation meeting and dinner. We are excited to be with our Guatemalan church family tomorrow and to dive into ministry!

We are all dressed up, and ready for church! It is great to be back and see some of the updates in the church. They decorated to welcome us as well! We are so excited to be here!!

This afternoon, we took some time to hear from Pastor Carlos! He shared his testimony that is full of incredible stories. The Lord began calling Pastor Carlos as a teenager, but he didn't accept that call and continued living life as normal. He identified with Jonah a lot, because the Lord called him five times but he kept running from that calling. Now, he has been a Pastor of this church for 17 years! He encouraged us to listen to God's calling on our lives, because his plans are better than we could ever imagine!

After dinner at Ericka's house (our wonderful cook this week!), we spent some time sharing our highlights from the day, worshiping together with the city sounds in the background, and heard a devotional about being a part of bringing the Kingdom of God to earth this week. It was a beautiful evening and a wonderfully full day!!

We split into two groups for food distribution this morning. As we visited homes in the community near church, we learned a little bit about their lives, prayed with them, and blessed them with a bag of groceries. 

The families that we are visiting are all passing through a variety of difficult circumstances, and many of them are elderly. Today we spent a lot of time with this 94 year old who still likes to walk the neighborhood and the sweetest abuela who loved all our different hair colors & styles! These visits are more than just groceries - we are practicing the ministry of presence!

During VBS, we shared the Gospel and invited kids to accept Jesus into their hearts - and nearly all of the kids said yes! 

We pray that this would not be an emotional decision or just something to do, but that the Lord would continue to work in them as they grow and that they would choose to keep following Jesus. Praise God!!

During food distribution, we visited this lovely woman that is known as a Grandma of the church. We heard about her incredible faith and support of the church in the midst of some challenging circumstances, but the church has seen miracles through this family! We also had a chance to pray for the family as well 

We visited a church member who is still having some issues with her foot since our visit last year, but she continues to say "why would I be angry or sad? That's not good for me!" So she turns on worship music in her home, and praises God for what He has done! 

We also spent time talking with her son who grew up in the church, but hasn't been for a few years. He even said that his boss unexpectedly told him not to come to work today, and then we showed up! We were able to encourage him as he is wrestling with his faith, and we really feel that the Lord orchestrated the time with him!

We had so much fun this week with Giros & Vueltas, and we can see our efforts paying off in the relationships and smiles from the kids! It was a sad afternoon saying goodbye, and tears were shed, but we cannot wait to see our friends again next year!

Sandi planned a wonderful afternoon with the women while VBS was happening! We had crafts, a devotion, and some fun gifts for them to bring home with them. Several women came up to thank Sandi for the way that the ministry blessed them!

We said "see you later" to our new family at Iglesia Jireh during an evening service. We shared our gratitude, worshiped together, and enjoyed yet another delicious Guatemalan snack. We are honored to be here, and we look forward to seeing what God will do in the next year until we return!