DAY 7: WEDNESDAY

This entry is being typed shortly before 10:30AM – what a wild last couple of days it has been for GRACE Ministries.

One team left the mission house yesterday headed home to Michigan.  I do not know if they blogged so I do not have much of an update.  I do know they worked on building a church building and built twelve houses.  This team goes every year and have been doing so for many years.  They do such a wonderful job.

Another team left (kind of) yesterday morning bound for Guatemala.  This team had folks flying out of Atlanta, Grand Rapids, St Louis, and New Orleans.  The winter weather in the South changed some things i.e. the Atlanta folks were supposed to be flying from Birmingham and the New Orleans folks were supposed to be flying from Mobile.  Thankfully, everyone from ATL, GRR, and MSY arrived in Guatemala safe and sound yesterday.

The three folks in St. Louis have a different story.  Their flight from STL got cancelled yesterday and they were re-booked to today, 1/31.  Not so fast my friend!  That flight from STL got cancelled this morning and they were re-booked for tomorrow, 2/1.  St. Louis is going to possibly receive some snow and ice tonight/tomorrow.  Not good.

Now keep in mind that Pastor Bob Harvey from Auburn is supposed to be leading this team.  Where is he during all of this?  Tanning on the roof top of the mission house in 70 plus degree weather.  He really saw the St. Louis three as needing to deal with their own problems.  Not me.  After literally hours of waiting on the phone, a very kind lady from Delta switched them to another airline and they will now arrive in GC tonight.

On the feeding center front, our committee has to make a decision today as how to proceed.  Pray for wisdom.

Pray for the team that is there now doing medical and construction.

Thanks for praying for GRACE Ministries.

Today is a most important day in the life of GRACE Ministries for two reasons.  First, it is the first day of school in Guatemala for the 2014 school year which begins now and ends in October.  For the first time, GRACE Ministries will sponsor children to go to school.  We (you) have paid their registration costs, purchased their supplies and uniforms, and will supply them with a sack lunch after school.  The sack lunch is in place of getting to go to the feeding center.

Second, we are supposed to hear from the electric company as to the “when” we can expect to receive electricity.  Our request to receive electricity was approved last Thursday, 1/16.  The normal time for the installation to be completed is around three months.  We have asked for a much, much earlier (like now) installation.  The decision is being made in Guatemala City.  Please join us in praying for God’s will to be done in this situation.

The Moline CRC team is having a great week of ministry.  Today will see them complete construction on the 15 houses.  They will also finish a playground at Love The Child (Osborn) and dedicate it in memory of Donna Westhouse’s nephew.  Pray for their final two days of ministry and their travel home on Thursday.

Thank your for caring about GRACE Ministries.  Pray for us!

It is my intent for the entirety of GRACE Ministries to be much more “visible” through this means during the course of 2014.  Therefore, my plan is to post at least weekly giving an update of what is happening through GRACE Ministries in the beautiful country of Guatemala.

The L.G. Camp, Jr. Mission House has already hosted two groups in 2014.  The first was Paul & Cristy Leytham leading a Bible study on January 3rd & 4th.  Dr. Tico Vargas and the staff from the Guatemala Bible Seminary had a planning session on Friday, January 10.  We are blessed to be able to offer the house for such gatherings.

David & Donna Westhouse arrived on Thursday, January 16, with a team of 40 from the Moline CRC to do a week of ministry.  This couple has been leading teams almost since the mission house was completed in 2002.  As a matter of fact, they will lead another team in just a few weeks.  Plans call for them to build 15 houses, work at Amor del Nino, distribute food and clothes, et cetera.  Pray that they will have a great week of ministry!

Our Missions Committee received good news this past Wednesday.  We have been approved to receive electricity (long, long story) in the feeding center – to God be the glory!  We need your prayers that the installation process can be expedited as the feeding center was to have been opened on 1/15/14.  We will not open until we have electricity.

However, we have registered, bought uniforms, bought supplies, et cetera for the thirty five (35) children enrolled in our program so they can begin school.  Lazaro & Glendy Suruy are leading this ministry and are doing a great job!

John & Laurie King arrived back in Guatemala from Canada this past Monday night, 1/13.  That is the good news.  The bad news is that Nick @ Night came with them!  He is like a stray dog always finding his way back – LOL!  John & Laurie are such a valuable part of GRACE Ministries.  Life is much smoother for me whenever they are in Guatemala!

Paul & Cristy continue to pray fervently as they battle Cristy’s cancer.  Would you join us in praying for a healing in Cristy’s body?  With God all things are possible!

We received several wonderful financial gifts at the end of 2013 from individuals, churches, and businesses.  Thank you so much!  GRACE Ministries pays no administrative fees or salaries in North America.  That means every cent given to GRACE Ministries goes directly to Guatemala to be used in ministry.  That is a God thing!

As it presently stands, we have thirty six (36) teams that will be using the mission house in 2014.  That is awesome!  Those teams will come from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Canada.  Two of those teams will be first timers which we always welcome and enjoy.

Thank you for being a supporter of GRACE Ministries whether through prayer, finances, or as a trip participant.  You are a blessing to us!

P.S. – If you need more information about GRACE Ministries, contact me at tcturrentine@gmail.com or call (251) 445 5416.

Final post from Pastor Mark:

Wednesday: Today, we left then Grace Ministries mission house for the airport in Guatemala City at 3:00am. We boarded our plane at 6:15am and flew to Houston, TX where we bid farewell to Jonathan, Magen, Tammy, Debbie and Jill (from West Virginia) and Clyde (from Calgary, Alberta). The 19 other Canadians then flew from Houston to Minneapolis. We arrived in MSP at 2:30pm and after catching a shuttle to the hotel (where our cars were parked), we began our 6-hour drive home. As we headed north, the weather conditions dramatically changed (heavy, heavy SNOW!!! Argh…) The four drivers had to make a difficult transition between driving in Guatemala and driving in the USA/Canada! Thankfully, God gave all of us safety and we eventually arrived at each of our homes (our 6-hour drive ended up taking more like about 8 hours).

We thank the Lord for His provision, protection and safety all throughout the long day of travel. We especially praise Him for the blessing to serve in Guatemala the past 10 days and to see JESUS in the lives of those we were blessed to build houses for, have Bible School with, distribute food and clothing to and share the love of JESUS with! Pray that all those we served will continue to be drawn to trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Pray that our lives will be the proof of God’s love, just as much here at home as in Guatemala. Pray that we will be bold in telling Americans/Canadians about Jesus as much as we were with Guatemalans. This trip was an unbelievable experience and we all cannot even come close to saying enough thanks to God for all that He did!

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving! Blessings to all the team who served in Guatemala with Grace Ministries this past week! Our team was comprised of 20 Canadians, 9 Michiganders, 5 West Virginians, and 1 Mississippian.

Thanks to all the Guatemalan staff members of Grace Ministries: Lazaro & Glendy, Marcia and Josh, Max & Theresa and Terisita, John & Laurie, Paul & Cristy, Samuel & Arayna and Melissa. Thank you David for serving with us too!

Special thanks to Pastor Teddie Turrentine for organizing so many components of this trip. We are very grateful for all the folks at Friendship Baptist Church and the vision they have to make Jesus known in Guatemala.

“To God be the glory, great things He hath done!”

Dios te bendiga!

Jesus te ama!!

From Pastor Mark:

Tuesday: Today we went to the El Tejar Dump and conducted a Vacation Bible School for all of the people there. We were so privileged to share God’s love with them and also help to provide for their needs (with a sack lunch and lots of food and clothes).  Next, we stopped for lunch at Burger King, before conducting another Vacation Bible School in a church with hundreds of children at 1:30pm. Later on, we were involved in a church service near the mission house. All throughout the day we sang Spanish songs many times over and also enthusiastically performed the story of “The Prodigal Son”, acting as everything from wild friends… to pigs!  It was an amazing day. After the church service, we cleaned up the mess of our firecrackers from last night, before enjoying a dinner of leftovers back at the mission house. Then, we packed our bags and filled out forms while the girls went on a “shopping trip”!  We wrapped up the day with an information meeting. Before  turning in for the night, we said some goodbyes and headed off to bed. Pray that we will have safety as we travel tomorrow (Wednesday) and that there won’t be any flight complications. Also pray for all those people in the El Tejar Dump, that they will know God’s love for them, even in the midst of unbelievably difficult circumstances. This trip has been so blessed by the Lord, and I can’t believe that we’re going home already!

From Pastor Mark:

Monday: Today the Michiganders and the Mississippian left at 3:00am to fly home. The Canadians and West Virginians woke up pretty early as well, feeling somewhat dehydrated from all of the tears that were shed last night. We drove to the incredibly beautiful Lake Atitlan, stopping at Burger King for breakfast, which consisted of ice-cream for some people (*cough* Rebecca Barker *cough*)  🙂   We arrived at the lake surrounded by volcanoes in good time and many of us were able to ride the X-Tremos zip-lines, consisting of 7 separate lines, giving us an amazing view if the beauty of Guatemala, gliding above and around the lake at amazing speeds! Those that didn’t go on the zip-line had lots of fun feeding monkeys and walking around the jungle trails. Following this, we visited David and Denaya McDonald in Panajachel, enjoying a wonderful meal with them and interacting with the students living with them, that they are teaching English. They were able to accompany us on a boat-ride across Lake Atitlan to shop. The view as we travelled was truly unbelievable and we were so blessed by the amazing majesty of God’s creation that literally surrounded us wherever we looked. After spending some time shopping in the markets of Santiago Atitlan, we returned to Panajachel and drove back to the mission house. Arriving at 800pm, we were so blessed to enjoy a wonderful dinner of sloppy-joes. After supper, we prepared lunches for the people at the El Tejar Dump. Finally, the guys and Rachel lit off the firecracker supply that we’ve been stockpiling over the past week. We are going to bed early as we are ALL incredibly tired. Pray for our ministry at the El Tejar Dump, as well as a VBS that we will be conducting for 200-250 children in Chimaltenango.  We will wrap up our day of ministry by attending a church service in El Tejar. Pray for us; that we will have the energy to minister effectively to the Guatemalan people! Also pray for all those who will hear about the Gospel tomorrow (Tuesday), that they will be deeply impacted by it. Pray that we will have an amazing last day of  ministry to Guatemalan families and children! Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf.  Everything is going great!”

Pastor Mark writes:

Sunday: We slept in an hour longer and enjoyed a great breakfast by drill sergeant Brian Koeman and company.  Then we watched a power-point of last year’s Guatemala outreach, followed by a great message from Jonathan Mast.  At 9:30am, we went to attend church at Rios de Agua Viva.  The men sang “Fill Up My Cup” and the entire group sang, “Prince of Peace”.  Pastor Mark Mast gave the message with Lazaro Suruy as translator. We then drove to Antigua to eat dinner at Los Antorches steakhouse (Ben got fried squid!) Then everyone went to shop at the various markets throughout the city. Just before catching the ride home, Rebecca, Tara, Michael, Jasmin, Dylan, and Ben had a stressful time of buying ice cream and trying to translate what they wanted. Everything ended up well in the end and we made it back to the mission house to enjoy a wonderful sunset and a supper of tacos. A little later, Benjamin Mast completed the “Mast trio” of preaching today and gave a grand finale message. Following Ben’s message, we had a sharing-time, as the Michiganders and sole Mississippian are leaving at 3:00am tomorrow morning.  It was an emotionally charged night as everyone shared what God did in their lives throughout this past week. By the end of the sharing-time (3 hours later),  we walked around the room hugging each other and encouraging one another. Just when I thought the floodgates had stopped flowing, there would be someone else to hug and the tears would start flowing once again. WHAT A FAITHFUL GOD WE SERVE! I cannot begin to describe how amazing this trip (and last week’s trip) have been. Pray that we will all continue on in the relationships that we have formed during this past week by encouraging each other. Pray for the Canadians and West Virginians as they stay on an extra few days, that their time will continue to be truly blessed. Also, pray that those leaving will have safe travels and that as we all go back to our homes we will be bold in our desire to tell others about Jesus. What an amazing time this has been! PRAISE GOD!