Our first day has come to a close even though it is only 8:20PM.  I think everyone is pretty tired from a long day of traveling.  The folks from Thelma Baptist met at the church this morning at 1:00AM.  I passed through the mission house about 7:50PM and it seemed everything was quiet except for one room.

We thank God for a safe day of traveling.  All is well.  Nothing out of the ordinary took place.  The rains came hard today and the forecast calls for more tomorrow.  It could be a challenge but God is in control.  We trust Him!

Plans call for an entry tomorrow evening after we have finished our first day of building.  Thanks for checking on us.  Pray for us!

We had eleven folks stay an extra day in Guatemala which means they traveled home yesterday.  I received an e-mail from Dean & Jan Kapenga telling me that everyone had gotten home safely with no glitches in the flights.  Praise the Lord!

The Lord blessed and we had a great week with six salvation decisions, 2,125 folks attended to by our medical folks, 28 houses built, 125 families receiving food/clothes, and 53 folks bonding through the love of Jesus.  Our staff/friends in Guatemala did a fantastic job!  We are blessed!

We have already begun signing folks up for next year’s medical trip.  We are giving members of the Friendship family, this year’s team members and medical folks the first opportunity to sign up.  The dates will be Saturday, January 28, through Saturday, February 4, 2012.

Please pray for GRACE Ministries.  We appreciate your prayers and your support.  Blessings!

It is 4:30AM and 39 of the team members just left headed for the airport as they will depart for Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, & Miami to make connections to Mobile, Chicago, & Atlanta.  The Mobile three will be closest to home with the Chicago & Atlanta passengers having to drive a couple/three hours to their respective homes.

Lisa, Caroline Ford, & I will leave the mission house around 10:00AM while the other 11 folks will leave here around 5:00AM tomorrow morning.  Pray that everyone will have safety in travel.

Blessed week!  The best news is that at least 6 folks prayed to received Jesus as their personal Savior during the house dedications!  That is why we do what we do!  Praise the Lord!

The medical team saw 620 folks yesterday which brought their total to 2,125 (I think).  Great job!  The dental team was busy, busy, and then busy!  Those doctors, nurses, EMT’s, et cetera did an awesome job and I appreciate their time and efforts.

The building team constructed 28 houses (24 in El Rejon and 4 in El Tejar).  The houses were very well built!  This team did exceptional in the area of building quantity as well as quality.

I may do one more entry to wrap things up tomorrow or Monday.  Thanks for following us on this blog.  It blessed me to read Derrick Wilkerson’s comments on yesterday’s post.  Derrick, did you ever pay for that dent?  LOL!

Pray for us as we travel today and tomorrow.

Same routine – early morning post because we had no internet connection last night.  Our Thursday was a good day.  Everyone went to El Rejon to do a block party, medical, and build.  We had a small team come back to El Tejar to work on some houses not too far from the mission house.

The block party was a blast with hundreds of children enjoying the games and candy.  You would think the county fair had rolled into town.  I appreciate Mike Parker and his folks for being willing to help us.

The medical team had seen 226 patients by 1:00PM but I did not get a final count – simply forgot to ask.  Sorry about that!  I do know they worked in shifts as they also helped build & dedicate houses.

The building team now has constructed 28 houses.  Three need cement and a few more need hinges, locks, et cetera but all of that will be taken care of today.  The remaining dedications will take place once every house has been completed.  This team is good at building!

Today will see the medical team head somewhere about ninety minutes away.  The rest of the team will be involved in the dedications.  Keep praying as we begin to cast an eye toward home with most of the team members leaving tomorrow and the rest on Sunday.  We appreciate you taking the time to keep up with us.

Once again, this entry is being posted a bit late.  It is 6:00AM and we simply could not stay online long enough to update last night.  Sorry about that and thanks for being “flexible!”

Our Wednesday was good.  Our devotional time was Paul Leytham sharing his personal testimony and the history of GRACE Ministries’ beginnings.  The medical team then went west where they saw 250 or so patients.  The building team went east where they built 8 more houses with six more receiving concrete.  The total now is 20 houses up with 14 being completely finished.

The building team joined the medical team in the late afternoon and hosted a food/clothes distribution.  We ministered to 125 families which was several hundred folks.

Today, the entire team will be together for a block party, medical clinic, and more building.  Should be fun.  Thanks for reading this brief entry and please keep praying.

This entry is being typed at 6:00AM on Wednesday morning as we simply could not get online long enough last night to post.  We would get a connection for a very brief period and then it would disappear.  Yes, we have called Al!

Tuesday was another blessed day.  Here is where we are at this point:  the medical team has of 781 patients in two days (306 & 476 respectively).  They were dragging a bit yesterday afternoon when they finally got back to the mission house.

The building team has completely finished 9 houses, have cement in 3 others, and two others ready for the cement.  Actually, the called it quits early yesterday or that total would be a little higher.  They are building in some tough places i.e. very high and difficult to get to but they are doing so without complaint (they do not have enough air left to complain!).  We even let the “Zoo Crew” build two houses yesterday!  (That would be the 7 folks on the trip from K’zoo)

Day two of the excavation work on the feeding center went well too.  An architect has been consulted and another meeting will take place on Friday.  God is good!

Only one “slacker” shirt has been given up to this point but the committee has informed me that is about to change!

Today we are beginning our day fifteen minutes earlier.  The medical team is going west while the building team is going back to the same aldea.  Tonight we will distribute food and clothes in the same aldea where the medical folks are ministering.

Thanks for checking on us and please keep praying!

It is around 9:45PM and there are still a good number of folks up spending time in fellowship, playing cards, et cetera.  We have had a good day.  It began with Carla & Bob leading us in musical worship.  Pastor Bob then brought the morning message.  It was one of the best messages I have ever heard on Boaz.  All is well!  Thanks for praying!  Here are comments from Jenny Machiela & Pastor Bob.

We had a great day doing the medical part. We saw 306 patients today. The pastor who was in charge of gathering the people to his church for our medical clinic was very nice. He has been  praying for people to come and do a medical  clinic for his people. Most of the patients we saw had back, neck aches and arthiritis.   We  were blessed to have an oral surgeon  along. He saw 59 people and took out many teeth out.  We also made time to play with the kids, and make some new friends. The people were very thankful for us and we were very thankful to bless them too.  (Jenny Machiela)

Pastor Bob here to comment on the construction part of our first day.  In summary we had a great day.  We travelled about 45 minutes (much of it UP to get to the Village we were to build in.  Once we arrived in the Village and unloaded the supplies we travelled UP some more, this time carrying supplies.  Teddie had divided us into 4 construction teams.  One of the teams became the “Concrete Crew” after their first house.  The building went really well.  No one sent to the Hospital.  I believe we built a total of 8 houses the first day, with about 4-6 of them already ‘concreted’.  We came home tired, but a good tired.  Blessings

It is approaching 11:00PM and I think everyone except Rhonda Clark, Becky Hatcher, & Betty Clair Hatcher have called it a day.  We had a good day with our morning devotion at 8:00AM followed by the church service at the seminary at 9:30AM.  We then did the usual with lunch at Las Antorchas  and some shopping.

When the team returned from Antigua we had a brief informational meeting, ate supper, and then had a baby shower for Genesis Raquel Acan.  Wow, these team members gave that child a “ton” of stuff!  What a blessing!  Lisa organized and decorated for the shower.  She did a great job!

The medical folks and others then began to sort pills and get things ready for tomorrow’s ministry opportunities.

All of the suitcases except one arrived today.  Hopefully, we can “find” the missing one tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a big day in that the groundbreaking for the feeding center will take place.  Not a groundbreaking with newspapers, et cetera but in the fact the dozer begins moving dirt in the morning.  Praise the Lord!

Again, thanks for checking on the team and praying for us.  Lord willing, we will post another entry tomorrow night.

Just a quick entry to let everyone know that all of the team members arrived safe and sound  with the largest number (41) coming in around 11:00PM last night.  They arrived missing either 14 or 15 suitcases but who needs clothes, toothpaste, et cetera?  We praise God for His providing us with safe travels.  He is good!

If the internet service is available, we will post again tonight to recap our day which will include church, Antigua, and a baby shower.  Thanks for checking on us and for your prayers.  Please keep praying!

Mark Mast and the sixteen folks who joined him on this trip are headed home today.  They face some challenges but prayerfully will arrive home safe and sound.  Pray for them.

Why do we do GRACE Ministries trips?  I could suggest several things but two are prominent – to see folks saved and to make disciples.  We saw at least four salvations last Saturday as the twenty houses were dedicated to the glory of God.  Praise the Lord!

Mark Mast led the most successful, numerically speaking, VBS GRACE Ministries has ever hosted.  However, the greater news is that a number of children prayed to receive Jesus as their personal Savior – awesome!  Praise the Lord!

Pastor, do they really get saved?  Good question.  As Louise Mason & I were driving back to the mission house this past Sunday afternoon, we saw Andreas going into the gate leading to his house which is a double wide built by a GRACE team years ago.  I do not remember all who worked on it but I do remember Tyrone Crawley was the chief architect and lead builder.  I also remember that Clara Broadus and Bethany Hatcher invested a lot of time into the children in the family with Lydia being the oldest child.

I pulled the vehicle over to speak to Andreas and he was dressed in a sports coat and slacks and was holding a Bible.  I asked if he had been to church and he answered “yes” and told us where.  He then told us that he had preached that morning!  Amazing!

In the process of building the house for Andreas’ family and ministering to his children, he prayed to accept Jesus as his personal Savior.  He is now involved in church and preaching the Gospel.  Hallelujah!  That is why we do what we do!

Thank God for the houses built, the food/clothes distribution, the medical clinics, et cetera but praise His holy name for those who receive the gift of salvation.

We serve an awesome God!