As Pastor Teddie would start, greetings in the precious name of Jesus!
Hi everyone! This is not Pastor Teddie blogging tonight. I am Tony Gettig, your guest blogger. I also happen to be Teddie’s cousin, hence my connection to this trip.
What an amazing day! If you have been here before, then this is nothing new to you, other than a newbie’s impressions in this blog post!
As Pastor Teddie said in his previous post, we have an amazing mix of people here. There are diverse backgrounds represented here, but we are united in purpose and through the Lord.
On this second day in Guatemala, we got an early start with breakfast at 6:15 AM and devotions at 7:00 AM. Pancakes (an incredible recipe…what was in those?), bacon, scrambled eggs, and fresh coffee. Mmmm! Kudos to our fine cooks. One thing that I was wondering about prior to coming was how would I do with diverse food. (I am somewhat of a picky eater. 🙂 There is nothing to fear at all! Though we’re in the middle of Central America, the food here in the mission house is a tasty slice of home.
After a time of worship led by Carla, Pastor Teddie shared an awesome devotion. It was from John 6:1-14, where Jesus fed the five thousand. The biggest thing I took from it was the fact that Jesus would reach and teach, but He would always touch. That really penetrated my heart, as evidenced by the fact that I was thinking about it all day as we were working.
There is a medical team here, but today was “family day”. Everyone was involved in building a house or two. As for me, I got the sunburn of my life. But then again, I am one of those “yankees” and burn easily. 🙂 While we were building, there were plenty of children to give candy to and just love on. My daddy instincts were fully engaged as the beautiful, brown eyed children of the area came from all directions. I would say half the kids had shoes, the other half did not. There was one little fella who we figured out was 4 years old. I don’t think we ever got his name, but what a cutey. Late in the day, I gave him the second half of my soda and he drank it while sitting on my lap. I gave him tons of hugs, tickled him, and just had a really nice time with him. That was 10 minutes of my life that I will never, ever forget. I am nearly tearful as I type this! Even with a language difference, the language of the Lord’s love is universally understood.
We completely completed two houses, poured cement in four, and I think everyone is feeling it right about now. Between sunburn and sore muscles, I suspect everyone is going to sleep good tonight. We all appreciate our family and friends back home and definitely feel your prayers. Please know that they make a difference!
Tomorrow, it’s breakfast, devotions, church, then a time in the city. The building resumes Monday, and the medical team will start doing their thing Monday as well. Please continue to pray for all aspects of this trip. Pray that the building gets done timely, for the continued safety of everyone, for the medical team and their upcoming adventures in the days ahead, and especially for the people of Guatemala that we will be interacting with. We are all excited to be reaching, teaching, and especially touching…being the hands and feet of Jesus as we fulfill this great mission. We couldn’t do it without you! Blessings!