I begin by apologizing for the delay in posting.  I thought Deidra was blogging each day.  (I actually knew  she wasn’t but it gets me off the hook!)  Truth be known, Pastor Jack Bailey said I need to study more and blog less so there you go! 

All 37 team members arrived safely in three waves Thursday – 12 at 11:00AM; 3 at 1:00PM; and 22 at 7:30PM.  The first wave got to the mission house around 4:00PM and the night wave got in around 10:00PM.  We thank God for giving us watchcare in our travels! 

We did something very unusual yesterday morning as we slept late beginning our morning devotional at 8:00AM due to the long travel day and late hour for most of our team.  We have gone retro as Pastor Doug Chappelle, Thelma Baptist in Wetumpka, led our musical praise and I shared from the Word.  As always, it was a good time in worship & the Word! 

We actually didn’t get to the village, Santo Domingo Xenacoj, and begin building until around 1:00PM – too many details to explain.  We then got five or six hours completed with two of those receiving concrete.  If a team builds the same house two or three times does that count as two or three separate builds?  Two words – Soy Taylor! 

This team is good.  Twenty seven first timers.  Great attitudes thus far.  Here are a few random thoughts:

Aaron Creps seriously thinks soccer is a sport and his sister, Kortni, believes the same about cheerleading.  Why have the children in the village begun calling Jaclyn Weaver “Big Mama”?  Great Danes should not live inside your house!  Norma Collins is blonde!  (Real blonde!)  The “Fab Five” are not doing nearly as good of a job as Louise gives them credit for!  One word – Soy!  Brandon Baker is tall!  Pastor Abel’s mom gives a serious massage!  Pastor Doug has some serious white hair!  Korie Fontenot loves kitchen duty!  Lisa Harvey, pastor’s daughter, doesn’t know many Christian songs! 

Pray that we will have a great Saturday as we head back to SDX to build, bless, and be blessed! 

Pastor Teddie

This is going to be short and sweet!  We had a good, long day as we did medical and construction in the same village.  The name of the town is San Jose Chirijuyu.

The medical team saw over 300 patients.  The constuction team built four more houses and poured concrete is seven more houses.  So, we have now built 19 houses and 16 of those have received cement.  Five houses were dedicated today. 

It was a long day with most of us getting back to the mission house around 7:30PM.  Everyone is well.  Thanks for your prayers.  Remember to check out the pictures on the gallery.  Keep praying!

I hope you are sharing my excitement as I continue in my Guatemalan missions with GRACE MINISTRIES.
Tuesday began with breakfast at 6 (the food is great), worship at 7. Following that the Medical team went to one location while the home builders returned to the Village we were at Monday. Originally we were scheduled to build 15 houses. We must be making good time as Bro. Teddy added four more today. Thus we will build 19 in all.  The medical team had another full day, inculding dental work (quite a number of teeth were pulled). We will also do work at the Seminary and paint the mission house (no resting here).
I was pulled from building at 2:30 for preaching at 4PM at a local church. It was quite an experience. The interpreter did a great job. I was deeply moved by the intensity of the worshippers. They were very active the entire service (not just listen to a speaker). A number came forward for prayer. We could learn from their sincerity.
More to come,
Pastor Bob

Hey yall  (is that how you say that?) this is Yankee Jen blogging for today. We had another blessed day. Thanks be to God for the people on this trip and the people he puts in our path daily. I was able to build today and take a break from medical. Was awesome. The people were so grateful and helpful. Was another wonderful day in Guatemala. Can’t wait to see what God has in store for us!!!

Hey you guys! (is that how you yankees say it?) this is Teddie’s favorite sister, Melissa. As Jen stated, we had a great day building today! It has been awesome to see how grateful all the people are.  We had a lot of fun just getting to play with the children and truly build relationships as well as houses. I am very glad God led me to go on this trip.

From Teddie – Monday was a great day as our medical team saw 180 something patients and our construction team built/began 10 houses.  Four of those houses received cement and two were completely finished. 

Tuesday was a great day too as our medical team saw 120 something patients.  Dr. Rich Strabbing became our dentist in residence and he extracted approximately 40 teeth.  Our construction team built five more houses with six more receiving cement and eight more being completely finished.  This team is doing awesome. 

It was a blessing today to have Jack & Carolyn Ciak join us today.  Casa Aleluya graciously donated the clothes for our village ministry this past Sunday night and the Ciak’s were the ones who got the stuff to us.  Jack worked on the building today while Carolyn joined the medical folks.  Great friends!

Pastor Bob Harvey has done an awesome job of teaching/preaching to us for the past two mornings.  He encouraged us to see the good in people and to be an encourager as well.  This team is really enjoying the ministry of Pastor Bob. 

Tomorrow we will award another “slacker” t-shirt so Louise Mason will have company.  This team does have a few slackers! 

Pray for us!  More updates coming.  Kurt Mast has uploaded some photos (thanks, Kurt) on the gallery section of this site – check them out. 

Sorry about no post yesterday.  I could make excuses but just accept my apology and we will go from there.  All is well and we are thankful. 

I wanted to ask you to pray for the Geerlings family as Mike’s father passed away this morning.  So, in late November Mike had his mother to pass and now his father.  Mike, we are praying for you and your family.  Thanks Cara for letting me know about this. 

It is 6:00PM and I have beaten the team home.  We will post another entry later tonight to give you some details as to what has happened Monday & Tuesday.  Stay tuned!

First, I want to express our prayer support to Mike Geerlings.  Mike was to be on our Nov ’08 trip and his mother was near passing which, obviously, led to Mike staying home.  His mother did pass while we were in Guatemala.  Mike rebooked his ticket and was good to go for this trip and now his father is seemingly near death’s door so Mike had to change his plans again.  Mike, we are praying for your dad, you, and your family. 

We are also praying for Scott & Gail Broekema.  They too were scheduled to be on this trip but some unexpected health problems prevented them from coming.  Scott & Gail, we are praying for you guys!

God has put together a great team.  Everyone except Boyd & Joan Kroeze are here and the Kroezes are traveling from the Guatemala City airport as I type this entry.  We thank God for His traveling mercies upon this team.   

The team arrived around 3:15PM and, after a brief meeting, we were on our way to Pollo Campero.  We then met again at 6:30PM for some praise & worship led by Carla Mast.  We even have a band this week with Ross Van Peursem and Izaac Arendsen joining Carla.  We then had some basic instructions and now about a thousand folks are having a pill party! 

Some of the Michigan folks pulled a terrible, horrible, horrific, painful, unbelievable, et cetera (there are not words to describe the emotion I felt) stunt on me today!  It was AUful, just plain AUful!  I thought some of them were my friends!  Tonia Elenbaas, you are now on my list – big time!  Kim French would have loved it but I need to see a counselor! 

We presented some t-shirts today with Tom Compagner & Dean Kapenga now being “Captain Love” and Louise Mason earning the “slacker” shirt!  We are playing “trip trivia” this week too which is going to be a ton of fun – I hope! 

We leave for church at 6:20AM tomorrow, then head to Antigua for shopping & lunch, back to the property for a wedding, and then out to distribute food & clothes in a village about an hour away.  Busy, busy day so pray for us. 

The next entry will come tomorrow night and I will try to get it up fairly early.  Pray for us and know that we are praying for you!  Thank you for reading this entry! 

I know, I know, there was no post on Monday night, Tuesday, or yesterday!  Happy Thanksgiving!  Monday night was wild as we hosted a large number of guests and then had a team meeting very late.  Tuesday was a day full of traveling, and yesterday saw me trying to get out of town with my family for the Thanksgiving weekend.  I apologize for the tardiness of this post! 

Monday saw us dedicate all fifteen houses that were built during GRACE ’08 VI.  Actually, our team members poured cement in two of the houses on Monday before putting the final side on them plus they put the final side on one other. 

Monday also saw a team go back to Casa Aleluya to finish laying the tile in the gringo dorm.  So, they finished the entire dorm (the bathrooms had been done previously) in three days plus a few hours one other day – amazing! 

Monday late afternoon saw us go past Panimaquin to a village where we distributed food & clothes to one hundred families.  That was a neat experience.  We were joined by a mother & daughter from another country (Mississippi) and a young lady from Georgia.  Long story but suffice it to say that the mother was a relative of Rita Vice – need I say more? 

Tuesday saw the Americans leave in two waves – one at 4:00AM and the other at 9:30AM.  The early folks entered the States through Houston while the later group went through Atlanta.  Everyone arrived home safely – praise the Lord.

Tuesday also saw the Canadians stay in Guatemala to climb a volcano (Picaya), minister in Palabra Viva Church, and take a tour of the mountain with Paul Leytham.  They left yesterday morning on the early flight through Houston and I assume they arrived home safely. 

So, this team actually probably completed more work than any team I have ever led personally.  That is pretty incredible when one considers that I had so few bubbas/bubbaettes to help me!  They built 15 houses, laid around 2,000 square feet of tile at Casa Aleluya, laid 300 square feet of tile in the seminary’s main office, painted the inside of one of the seminary’s houses, installed a drop ceiling in that same house, made a new set of curtains for the main office in the seminary, painted the entire outside wall at Panimaquin, grouted tile in the medical clinic in Panimaquin, did some other painting at Panimaquin, hosted three days of VBS, did one night of village ministry, painted the iron work on the mission house’s patio, and hosted our first ever block party – awesome!  (I may even be leaving something out!)

We had a great week and we give God the glory for all He did!  Plans call for our next Thanksgiving trip to take place November 17 – 24, 2009.  Contact me if you are interested in joining us! 

Thanks for praying and thanks for keeping up with our adventures.  God is good! 

Hello Everyone, this is Stephanie from Canada updating you for the past two days. Yesterday was a work day but everyone had choices as to where they wanted to go. Some went to the seminary to lay tile, some to Panimaquin, some to Casa Aleluya , and some back to the village we have been working in. A van full also went and did Bible school in Chimaltenango in the morning and another Bible school by the mission house in the afternoon. 

As of today there are 12 houses completed, 2 that need cement and 3 that need finishing touches. The tiling at the seminary and Casa Aleluya is just about completed. A HUGE thanks to those who stayed late at the Seminary on Saturday evening to complete the work there. The group that went out after supper got back to the mission house at 11:30 p.m! Both of the Bible schools were very successful and many kids came out. Everyone who helped is now an experienced CD fish maker, along with the other crafts that have been made throughout the week.

I was one of the people who went to Panamquin so I can tell you a little more about it. Panamaquin is a small mission outpost way up in the mountains. A fearless group of women white washed the outside walls and painted the front side of the buildings. Another group grouted the tiles in a new classroom. Then, I guess there was Mark who did a little of everything!

We ate a bag lunch at noon, sharing with 4 of the neighbourhood (thats how the Canadian’s spell it, eh!) dogs and then we played soccer with the kids.

 We left there at 3 pm and joined the group doing Bible school at Cristy Leytham’s church near the mission house. There were many children and adults in attendance.

Today (Sunday) was a very good day. We all got to sleep in and had a good devotion by Mark. He shared about how we need to listen to God and what He is telling us. We attended Agua de Viva church this morning. All the Americans/Canadians sang two songs for the congregation and then Teddie shared a message. He also spoke about how we need to listen to God when He is telling us about salvation. We then need to go out a share the good news of Jesus with the world.  We were very welcomed there.

After church we drove to Antigua and enjoyed a delicious meal at the Las Antorchas resturant. After lunch the group split up and explored the markets throughout Antigua, bartering with the locals for gifts and souveniers. What an experience it was!

When we arrived back at the mission house, we saw Fugeo (the volcano) erupting with huge plumes of billowing white steam and smoke. It was a breath-taking view! The evening has been free for everyone to visit, play games and write Thank You notes that Teddie assigned to us.

It has been a marvelous day in Guatemala.  Oh, before I get too far with this blog, reader be advised that this is not Pastor Teddie…  I am Mark Mast, participant with the Grace Ministries Team, November 2008.  I hail from Canada and am blessed to have 12 fellow Canadians accompanying me, eh?  We are all having an absolutely wonderful time and would like to thank Pastor Teddie and all the people of Friendship for this awesome opportunity.

Getting back to today…  It started bright and early with a devotional from Pastor Teddie.  Miriam and Kelsey led in worship.  We couldn’t sing “off the wall” (powerpoint) because te power went off at 6:55am and didn’t come back on until after we had left to build houses.

We got a late start because of a l-o-n-g message by Pastor Teddie.  It’s a miracle we even had time to build houses after sitting through that marathon message… until well after 8:00am… Pastor Teddie shared from Colossians 3… “put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience… LOVE!”  I’m sure it was because of all the virtues that we were challeneged to “put on” that we were thus able to work together as a team so well today!

We went to the village (Aloga Tunino) to build houses again for a second time.  We had three crews building homes and another crew doing cement work.  All three building crews each had a house built by noon, and after lunch began working on another.

At 2:00pm, we invited the villagers to join us for a “block party”.  I wish that y’all could have been there…  Did you pick up on that “southern talk”?  The bubbas and bubbettes are rubbing off on all of us Yankees and Canooks (Canadians)…  Getting back to the block party.  It was one of the most wonderful times of my life!  Many people came out (mostly children with their mothers) and enjoyed eating cotton candy, bouncng in an inflatable jumping gym, getting their face painted and receiving lots of toys and candy.  The highlight was having Pastor Max share the Gospel and seeing a number of people come forward to receive Jesus Chrst as their Lord and Saviour!  We were all soooooo blessed to be a part of what God is doing in a tiny village tucked up in the beatiful mountains of Guatemala.  I personally cannot recall seeing bigger SMILES than the ones I saw on the faces of the children when we began blowing up the inflatable gym!!  These children had NEVER seen anything like it before.  When the first children went inside, they had to be taught what to do!!  They thought they had to slide around on thier belly!!  I began to jump up and down and encouraged them to do the same.  You really had to be there to appreciate it, but suffice to say, EVERYONE had a fantastic time!  “Gloria Dios!!”  (“To God be the glory!!”)

This evening we enjoyed a scrumptious supper of ham, beans and noodles.  Dessert was HOMEMADE PIES…  Wow…  I can’t beleive I ate the whole thing.

Many of us are now visiting and playing games.  It has been a blessed day and we are especailly thankful for  each of you who are praying.  God is doing beautiful things in Guatemala!!

Our third day was the best day of the trip thus far as God blessed our efforts.  We sent one team to Casa Aleluya to lay tile in the gringo dorm, one team to do a VBS in Chimaltenango, one team to the seminary to paint, remodel the office area, et cetera, one team to take care of some projects around the mission house, and we hosted the boys from Vencedores. 

The VBS team had 70 children present and our folks were very pleased with how it went.  They will go back tomorrow and Monday. 

The seminary team did a great job as they painted the inside of one house plus adding a drop ceiling in the same house.  They also destroyed the office area getting it ready for a make over. 

The CA team actually worked until 10:00PM as they have now finished the two of the three bedrooms in the gringo dorm.  I don’t know if they are that committed or just slow workers? 

The boys from Vencedores played soccer at the seminary, explored every square inch of this mountain, devoured a ton of pizza and cookies, and had a great time.  I appreciate our team members being so kind to them!  

Today, we go back to the village to build houses and then we are doing something brand new for GRACE Ministries.  We will join with Mike & Carla Parker (Casa Aleluya) with Clubhouse Ministries of Guatemala to host a block party in the village where we are building houses.  I think it is going to be an awesome time.  Pray as this will be an evangelistic event too! 

Thanks for taking the time to read this entry.  I hope you have a great day! 

The Lord has placed a great group of folks on this team!  As it is written about the folks helping Nehemiah rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, these folks have a mind to work!  Wednesday saw us build ten (10) houses with four of those completely finished!  That is pretty impressive when you consider that we didn’t get to the village until around 10:00AM. 

We are doing ministry in Tuneno (I think that is the correct spelling) and it is a very poor village.  It is also a very “steep” village and we had some challenges getting to the work sites but it was all good! 

Miriam Mast, Kelsey Quibell, & Erin Olsen did a great job of leading us in worship yesterday morning.  The ladies who stayed and cooked did an awesome job as supper was great! 

We are going a bunch of different directions today.  Pray for us!