This entry is being written on Thursday morning as we are sitting in the airport at Gate 5B waiting to board our plane.  It was simply too late last night to post an entry.  Sorry about that – blame Jordan Lowell!

Our final day of ministry was awesome.  God had some things in store for us that we did not have in our agenda.  First, we sent a small team to work with Mike Parker and build a house for a lady living under a piece of plastic.  They did an awesome job!

Second, we had a team do an “extreme make over” for a house in El Tejar.  It was a major job but they got it done after about eight hard hours of work.

Third, a team went back to the seminary to paint another building.  Mission accomplished!  They painted one house and two office buildings – awesome!

Fourth, Nic Gray popped the question and Annie said “yes!”  It was good as Annie was totally surprised!  The proposal came in the gazebo behind Paul & Cristy’s house.   They are excited and we are excited for them!

We have enjoyed a good week.  The Yankees, the Catholics, the Pentecostals, and everyone else did great!  Great attitudes, great flexibility, great work ethic, et cetera.

Thanks for keeping up with us and praying for us.  Jordan says “hey!”

Good day!  The team dedicated all 20 houses which included giving baskets of food, a Bible, and other things to the families.  They then went to the seminary where another building was painted, work was done on the new building, and two more basketball clinics took place.

Everyone is well.  The team does not know it but we will be doing things differently tomorrow.  It is of necessity and I will explain in tomorrow night’s post.

Thank you for praying for us.  God is good and we give Him the glory!

Finished!  Done!  Complete!  Those words can be used to describe the 20 houses this team came to build.  All 20 are up, have the cement, and have been closed up.  Actually, I have had to throttle this team or there is no telling what they would do.  Today, they built four new houses, cemented 9 more, and put the fronts, et cetera on all 20.  Wow!  God is good!

Plus, today saw a team go to the seminary and completely paint the exterior of Josue Chavez’ house.  Plus, Coach Mickey Cochran & Coach Brian Cochran hosted two basketball clinics.  Wow!  God is good!

So, tomorrow will be dedication day plus working at the seminary on the new construction and doing more painting.

All is well and everyone is too!  We give God thanks!  Thank you for checking on us.  Pray for us!

Basically a normal Sunday for a GRACE team with a couple of slight twists.  We met for our worship service this morning with the musical worship led by Carlos Villatoro and the message delivered by Tico Vargas.  Afterwards, the team headed to Antigua to shop, then meet at the restaurant for lunch, and then shop some more.

Pastor Bob Harvey led the ministry of giving away clothes and food in a local village which is located close to the mission house.  That went well and everyone, villagers and team members, was blessed.

Tomorrow we resume the working part of the trip and will also incorporate a basketball clinic which will be led by coaches Mickey & Brian Cochran.

Thanks for checking on us and thank you for the prayer support.

This entry is coming late but I guess that is how it is going to be.  We had probably 25 guests for supper tonight and by the time we feed everyone and spend some time in fellowship the night is gone.  I apologize and appreciate your understanding.

We had another blessed day.  We were on a “normal” schedule today and were able to build 8 more houses and put cement in 8 more.  That brings the total houses built to 16 with 10 of those receiving the cement already.  This team could do more but I am restricting the number they can build each day.  Everyone worked hard but you could tell who the cement workers were when they came through the supper line – they were a bit slower than everyone else.

We will have our own service in the morning featuring the music ministry of Carlos Villatoro and the preaching ministry of Dr. Tico Vargas.  Tomorrow night will be an evening of village ministry.

We will pray for our respective services tomorrow.  I think we have 16 or so different churches represented on this trip.  We appreciate you checking on us by reading this blog.  Pray for us!

Sorry for the lateness of this post as it is already 10:40PM central time and 11:40PM eastern time.  Our first official “work” day of this trip was good.  We actually did not get to the village until noon as we started our devotional time thirty minutes late due to the arrival time of the Delta folks last night.  The devotional time was long as we introduced ourselves and spent some time in fellowship.  One of the vans had a mechanical mishap on the way to the village and that cost us some time.

So, did you get anything done today?  Yes!  Eight houses built with two being completed with cement and only lacking hanging the door and installing the hardware.  Everyone did well and the attitudes were great!

Good fellowship tonight.  Most folks seemed tired but the games are going strong even as I write this entry.  Thanks for checking on us and thanks for the prayers.

The entry is actually being posted a little after midnight here in Guatemala.  The 20 folks from Michigan arrived safe and sound around 9:00PM.  The 23 Mobile folks arrived around 11:30PM.  Those Yankees are great friends – not a single one waited up to make sure we arrived safely!

So, even though our Delta flight was an hour late arriving from Atlanta into Guatemala City, we are thankful for God’s watch care over us all day.  Thank you for praying and, Lord willing, we will post again tomorrow night (Friday).

Greetings! Sorry for the lack of information but I could not get on the internet. The week has been great! The folks on the trip have been great! The weather has been great! The Lord has been Great!

We had a group of 8 folks from Knoxville, TN join us Tuesday and Wednesday as their mission projects did not materialize. They were a great group of adults and a lot of fun to be with as we worked together to build houses. We finished all our houses on Monday except for the fronts. The concrete was mostly finished Monday night. On Tuesday, we completed the houses and dedicated all 15 and were done by 1:30 PM. We took the group to Antigua and had a late lunch. Then we went back to Alotenago and did our second food distribution for 100 families. (The first was on Monday night in the same village but in a different location.)  We got home and had pizza at 7:00 PM. This was a great day as we shared the gospel, dedicated the houses, and gave gifts including blankets made by the group from Oak Grove Baptist Church, King’s Mountain, North Carolina; Bibles for each house, and other items for the families. The evening was topped off by a wonderful fellowship time.

Today (Wednesday) has been spent going to the seminary for a tour, going to the Mall nearby, and then off to a special needs orphanage. We are now back at the mission house and have washed a van, truck, and will do the last van after we take it somewhere to get a tire repaired as it is going flat.  Bro.Paul is taking a large group around the property and showing them all the coffee plantation and buildings.

Tonight, we will have a great meal and then a time of fellowship before we begin our preparations to return to the states.  We leave the mission house tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM and both groups will fly out about 12:30 PM but on different airlines.  It has been a great week but we are ready to get home.

P.S. Tena found her anniversary gift as I was talking to her on the phone! It was great!

What a great day today as we began our day with a wonderful devotion lead by Miss Kittie Camp. She inspires us to greater heights whenever we hear her share about the Word of God. Her devotion was about Grace!

We met the ministry team with Bro. Parker and went to the village and had a block party for a couple of hours. It was fantastic. We had balloons, cotton candy, giveaways, beads, and just a great time with the people, especially the kids. It truly was a blessed time. Many of the men wished to continue the building projects so by the end of the day, we have 10 built ready for concrete and 1 house framed.

Our folks are working like it’s the last day and have been absolutely terrific in ministry and actions. Bro. Travis Northcutt was able to preach with the help of an interpreter today at the church nearby the mission house. This was a real blessing to him as well.

We plan to go to Bro. Walter’s church and then to Antigua tomorrow instead of the lake as a landslide has blocked the road to the lake. It’s all good!

Someone call Tena and give her the next clue: 66 star-like diamonds (tiny, tiny, tiny chips! :-)) all in the dark!

Greetings! I tried to blog last night but the internet went down. We had a very slow and unusual start to the day. The Spirit of God moved in during our devotion and folks started to share. My flesh was telling me to stop and go to work but the Spirit said not to touch it! So I didn’t! Can you say, “Please pass the handkerchief?” Stopped at the local store and picked up some water, exchanged money, and we were off and running. Tire problems on one of the vans. Seems you can only put so much weight on one tire. I won’t mention any names here but it wasn’t a man sitting there. LOL  Going down the main highway and the traffic stopped. Two major wrecks blocking traffic. Both were trucks turned over. One was a cement truck filled with bags of cement. Thank the Lord for His direction and we were late and not early. God is good. We eventually made our way to our destination. Built three  houses and working on the fourth. Spent the afternoon working in the rain. Our folks never complained. Great group of people. Went home and had a wonderful supper. Worked on luggage.

Today we are doing a block party with Bro. Mike Parker in the same village we are working. This will be my first and I’m looking forward to it. Got to go and get ready for devotions.

Someone call Tena, my wife, and tell her that I have left a love gift for her (our anniversary is on the 18th) in a secret hiding place. Her first clue: .925

Blessings,

Bro. Jerry