Our team experienced an unusual Wednesday but it was all good.  The day began with our devotional time in the upper room.  Pastor BJ, Lana & Rusty led the musical worship.  Pastor Tico Vargas then brought us a word from the Word.  Again, good stuff!

The team then had already prepared breakfast (pancakes & tortillas) for the folks working in the El Tejar dump.  We traveled there and Pastor BJ led some musical worship before Pastor Jordan Lollar preached to the seventy something folks there.  Our team members then served the food.  We had more folks than we had expected so our team members were asked to give away their lunches.  You should have seen them hurry to the vehicles to gladly get their lunches and then give them away – wow!  So, the folks working at the dump were filled spiritually and physically.  Deidra coordinated this ministry and did a very nice job!

The team left the dump for the thirty minute drive to Las Lomas for the house dedications.  Everything was on schedule and the day was mapped out – no problems.  Not so fast my friend!  As we got to the Western side of Chimaltenango, the traffic came to a halt.  A group of folks (who or why we never knew) were protesting and had CA1 (main highway) blocked.  We had Tico, Kirk & Juan Marcos with us so we decided to go a back way.  Only problem was that the vans were not following each other.  We found three of the vans but could not find the one being driven by BJ (imagine that!).  So, we began following Tico’s lead and when we got to the place where we needed to turn back to the main road the police would not allow us to do so.  However, BJ and crew were coming from that road so we now had everyone together again.  We kept heading West and were finally told that we would not be able to get to Las Lomas.  We kept driving West.  We got to a town called Comalapa and a small bus was parked on a hill and had the road completely blocked.  Dead battery.  The driver would not let us even try to push it out of the way.  So, we took the battery out of the truck and started the bus so it could move – success!  We left the El Tejar dump around 10:00AM and finally got to Las Lomas at 1:30PM.

The team dedicated all twenty houses.  We saw salvations and rededications.  Sweet, sweet time!  The Holy Spirit was present.

The team had given their lunches away so we stopped at Pizza Hut in Chimaltenango for lunch/supper combo.  That was followed by team sharing time in the upper room which was a very powerful time.

Seventeen of our team members then loaded up in two vans and headed to the airport.  As I write this entry, they are now in Atlanta waiting on their flight to Mobile.  The remaining thirty two team members will leave the mission house at 7:00AM heading to the airport as they are scheduled to fly out at 1:00PM today.  Pray for all to go well in their travels.

Thanks for praying.  Thanks for checking on this team.  God is good!

Good Wednesday morning from GRACE Mountain in Guatemala.  Sorry for the tardiness of this post.  We have had internet connection but it seems each time I would sit down to update it would not be available at that moment.   I apologize.

All is well.  The team enjoyed a good Monday and Tuesday.  On Monday afternoon they hosted a food and clothes distribution in Las Lomas.  One hundred families received those goods and were thankful.

Yesterday afternoon the team hosted a block party for the children of Las Lomas.  Obviously, those children have never seen any thing like that so they were excited.

The building team has finished all twenty houses including the concrete work.  Could have built another five or six because of their efficiency.

This morning the team will go minister in the El Tejar dump.  This ministry will include feeding them breakfast.  The team will then go to the village to dedicate the twenty houses.

Again, all is well.  Thank you for praying.  Thank you for checking on us.  Blessings!

Spotty internet connection so this will be short and sweet!

A good Sunday for the team.  The morning was spent in Antigua shopping followed by lunch at Las Antorchas.  The team then headed back to GRACE mountain to get ready for the church service.  Pastor Jordan & Lana Lollar shared a couple of messages in song and then Pastor Keith Martin brought a great message on God’s riches.  The team then helped serve a meal to the folks in attendance.

Last night was a time of rest and relaxation.  My wife, Lisa, led the charge in preparing a simple supper as everyone had enjoyed a nice breakfast and lunch.  So, the team should be refreshed and ready to go this morning.  Back to Las Lomas to continue building houses.

Pray for this team.  Another update coming either tonight or in the morning – depends on the connection!

Sorry for the delayed update.  Connection issues.

Our Saturday was good.  Really good devotional time with the same team leading our musical worship and then Pastor Jordan Lollar bringing us a word from the Word.  Good stuff!

We had a team stay on GRACE mountain to get ready for the block party and/or work with the children in the feeding center.  The rest of the team went West to continue building.  The work day there was limited because of the need to get back in order to host the block party.  The block party took place at the feeding center and the children and their families had a blast!  Special thanks to Dana Taylor for coordinating everything.  A very special thanks to Mike Parker’s team from Clubhouse Guatemala for their help with the inflatables, games, et cetera.

Another good devotional time this morning with the musical worship being led by Levi Seymour, Lana Lollar and Juan Marcos Ruiz.  Pastor BJ Parson then brought us the word from the Word.  Again, good stuff!

One of our younger team members received word this morning that her maternal grandfather passed from this life early this morning.  Pray for that family.

Thanks for praying!  Thanks for taking the time to read this update.

Sorry for the tardiness of this entry but I could not get online last night for some reason.

Yesterday was a good day for our team.  After our devotional time (which was really great) we made our way into Chimaltenango for a candy run (almost as cheap as buying in the States and saves luggage space/weight) and then headed to the village where we would build.  We had four building teams and those teams built eight houses with a ninth one being built to the place of being ready for the tin.  Four of the houses had the concrete poured.  We did not have any weather issues so it was a really good day.

The team got back to the mission house, showered, enjoyed supper and then just spent time in fellowship before retiring for the night.

Today, we will have some folks working in the feeding center, some getting ready for a block party which will begin at 4:00PM, and the rest going back to the village.

Of course, our day will begin in the upper room with Pastor Jordan & Lana leading our musical worship with an assist from Pastor BJ Parson.  Pastor Jordan will then bring us a word from the Word.

Pray for us!  Thanks for checking on us.  Blessings!

Good morning from Guatemala!  You have obviously come to this blog in order to follow our GRACE Ministries team.  Thank you for your interest.

My wife, Lisa, our daughter, Dana, and I were joined by all of the other members of this team around 4:00PM local time yesterday afternoon, 6/23.  Flights originated from Mobile, Gulfport, New Orleans, Birmingham and Montgomery with everyone meeting in Atlanta and flying together from there on Delta.  I have time give Delta props for doing a really nice job of taking care of our team!  The leader at the Mobile desk, Bobby, was especially helpful.  We are very thankful to Delta and we give God the glory for safe flights.

Pastor Keith Martin led the team from the Guatemala City airport out to GRACE mountain with a stop in San Lucas for lunch at McDonalds.  The traffic was extremely heavy but he and the other three drivers did well.

Upon arrival, we had a brief team meeting before settling into our rooms.  We then made our way down to the mall around 6:00PM for supper and some down time.  Once back on the mountain folks began getting ready to retire for the night as they had all left their respective homes really early and were physically tired.

This morning we will have our devotional time beginning at 7:00AM.  Pastor Jordan and Lana Lollar will lead our musical worship and Pastor Keith will bring us a word from the Word.  It will be a good morning!  We will then load up and head West to begin ministering through house building.  We have several who will remain on GRACE mountain in order to work with the children in the feeding center.

I am delighted to have Pastor Keith (Kennedy Baptist), Pastor Jordan (Ethelsville Baptist) and Pastor BJ Parson (Thelma Baptist) join us in leading this team.  Also, Nic Gray (New Life Baptist) is along with several of his folks and having Nic is just like having another pastor on board.  We have deacons and other key church leaders with us too so we are blessed.

Pray for us.  Thank you for checking on us.  Updates to follow, Lord willing.