Lazaro and Glendy devote Fridays for sharing a Bible story and songs with the children. The children also participated in a craft, ate popcorn (a lot of it), played on the swing sets and finished some homework. The previous groups had leftover pizza and the kids devoured it!
Click on the link to view the video!
The last GRACE team, led by Bro. Jerry, bought and dedicated two swing sets for the feeding center. The kids can release some energy on the three slides, four swings, two hand swings, and monkey bars. The parents were so excited about the swing sets that they volunteered to help level and prepare the ground. The kids are ecstatic, and it is a highlight of their afternoon.
This is the first time the kids were able to play on the swing sets. This is only half of the children, but it looked like someone stepped on an ant hill.
Haley Ray has been helping with the feeding center for the last several weeks. She is constantly loving on the people of Guatemala as she serves them. She has been a huge blessing to our family, Lazaro and Glendy, and the families of the feeding center. I have asked her to write a few thoughts about her experience in Guatemala for the past several weeks.
I began my summer not really knowing what to expect, but God has completely exceeded my expectations. I never knew I could feel so much love for strangers. I mostly work with the 40 kids in the feeding center and I can’t express to you how much joy these kids bring to my life. I love the relationships that I have built with these kids, and I honestly don’t know how I am ever going to leave them to go back home. The first thing the kids do when they get to the feeding center is drop their bags and run and hug me, Lizzi, Sydney, Deidra, Soy, or really just anybody who they can get their hands on. No matter how many times they see us there, or how normal it is for us to be there now, I still get a hug from every single child, every single day. That is something that will never get old to me. These kids may be super poor and super needy, but they have joy like nothing that I have ever seen. They have Jesus and that is all that they need. They’re thankful for every meal, every gift, every crayon, every piece of paper, every vitamin and you never ever see them without a smile on their face. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to watch some of these kids meet their sponsors for the first time and I have watched them receive new clothes and toys. (These kids have probably never been able to afford new clothes or new toys.) These little simple gifts cost us almost nothing in the states, but it means the world to these kids. Also, it isn’t only the children who are super thankful for our time and money and willingness to give, the parents of these kids will come up to us with tears in their eyes just thanking us for helping them. Seeing them be so grateful makes me a lot more grateful for the things that I have at home too. I always come to Guatemala with the intentions of teaching these kids and showing them love, but I always leave Guatemala realizing how much they have taught me and how they are actually the ones showing me love and teaching me how to love!
The following came from Bro. Jerry last night:
“Greetings! Today was a good day! The block party was great! Yes, I did wonder about half way though the party, where Bro. Mike’s crew were but it was all good! Not a problem at all! Tell him not to worry about it at all! I did give Lazaro all the cotton candy stuff for the feeding centers use at a later time. We had excellent workers who organized the party and I thought all were diligent and did a fantastic job! The kids and parents had a ball. All total we had about 200! I know all our hot dogs were given out and we ran out of balloons, stickers, and some other stuff!
The evening program was great too with the center packed out. The meal was wonderful! The people were very gracious! Lazaro and Glendy are doing a great job of ministry! Good people!
Again, don’t worry about the block party…it was great!
We also got 3 1/2 houses built today to some point!
This is a great group!
Alcy made it also! She is a wonderful lady and very hard worker! Already a blessing! Her parents are Guatemalan and she was born in Chicago.”
The following came via e-mail from Bro. Jerry Hovel earlier today:
“Greetings! I’m using bro Herbert’s iPad because I have not been able to use my computer and no time to mess with it. We have had a great start so far! Alcy showed up yesterday morning after spending the night searching for us! We sent a driver for her but she did not see the sign! She arrived by chicken bus and taxi about 30 mins after we left for the village but went right to work helping Clara and Peggy cook! Turns out she went to culinary school and is an excellent cook also! Clara and Peggy said she was an angel sent from heaven!
We have been busy since we got here! Four houses with concrete done, one up to concrete! I have one small crew of men building houses this morning, some putting up tents, some staining, and some getting ready for the block party and dedication! Looking forward to a great day!
Just wanted to touch base!”
Obviously, I do not know how to rotate the pictures.
Fredy’s sponsor sent him some new clothes, pajamas, and shoes. I asked Lazaro to make sure they fit so she will know for future knowledge. Fredy tried them on and they were perfect! I asked to take a picture of Fredy with the toys and pajamas so I could send it to his sponsor. Of course Fredy smiled and allowed me to take the picture. However, Fredy turned around to walk away from the bag of clothes. Lazaro called him back and explained that they were his to take home. Fredy’s response, “All of them!” He was overjoyed and expressed himself by hugging me and saying “Gracias!” (I had nothing to do with it but I took full credit–LOL) These children have not ever been given anything new so it is difficult for them to comprehend the gifts. It is our prayer that through a simple gift they can know they are loved by people who have never even met them. It is our prayer that through a simple gift we will have the opportunity to show them the love of Jesus Christ.
The kids enjoyed vegetable soup for lunch!
They painted kites for a craft. Thankfully, it is washable paint since they wore most of it!
Sweet Tatiana is one of the smallest children at the feeding center, but that does not stop her. She is determined to wash her face and brush her teeth all by herself. Notice that she found the perfect place to suction her toothbrush while she washes her face. She is hilarious!
Thank You Faith Baptist of Bartlett for all of the wonderful supplies. They will definitely be put to great use!
Our English word focused on J is for Jello and Jellyfish! The kids love extra treats and crafts! However, they have no idea what a jellyfish is in English or Spanish!
A beautiful day to complete homework outside! BTW, Lazaro shared with me that the kids from the feeding center are doing extremely well in school. He stated that their teachers were bragging about how quickly they are making progress in academics!
The kids have been practicing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to sing for some of the groups. Wilder was the first to know all of the words! He received a small container of bubbles and a piece of candy. All of the sudden 39 other kids tried their best to learn the song!
Soy and I have been privileged to be involved in Guatemala missions for the past several years as a couple. However, this current trip is different for us because we are experiencing it with our two toddler girls. Since becoming parents, we definitely have changed our perspective on some things, but it has never been truer than our experience at the El Tejar dump this past Tuesday. We asked Lazaro and Glendy to take us mainly because we were curious about the dump, but not expecting to be completely humbled and speechless at the site. As we approached the dump, the children digging through the trash immediately caught our attention. It was impossible to look at the innocent faces of the children, ranging from ages four to twelve, and not have thoughts of Lizzi and Sydney flood our minds. Having to mentally and emotionally process the thought of a mother and father taking their children to dig through a dump in order to survive is still a bit too much for us to comprehend. The four year old boy found a bottle of juice from the disgusting trash and began to drink it. The twelve year old girl should be at school playing with her friends, receiving an education, and not having a care in the world, however, she is searching for bottles to be recycled in order to have an income for the family. The family said they are able to make approximately Q100 per week for the recyclable objects ($13). It is a means of survival for the family, not by choice but by necessity.
We drove away knowing that Jesus Christ loves those children as much as he loves our girls. We drove away with heavy hearts. We drove away knowing that there must be something more that we can do. We visited the dump again on Thursday with sandwiches, chips, cookies, and drinks. It is not much, but we are praying that by meeting a physical need then we will begin to meet a spiritual need. In broken Spanish, we tried to explain that we are here because Jesus loves them. We are praying that somehow God can use us to show them that Jesus Christ loves them so much that He willingly became the Ultimate Sacrifice for their sin debt. We are praying that God will use us to make an eternal difference in their lives!
This is a glimpse of the Block Party for the families involved in the feeding center. They had a blast!