Grace Missions Blog

From Pastor Mark:

Monday: Today the Michiganders and the Mississippian left at 3:00am to fly home. The Canadians and West Virginians woke up pretty early as well, feeling somewhat dehydrated from all of the tears that were shed last night. We drove to the incredibly beautiful Lake Atitlan, stopping at Burger King for breakfast, which consisted of ice-cream for some people (*cough* Rebecca Barker *cough*)  🙂   We arrived at the lake surrounded by volcanoes in good time and many of us were able to ride the X-Tremos zip-lines, consisting of 7 separate lines, giving us an amazing view if the beauty of Guatemala, gliding above and around the lake at amazing speeds! Those that didn’t go on the zip-line had lots of fun feeding monkeys and walking around the jungle trails. Following this, we visited David and Denaya McDonald in Panajachel, enjoying a wonderful meal with them and interacting with the students living with them, that they are teaching English. They were able to accompany us on a boat-ride across Lake Atitlan to shop. The view as we travelled was truly unbelievable and we were so blessed by the amazing majesty of God’s creation that literally surrounded us wherever we looked. After spending some time shopping in the markets of Santiago Atitlan, we returned to Panajachel and drove back to the mission house. Arriving at 800pm, we were so blessed to enjoy a wonderful dinner of sloppy-joes. After supper, we prepared lunches for the people at the El Tejar Dump. Finally, the guys and Rachel lit off the firecracker supply that we’ve been stockpiling over the past week. We are going to bed early as we are ALL incredibly tired. Pray for our ministry at the El Tejar Dump, as well as a VBS that we will be conducting for 200-250 children in Chimaltenango.  We will wrap up our day of ministry by attending a church service in El Tejar. Pray for us; that we will have the energy to minister effectively to the Guatemalan people! Also pray for all those who will hear about the Gospel tomorrow (Tuesday), that they will be deeply impacted by it. Pray that we will have an amazing last day of  ministry to Guatemalan families and children! Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf.  Everything is going great!”

Pastor Mark writes:

Sunday: We slept in an hour longer and enjoyed a great breakfast by drill sergeant Brian Koeman and company.  Then we watched a power-point of last year’s Guatemala outreach, followed by a great message from Jonathan Mast.  At 9:30am, we went to attend church at Rios de Agua Viva.  The men sang “Fill Up My Cup” and the entire group sang, “Prince of Peace”.  Pastor Mark Mast gave the message with Lazaro Suruy as translator. We then drove to Antigua to eat dinner at Los Antorches steakhouse (Ben got fried squid!) Then everyone went to shop at the various markets throughout the city. Just before catching the ride home, Rebecca, Tara, Michael, Jasmin, Dylan, and Ben had a stressful time of buying ice cream and trying to translate what they wanted. Everything ended up well in the end and we made it back to the mission house to enjoy a wonderful sunset and a supper of tacos. A little later, Benjamin Mast completed the “Mast trio” of preaching today and gave a grand finale message. Following Ben’s message, we had a sharing-time, as the Michiganders and sole Mississippian are leaving at 3:00am tomorrow morning.  It was an emotionally charged night as everyone shared what God did in their lives throughout this past week. By the end of the sharing-time (3 hours later),  we walked around the room hugging each other and encouraging one another. Just when I thought the floodgates had stopped flowing, there would be someone else to hug and the tears would start flowing once again. WHAT A FAITHFUL GOD WE SERVE! I cannot begin to describe how amazing this trip (and last week’s trip) have been. Pray that we will all continue on in the relationships that we have formed during this past week by encouraging each other. Pray for the Canadians and West Virginians as they stay on an extra few days, that their time will continue to be truly blessed. Also, pray that those leaving will have safe travels and that as we all go back to our homes we will be bold in our desire to tell others about Jesus. What an amazing time this has been! PRAISE GOD!

From Pastor Mark “O’Henry” Mast:

Saturday: Early this morning, breakfast was served by Tim & Ree Millard, along with a number of teens from Canada. It was delicious!! Lazaro Suruy shared a message with us during devotions and included his testimony of coming to faith in Jesus Christ. What a beautiful trophy of God’s GRACE Lazaro is. We returned to the village of Chuacajay Uno and were privileged to dedicate all of the 20 homes that were built this past week. We also were able to more formally tell the Guatemalan people about Jesus. It was a special privilege to lead a young couple to the Lord. That is what this trip is all about! They are expecting their first little baby in January! After the dedications, we said goodbye to the people and drove up into the clouds (literally) to the village of Parabay. We served here last year. It was an amazing time of getting to see many of the children that we grew close to last year and we were so blessed by it.

Following our visit to Parabay, we drove to the Casa Alleluia orphanage to love on all of the children there. The toddlers especially were so desperate for somebody to love them. We had a wonderful time of enthusiastically singing songs and playing soccer. At 4:30pm we drove back to the mission house to have an appreciation banquet for the people who live in Guatemala serving with Grace Ministries year-round. It was a wonderful evening of expressing how much we thank the Lord for His servants who minister so faithfully. During clean-up, there was an eruption of noise coming from the kitchen. It has probably never been so crazy before! Later in the evening, a game of “Pulse” (which the guys OBVIOUSLY won) as well as “Signal” was played late into the night. It was a great day! Please pray for the people in the villages that we have served in during past trips, that they will find ways to serve God with their lives and continue on in their commitment to Him. Pray for the young couple that were saved this morning. Also, pray for the children from the Casa Alleluia orphanage, so desperate for love. Pray for all those who are involved with Grace Ministries year-round, that their passion for serving others will be strong and that God will provide them with the strength to carry on in the midst of what has to be a very busy lifestyle. Thank you Jesus!

The latest from Mark O’Henry:

Friday: We got up bright and early and enjoyed a great breakfast prepared by Janice Schaaf and the wonderful ladies from West Virginia!  This is the first time anyone from WV has ever participated with Grace Ministries and they have been fantastic!  You should have seen the intensity of Magen on Tuesday morning as she searched for a “board stretcher” that she was asked to get from the tool box!  She even went down to the van looking for it!!  She gets the award for “the most dedicated to a task” I have ever seen!  Back to today… We left the mission house for our last day of house-building after hearing a challenge from Gordon Armstrong on “truth”.  After arriving at the village, a number of us went to VBS while the rest finished off the remaining houses.  When we showed up for Bible School there was a very large group of children already seated in rows, eager to hear the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus!  Wow!!  Pastor Mark was required to minister for the first 45 minutes without a translator! (L-o-n-g story that we will spare you the details of…)  Mark exhausted every word of Spanish he knows at least 5 times… sang every Spanish song he has ever learned… and recited every verse of Spanish he has ever memorized… a total of 3).  Let’s just say it was a s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g time indeed!  BUT, in spite of Mark’s obvious limitations, you should have heard these children SING!  When Lazaro and David FINALLY arrived, it was a WELCOME sight indeed!  This afternoon, a van load of the team went with Pastor Mark to the village of Chuacacay (where the Grace team worked last week) and finished off a house that wasn’t quite completed.  After that, we returned to Chuacajay Uno to bless 100 families with food and clothes.  Because of a delay in getting the supplies to the village, Pastor Mark and Lazaro did an hour long service with all the people, singing, preaching and presenting the Gospel.  It was so humbling to hear many of the people audibly praying to receive Christ as their Lord and Saviour when Lazaro gave the invitation.  (Many children have also prayed to receive Christ at VBS!)  The Lord gives the increase!!   At the end of a wonderful day of ministry, we drove back to the mission house for an amazing chicken dinner prepared by Jan Kapenga and her assistants.  There were also three different kinds of divine cream pies!  The teens are currently socializing in the Upper Room and on the roof of the mission house.  Please pray for our day tomorrow as we dedicate all the homes that we have built.  Pray that the people will come to trust in Christ, if they haven’t already, and that the community of Chuacajay Uno will be forever changed by the presence of Jesus in their midst. Also pray that our time at Casa Alleluia orphanage will be truly blessed.  Thank you all!  The trip is going great!

Here is the very latest from Pastor Mark “O’Henry” Mast:

Update from Guatemala Grace Ministries Team II trip in November! (You may want to pour yourself a cup of coffee!)

Tuesday: We got up bright and early and enjoyed a delicious breakfast by Dean Kapenga and crew! We experienced a meaningful devotion time before taking an hour and a half drive out to the village of Chuacajay Uno. Pastor Teddie Turrentine gave a great challenge and set the pace for the team serving with Grace Ministries this week. The team worked like troopers in the hot sun (just ask “redneck” Jennie!). We were able to build 8+ houses, working out a few construction “problems” along the way. Late in the afternoon we drove back to the mission house to have a great meal (Thank you Jan, Theresa and Terisita!) and shower. After supper, many of the team sorted the mountains of clothes, blankets, shoes, toys, stuffed animals, hygiene items, and school supplies that many of you reading this supplied. We are OVERWHELMED by your generous giving and help to provide for the needs of this trip. A number of the teens were “fired” from sorting items because of obnoxious behaviour (no further comment…) They spent the rest of the evening at the palace of Pastor Teddie talking about anything and everything… before finally heading to bed. Pray that God will continue to undertake for our team and give us strength. Pray that the Lord will also help us to show His love to all of those around us, even when things do not go as planned! “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape!”

Wednesday: Today we got up bright and early to enjoy breakfast prepared by Pat Giles and company. We were blessed with a great message by Dean Kapenga. Then we drove out to Chuacajay Uno to build more houses. We also conducted a VBS with the children. What-A-Blessing! We returned to the mission house a little early early to take a tour of the grounds and the newly built feeding center. Lazaro Suruy invited a number of families to share with us their appreciation for this ministry and we sang together some wonderful songs of praise! May these songs be the first of MANY that are lifted in praise to JESUS from the lips of precious children being feed physically and spiritually at the center. The acoustics are amazing! After enjoying a fabulous supper, the teens played picture telephone. If you have never played this, it is absolutely hilarious! All I can say is, “What happens at the mission house, stays at the mission house.”

Thursday: After enjoying a hearty breakfast prepared by bubba Tim Knighten and his Canadian assistants, we watched the “My Hope America” message by Rev. Billy Graham, entitled, “The Cross”. If you haven’t seen this yet, you NEED to watch it… perhaps the last sermon that Billy Graham will preach… he turned 95 years of age on November 7. It is a powerful message that is bringing many to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Here is the link to view this message online: http://myhopewithbillygraham.org/programs/the-cross/ After taking our daily hour and a half drive to the village, we conducted a second day of VBS and knocked off a few more houses. We came back to the mission house at 4:00pm to host 53 girls from Casa Alleluia Para Nino’s orphanage. They were, to say the least, VERY enthusiastic about the pizza dinner that we provided them… many of the girls were even MORE enthused about all the single “gringo” teen boys “available”… Nuff said! Lots of hair was braided and nails were painted too! I sincerely wish all the “chalk art” on the mission house parking lot could remain a permanent fixture of the décor around here! So precious!! Before eating, the Canadian men sang “Fill Up My Cup”… WOW!! Powerful!! The entire team sang “Prince of Peace”… what a blessing!! Many other songs were sung in Spanish. Oh my, can those girls ever SING! Please pray for all the children at Casa Alleluia orphanage (450 of them!); that they will know how much they are loved by their Heavenly Father, even though their earthly fathers and mothers aren’t there for them. After the Casa girls departed, the Grace team enjoyed a pizza party too. Later, the Canadian teens spent an enlightening time of fellowship and learning about the ins and outs of marriage from Magen Eddy! Please pray that tomorrow (Friday) we will be able to complete construction of the remaining houses and also have a fruitful last day of VBS. Pray that the people of Chuacajay Uno will know WHY we are doing WHAT we are doing. Pray that many will come to saving faith in JESUS!! Also, please pray for our “village ministry” on Friday evening. And do pray that we will all draw even closer together as a team and that we will make JESUS the focus of all that we do! Thanks for EVERYTHING! To God Be The GLORY!

Have not heard from Pastor Mark.  He may be updating via Facebook.  I did speak to John King via the phone this morning and he “thinks” the total number of houses finished is at ten with three or four more started.

As for the electrical situation, the electric company gave us full assurance in our Tuesday meeting that once we built/set a pole the electricity would be given to us.  We would then simply have to trench it up to the feeding center.  Good news.

Tim Knighten works in the electrical field and was assigned the duty of building the pole and digging the trench to the center.  He came to me before I left yesterday morning with a different idea.  So, we have scratched those plans and are moving in a different direction.  Tim, John King, and Juan Marcos Ruiz believe this is the best route to take.  They are meeting with a contractor this morning to discuss this matter.  Pray for wisdom on their behalf.  I am so thankful that Tim K is there!  Ever occur to you that God knows what He is doing?

If I receive news from Pastor Mark, I will post it here.  Pray for the team.

This entry is way late and, for that, I apologize.  No excuses.

Tuesday was a great first day for this team under the leadership of Pastor Mark Mast.  Dean Kapenga is basically leading the building side of things while Pastor Mark focuses on other things including VBS.

The musical portion of the morning worship was led by the Mast family – Jonathan, Rachel & Ben.  Good job!

After the morning devotional and assignments, the team, minus three, left for the village.  They returned having built 8 1/2 houses with four of those receiving concrete.  The three who stayed at the mission house built 24 doors and windows.  The team got back to the mission house a bit late, exhausted, and happy.

After supper, some of the team sorted clothes, toys, blankets, et cetera.  Actually, Pastor Mark fired Becca, Tara, Jaz, Jennie & Ben from helping.  They were crushed and came to me for counseling/consoling.  Wow, what a tough team leader!

Hopefully, I will get daily updates from Pastor Mark and will report those results here.  I am sitting in the Atlanta airport headed home so I am at Pastor Mark’s mercy regarding the updates.

Thanks for checking on this team and keep praying.

One team made it home safely yesterday/last night.  They left behind three souls changed for eternity as one team member and two folks in the village prayed to receive Jesus as their personal Savior.  That is why we do what we do as GRACE Ministries.  To God be the glory!

In addition to the salvations, there is no way to know how many seeds were planted as a result of the three day VBS and through other means.  Only God knows and only time will reveal that total.

So, as one team left, another one arrived ready to go!  Pastor Mark Mast is in charge of this team.  They did the usual late yesterday afternoon with a meeting followed by supper down the hill.  A group is up cooking breakfast which will be followed by the morning devotional time.  Then they will head to a new village to build houses, do VBS, and make many memories.  Pray for them.

Today, I have a meeting with a lawyer this morning and then the electrical company this afternoon.  Pray for favor as we try to resolve this matter of not having electricity in the feeding center.  God is able!

Thank you for following these teams via this blog.  Pray for Pastor Mark and this team!

A blessed Sunday!  A morning message brought by Lazaro Suruy.  A fifteenth birthday celebration for Marsha Suruy which was a spiritual service.  Off to Antigua and Las Antorchas restaurant for the noon meal.  Shopping, shopping, and more shopping!  Supper.  A two hour or so share time which was special.  I wish everyone could have heard as the team members shared their hearts.  Awesome day!

It has been a good and blessed week.  This team has been great!  God has been faithful!  We give Him the glory!  Pray for the team members as they travel today.  The first wave leaves at 3:00AM and the second wave leaves at 8:30AM.  They will connect through Houston & Atlanta respectively.  Pray for each group as they travel.

Again, thank you for reading these entries and for praying for this team.

The fifth and final day of ministry for this team was a good and relaxing day.  It began with a message from Pastor Mark Mast.  As always, he did a very good job of sharing the Word.

Everyone then headed to the village in order to dedicate the twenty houses.  The houses were decorated nicely and the families were excited to be new homeowners.  One young couple prayed to accept Jesus as their personal Savior upon hearing the Gospel presentation.  Good stuff!

The team came back to the mission house to eat lunch and then headed to Casa Aleluya where Dr. Mike Clark gave them a tour.  I appreciate his being willing to do that.  This team really enjoyed Dr. Mike’s message on Thursday and the time at CPNA yesterday.

Carlos Villatoro & Danny Chavez came last night and shared a time of musical praise with the team.  It was good!

Today, we will hear Lazaro Suruy bring the Word and we will then head down to the feeding center for Marsha Suruy’s 15th birthday party complete with a message from the Word, music, et cetera.  It is designed to be a spiritual experience for all involved.

Lunch in Antigua followed by some shopping will fill the afternoon.  We will have a share time tonight before getting ready to head for home.

Everyone is well.  Thanks for checking on us.  Keep praying!