Grace Missions Blog

A usual first day of work for a team.  We made our way west of Tecpan.  We actually drove past where the team that just left yesterday was building.  As I figured, this team did very well completely finishing one house, three more received the concrete, and four more are up to the point of being ready for the cement.

One of our very best workers, Ross Genzink, and his wife, Kathy, made their way to Casa Aleluya and spent the entire day working there.  They will go back there at least one more day.

Everyone is well.  Tomorrow we go back to build and we will also host two Bible Schools – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

I appreciate you checking on us and deeply appreciate the prayers.

Forty six folks flew from Grand Rapids, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Gulfport and Mobile early this morning.  Two flew in last night and stayed in a hotel near the airport.  By 3:30PM, all 48 were in the mission house.  We met, went to the store for candy, ate supper in town, and came back to rest and recharge for tomorrow.

Everyone is well.  Thanks for your prayer support.

Wow! What a day! We had partly cloudy skies as we began the day and it just got better and better. We have all 15 houses framed. Out of the 15 houses, we still have 6 to put fronts on. We plan to do this in the morning as well as dedicate all the houses. In the afternoon, we will do our feeding and clothes distribution. Afterwards, we plan to either go to a restaurant or return to the mission house for pizza. Tomorrow night we will have share time. Wednesday, we are off to the lake for shopping, zip lines for the brave, or just enjoying the area. All this is always subject to change, so we will see.

We had a great day today! Went to church at the seminary and enjoyed the part of the service we attended. We went to Antiqua and had a great meal and then the folks shopped till they dropped or till 3 PM, 4 PM, or 5 PM. I won’t mention the person’s name that was last to the bus because they love to shop but if birds of a feather flock together…I’m just saying!

Came back to the mission house and had supper (where do they put it?) and then had a great service with Dr. Court Farni sharing from the Word. Sorted clothes and prepared tools, folded sheets, and they are currently going strong having fellowship. I’m going to take a shower and go to bed! Great folks!

Happy 6th birthday to my grandson, Gabe!

We had a great day today with a dental clinic and house building continuing to progress. We have 5 completed and are on our 11th house. All in different stages. The rain caused us to quit earlier than I wanted but it’s all good. This group is working really hard. Their attitudes are fantastic and the fellowship is amazing! Tomorrow will be a day of worship, shopping, rest. Monday, we will start again.
All are well and most are either in bed or playing games. I’m heading to bed!

Greetings! What a great missionary journey we have had so far. The travel to
Guatemala was great! We had some difficulty at the airline counter but the United Airline counter employee was fabulous and worked really hard to help us. Good thing we left early!

The Houston Airport was like a ghost town compared to what I have seen on previous trips. The transition was smooth and all went well.

We arrived safely and made it to the mission house uneventful. Most of the folks went to bed early as we are getting up early to beat the rain!

Well, we didn’t make it! Woke up to foggy, rainy day. Had breakfast, devotions, and off we went by faith.

By the time we got to the village of (Guatemala translation of a name I can’t pronounce or spell) “Grand Bay”…can you believe it? Where you at? I’m in Grand Bay! I thought you went to Guatemala? I did! But you just said you’re in Grand Bay! You get the picture! Anyhow, it’s one of those villages way up where the heavens begin and the sky ends! It wasn’t raining! At least it wasn’t raining above us! I’m not sure about below us!

We had an overcast sky almost all day but the weather was a cool 60-70 degrees with no humidity. We had a great day getting 6 houses ready for concrete. The folks were putting the floor in before we left. They are ready to move in. Hope we can do the same tomorrow!

Most of the “old at heart” folks have already gone to bed after having a fantastic meal prepared by Clara Broadus, Peggy Benefield, and a few others. My heart was sad today thinking about Sharon Jardee who’s health won’t permit her going to Guatemala to cook and Louise Morris who has gone to be with the Lord! Both have faithfully served our group in the past and we are eternally grateful! (I felt a little closer to Miss Louise today! Also, miss you, Miss Sharon!) One consolation is that I have several of Louise’s relations with us on this trip! Lord, help me! Just teasing! LOL! I love all of them and they have been fabulous!

I’m one of those “old at hearts” so off to bed…

– BRO. JERRY

A blessed Wednesday.  The team went to visit Love The Child and Casa Aleluya.  Both were good visits.

We had our final share time at 5:00PM and it was good.  Always seems to be a special time.

We leave for the airport at 3:15AM.  The folks flying United fly out at 7:00AM and those on Delta fly out at 7:15AM.  Everyone is scheduled to arrive home mid-afternoon.

The Lord has given us a good week.  We bless Him!

Pray for us as we travel today.  Thanks!

A full Tuesday!  Our morning started with the usual musical worship and time in the Word.  We then readied to go to the local dump first in order to minister to those folks and feed them.  Our plans got delayed (see flexible bracelet) by an hour or so but it was a good time of ministry for the team.  We saw about 60 folks.

We then made our way to the village where we were almost immediately met by a hard rain that lasted an hour or so.  We had three teams doing dedications, one team finishing the last house, and one team doing concrete.  The rains stopped and we were ready to go up the mountain to distribute food and clothes.  A pretty hard rain along with some steep spots in the road made it tough going.  After giving provisions to 260 folks, we headed back down the mountain.  We made it safely – praise the Lord!

The truck ran out of gas.  John King, Benny McGath and Nick Davis came to the rescue.

Laurie King was placed in the hospital last night with an infection in her wrist.  Pray for her!

Today, we head to Love The Child and Casa Aleluya.  After that, we will pack the tool boxes, clean the tools, et cetera as we ready for home.

Thanks for checking on us.  Pray us through these next two days.  Blessings!

A good Monday!  Eighteen of the houses have been completely finished, another one is ready for concrete, and the final one simply needs the top put on and it is ready for concrete.  Again, the distance between the houses has been challenging but this team has handled it well.

Today is going to be a busy day with a feeding ministry to the local dump, finishing the two houses, dedicating all twenty houses, and distributing food/clothes in the same village.

Everyone is well.  Thanks for reading this brief entry.  Pray for us.

Wow, what a Sunday!  We began the day with a service in the upper room.  Great worship and a great Word on compassion.

We immediately left and made our way to Centro Biblico Vida Nuevo church for their service.  Pastor Josue brought a message from I Thessalonians 3 that basically told us that by faith we can overcome as problems are a part of every Christians’s life, that we should seek to grow spiritually, and that we should be examples in love and holy living.  (At least that is my translation of what he said!)

Lunch in Antigua was followed by about three hours of shopping.  Tonight, Pastor Doug & Pastor Keith led us in a worship service that was just awesome.  It was one of those “you had to have been there” experiences.  As Dr. Jack Bailey says, “God showed up and God showed out!”  Amen!

Tomorrow it is back to the salt mine!

Thanks for checking on us.  Pray for us often!