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The G Team 2005
Peoria team &
Guatemala's Medical Missions Ministries, 8/26 to 9/2
We
are (left to right)...
Liz, Sam, Shantel, Karla, Dave, Lilly, Roger, Patti,
Julia, and...
our team journalist - Sandy - would soon meet us in
Atlanta. These are Sandy's journal entries.
Thursday, August 25th
It is certainly by the grace of God that I am able to
go on this trip. Hurricane Katrina chose today and tomorrow (tomorrow
was my original fly date) to make landfall in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area,
and by His grace I was able to get out on the last flight leaving Miami
Airport. The take off was pretty rough, but sometimes that is how it
is when we choose to obey God when He calls us. Beginning is sometimes
difficult, but He always makes a way. I made it to Atlanta and spent
the night.
Friday, August 26th
I met the rest of the group at gate E8 at
the Atlanta airport this morning. Traveling with the guitar has proven
to be a challenge. In Miami, they wouldn't let me carry on the guitar
and, with fear and trembling and a lot of tape marked "Fragile", I let them
check it. In Atlanta for the flight to Guatemala, they wouldn't let me
check the guitar and insisted that I carry it on.
At
least it got there! We were met at the Guatemala airport by Hector
(one of the doctors), and Fidel who is a friend of the ministry. We
were greeted at the baggage claim area by a marimba band of several
talented musicians. Hector and Fidel drove us in Suburbans to the
Medical Missions Ministries compound. Later in the day, we were taken
on a city tour and met other members of the ministry team as well as some
pastors who were in the city for a church conference.
Saturday, August 27th
Market Day!!! Every day begins with devotions, and
this day is no different. We all met in the "living room" area of the
mission center where Hector led devotions with help from Dave. After a time
of worship, Hector reminded us that to dwell in God's presence means keeping
our attention directed toward Him... to exist, reside, and abide. Dwelling
requires a willingness to seek God, so we are filled with Him and our lives
have purpose, life, function, and fulfillment. A glove without a hand in it
serves no purpose, but a glove with a hand in it takes the shape of that
hand as well as becoming useful and purposeful. We are the gloves God wants
to use.
The
weather in Guatemala is absolutely lovely, just the right temperature -
sunny without humidity. The market in La Antigua was filled with the most
colorful creations of the Guatemalan people, and we were carefully
chaperoned by Hector, his son Toral, and Fidel.
The
beautiful art and colors used by the women in their fabrics and art work
made me realize that though much of their lives are surrounded by grey
concrete or metal, there hearts are full of the color God has placed there...
and through their creations they release the color in their souls.
Sunday, August 28th
No devotions today, because we went to church with
Hermann and Linda and their children. Their congregation, called Vida Real,
meets in the ballroom of a beautiful hotel in Guatemala City. The message
was on 'metamorphosis' or change, which seems to be the general theme for
our trip so far. We went to a local mall for lunch, and some of us found an
internet cafe to e-mail a message home.
Editor's note: Roger (a/k/a 'Rogelio')
volunteered to drive one of the Suburbans into the city, including a very
challenging parking deck. We'd like to acknowledge him for driving above
and beyond the call of duty!
The
remainder of the afternoon was spent at Casa Para Ninos Aleluya, an
orphanage with more than 400 residents from small babies to college age
children. We heard some incredible stories from Mike, an American man who
started the orphanage seventeen years ago. The facility is privately
supported, entirely paid for, and has a complete school. It also has a
trade school for the children, a staff of medical personnel, and
counselors. We spent the afternoon playing with the preschool age
children.
They
were so open and loving with us, so excited that we had come to visit them,
and many wanted only to be held. They all knew what "foto" was, and we took
many of those to satisfy their desires to be photographed. What was most
impressive was that during our tour and our playtime, our host Mike knew
each of the children and they each knew him, calling him Papi. I can't
imagine being a father to 400 children, but he has done it and done it
well. This orphanage's web site is
http://www.casaontherock.org/, and the ministry is most worthy of being
supported by Christians in the USA.
Monday, August 29th
6 a.m. devotions led by Hermann (helped by Sam) started
our day. The theme for devotions today was that we are to forget we are on
a missions trip and consider our time in Guatemala as a date with Jesus.
It's all about Him and being closer to Him. I was made aware, as we watched
the mission team pack the vehicles for our trip to the first clinic, how
much coordination and how many people it takes to make this work. We left
the mission center about 9 a.m. and drove about 5 hours to San Pablo. The
church in San Pablo had lunch ready for us when we arrived: saffron chicken,
rice, and vegetables. We unloaded the vehicles after lunch and set up for
clinic.
Clinics were set up with a waiting area for patients to
see the doctor first. The doctors were at the front of the sanctuary of the
church, pharmacy area was in the middle, and the sharing stations (5
clusters of 3 or 4 chairs each) were located around the edge of the
sanctuary.
Two
doctors evaluated each patient individually and made their assessments,
prescribing vitamins or any number of other needed medications. These
prescriptions were then taken to the pharmacy area and, while their
prescriptions were being filled, the patients were led to a sharing
station. Sharing stations consisted of one of us who had come from the US
and an interpreter (who was more than able to minister without us). When
patients were brought to the sharing the station, we shared our lives, the
gospel, and our prayers and support with them. The first clinic lasted
until 10 p.m., and we saw 123 people. Of the 22 who had not yet accepted
Christ, 21 made commitments!! After we finished at 10 p.m., the ladies of
the church had a meal prepared for us again. They had stayed all day with
us to see that we were cared for!
We slept in the sanctuary on cots for the night. It
was surprisingly quiet for a room full of 20 people. I think everyone was
exhausted!
Editor's note: For each clinic, the local
hosting church follows up with the new believers after we leave.
Tuesday, August 30th
Malacatan
was the destination for Tuesday. After having devotions which were shared
by Julia, we packed the medicines and clinic supplies in the vehicles and
took off for a two hour drive. The scenario was very much the same, and 173
people came through the clinic. Many were Christians, and we had the
opportunity to encourage and pray with many of them. At each clinic, Ruth
(also known as Tuti) had a children's program for the children while their
parents waited to see the doctor. I had the opportunity to minister with
Ruth at Malacatán and found the children to be delightfully open to the
gospel, to the fun songs Ruth taught them, and to the "Americanos". They,
too, loved being photographed, and in the afternoon, they were thoroughly
entertained with American songs and games with Sam, Lilly, and Patti. The
ladies of the church again fed us lunch and dinner. Lunch was a very tasty
chicken broth, served with chicken, avocado, and rice which we could add to
our broth as we desired. Tortillas came with every meal!! We returned to
San Pablo for the night.
Wednesday, August 31
Morning devotion was led by Karla and Hector, and they
reminded us that we are all unique with unique gifts and abilities to
offer. We are to be thankful for our gifts, continually renew our minds,
and seek God for the special purposes that He has for each of us. When we
understand our purpose, we can be genuine, unintimidated, confident, and
secure with who we are in Christ. Obviously, this is a process as we grow
in maturity, but the first step is our decision to seek. After devotions,
we loaded the vehicles, bid our goodbyes to the church at San Pablo, and
started on a 2 hour ride to the village of Ocós.
The
church building in Ocós was small, but very well kept, and again the people
were so loving and caring. As we entered the building to set up for the
clinic, I saw in my mind a beam of light which seemed to be coming from the
heavens and pointing to this little church. It was not until we were
preparing to leave Ocós that I learned that the name of the church was
"Light in the Desert"! It was in Ocós that I had the opportunity to pray
with the leading elder of the church who was 80 years young! His love for
Jesus stood out above all the other things we talked about,
and
he shared that he visits homes every day speaking to people about Jesus.
His greatest desire was to be able to live to be 100 years old and share
Jesus every day. We prayed for his desires!! Clinic was conducted in the
same manner as the previous days, but was shorter in duration.
The
people brought us fresh coconuts and plantains, and cubed fresh fruit which
they had grown. It was a wonderful day! We loaded our vehicles for the 6
hour drive back to the mission center in Guatemala City, but we made time
for a photo op at the Pacific Ocean first. While smiling for the cameras,
the ocean decided to say 'Hi' with a wave. Finally back at home base, we
enjoyed hot showers and our 'own' beds!
Thursday, September 1st
Devotions
began with worship, and Hermann and I shared thoughts about worship and what
God does in us during worship. Our hearts are opened during worship, the
Lord inhabits our praises, He transforms us and opens our lives to His
presence, renews our minds, and delivers us from bondage. Hermann shared
that just as Jesus delivered Lazarus from death to life, so too He delivers
us, but Jesus then commanded the people present to unwrap the grave cloths.
We also are to participate in loosing others from bondages they find
themselves in. We need to participate in the transformation of at least one
person. We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices - all of our life is
to be a service of worship to Him. In our living lives of worship, He
ministers to us all we will need to live and give.
Today,
we spent the day at a small church on the outskirts of Guatemala City. We
also had two dentists as part of the team today, and many children came
through the clinic. Teeth were pulled, medicines were given, and the gospel
was shared with the people. I was blessed by two special people today. One
was a small 11-year-old boy who had been abandoned by his parents and came
with his grandmother. His grandmother was a believer, but Michael had never
accepted Christ. During the sharing time, Michael professed his faith and
accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. He was so happy after we prayed -
his joy was obvious. Another woman who came to the clinic, María, was
already a part of the church and a devout believer, but it was the depth of
her devotion and joy which stood out to me. I prayed with her and her
specific needs and then she prayed for us and shared how blessed she was
that we had come from America to visit them! How humbling it was for me to
see and hear her prayer!
In the evening, we went to a very beautiful steak house
in Guatemala City for dinner with the entire missions ministry team and
their families. We had a wonderful time, took lots of pictures and said our
farewells.
Friday, September 2nd
We can't believe it is already time to return to the
US. It was a phenomenal week and all of us have grown and given this week.
We packed and repacked our many treasures, we had a devotional and then a
much needed prayer time for Liz who hurt her back as she was preparing to
leave. Dietrich and another friend of the ministry were responsible to get
us safely to the airport, and he took his assignment seriously. He did not
leave us, but waited for 2 hours until we were ready to go to our gate, then
stayed with us until we were through security before he said his goodbyes
and left us. It was sad, yet very fulfilling at the same time. Our flight
to Atlanta was calm and when we reached customs in the Atlanta airport, a
new lane was opened just for us and we sailed through without incident. The
guitar made it back safely, too! Rather than weary, I felt rejuvenated;
rather than drained, refueled. It truly is that in being obedient to God's
call and going out of our comfort zone that we are blessed. It is in being
a blessing to others that we are cleansed, renewed, and brought closer to
the living God who proclaims himself to be our Father, our provider, our
healer, and our strength! God bless you all as you seek His will for your
life!!
Editor's notes: During the week that our team
served this year...
 | 285 patients were seen |
| 74 indicated that they were not yet Christians |
| 53 of the 74 indicated decisions for Christ (72%) |
Team leader: Liz Coach &
accountant: Karla
Journalist: Sandy Sub-team leader
for the guys: Sam
Photographer: Patti
Web site: Perry
Next year: August 11 - 18. If you're
interested, please let us know via our Web site!
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