Global Outreach Website

Greetings from Guatemala!   Last night was peaceful and serene and a chance to begin to build relationships.  We had a wonderful home cooked dinner followed by a couple of rounds of the "Mafia Game" and various card games.  Just before most of us went to bed, Hermann gave us a preview of what we would be doing Sunday.  In addition, he shared some wonderfuly insightful words with us about the week ahead.  I loved that he encouraged us to think of this week as not a "mission trip", but as a "date with Jesus"!  He then went on to encourage us to use this week in 3 ways.  To build "intimacy" with God, be "available to God and be an excellent "witness".  An incredible way to end our first day together.  And, thank you God, seems that most everyone had a good nights sleep.  "

The weather today is beautiful - not too hot and mostly sunny with a little breeze.  As you might imagine, lights were out fairly early last night followed by alarms starting this morning at 6:00 am as everyone scrambled to get ready for a 7:20 am bus to church.  I personally loved church, probably because it actually felt just like home for me (a mini North Point Community Church service!)  After church we were off to the local "mall" for lunch at Chili's!  Again - just like home.  The hospitality from Hermann and his family and team has been incredibly warm and attentive. 

Right now we are having some down time (basketball, naps, cards) before heading off to the orphanage for a visit.  Can't wait to share that experience with all our blog fans later today...  xoxo

What a privilege it was to worship at Vida Real this morning.  Dr. Alb told me that he church's name, Vida Real, has a double meaning.  In English it would translate to both "real life" and "royal life".  The name reminds me of verse 9 from 2 Peter:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

How awesome to be a part of God's royal family, living "real life" more abundantly through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

It was wonderful to praise God alongside a few hundred Guatemalans.  The service was conducted in Spanish and we had the option of using headsets to hear Dr. Alb and a woman translating for us.  I initially had trouble getting my headset to work, so I had no English translation during the initial singing part of the service.  Although I have never taken Spanish (I idiotically chose to study French in high school and opted out of the language track in college) some of the songs were familiar and I was able to sing along in English.  For songs that were unfamiliar, I either just listened or practiced pronouncing Spanish words I didn't comprehend.  I could see some meaning in even the Spanish songs I really couldn't understand--for example, one of the songs had a line in the chorus that I think roughly translated to "Sin is an important part of my condition, but not yours, God."  That caused me to think about being a forgiven person due to God's grace and mercy, and the sacrifice Jesus made to make this reconcilliation and forgiveness possible for me.

The service itself had a striking resemblance to the gym service I attend at Perimeter.  There was a worship leader singing and give transitional messages between songs, three back up singers, two guitarists, and a drummer encased in plexiglass.  The plexiglass looks suspiciously like a bulletproof room, but is probably there to tone down the strength of the drum sounds.  The ceiling was painted black like in the gym with the pipes and rafters in view, and they even had the dry ice foggy cloud rolling in at the singing parts of the service, which seems to be a mandatory part of our gym service.

The message this morning was the 5th in a series entitled, "Connected or Tangled" and focused on marriage.  The key texts the pastor preached on were: 

John 13:34-35

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.    

It was funny to see "Juan 13" on the big screen instead of "John 13".

The other key text was:

Ephesians 5:21

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

He focused on how these verses applied to marriage--that each spouse should put the other first, and that marriage partners should love one another as Christ demonstrated his love for us.  The pastor mentioned the book "Love and Respect" by Emerson Eggerichs.  I love that book and feel that Dr. Eggerich's insights helped me in my relationship with my husband.

We are heading out the door to visit an orphanage, so I will wrap this up.

Tracy

In and earlier post I mentioned the adrenaline rush passengers on the highways of Guatemala would likely experience, but I thought you also might be interested in several unusual things I have spotted while traveling.

I've seen:

girl and boy jugglers, presumably trying to earn money from passing cars

women walking while carrying young children--I have not seen a single stroller

women walking with parcels balanced on their heads

whole extended families traveling in the back of a pick up truck

men selling food such as peanuts and fried bananas (kind of normal)

men selling electric mosquito killing racquets, similar in size to a racquetball racquet but more deadly (kind of abnormal)

men selling purebred dogs, including German shephards, beagles, golden retrievers, and poodles (very abnormal)

landscaping items for sale such as large trees and bushes

wooden items for sale, such as pergolas and bird feeders

garden statues for sale

chickens eating on the side of the road

cows walking beside the road and leaning over a steep drop-off to eat the vegetation growing there

a car with a virgin Mary sticker on one side of the bumper and a playboy bunny sticker on the other side

a man sleeping in a narrow median on a 4 lane highway...I can't imagine getting to the 3 foot wide median in the middle of the road and thinking, "I think I will take a rest here before completely crossing the street"

I feel like I may be forgetting some good ones, but that's all for now.

Tracy

Hi everyone, it's Tracy Baird.   Since there's another Tracy on our trip--Tracy Henson--I thought I'd specify.  In this blog I'll refer to myself using pronouns, and call her Tracy.

The day started for our team at 5:45 am when we met at Perimeter to begin our journey to Guatemala.  After making sure all the bags were beribboned, labeled, and weighed, we loaded them all into a trailer and truck and took a bag count--38 bags.  Besides our personal items, many of the bags contained prescription and over-the-counter drugs, while others held games, stickers, balls, and other playthings for the Guatemalan children.  We had requested but not obtained permission to transport medical drugs into the country, so one primary concern we had was to get them in so that they could be used in our medical clinics to the benefit of the Guatemalan people.  We had group prayer before leaving, praying that people would be healed and God would be glorified throughout our trip.

We caravaned to the airport, and after a pleasant ride getting to know more about the Meeker family and Paige, we unloaded all our luggage at the Atlanta airport.  We had all been instructed to check in electronically from home, but one family, the Johnsons, had tried but not been successful.  We trooped into the airport 23 strong, and checked our bags.  The Johnsons checked in and were granted VIP status due to the request of Dr. Alb, the leader of Medical Missions Ministries (MMM) in Guatemala.  They had the luggage full of medical supplies, so we hoped they would easily enter Guatemala with the medicines due to their special status.

Our team picked up breakfast at the airport and awaited boarding.  We had a few minor moments of excitement when our gate was changed at the last minute, and then when we attempted to board.  Every team member was pulled aside (except, I assume, those blessed VIPs) since we had checked in at home.  Apparently for international flights you must check in and have your passport validated at the airport, so we were all held back at the gate for passport validation.  We wondered why the website had allowed us to check in but didn't get a satisfactory answer from the desk agent.  I was just glad we all got on our significantly overbooked flight.  After that small bit of drama, we all boarded a direct flight from Atlanta to Guatemala, then promptly waited on the tarmac for about 45 minutes.  The flight eventually took off and proceeded without incident and we arrived in Guatemala City at approximatly noon, Guatemalan time (2:00 pm Eastern time).

The most "thrilling" part of the day arrived when the team from MMM met us at the airport and drove us the the ministry center.  I had heard rumors about the interesting traffic situation in Guatemala and the specific driving habits of the MMM team--and experience confirmed that the rumors were true.  A running joke is that God loves it when Dr. Alb drives, since his passengers always pray a lot.  Let's just say that neither stop signs, the use of blinkers, nor the lanes on the road seemed to have much significance to any of the Guatemalan drivers.  I was certainly glad I had a prescription motion sickness patch as well as motion sickness bracelets for this "fun" sort of drive!

We arrived at the ministry center, which I would describe as comfortable.  We had a late lunch of quarter pounders and fries, which were waiting for us when we got there.  Then while some members of the team napped, others went to the store to buy food for the week.  Many of the rest set out to organize all our medicines--which, praise God, had arrived without incident.  Most of the younger members of our group played card games while Steve, Louise, Paige, Liz, and I popped pills out of blister packs and organized them by type.  Tracy, Sallie, and Lizzie joined us, and a few of the kids floated in and out of our "pill popping" group to help out.  Our thumbs were sore by the time we were finished, but it was so exciting to see all that God had provided through donations for our team to use.  I will attach a photo of the medicines once I have downloaded it.

We are about to have dinner provided by the MMM team, so I will wrap this up. 

I would love your prayers for wisdom and discernment on the part of the doctors and volunteers, for the team to bond, and for the clinics would be entirely successful.  I'm looking forward to worshiping in a new culture tomorrow at church.  God is good, and deserves all our worship and adoration!  I pray that everyone on the team would grow closer to God and each other through this journey.  

Hello Cindy here!  So honored to be able to keep everyone up to date on our journey via this blog site along with Tracy!  We are clearly in count down mode.  I have been asked often if I am nervous about this trip.  It has been amazing to me that I have been able to say "no" with conviction.  I feel so called by God to join in this effort that I have not had a single minute of worry.  (for those who know me well, I am certain you are also amazed by that!).  Stay tuned as we share the glory of God's work in Guatemala. 

Welcome to the Guatemala GO Journey Team blog for our trip departing on June 19th.  We are only 8 days away!  I'm Tracy, and along with Cindy, we will use this blog to keep you posted on our activities and prayer requests.  I've been a "wanna-be blogger" for a long time, so I'm excited for the opportunity to share with you on behalf of the team.

Please join me in petitioning our great God that He would be glorified through this GO Journey. 

Here are some additional prayer requests for the team:

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  that we will depend 100% on God.
  
  


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  that we will each have a servant’s heart, serving the Guatemalans, the medical staff, the translators, and others on the team.
  
  


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  that we will place the needs of others over our own needs.
  
  


• 
  
  they would be yielded to God 100%.
  
  


• 
  
  that God would use us in a mighty way.
  
  


• 
  
  that God would give us the words to speak when needed.
  
  


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  that the name of Jesus would be exalted.
  
  


• 
  
  that we would be able to speak words of healing to the sick.
  
  


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  that we would be protected from the evil one.
  
  


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  that we would be healthy before, throughout, and after the trip.
  
  


• 
  
  that we would have traveling mercies.
  
  


• 
  
  that God would reveal to our team where and how to minister.
  
  


• 
  
  that God would open our ears to His voice.
  
  

I truly value your prayers for our team!  I'm reminded of the Bible story of the poor widow who petitioned the unjust judge repeatedly for justice in her case.  Although the judge did not have concern for God nor man, he eventually granted her favor in the case against her adversary since he was bothered by her coming repeatedly.  Jesus uses this parable to illustrate how we should pray repeatedly, without giving up.  Please join us in lifting these prayers up to our mighty God who is far greater and more merciful than the unjust judge!