Day Two in Guatemala

The August 1-8 team to Guatemala arrived safely last night with no troubles getting through customs. We were all extremely thankful that God allowed us smooth travel because we had anticipated some difficulties getting our medical equipment into the country. However, there were no problems, and we all enjoyed our first evening in Guatemala.
Today, we had a nice breakfast and Ron led us in a devotional before church. He talked about feeding the 5000 and the willingness of the boy to offer up his lunch to Jesus. His message was that we all may be willing to offer ourselves to Christ this week and just watch what happens. Then we went to Iglesias del Camino. It was a great time of worship in both Spanish and English, and we had communion as well. Several of the team members really felt God’s presence during the service, whether through worship or Pastor Mike’s message. After lunch, we went to the malnutrition center to bring and unload all of the medical equipment in preparation for the medical clinics that will begin tomorrow. Dr. Sheri will be doing dental work and Dr. Stan will be doing general medicine and examinations. Half of the team will be working with the clinic, and each team member was assigned a role, whether playing with children while they wait to see the doctors, taking medical notes to the pharmacist, or making lunches for the patients. The other half of the team will be doing construction and helping to finish the Canary Room, the room for the infants. They will be painting and repairing termite damage. Our goal is to complete the room so that the infants can be moved back into it, since right now they are in temporary cribs. We are all excited for the week and the work we will do. Though it will be tiring at times, we know it will be rewarding. It was encouraging to see the children today and their eagerness to love and be loved. After we finished setting up the center, we drove back to Antigua and had dinner at the hotel. As we shared our “wow” moments, several people commented on their experiences with the children at the center. For instance, the children were thrilled to help us unload the medicines and bring in suitcases. We all look forward to investing in the lives of children here this week.