All I know in this moment is to be thankful beyond words. And to trust God for all the moments of “right now” that will someday be memories of seeing God’s grace come into full view in ordinary human lives. What memory are you making today that will be a blessing beyond words in the time to come? Make good memories; they count! Let it be.
Antigua provides a lovely respite and transition place. We arrived hungry and eager to get off the bus and feel the breeze. We had a late lunch at the traditional location: Frida’s. It was wonderful!
Again we were blessed to have two new people join us: Oscar, who is a local Guatemalan with family connections to Pastora Myriam’s congregation; and Emily, who is Chester’s girlfriend. These reunions were happy and it was an honor for us to have new friends at our table.
Speaking of tables…we held our last reflection at the Bambu and shared communion together on Friday morning. As we set up for the group, we were humbled as we needed one more chair, then another, and another, and another… Our circle has grown! Our team of 18 was now a connected group of friends of 28. How could that be? 
We were joined by Ana, Rosa and her baby Kevin, – all of Guatemala. Doris and Alberto – of Guatemala. Pastor Juan Pablo – of Guatemala. Chester and Will – of Gautemala. Felipa and Aurora – of Gautemala. Ten Guatemalans in our circle! We shared our voices of thanksgiving and awe for what we have experienced over the past 8 days.
From our communion table we each took a card that had the prayer of child on it. We will take these prayers into our individual prayer lives as a way of honoring what God is teaching us about relationship in the body of Christ. The prayers of those in the USA will meet the prayers of those in Guatemala…we are united in these prayers of the children. We realized as we sat in this special circle that we are slowly but certainly experiencing the vision John wrote about in Revelation 21: “all tribes, languages nations and races….” will be worshipping together at the throne of God. We are worshipping now….why wait?
We had two “last dinners” – one at Bambu and one in Antiqua. At the Bambu Felipa and Aurora prepared a banquet for us and served us at our table. We were so blessed by their caring and hospitality. The food was awesome too! You will see a picture below.
Our last team meal was a blast! The Don Rodrigo is a place we can all recommend. Live Miramba, which is always nice. But the added treat was the traditional dance that went on and on and on! This was so special as it gave the team another encounter with this land of culture and color. Michael and Olivia joined in on the dance which added to our joy.
I’m writing on the flight home. Seven of us had to fly early because we couldn’t all fit on the other flight. It was hard to split up so we are trusting God to keep us all safe and joined in prayer – just as we have for all the other days. When we land in Nashville, we will all land differently. We are changed; we are being transformed; we are being sanctified. Our hearts have opened wider; our eyes have seen a little more of our Creator. Our spirits have been stretched. We pray this will only increase in the days ahead. We will each need grace for the transition “home”.
The Love of God is a powerful and mysterious gift. Jesus wanted us to focus on this love. He said it over and over again: “love one another as I have loved you”. I am grateful for the experience of God’s transforming love within this team and with all of the people we shared our days with in Guatemala. May it only increase with the Spirit and Love of Christ.
It is early morning. We are preparing our notes of thanksgiving. We are preparing to praise. We are preparing to explore and experience the beautiful Antigua, Guatemala together. Yesterday we were joined by visitors and today we will have more. These visits are truly miracles. My writing is probably over until I arrive home. I want to say a huge thank you for all who have prayed for us and followed us. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING…there is more yet to come. I feel that we have been joined by more people on this mission than I will ever be able to count. Even the “cloud of witnesses” seem to have been with us all week.
LORD, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Keep melting and molding and using our hearts…just like Bonnie gave us in the Thursday morning devotion. We are yours in our work, we are yours in our pleasure. We are…quite simply…yours. And we love you. Amen.
We woke up early but we left our hotel with heavy hearts…knowing today was our last day in La Toma. Before we left the parking lot we were belting out the chorus of “Hosanna”…the specific line that says, “break my heart for what breaks yours”. We acknowledged before we ever arrived at the church and school this one truth: it’s OK for us to let our hearts break when God is in it. And so we went…willing for our hearts to break and knowing that somehow in the breaking, we are being molded into the image of God.
At the church Pastora Myriam finished the women’s sessions with another powerful lesson. Part of this teaching included the shattering of a clay pot and the creation of a cross from both the broken pieces and a variety of items that symbolized the week.
The teachers of La Toma gathered with us as we made presentations to them, and they to us. The friendships between the Tennessee teams and the school at La Toma are long lasting. This week they were extended further…as they will be with the next team and the next team. It is so much fun to see new people added to this connection. And isn’t this so precious? The SHARING of God’s grace…one new person after another.
Olivia shared her voice during those presentations as she spontaneously sang a solo to the teachers, “Welcome to this Place”. Michael shared his music by just picking up his guitar and adding some ambiance to the heat and squeals of children playing. Bonnie carried feathers just looking for the right moment to add them to the mix. Kristine Kline (a member of FUMC that sent a gift) added handcrafted bookmarks with Christian symbols and messages in Spanish. It goes on and on….a dance of God’s grace.
Our last moments with Pastors Felix and Manuel were so powerful I hesitate to describe it with words. I want you all to know about it, but also to know I am so limited in sharing it in a way that you can know fully what it was like in those moments. The children had crowded in on us so tight we had to make an exit. They just kept coming.
So here we are standing outside the church. Pastor Manuel was on his motorcycle about to leave and we asked him to stay. (In Guatemala when a friend stops you and asks you to stay, you stay. You would never look at your watch and say “I don’t have time”). So both pastors are standing there and the team has assembled. We are literally covered in kids…maybe 30 or 40. We said words of thanksgiving for the time and then we presented each of them with soccer balls so the churches can use them with their youth. 
Ashley presented Pastor Felix with her guitar. She shared with him how it was given to her by her parents…her first guitar and how much it had meant to her life. Her prayer had been that it would mean even more to the life of the church in making music for God’s glory. All of our tears were flowing as we watched this 17 year old child of God present Pastor Felix with this gift. 
Later, when we were standing at the altar with soccer balls, guitars, posters, feathers and the cross piled on high… Pastor Manuel said he was looking forward to Pastor Felix becoming a guitar playerJ Several years ago…Jeff Blum left a guitar in the hands of Pastor Manuel and he also began to make a joyful noise in the house of the LORD. It changed his church. We lay hands on these two pastors as we gathered around this altar for prayer. We remembered the words of Jesus when he said to Peter, “ on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overcome it.”
We did not say “adios” as we drove away from La Toma today. We simply said, “hasta luego”.
Every day we meet new people who quickly become new friends. Wednesday morning we were blessed when our amiga nuevo, Cata, joined us for breakfast. I met Cata through a mutual friend from the United States who is in Guatemala on water projects. We met for the first time in person on Tuesday. She graciously agreed to return a share a little bit of her life with us over breakfast the next day. Cata is Mayan and her sharing of the cultural traditions of her family was such a gift. She connected to the USA through a missionary who came here when she was a young girl. A long friendship was established across cultures, languages and distance.
There is a Scripture in Revelation 21 that says there will be a day when we are all together from “all tribes, nations and languages” worshipping at the throne of God. I’m so glad we met Cata here so when we get there it will be a joyous reunion.
Our first day in the church was great. It was clearly God’s arranging and blessing. Our focus was on three things:
1. A women’s group in the church
2. A youth activity in the afternoon
3. The art mural
The women came in and embraced Pastora Myriam’s leading and teaching with great joy. They laughed, they shared, they prayed. It was incredible.
The children that flocked to the church with their moms or just from rumors of us “making bracelets” (which I think the mural team began!) were met with a spontaneous craft session, singing and the love of many team members. Ansley and Olivia and LaVerne handled the surprise congregation with grace. It was awesome to see them connect and just love.
In the afternoon Michael and Jake did a music session with guitars and drums. Manuel (pastor from neighboring area) joined them in the later part and there was a jam session, a teaching, and Guatemalan youth making music before the day ended. Priceless!
Sometimes art just speaks for itself. Often it does. The eyes of the students when they saw the mural…..the words of gratitude from adults…and even our own team just being awed at watching the mural take life….all these things encourage me and tell me that if we simply follow what God shows us to do, amazing things will come into being. How hard, though, just to follow!
At the end of the day one of the great blessings was finding Sergio (Pastor Felix’s son and a study of architecture in the university) and Will (our driver this week and Adolfo’s son) contributing to the mural. Both of these men have gifts of drawing and architecture. To see them participate and contribute to the mural is a great encouragement. This mural is an expression of peace and unity in this community. The peace that comes from the work of God here.
Everyone found a place to be and serve today. Bonnie pulling out her creative gifts, Julio translating in unexpected moments, B.J. visiting families and telling stories…Sherri connecting children with her smile…the list goes on and on. We are overflowing. Please pray for us to be humble, open and obedient. It is all we can do here. Let it be.
And then there are some that don’t need a tooth pulled or a cavity filled. Honestly, they just crawl up in that chair and receive a blessing …then they are on their way. It’s not the dental care, it’s the dentist. It’s the presence of God in the form of a man and two lovely ladies that carry Love wherever they go. The Scriptures indicate that we are full of the Holy Spirit and that we are the presence of Christ on earth. If you ever doubt this is true…go crawl up in the chair of Dr. Robin in Guatemala and be blessed.
Dr. Robin blesses me with his many years of experience in Guatemala and his humble service to do whatever is needed and to do it as if he were doing it to and for and with Christ.
Who in your life is one of those persons that just being with them is being with the presence of God?
It is sometimes hard to say what makes the perfect team but it is easy to see when God brings a group of unlikely people together for a greater purpose. It happens often but still has that special sense of being a bit like a miracle. It is a small world of connections when the Creator is concerned.
Julie and I met on a mission to Mountain Top when she was in middle school. It was her first mission as a youth; my first mission as a chaperone. We’ve come a long way since then and now we find ourselves together in Guatemala. She and Terry have a great love story.
We ventured out on Saturday night to the local Sarita’s…AKA… ICE CREAM. After a very hot and long day, much of the team was ready for a treat. I am personally not a big ice cream consumer but I’m pretty sure 99% of the world is…and so we did partake! 
I met Dr. Robin Wilhite on my first mission in Guatemala in 2010. What an incredible man! A dentist in Columbia,TN who seems to use all of his spare time (like anyone has “spare time”) to help those who need dental care in other countries. Robin has been to Guatemala over 20 times…and also Honduras, Costa Rica….etc. etc.! On this particular mission he brought along a fabulous duo: Julie and Abby. Both dental assistants and instruments of grace…these three are pulling teeth and relieving the pain of many. They bring hope and care in the most basic and critical way. In my mom’s first career she was a dental assistant and later a hygienist. It’s nice to meet others who know the dental chair is a perfect opportunity to express the love of Christ. God works everywhere!
Angellie is Pastora Myriam’s daughter. This is her first international mission. She is an awesome soccer player in Nashville and she is great with the children of Guatemala! She just has a gift for making a quiet connection. One of her new friends is a young boy named Brian. He decorated her backpack so she will be taking home art from a child to carry on her back everyday:) Creative and filled with a beautiful spirit, Angellie is our youngest team member.
Laura and I have a connection that could only be the hand of God. When I moved to Tennessee in 1985 I worked at Baptist Hospital in the Pharmacy for a few months while I made the necessary steps to have my Kentucky Paramedic certification accepted in Tennessee. Laura’s mom, Cindy, was one of the Pharmacists at Baptist. Years later we landed in the same United Methodist Church in Franklin, Tennessee. About 3 years ago Cindy said to me, “my daughter really wants to go on a mission, can she call you?” Today as we were riding on the bus I was remembering those first conversations and just appreciating how perfect God’s timing is in bringing people together.
Well…that is about half of our team. I’ll write about others later. Who has God brought into your life as a clear and powerful sign that the one who created you is also sustaining and blessing you with just the right people at just the right time?
We have had an amazing day. We started with the prayer of yielding the day’s plans to God and when we shared our experiences around the table tonight it was obvious that God honored that request and yielding. We needed the surrender and we needed the blessing of trusting.
The dental team took care of 48 patients today and 84 teeth! That’s a rocking day in the life of any dentist. Dr. Robin, Abby and Julie came to the table tonight with stories of courageous kids, humble men and determined women. The people were waiting in line when we arrived this morning…maybe 20 before Dr. Robin ever set up the chair.
They played soccer in between with the children hanging around. There was no school today. The teachers were out on a project to raise money for the school…something they do often and with diligence. The teachers that work in the La Toma school are highly committed. They love these kids.
The remaining team had a day of learning and conversation that will we never forget. We learned how to install stoves. Bonnie called them the “Jenn Air of Guatemala”, which tells you how impressive they were once put together. The first one took us 2.5 hours! The last one of the day took about 45 minutes. Haha…this is a skill that improves with practice.
As we listened to Pastor Felix talk about his friend, Andres, yesterday, I started thinking about those people who come into your life for purposes that God has prearranged and we have the adventure to discover. I’ve had many of those people pass through…in business..in church programs…in neighborhood efforts. It is truly the bringing together of diferent people’s gifts and talents for a common good.
Within this team of 18 people, only 5 have been to Guatemala before; many are new. 
This bus is filled with change agents. It is filled with people who have gifts that God intends for them to share. Sometimes we are led to other countries to equip us to help the neighbor next door. At least that is what I find over and over again.
It leads me to believe two things: 1. God will do whatever it takes to teach and equip us for the plans of our lives that connect to God’s purposes. 2. The adventure never ends if we simply keep saying “yes” one moment at a time.
I thank God tonight for bringing together the unlikely for divine plans. Like the Scripture says, “with God all things are possible”! Let it be.
Life in the Deep End 