Day Four: Guatemala Mission Trip

Day Four: 

Today we traveled into a poor village where we raised enough money to provide weeks worth of beans and rice for 125 families in the village. Praise God! 

We had no church services today, but instead spent time gathering, bagging, weighing, and tying. 

We again were able to join in their
culture as they prepared a meal for us.  I'm always awestruck at their generosity. Here they are, stricken with poverty, yet so graciously cooking us a meal with the best of the best food they can provide. This is so humbling. 

The best part of the day for me was joining the women as they prepared the meal. They taught us how to make homemade tortillas. It took us awhile to get the hang of it, all the while the women would laugh and smile, and then offer their assistance. They even let us throw them on the fire which is a lot harder then it looks! After about two or three breaking mid-air, I finally was able to do it. 

As we were playing with all the children, one of the women cooking asked us if we go down the street to pray for her niece who was about to have her first baby. Her name was Maria. When we got there, she was with another young girl who also looked pregnant. After translating for them, we came to understand that Maria was married and her husband was working. 

She was due in August to have a baby and they were excited. The other girl, Victoria, had a much different story. She was 14 years old, she had no idea when she was due, and her pregnancy was the result of a rape. Apparently an older man pulled her off the side of the road in broad daylight. 

Our team of women began to cry for her. She was so young and seemed so unaffected as she told us the story. When we cried, she looked at us as though she was surprised we were so upset. It made me wonder if this type of thing is so common that it no longer makes their women weep, or if she was just so young, she didn't realize the extent of how violated she was. 

Immediately we asked if we could pray for her and her baby as well. Her aunt then told us that she goes to church but she hasn't surrendered her life to Christ. We asked her if that was something she would like to do and she said yes. Jeny explained to her what that really meant for her and her life and if she had any questions. She said no, but was clear that she wanted to live with Jesus as her best friend. It was the most touching time of prayer I have ever been a part of. Many tears of joy, mixed with sadness were shed that hour. 

After handing out all of the food for the village, we heading to another poor fishing village called Chicago. The interesting part of Chicago is that it's where Jeny and Wayne's ministry began. We have been working under their organization, called Extreme Missions, and they accompany us to every village.

 In Chicago, we were bringing food to the birth mom of Jeny and Wayne's son, Andres. When they were missionaries years ago in Chicago, Andres was a very sickly young boy. He was 2 years old, weighed only 11 pounds, and had severe asthma. 

At that time, Jeny and Wayne offered to adopt him and get him the medical supplies and healthcare that he needed. Now, Andres is a handsome, 20 year old man studying in Argentina at a Bible college. 

You can imagine how emotional it was for us to watch as Jeny and Wayne showed his birth mother pictures of him, while she cried tears of joy. We met his new little brothers and sisters and were touched by their extreme level of poverty.

 They live in a hut with barely any resources. Their water is from a well, deep within the ground, they hang their clothes on a tree. It was heartbreaking. And yet their surroundings are gorgeous!! The beach is their home. 

While we were there, someone from the village said anothe girl needed prayer. They weren't sure if it was for spiritual help or physical help, so we followed her to this women's home. Her name was Mileni, and she was in her mid twenties. She has two small  children and was confined to a wheelchair. She shared with us that she was perfectly fine a year ago, when suddenly she began to feel weak. Eventually she lost a lot of strength in her legs, and then her arms. Her muscles have since tightened and she is completely confined to a wheelchair. 

In their culture, they have very little access to medical care. In fact the National Hospital simply told her they weren't sure what was wrong and sent her home with no hope. 

As soon as we arrived, she began to weep. She told Jeny she is just so scared and needs to be a mom to her children. 

We decided to lay our hands on her and pray with all of our might for God to heal her. I know without a doubt that God could, and I truly believed that He would, especially after hearing so many stories from Jeny and Wayne about healings in their ministry. Unfortunately, God chose not to provide immediate healing this time. Does that mean He won't ever? No not at all! In fact, God can use medicine to heal her, or over time her body might heal on its own....or she may never be healed. 

But we trust in a God that is in control, and we trust in the fact that His ways are Higher than our ways, and therefore in any circumstance we relinquish our wants and our plans to Him. 

As we were leaving, Jeny and Wayne arranged for them to pick her up later in the week and take her to a good hospital. They will let Milena live with them until necessary and will also bring her family. They are truly living and breathing he walk of a Christian life. 

Mileni began to weep again but this time, she told Jeny that they were tears of joy. She said she had been praying for someone to come to help her for an entire year, and she feels that we were 

her answer to prayer. 

What an emotional day this was. Sometimes, I look around and I just think there are so many needs God. There is so much pain. What are we to do? 

The Scriptures  are clear... We need to love people. It's as simple as that. Love them, be the hands and feet of Jesus, find a need and fill it, bring others  the Good news of the Gospel that one day there will be no more pain, no more sickness, no more tears... And in their place will be love, joy, peace, and communion with our glorious and Almighty Creator!