We began our last day by going to the Baptist Preschool in the dump area. The preschool is called Rayitos de Esperanza or “Rays of Hope.” The precious children at this preschool ran to meet us. They were so excited to have visitors. Coleen shared the Bible story of how God loves us through his creation. She was so animated and had so much energy, the teachers and principal asked if she could stay with them and become a teacher! At the end of the story, Coleen shared how God loved all that he had created but that what he loved most was the people he created. The children shouted out that God created Jesus too. The children loved the story and our worship time. Renae and the team led the children in fun songs both in English and Spanish. I think the favorite was the “Tooty-ta” song. Our craft were beaded bracelets. The children wanted to sing to us before we left. They all lined up and sang itsy, bitsy spider and other children’s songs. You could feel love and joy at Rayitos from both the staff and the children. We all felt it was a perfect ending to our time of ministry.

We headed to Antigua and enjoyed our time shopping and fellowship. During our last night of sharing, everyone told of an experience or moment during the trip that touched them or that was meaningful to them. As mothers, it was very special to see our daughters with the children and to know they understand the needs of others and how blessed we are in the U.S. We all have the children of Guatemala heavy on our hearts and look forward to when we can come back.

Our Mother & Daughter team served over 500 children in 3 days.

This amazing team of 11 participants brought out tons of smiles, giggles, and laughter every where we went.  With dynamic and animated Bible stories the children learned more of God’s love for His creation.  The children were deeply entertained doing different crafts, and sharing time with our wonderful team.  Recreation time was a plus!  We had bubbles, parachutes, beach balls, and tons of fun.

We had a great time taking 40 of Mama Carmen’s children to the Children’s museum with the Mother & Daughter team.  Lunch at Pollo Campero was a treat!  The children had the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen!  Thank you W.O.W. ladies for providing the founds for this amazing experience.  The children had a blast, and so did we!! At the end of the day we were sad to say good bye, but very blessed to see the beautiful smiles on the children’s faces.

Besides providing the founds for the Children’s museum visit, the W.O.W. ladies provided founds for health care.  These founds will cover an eye surgery, special diet, and counseling sessions for Mario, the 9 year old boy with Steven-Jhonson syndrome.  With tears in her eyes Mama Carmen thanked us for the many blessings her children received during our short visit.  Prov. 17:17

I praise God for the amazing hearts of these special women/girls that came to serve the children of Guatemala.  Your actions reflected the love of Jesus for the little ones.

Gloria

We began the day by getting off early to head to Mrs. Arzu’s Preschool. This preschool, run by the Mayor’s wife of Guatemala City, is an amazingly bright and cheerful home to over 200 preschoolers. These children come from very difficult family situations with many of them living on the street. Our team immediately began by splitting up and doing our Bible lesson, craft and recreation time. We had a brightly colored parachute loaded with beach balls that brought the kids running. We also had relay races and made bead bracelets for all of the children. Even though there wasn’t much room to run, the children screamed and yelled as they raced to see whose group would finish first. The team handed out lots of candy, toys and left loads of school supplies. There were so many generous contributions from trip participants and their supporters.

We then had a really special treat. Thanks to the donations of W.O.W. members, we were able to take the children of Mama Carmen’s orphanage to Pollo Campero ( a very famous and popular chicken restaurant) and to the Children’s Museum. Forty children lined up to eat. As they got off the bus they kept pointing at the sign in disbelief. They were actually going into Pollo Campero!

We split up into four groups and took the children through the museum. This museum rivals many of the ones in the states. All activities are brightly colored, educational and hands on for the children. It was full of children from schools and we had a few close calls with little ones running off to do other activities, but we had a very fulfilling time watching the children run from activity to activity. The teenagers had as much fun as the little kids. We were worn out as we watched all of the children get back on the bus to head to their small little home. What a special experience to be a part of the first time many of these children had ever had an outing or been to a restaurant! We have all been touched deeply by the precious children of Mama Carmen’s.

Our team is small but is set out to do big things! We have a group of young girls (ages 11 and 12) and their mothers and also two girls who are 17, one with her mother and the other a friend. I am so thankful for each of them and the opportunity we have had to get to know each other well because of being a small team.

Our first day began at the Municipal Day Care at the dump. The children here all have parents who work in the dump. There are over 300 children in the facility from babies to 8 year olds. Our time was spent playing with toddlers, handing out lots of stickers and singing songs with the hundreds of children there. We had a fun time with bubbles and jump ropes too. From the second floor you can look out the windows of the preschool and see the metal shacks that many of the families live in. The shacks are unsafe and built on the dump itself. As we drove to the daycare we saw the water truck which was surrounded by children and adults getting their water in buckets to take back to their homes. Trash is piled up everywhere you look and you see people going through it looking for items to sell. The daycare is like an oasis in the middle of all of the chaos and dirt. The children are clean and look happy. Here they try to take care of children who are malnourished, who are sick and who have had little or no education. It was almost impossible to imagine the little smiling faces going back to live at the dump or in cardboard homes after leaving the school.

After lunch we went to Mama Carmen’s. We had about 40-50 children of all ages and began immediately to set up our craft and Bible story. We shared with the children that God is good. The children sang worship songs and created watercolor butterflies. We let them know that the watercolor butterflies would each be unique, just like they are uniquely created by God. The watercolor ended up all over the children and they were probably as painted as the butterflies! There is very little room in the orphanage with one main garage type room being the only place the children have to play. There was a truck parked inside, which also took up a lot of room, but we jumped rope and played with beach balls as best we could. Our group gave much needed humanitarian aid to Mama Carmen for the children, including clothing, soap, shampoo, medicine, school supplies, and baby blankets. We learned that a young boy Mario, had an eye surgery with the funding provided by W.O.W. and it was successful. He needs surgery on the other eye and W.O.W. is providing the funding for that as well. The group passed out Way FM drawstring backpacks to every child. The children were so excited to each have their own bag. We are taking the children to the Guatemala Children’s Museum tomorrow. A special treat for the children provided by the women of W.O.W. We came back to the hotel for a fun time of fellowship and discussion about our day and all eagerly went to bed!

Check out the High Point team blog!

http://calledtothecorners.blogspot.com/

Great photos and details of their Orphan Outreach trip.

Hello all! We are all so excited to finally post a blog. We apologize for the long delay but this has been the first opportunity we have had to connect to the internet and let you all know what is going on. So far we have visited three orphanages: Lopuhinka, Volkov, and Nikolsky. This upcoming week we will spend at the camp with Orphanage #2. Now you will get the chance to read a little something from all of us interns about our experiences so far!

“The time has flown by here. I can’t believe we only have one week left until we head back to the states. The Lord has definitely been stretching me over the past few weeks. I have been together with the older kids in all of the orphanages that we have visited so far and it has been a challenge for me to try and think of ways to relate the Word of God to their lives. However, I have had some chances to bond with them and use my little knowledge of the Russian language to communicate with them and share a little bit of how much God really loves them. I’m so thankful for everything God has been teaching me and I can’t wait to see what is in store this upcoming week! Please pray that I would not be overwhelmed by the difficulties but rather that I would rely on the strength of God to keep me going everyday!”     

-Kelly

“Adventures like this always bring a plethora of lessons to be learned. The most practical lesson learned here is to not wash khakis and green shirts together. You think someone should know that, but just think back to the time you made a similar mistake and then you can laugh at me. But yes, my poor khakis are now a mint-like green. Sorry, Mom. But I digress. I was putting away these pants, and I began to realize this trip has made me like my pants. No, it didn’t turn me green, but this trip has changed me. This trip has brought priceless lessons that I could not have learned anywhere else. These children have taught me the power of love and the power of this emotion. This trip has been such a blessing and I praise God for allowing me to go. I ask that you join me in praying for these children that they might know God. Pray that this last week is not too overwhelming and that the team and the kids are open to what God has to teach us. Pray that God gives us the strength, physically and emotionally, for the rest of the trip!”  

- Wil

“The first week of the trip with Grand Parkway was such a blast; I can’t believe how fast great friends can be made. Already having been gone from the country for two weeks before Russia, homesickness was setting in pretty intensely; but God spoke to my heart with tons of jokes, an amazing song about Jesus going to A&M (don’t forget the Aggie-postles), and new, beautiful adventures every day. After ten days, I had hit the fifty mosquito-bite count, and I woke up in the University with my eye swollen shut.  I always love when ‘firsts’ happen overseas. : ) Finally getting to call home was like a breath of fresh air, and leaving Nikolsky proved nearly impossible.  We loved those kids like there was no tomorrow, and while we made smores, the children begged the director of the orphanage to make us stay. They said they “didn’t want their mommies to leave.” Dima, one of the older boys that danced like a madman, made a picture with my name on it, and made me cry like a madwoman. He took a picture of himself off the wall and presented it to me so that I could “always remember him” (little did know that no matter how hard I tried, I could never forget). I left him a picture of my boyfriend and me and the last thing I saw as we drove away (through my tears) was him proudly showing everyone. It’s the little things that God uses to bless us in eternal ways. It is my goal to absorb as many of those moments as possible. Thank you, Lord, for this incredible journey.”

-Cinnamon Sticks,

AKA: Jennifer

“I am so glad I am able to share with you what the Lord has been doing on this trip. I really have no words to express how I am feeling, but I will do my best to share some of my thoughts. First of all, I am so thankful that God has allowed me to go on this trip. I fell like I have learned so much already and to know we get to have one more week here makes me so happy.  As I play, talk, sit, hold hands, smile, hug, and share God’s love with these children from the various orphanages I see God’s never-ending love and faithfulness. It leads me to think about my Lord, and how he knows each of these children by name, how he fearfully and wonderfully created each of them. What gives me the most comfort as I am with them is knowing that despite my constant failures or even lack of being able to remember or pronounce all of their names, God knows, and as their heavenly Father he will never leave them. I would love for you to pray for Orphanage #2 as we go there this coming Monday. Prepare our team’s hearts and pray for safe travel. Pray for the kids who we will be meeting and ministering to. Help them to see more of Jesus and less of us in our words and our actions. Pray that we are unified as a team, and that we communicate the most important message with these kids, that Jesus loves them unconditionally and that he wants to be the most important part in their lives.”

-Katie Fox

“Hi everyone,

Being in Russia again is beyond words.  Last year I came to Russia with my church to visit Lopuhinka, and to return this year to see the kids from last year was so special. I wasn’t sure how things would be, and I didn’t want to set myself up because I know that many things can change in a year, but the kid’s faces lit up just like they had in my mind.  It was a very sweet reunion, and while I was so sad to leave them again, I truly believe that I will see them again and I can’t wait.

I will say that throwing 7 strangers can potentially be very dangerous, but it has been a very refreshing time of 7 people in love with God and have a passion for the kids we get to meet each week.  There are ups and downs like there are with all families (after spending this much time with a group of people I consider them my family) but working with the kids we move as one unit and work together as true team. 

There are so many stories to relate, stories about how Vageef called me by name when he saw me, pulled me into a tight hug and then kissed me on the cheek.  Or about how Dima would run into my arms every time we walked in for VBS, and since it was right after their nap he would hug me tight and lay his head on my shoulder while I rubbed his back.  But there isn’t enough time.  So for now I will just leave you with how content I am, how excited I am to be apart of what God is doing here in Russia through our team, and that I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next year.  Thank you all for your prayers – they are appreciated and felt.” 

-Rebecca

“It is amazing to me just how much can happen in less than three weeks.  How many kids you can fall in love with, how much God can teach you, and how many times your heart can break.  I’ve come to realize, no matter how much love we can give these kids in the short time we are at each orphanage, no matter how deep a mark they leave on our hearts and no matter how much we know we’ll never forget them, in the end we have to leave.  Therefore, our hope is not that they come to love us. Our hope is that somehow through us being there and allowing God to use us to love them, and by others hopefully sharing God’s love for them throughout their life, they come to experience the same relationship with Christ that each one of us is fortunate enough to know.  Because, even though we will leave God will always be there with them.  This is something I knew, but God really had to teach me how to apply as we left the first orphanage.

A few other things I have learned on this trip:  cinnamon makes breakfast much more enjoyable (thanks Jenn), puppy dog faces on six-year-olds are universally pitiful and can get you to do almost anything, and 4^th of July picnics are wonderful no matter where you are.

It somehow has gotten harder to say goodbye each time we leave an orphanage (especially Nikolsky), yet I am looking forward to our final week here.  I can’t wait to see what God has in store.  Please pray that I would keep my heart surrendered to God’s will and continue to rely on him for my strength.  Please pray for our entire team, including our translators, that we would stay safe, healthy, and unified.  Pray for the hearts of the kids we are going to meet as well.”

~Katelyn

“I guess I should start saying that I can’t believe how fast this trip has gone by! God has most definitely done some amazing work here!  The kids here are so precious and it kills me to know that they have to live the kind of life they are living. Some of the kids shared to us why they were in that orphanage. My heart is breaking for some of these kids. It makes me so sad when I see some of these beautiful girls with cuts all over their arms, and necks, and seeing some of the smart intelligent boys out smoking. This past week, we spent in Nikolsky which is an orphanage that has mostly children with some kind of challenge, and I rarely saw the care givers play with them, but the one lady. She was 72 years old, and she had more energy than I did some days. When I saw her, she was so happy and it really opened my eyes a lot. I was complaining because I had mosquito bites on my legs, or not getting enough sleep the night before because the light was so bright,  and I am watching this lady ride a scooter up and down the pavement, jump up and down with the kids, chasing the younger kids around the play ground, with a big smile on her face. She was not a care taker for those kids because she didn’t have another option for a job, she was a care taker because she loves those kids so much and just being around them just givers her so much energy. One time I went up to her to give her a hug and she literally, picked me up as she was hugging me. It just made me re-think a little bit about why I was here, and how I could show the kids that no matter the situation, they are still loved, even if they don’t feel like they are. I guess that has been my prayer lately.  I am very excited to be going to the orphanage #2 because this is a camp and so some of the kids aren’t going to be from that orphanage. I am super excited to see what God is going to do this week. Please pray that the kids will listen to what we have to say and open up to us. And that we continue to have the same kind of energy that we have put in the past few weeks. I know that its our last week so we are all going to be pretty tired, and I am praying that we are not tired this week, and if we are, that we do not show it to the kids. I am so amazed at how much God has opened my eyes!!! Please keep praying! We never know how much we impact these childrens’ lives and the what all God can do in just such little time.”

-Rachel Rogers

We had safe travels back to Guatemala City with  a stop in Antigua for Zip Lining and shopping. We then said good bye to Gloria, Cesar and Pablo. What a blessed time we had with them! Please pray for the team as we travel back. Hannah was feeling bad after the ride thru the mountains. We are praying for health on the way home.

This morning we headed out to CERCIAFE and did some chores.  Cindy, Jordan, Inna and I washed clothes by hand on a wash board.  Erin and Hailey tried mopped all the halls with a pathetic little mop.  Terri and Susan continued to teach everyone how to bake all sorts of breads because nobody knew how.  Others helped at school and recess.

While we all worked Gloria went to the supermarket and bought about $800 worth of groceries, filling their entire refrigerator and pantry. Lordes and Theresa were thrilled and so thankful for everything we did.  After we were done with our chores we went to Pizza Hut for some fresh pizza!  Once we came back to the orphanage the kids were out of school and we did crafts, recreation, and a bible story time.  Once we were ready to go everyone gathered in the dining room and the kids had made every single person a little plaque with their name on it.  Those plaques will always be dear to our hearts.

-          Marlee

We all woke up extra early this morning to get on the road to Xela. Our five hour bus ride consisted of sleeping, iPods, and “awwing” at stray dogs. Cindy gave another wonderful devotional on the book of Ester while we were riding, everyone really enjoyed it. We stopped at Kitok and bought some banana bread, potato chips, soda, and cookies for everyone and munched on the way. We picked up the Stewart‘s (CAM International missionaries) and their nieces Molly and Hailey. Once we finally arrived in Xela we stopped at McDonalds for a quick lunch then we were on our way to CERCIAFE.

When we first arrived we had a quick tour- the orphanage was very nice. Then all the kids finished their homework and chores so they could play with us! We colored with them, painted their nails, blew up balloons, and played with the parachute. Erin fell in love with one little girl and the little girl fell in love with Erin! I really enjoyed playing with Carla, a speech impaired little girl. She really liked to look at the pictures on my camera and find me in the pictures. Mrs. Wood taught many of the older girls how to make a bake bread, muffins and cinnamon rolls. As we were leaving we gave the owner of the house (who sew everything) a brand new sewing machine and they were so excited about it! Tomorrow we will do some hard labor to help out around the orphanage, then we will play with the kids again!

- Marlee Tarwater

After breakfast this morning we headed to Mrs. Arzu’s Girl’s School. Peggy and Kate met their friend Kate, a volunteer of another ministry called La Limonada, and spent the morning seeing that ministry. The rest of us all broke up into different groups and rotated between the 7 different classrooms. Some girls did recreation with the kids and played with the parachute, blew bubbles, and jumped rope. A few girls did the same scratch away cross craft with the kids, and they loved it because they had never seen anything like it. The other team explained the bible story and passed out salvation bracelets, with the help of one of our translators, Cesar. It was so great that we got to explain the salvation story to over 150 girls age 7-17.

Then we all had a very nice lunch with ChuCie, Mrs. Arzu’s spiritual leader of all four of her schools, and the program they do in the public schools. We were supposed to have lunch with Mrs. Arzu herself, but she called and cancelled because she had a sinus infection. Peggy and Kate shared with everyone their experiences from their morning before ChuCie arrived. ChuCie then shared with us. She is a very religious person, praying two hours every day, and listening to her speak was mesmerizing, and humbling. She challenged us to start each day asking Jesus to guide our day. She reminded us to keep Jesus close. The programs they do for the children are amazing.

After lunch we drove 45 minutes in the rain to Casa Alleyua, the largest of all orphanages we will visit, housing about 400 children. When we were there we focused on the younger children there. We brought our parachute, bubbles, and stickers and the kids were happy! After playing for a while Dotty, the “Mother” of the “children’s home”, not orphanage, gave us a quick tour. Everyone is defiantly tired tonight after two long days, and needs to get rested before our extra early departure tomorrow for Xela.