We Are Family

Hey everyone,
This morning, two men from the church - Oscar and Vicente - took us to the homes of some of the people who attend the church. We went to the homes to encourage those who are sick, and to pray for them. It was such an amazing experience. It's incredible to see how much they still trust and follow God, even when they are sick. They were also so grateful for our presence in their homes. We can definitely learn a lot from these people.


Today was our second day of VBS! As Oscar predicted, more children came in to party it up with us and join in on the fun! Our team presented a few short dramas, the first of which was the story of the lost sheep. The second was a skit explaining the gospel with colors to represent certain themes (black was sin, for example, and red was the blood of Jesus). Afterwards, the children did some crafts with sheep we had cut out yesterday. We had a really awesome time with the kids, even though most of us didn't understand what they were saying!

One thing that has been really cool that I think a lot of us have noticed, is that they usually refer to us as "hermanos en Jesus Cristo." (Brothers in Jesus Christ) They have been very hospitable, welcoming and have made us feel like we've never even left home. We truly are like a family. Another thing that is really cool is that you can feel the power of prayer. You can feel God moving and working. Not only the prayers from you back at home, but here as well. There's something so amazing to me about hearing someone pray in a different language. It is still so powerful. The same God that hears our prayers in English, hears theirs in Spanish.

Thank you again for your prayers and support throughout this amazing experience. We cannot wait to share more pictures and stories with you when we come home.
Dios le bendiga, (God Bless)

Ryan and Hannah -

First Day Of VBS...

Good evening to all of our friends and family in Wisconsin :)
Today was a great day!! This morning it was very cold here, we could actually see our breath, which was really strange considering that it is Guatemala and it's August. Oscar took us to Los Olivos church just a few minutes away from our hotel. We spent the next few hours preparing crafts for our first day of Vacation Bible School.

We started VBS around 2:00 and it finished at 5:00. We were told to expect around 500 kids, but we ended up having around 150 today, which is a lot easier to manage. But, Oscar expects the number to increase every day. Even though Los Olivos is relatively small compared to our churches back home, they still set large goals and trust God to provide.

The kids were so sweet and so cute. They loved any attention that they could get. To start with, we played different little games with balls, and then started the worship time. We then split the kids into different age groups, and they each did a different activity. One group, for example, did a Bible story and memorized Romans 3:23 in Spanish. To wrap it all up we had a snack of cookies and chocolate milk. Oscar bought the snacks with the money we raised at VBS in Stoughton. It was very cool to see how God provided so much for us.

Thank you so much for your prayers; we appreciate them so much. Please continue to pray for health, the children at VBS and for Los Olivos church. We love and miss you all. Your support means the world to us.
Hasta Manana...(until tomorrow)

Ryan and Hannah -

Day Two In Guatemala

We started off the morning by ordering our food in Spanish at the hotel we are staying at. Wake up call was at 6:30AM, and we left with Oscar around 8:00AM. Oscar took us to a piece of land just a few minutes away from our hotel, and a few blocks away from Oscar's parents' house. Los Olivos, the church we are partnering with, purchased the land to make a new building, that holds more people. Basically the whole day we spent picking up trash, lots of broken bottles and wrappers, and using machetes to cut the tall grass. Then we proceeded to build a fence down towards the road. Now, we are all very tired and will probably have very sore arms and legs tomorrow.

Tomorrow we start our first day of VBS, which we are so excited about. Every day we see kids around the city I get more and more excited. They are all so precious, and I'm so excited to see what it will be like and to talk with them. Last night, after our last post was up, we went next door to play with some of the kids next door. They were playing with some tops on the roof, because the roofs are so low. We went over and they were SO excited to see us and play with us. It was a great night, and I think we will be going over and playing with them every night.

We all LOVE it here. The people are very happy and welcoming, always saying "Hola"when we pass them on the street. We can tell we are being prayed for, and that is such a gift. Please continue to pray, because God sure is working in us and hopefully through us as well. Can't wait to share more!!
God Bless,

Hannah

We Are Here!!!!!

Hello from Sumpango, Guatemala!!
It's hard to believe that we are actually here in Guatemala - this is what we've been waiting for!! We arrived at the Chicago airport around 3:45AM. Our flight for Miami left at 6:00AM, and it was about a two and a half hour flight. We got some lunch at the airport in Miami and then left for a plane bound for Guatemala City at 11:50AM. We arrived safe and sound two hours later in Guatemala City!!! We were warmly greeted by Oscar, his wife Carla and some of Oscar's family. We are currently at Oscar's parents house, which is BEAUTIFUL, and his wife Carla cooked us a wonderful supper. The view from the roof is amazing!! All you can see is houses packed together, laundry hung out on lines and a beautiful view to the streets. And to make it even more picturesque, there's a volcano when you look out as well. It is such a fun group, and so far it has been such an amazing experience. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next. One more thing...just because it's such a coincidence. There's an adorable little parrot who I designated to name "Paco,"just because it sounded Guatemalan. I asked Oscar what his name was later and he simply replied, "Paco." It was an amazing coincidence...or maybe you just had to be here. Anyways, we are having a great time, but we could definitely use your prayers. We are all absolutely exhausted from being up for about a day straight, so it would be awesome if you could pray for strength, energy and enthusiasm. It has been a blessing to have Carla cook for us, because she is used to preparing food for mission teams, which is great because we can actually eat the food. We love and miss you all back at home, and cannot wait to share the stories that we will have when we come back. Please keep praying :)

Hannah

The Body Of Christ

We are stepping into Guatemala, not as individual students or leaders, but as a body. We are the body of Christ. We are not "churches", we are the Church. We are sons and daughters of the King, seeking His face, doing His work and loving in His name. I pray that we would be a light in the darkness, and shine for the One who is the unlimited source of Light. I pray that we would not be timid and try to hide anything, but brilliantly shine, so that people can not help but wonder who our God is. I pray that this would be a time to step out of our selfishness, and instead do good for others. A time that is not to worry about ourselves, but to bring glory to God by spreading His name throughout Guatemala. I know that the Lord will do great things in us and through us, and that it will be for His glory. We, the Body of Christ, are going to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and His name alone will be praised. I am so excited for what is to come in the seven days that we are over there. I know it will be an experience that I can't even begin to imagine.

'The human body is made up of many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the Body of Christ.' - 1st Corinthians 12:12(NLB)