Hey guys! Im Madison Bell and I am a going to be a sophmore at Ole Miss in the fall. This is actually my second time at La Senda because I came with the group from the Chap last year. Today was quite exhausting but our efforts did not go unrewarded because we got alot done. The day began with Morgan leading daily morning devotion while the rest of the group got started cleaning bathrooms and planting. J went with Steve into Guatemala City to get some plants and such. Mrs. Suzie and Mrs. Susan continued to take care of the food and such we ate aswell as heading up our planting efforts. Laura and I also painted a room in the area we are staying. (On a side note: if you are ever thinking about putting concrete blocks for your wall and painting them, I would highly advise against that! Trust me I speak from experience!) We also continued to work on "the dig". We also enjoyed spending a little time with the kids when we ate a tradional Guatemalan dinner with them and make a video showing our "swag". It was another great day at La Senda. I thank yall for your prayers and ask that you keep Zach in them as he the daily morning devotions tom as well as the rest of us because it is our last full work day and we have hopes to finish up our to do list!
Adios,
Madison
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Another Beautiful Day in Paradise
The Guatemala team has had a full day with projects: teaching, providing devotionals, preparing meals for the children, cleaning floors and bathrooms, digging up old plants to make room for new herbs and plants. The most labor intensive project for the group began today; digging a foundation for a new building. Muscle men, J, Ethan and Zack, met their match today. The area requiring the digging had about 8 inches of packed gravel and dirt. The pick axes hardly made a dent. The "dig" will continue tomorrow and each day we have here. The fairer sex will be assisting in the shoveling of loose dirt into wheel barrows some of which will be placed in the flower beds we are reworking.
All children at LaSenda have chores they must complete each day. It is a pleasure to assist them with their chores which provides a time to get to know the child/person and to show the love of Christ. The children each have a story that breaks your heart; nevertheless here at LaSenda the love they receive has healed wounds that can only be healed through the love Jesus provides through Pam & Steve and those like us. What an honor it is to be surrounded with the love they show us.
Morning devotionals for the teachers and school children are being provided by one of our team each day. I love to hear what they say and see what they are doing. Tomorrow morning Morgan will be in charge of the five separate group devotionals. She will do a great work.
Laura and Katie must be out of space on their camera card for photos and we still have three+ days remaining. Hope some of you will get the opportunity to see these photos.
Tomorrow we have another day to live the love of Christ her at La Senda. What more could we wish for? Only that all could receive and know that wonderful love.
That's why we are here.
Blessings,
Susan
All children at LaSenda have chores they must complete each day. It is a pleasure to assist them with their chores which provides a time to get to know the child/person and to show the love of Christ. The children each have a story that breaks your heart; nevertheless here at LaSenda the love they receive has healed wounds that can only be healed through the love Jesus provides through Pam & Steve and those like us. What an honor it is to be surrounded with the love they show us.
Morning devotionals for the teachers and school children are being provided by one of our team each day. I love to hear what they say and see what they are doing. Tomorrow morning Morgan will be in charge of the five separate group devotionals. She will do a great work.
Laura and Katie must be out of space on their camera card for photos and we still have three+ days remaining. Hope some of you will get the opportunity to see these photos.
Tomorrow we have another day to live the love of Christ her at La Senda. What more could we wish for? Only that all could receive and know that wonderful love.
That's why we are here.
Blessings,
Susan
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Day 1
Hello everyone! I'm Carrie Willis and I am from Brandon, MS. I will be a senior at Delta State University in the fall. I attend Shiloh UMC and "J" was my youth minister in high school and he invited me to come on the trip. I am very grateful to be here and I am so excited for what God has in store for us.
As Laura already told you we led a church service today for the kids. I got to talk to the girls about what it means to be a beautiful daughter of God. This lesson has been a hard one for me to learn and I know that it can't be any easier for them. I talked about the stereotype of "beauty" that the media presents to us and how ridiculous this standard is. Since we are children of God we don't have to live up to this standard because we know that we are his creation and we are beautiful just because he made us. We each got a girl and prayed over her individually. It was really beautiful. I prayed for and got to know an incredibly sweet girl name Rosita, which was very special.
Thank you for all the prayers that you are sending our way. The children here are so special and you can see Jesus in every one of their faces. Keep praying for the rest of the week. Hopefully we can show love to these kids in some fraction of the amount that they have shown to us.
-Carrie Willis
As Laura already told you we led a church service today for the kids. I got to talk to the girls about what it means to be a beautiful daughter of God. This lesson has been a hard one for me to learn and I know that it can't be any easier for them. I talked about the stereotype of "beauty" that the media presents to us and how ridiculous this standard is. Since we are children of God we don't have to live up to this standard because we know that we are his creation and we are beautiful just because he made us. We each got a girl and prayed over her individually. It was really beautiful. I prayed for and got to know an incredibly sweet girl name Rosita, which was very special.
Thank you for all the prayers that you are sending our way. The children here are so special and you can see Jesus in every one of their faces. Keep praying for the rest of the week. Hopefully we can show love to these kids in some fraction of the amount that they have shown to us.
-Carrie Willis
Wesley Chapel Goes to La Senda
Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your support in getting us here to La Senda. For those of you who don't know me, my name's Laura Smith and I just finished my Freshman year at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY, which is where Pam and Steve English (the missionaries here) attended also. We've already had a good time sharing some Asbury stories.
I'll start by just telling you a little about our first full day here. Today is Pam's 40th birthday so the older kids and nanny's helped decorate and prepare an amazing birthday breakfast complete with fire crackers, singing, and more cake. Yum. Not to mention the fruit here is divine so we've definitely been fed well so far :) After cleanup, our team led a church service here at La Senda. J and Meredith led some singing and Madison, Morgan, and Mrs. Susan shared about how much La Senda showed us Christ last year and how much they've already been a witness to us this year. Then Zack and Ethan stayed with the boys and Carrie took the girls and shared a little about being beautiful. A lot of the girls here struggle with that due to their prior abuse and neglect, but hearing how God made us and loves us and made us beautiful in our own way helps.
After some more running around, saying goodbye to Wagner, and lunch, a bunch of us took a much needed nap. Still recovering from yesterday morning! After the nap, Guatemala vs. USA was inevitable. And again, Guatemala beat the United States 5-4. Luckily it was a much closer game this time. Pushing the kids on swings, giving piggy back rides, playing tag, and talking about the soccer world cup NON-STOP could not be a better way to share the love of Christ. It's still early in the evening so we have high hopes for what the night still holds. Thanks again for supporting us and walking with us through this amazing journey. And maybe the United States won't get completely schooled and put to shame in futbol by the end of the trip :)
Laura Smith
I'll start by just telling you a little about our first full day here. Today is Pam's 40th birthday so the older kids and nanny's helped decorate and prepare an amazing birthday breakfast complete with fire crackers, singing, and more cake. Yum. Not to mention the fruit here is divine so we've definitely been fed well so far :) After cleanup, our team led a church service here at La Senda. J and Meredith led some singing and Madison, Morgan, and Mrs. Susan shared about how much La Senda showed us Christ last year and how much they've already been a witness to us this year. Then Zack and Ethan stayed with the boys and Carrie took the girls and shared a little about being beautiful. A lot of the girls here struggle with that due to their prior abuse and neglect, but hearing how God made us and loves us and made us beautiful in our own way helps.
After some more running around, saying goodbye to Wagner, and lunch, a bunch of us took a much needed nap. Still recovering from yesterday morning! After the nap, Guatemala vs. USA was inevitable. And again, Guatemala beat the United States 5-4. Luckily it was a much closer game this time. Pushing the kids on swings, giving piggy back rides, playing tag, and talking about the soccer world cup NON-STOP could not be a better way to share the love of Christ. It's still early in the evening so we have high hopes for what the night still holds. Thanks again for supporting us and walking with us through this amazing journey. And maybe the United States won't get completely schooled and put to shame in futbol by the end of the trip :)
Laura Smith
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The First Night
Hey there friends!
So the first night is finally winding down. Morgan & Katie are finishing their journaling while the rest of the crew has gone off to bed. It's been a long day for the team that started at about 3:30am (yeah, yikes). But there was no rest for the weary upon arriving because the annual "USA vs Guatemala World Cup" quickly picked up where we left off last year which unfortunately for us had us loosing AGAIN. Then we celebrated with Dorcas because she had her 16th birthday today. She is an absolutely amazing young lady who is as sweet as a (to quote Morgan) "peach." Then I split from the group to lead an "older kids" Bible study on Mark 12. We dealt with the "Foundations of Biblical Salvation" while the rest of the team went with the younger kids to support Phillip & Jeffie as they did the "younger kids" devotion on prayer. The night ended with the team spread out throughout the whole campus with small groups of "La Senda kids" as they prayed together. As I am sure you can imagine, it was a really sweet sight. It would do your soul well to see it...maybe next year!!!
And so tomorrow is a big day too. We are doing "church" at the orphanage and everyone is involved in the service. Meredith & I are leading the singing, Laura, Madison, Morgan & Susan are giving testimonies and finally Carrie, Ethan, and Zack are leading small groups. I'm excited to see this happen. But don't just be proud...that's not what we are here for at all. We need you to pray with us and for us that the glory of God would manifest itself to all of us. I'll let you know how it goes but I am confident in Jesus to do a great work.
So the first night is finally winding down. Morgan & Katie are finishing their journaling while the rest of the crew has gone off to bed. It's been a long day for the team that started at about 3:30am (yeah, yikes). But there was no rest for the weary upon arriving because the annual "USA vs Guatemala World Cup" quickly picked up where we left off last year which unfortunately for us had us loosing AGAIN. Then we celebrated with Dorcas because she had her 16th birthday today. She is an absolutely amazing young lady who is as sweet as a (to quote Morgan) "peach." Then I split from the group to lead an "older kids" Bible study on Mark 12. We dealt with the "Foundations of Biblical Salvation" while the rest of the team went with the younger kids to support Phillip & Jeffie as they did the "younger kids" devotion on prayer. The night ended with the team spread out throughout the whole campus with small groups of "La Senda kids" as they prayed together. As I am sure you can imagine, it was a really sweet sight. It would do your soul well to see it...maybe next year!!!
And so tomorrow is a big day too. We are doing "church" at the orphanage and everyone is involved in the service. Meredith & I are leading the singing, Laura, Madison, Morgan & Susan are giving testimonies and finally Carrie, Ethan, and Zack are leading small groups. I'm excited to see this happen. But don't just be proud...that's not what we are here for at all. We need you to pray with us and for us that the glory of God would manifest itself to all of us. I'll let you know how it goes but I am confident in Jesus to do a great work.
Estamos aqui!
We are here! We arrived with no trouble to Guatemala City where Steve, Dorcas, and Wagner picked us up from the airport. After a quick lunch at Pollo Campero (Guatemalan version of Kentucky Fried Chicken!) and a trip to the grocery store, we arrived at La Senda and have just begun unpacking. The kids are already waiting for the first soccer game. Wish us luck...we need it!
Thanks for your prayers for our safe travels this morning! We will hopefully post later on tonight.
--katie.
Thanks for your prayers for our safe travels this morning! We will hopefully post later on tonight.
--katie.
Friday, May 21, 2010
18 hours...
In close to 18 hours our first plane will officially take off from the Jackson airport! Our team has done a great job of preparing for tomorrow's trip, but all the work we do in advance cannot prevent the crazy rush that happens today. For example, we went shopping for our supplies on Tuesday, but most of us are probably going back to the store today for one last WalMart run. We started packing earlier in the week, but we will not stop rearranging our suitcases until late tonight or in the morning. We have to-do lists that grow ever larger even as we check things off of them. I (Katie) have already talked to J half a dozen times today and it's not even lunchtime yet!
The mass chaos involved with the 24 hours before a trip does not stress me out in the least; it only makes me more excited. Many of us have waited a full year now to return to La Senda and see our amazing Guatemalan friends; some of us will be experiencing La Senda for the first time. For both groups, I can confidently say that we are ready. We do not know all that is in store for us, but we know that we are going with the One who will make a way no matter what we encounter.
I hope you'll check the blog throughout the week! We will try to have someone from our group post about our adventures every night. For now, you can help us pray for two specific, somewhat humorous, but still serious things... 1. That we all hear our alarms in the morning and make it to the airport by 4:30 AM sharp! 2. That we are not delayed so we can make it quickly through the Atlanta airport - we have only a 1 hour layover before our flight to Guatemala City!
I covet your prayers as we go through this week. Thank you for all you have done to make this possible so far! Can't wait to send you news from La Senda!
--Katie.
The mass chaos involved with the 24 hours before a trip does not stress me out in the least; it only makes me more excited. Many of us have waited a full year now to return to La Senda and see our amazing Guatemalan friends; some of us will be experiencing La Senda for the first time. For both groups, I can confidently say that we are ready. We do not know all that is in store for us, but we know that we are going with the One who will make a way no matter what we encounter.
I hope you'll check the blog throughout the week! We will try to have someone from our group post about our adventures every night. For now, you can help us pray for two specific, somewhat humorous, but still serious things... 1. That we all hear our alarms in the morning and make it to the airport by 4:30 AM sharp! 2. That we are not delayed so we can make it quickly through the Atlanta airport - we have only a 1 hour layover before our flight to Guatemala City!
I covet your prayers as we go through this week. Thank you for all you have done to make this possible so far! Can't wait to send you news from La Senda!
--Katie.
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