Settling In

Posted by : Shannon

Much of our time since we have arrived has been spent just getting settled in. There is a lot of "housekeeping" to do when you move to a new country! David and Debbie have helped us tremendously by showing us the ropes and getting us set up.
This week were able to get start digging into some of our work.  On Monday and Tuesday, we visited an area called Xela (pronounced Shela). This is the second largest city in Guatemala after the capital. We have have a missions team coming in July that will do evangelism work in this area. So, the One Way team was scouting out logistics for the trip and visiting local schools. When the group comes from the US, One Way will take the team into different public and private schools around Xela.

 We will be taking a team to this school to minister to over 200 kids!

We will teach the group different choreographs and songs . We will then do a presentation and an alter call. God has given One Way a lot of favor in the schools. When we visited the school pictured, the principal actually asked us to bring a bible to give to each of the children. WoW! What an awesome opportunity. Each time we ask permission to enter a school, we have to trust that God is going to open the door. The schools in Guatemala are particular and protective so it can be very difficult to gain access. David and Debbie have established wonderful relationships with local people in the churches around Guatemala. The people of the church then help us gain entry into the schools in their areas. These relationships have proven so valuable. The church body is Guatemala is thriving and hungry to see salvation come to the rest of their country. We are lucky to have such partners in the ministry.

Today (Sunday) we were back at our local church in the capitol. We will be working in the children's ministry there, called Vida Kids. Today was our first Sunday to participate.

Michael's attention has been captured by a little one.

At Vida Kids, when you are a visitor, you are taken up on stage and the kids sing a welcome song to you. We were ushered on stage today for our welcome song. Afterwards, the kids all came up and greeted us with a hug. Imagine over 100 beautiful, Guatemalan babies coming to give you hugs and welcome you. The sincerity of the children was overwhelming. I could feel their love pouring out. It was so astounding, it nearly took my breath away.
Michael and I each got to be in charge of a small group of kids. The kids are divided into "pods" by colors. We had such a wonderful time getting to know the kids. Our Spanish is struggling as we work to figure out what the kids are saying to us. But they were very forgiving to the new gringos in their Sunday School class. We are looking forward to pouring into these kids more and more as time goes by.

We feel so blessed to be in Guatemala and getting to participate in what He is doing here. The Lord has much ahead of us. We are grateful to all our supporters who have made it possible for us to minister the children of Guatemala. There are many kids waiting to hear the gospel and we are able to be here because of your support! Thank you!