Harvest Church August 24-August 30

 

They had the lesson outside while they painted a classroom.

Wow! This team did an amazing job teaching bible stories at one of AMG's schools in the city. Each day the group would use students to help act out the story of Ester, Nehemiah, or Jesus. The students were engaged and received a lot of solid bible teaching.

The middle school aged students had a separate lesson from the younger kids. The common theme in those teachings was to make your relationship with Christ your own. The team really felt the teenagers needed to have a better understanding that a relationship with Christ is personal and your actions should demonstrate your walk with Christ.

The last day the team was at the school they planned a birthday party for all of the kids. These kids come from tough places and often aren't celebrated. This team really understood this desire of us all to feel special and the importance of others celebrating our lives. They brought presents for all of the staff, piñatas for the kids, and snacks for everyone.

Before school one day, we visited the city dump. A lot of AMG students in the city live in communities surrounding the dump. Many of these families live off of reselling things they scavenged from the dump. It was mind blowing to stand at the edge of the city cemetery that overlooks the dump. 

A few 1,000 vultures are also circling around the dump.

Calvary Baptist Church: July 26-August 2nd

This picture was taken at our day spent at Camp Caanan.

This is the first team I coordinated from start to finish my myself. It is time to see if I will sink or swim at coordinating teams with AMG.  :) I have to say the week went well!
Luckily this group got kicked out of their housing in the city for a night....that allowed them to spend a night at our camp for AMG students. This week's theme was "take a minute to think about God's calling for your life." That is a big lesson that we all have to continue living. The team took this theme and focused on the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) for the games and crafts they planned. When we believe in Christ, an out pouring of the spirit within you should shine by you showing love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Can you see the fruit of the spirit in your life?

This opportunity to spend a day and a half at camp was some of the most beneficial time here in Guatemala for many of these youth. Camp is just a special place that can't truly be explained. The three adults in the front of the photo to the right is the family that runs the camp. They are amazing and the Lord knew what he was doing when he began their ministry at Camp Caanan 29 years ago. They are truly God filled individuals and you just can't get enough of them.

Rock Wall at Camp

Back in the city, the youth group taught the bible story of David in the lion's den at one of our schools. The youth taught the bible lesson to our kids in the English department. The team spent four full days in the English classrooms. Once again another group blessed our kids by working with them on correct pronunciation of English. I can't say enough about having native speakers in the English classrooms. Thanks!!!!

A big ministry of AMG is child sponsorship. You can sponsor a child for $32 a month which provides them with a snack, lunch, school supplies, uniform, week at an AMG camp, and medical care. Some of this group decided to sponsor a child so we took a special trip to one of our schools outside of the city for the team members to meet their sponsored child/children.
This was the most moving part of the week for me. It was so amazing to hear an eight year old talk about how excited she was to be sponsored because she would now get letters from her new sponsor. I didn't realize that being sponsored was so personal for these kid. Looking at the eight year old's face as she hugged her sponsor made it clear to me that it mattered to her to be a sponsored child.

Verbena: June 22-30th

Don't look for me. I am taking the picture.

This group kept me busy. They had 41 folks on the team and all AMG team members were helping Phil (coworker for teams) and I with this group. The group split into two teams: construction and education.

The construction team worked on continuing to build an office space for our At Risk No More department. That awesome branch of AMG serves kids and families in crisis. Right now some of the At Risk No More staff is in the main building and the other half is in a building on the other side of campus. We don't have enough offices for all of the AMG staff so that gives me a good excuse to do things like this...

I took over our National Directors office and new van while he was on furlough.

The educational team did a wonderful job singing, doing crafts, and sharing bible stories with our 800 kids at our school called Verbena each day. The 45 teachers, 6 translators, and AMG staff did a great job collaborating with me to pull off this week. This group did a lot of preparation before coming to Guatemala  and the kids benefited from their efforts.

A clown came and visited the kids.

Camp Caanan June 8-16

This youth group was amazing! Each of our 6th graders at AMG's 28 educational sights are invited to camp for a week. This week of camp was blessed by a youth group. These folks planned and brought materials for all the game and craft times. Of course, the time spent at the pool was a big hit as well.

The most moving time of camp was around the camp fire. The Guatemalan camp counselors shared the gospel and asked the kids to rededicate their lives to Christ. The Lord was present and many of the kids felt the call to follow Christ.

The youth group did a wonderful job sharing a skit each day with the message that we are all important and we are all created by God for a purpose. Nothing can make you feel more special than to know that you are created by GOD.

Thank You

     The Lord is Good! I have been blessed to be able to spend some time with my family as I have been raising support. I adore my niece and it has been wonderful being able to spend lots of quality time with her.

     I want to give a big thank you to all of you that have allowed me to share about the work the Lord is doing in Guatemala at your church, small group, or with your family. It has been wonderful meeting new people and catching-up with old friends. Raising support the last 2 months has been really fun. It is very rewarding to share the story the Lord has written for me in ministry.
     The Lord is blessing me with many monthly supporters.  I have commitments for 60% of the monthly support needed for me to return to Guatemala and begin ministry with AMG International. Thank you to many of you that have decided to partner with me in ministry through prayer and financial support.
     The Guatemalan AMG team and I are praying for me to return to Guatemala in May. The summer is a busy time and it would be great for me to be back in Guatemala to help. Please contact me if I could share at your church, bible study, business, or with a family you know.

Ruth 2:12  May the Lord Reward your work, and your wages be full from he Lord, The God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.

AMG- A New Adventure Begins

December 16th I flew to Chattanooga, TN for a three day interview and get to know the ministry Advancing the Ministry of the Gospel. The staff at AMG's home office treated me well and it was wonderful to hear how God is using this ministry to reach the lost all over the world.

Even though I feel the Lord is leading me away from the orphanage, I am blessed to still be able to visit as much as my little heart desires. Also, I am still going to keep the role of team coordinating, the job I fell in love with at CB. I'm really excited to be given the possibility to coordinate teams that will be serving all over Guatemala in one of AMG's 28 school projects, vocational schools, health facilities, disaster relief, or partnering with the at-risk children's program.

Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

A Christmas Present For Kids In Guatemala: A School Uniform

Yesterday I had the privilege of riding along with a family that works with Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel (AMG) for the day.  We drove to a rural part of Guatemala to hand out school uniforms to the students at one of the AMG schools. School starts in January so it was a huge blessing for these families to receive school uniforms for free.
School in Guatemala is free as long as you can pay for your uniform (blouse, sweater, skirt/pants, black shoes, and white socks) and school supplies (notebooks, pencils, pens, art supplies). Therefore school really isn't free at all....anyway these kids are now ready and able to attend school in January.

This is the Wilson family that serves with  AMG and other friends of the family that went with them to hand-out school uniforms.

Sunday I will fly to the states to spend three days with the Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel's board. It will be a great time for me to get to know the ministry better and for them to get to know me. I would appreciate your prayers as I take another step towards partnering with this organization.