Thank God for Guatemala, Safe Travels, & Chevrolets

Hi everyone!!!

Friends and family of the Guatemala mission team, we have safely made it to Guatemala City!!!!

((This blog post almost never made it to the internet; our team had some difficulties logging on, but thanks to Facebook and Laura, part of the 2011 team, we have it all figured out now!!))

We are grateful to God for a safe journey with no turbulence, luggage mishaps or delays. Arriving in Guatemala was a major culture shock.  In many ways, things were not that different from America.  On the way to the mission house we passed a Domino¨s Pizza, a Chevy Tahoe (called a Sorona here), and good old Mickey D¨s.  Yet the atmosphere feels completely unique, especially from the roof of our Groundwork Guatemala host home.  It¨s the little quirks that floor me the most, like not being able to go outside or flush any toilet paper.  We¨ve settled in, though, and are now relaxing as a group and then resting up for church tomorrow and a busy week. Tonight we witnessed the 'Queen of the Night' flowers in the garden outside the house. It was great timing since they only bloom one night each year.

Details like that reflect how God has been looking out for our team: allowing our airplane to land, blessing us with welcoming missionaries in Guatemala and letting us appreciate the beauty of this country, evidenced in a small, blooming flower.  We know that He will watch over us during the rest of our time here.

The group is really looking forward to seeing more of Guatemala, especially going on house visits and traveling to locations to present our faith lesson, do crafts, and sing praise songs in Spanish. (We do hope that thunderstorms will not become part of the agenda, though!) We know that God has started preparing our hearts and the hearts of the Guatemalan people for a mutual sharing of His love.  He will guide our paths and we pray He will use us as instruments for His kingdom this week.

Thank you for checking into our blog! God¨s blessings on your week in America.  We appreciate all your prayers!!

Come back online again tomorrow evening for another blog post. =)

Buenos noches,
Emily Michelle


Dear Lord,

Flowers wither, and people come and go, but your Word stands forever. Thank you for giving us your Word and for providing for all of our needs, both great and small. Help me to share your love this week and make opportunities for the mission team to do the same. You are AWESOME.

Amen.