June 26, 2009 The Trip Down

Make a Smilebox photobook

Getting to the airport at 3:45 am was no small feat, but everyone made it with time to spare. Almost no one on this team knew anyone except me, and I didn't even know some of the team very well. To say I left a bit apprehensive might have been an understatement. Silly me! I should have figured that God had it all under control (if I'd just stop trying to run everything!).

The representative at the Continental ticket counter could not have been nicer, and helped us rearrange seats so we could actually all sit together or near each other. Poor Shannon. She had a different confirmation number than the rest of us, so often was seated far away from us. At least she got some studying done (I think).

Our flights went off without a hitch, and soon (by international travel standards, anyway) we were in Guatemala City. After getting through immigration, baggage claim and customs, we exited the airport to find Chris Mooney, one of the missionaries we would be serving with this week. I almost cried when I saw him and my friend Dick Rutgers standing right up against the fence waiting for us. Though I'd only left Guatemala 3 weeks ago, I'd not seen Chris in a year and "coming home" felt soooooo good.

We headed to Chimaltenango, to prepare for our trip to the coast. After a quick lunch at Burger King, we headed to the first of two warehouses used by Bethel Ministries. Here we loaded the house we would be building on Monday. Next we went to the main shop used by Bethel, and loaded wheelchairs and sacked food for our distribution on Tuesday. To say that these were bonding experiences for our team was an understatement. It never ceases to amaze me that, when God brings people together, they almost automatically seem to know and love each other. That's what I saw with our team this week. They were amazing women who love Jesus and His people and understand what Paul meant by "think of others more highly than yourself."

When the truck was loaded, and we were dirty and tired, we headed to our hotel, Santa Emelia in Chimal, to clean up and go to supper. Many on the team were suprised to find a modern mall right in the middle of Chimal. This is where we ate supper, and had our first ice cream in Guatemala.

After returning to the hotel, we all met in one of the rooms to begin a tradition that would prove to be one of my favorite things on this trip. We would daily share our best and worst experiences of the day, look for how we had seen God working each day, and end in prayer thanking Him for letting us join Him in what He was already doing in Guatemala. This truly "tied the ribbon" on the gift of a beautiful day from our God who longs to bless us!