Scott and I have been both team members and team leaders on many mission trips. Although we’ve held these positions before we learned this summer what it actually takes to be good team member and a good team leader. By being on the receiving end of teams we learned what is appreciated.
We know that one shovel of dirt dug in love is better than an entire house built without love.
We have seen teams of all sizes, and we know what size we would prefer to lead.
We have seen leaders of all types and have learned characteristics of each that will make us better leaders.
We have seen people who don’t appreciate a culture, no matter how hard they try to hide it.
These are gifts from God, to make us better appreciate and work with international missions in our future. Rarely, does one get to experience a mission trip from both perspectives and our trips will forever be changed because of our work here.
This summer we have seen the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Although there have been times when it was tough, there have been easy times to even them out. This summer by seeing every type of team, we’ve learned what makes up a good team. We know that one result of this summer is that we will forever be better team members and leaders. This is just one of the million things the Lord has shown us this summer.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Closing Down
Yesterday, we started to close the book on our trip to Guatemala this summer. After getting the team started on their projects, we headed back to our house and began packing. This alone is a traumatic experience! It’s amazing to see how much we’ve accumulated in less than 3 short months! We have so many treasured mementos (the best ones were free, like lava rock and crafts we’ve done with the kids) that will help us remember our time here this summer.
It was a beautiful day, so in the afternoon, we headed out and started taking pictures of the grounds and buildings to show people and to help us remember exactly how it looked the summer we lived here. We didn’t know it at first, but as we walked, we realized it was more for us than it was for anyone else. We were saying goodbye to the buildings, mudholes, swingsets, smells of the carpenteria, sounds of the laundry room, and giant cow patties that we’ve come to love over this summer. With each picture we took, we were hugging it goodbye, until the next time we return.
It was interesting that in past trips, we’ve known where these buildings are, but this time it was different. We know the details of each place, the cracks in the walls, the broken windows, and the foot imprints in the cement sidewalk. We fell more in love with everything here by coming to love the details. It was the intimate details we were saying goodbye to, not just the places.
Tomorrow, we’ll take the team to Antigua, and say goodbye to all the sights and smells there.
It was a beautiful day, so in the afternoon, we headed out and started taking pictures of the grounds and buildings to show people and to help us remember exactly how it looked the summer we lived here. We didn’t know it at first, but as we walked, we realized it was more for us than it was for anyone else. We were saying goodbye to the buildings, mudholes, swingsets, smells of the carpenteria, sounds of the laundry room, and giant cow patties that we’ve come to love over this summer. With each picture we took, we were hugging it goodbye, until the next time we return.
It was interesting that in past trips, we’ve known where these buildings are, but this time it was different. We know the details of each place, the cracks in the walls, the broken windows, and the foot imprints in the cement sidewalk. We fell more in love with everything here by coming to love the details. It was the intimate details we were saying goodbye to, not just the places.
Tomorrow, we’ll take the team to Antigua, and say goodbye to all the sights and smells there.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Team 6 Leaves and Team 7 Arrives
Yesterday we headed to the airport to send team 6 back home to Tennessee and to pick up Team 7. Team 6 was lead by Tim Sheehy, one of the board members, from Kirby Woods Baptist Church. This team was great! They had two major projects that were physical labor; Evy’s house and a patio in front of the gym. They did a ton of digging with these projects and probably won’t mind if it is a while before they see another shovel. Their third project was sewing sheets and bed spreads for the kids. The ladies who did this worked very hard!! It really was a labor of love and the kids are going to adore the new Buzz Lightyear sheets.
On their Antigua day this team did street evangelism before lunch and saved their souvenir shopping for the afternoon. It was a real encouragement to see their enthusiasm for sharing God’s love. Team 6 was a blessing and we are going to miss them. We are excited to work with our next team lead by Laura Thimons (25 women and 3 men). Hard to believe that we will be heading home with this team! Wow! The summer has flown!
On their Antigua day this team did street evangelism before lunch and saved their souvenir shopping for the afternoon. It was a real encouragement to see their enthusiasm for sharing God’s love. Team 6 was a blessing and we are going to miss them. We are excited to work with our next team lead by Laura Thimons (25 women and 3 men). Hard to believe that we will be heading home with this team! Wow! The summer has flown!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Add it to the list
Well, we are down to one more week in Guatemala. There have been times when we couldn’t wait for this week to get here and times when we didn’t want it ever to come. But no matter what we want or don’t want, it is here. It is here and it is a wonderful feeling. It is here and it is a horrible feeling. Bittersweet doesn’t even come close to describing the feeling, because it is so much sweeter than sweet and so much more bitter than bitter.
For those of you who like to travel overseas, especially on mission trips, and for those of you who go on mission trips, especially overseas, you know the feeling of never really being 100% content. When you are home, you long to be in the other country. When you are in the other country, you long to be home. As I was thinking about this phenomenon and discussing it with Scott it made me long for Heaven. It gave me another item to add to the list of why Heaven will be so marvelous. It was another mark in the “why I wanna go” tally.
See, in Heaven, this is the only place where this feeling will be satisfied. This is the only place where we can be and not be longing to be elsewhere. This is the only place where we will get to be with the people we love back home who have never been to Guatemala and the people we love in Guatemala who have never been to Indiana.
How funny that the Lord brought us to Guatemala from Indiana to give us another reason to want to leave this world.
For those of you who like to travel overseas, especially on mission trips, and for those of you who go on mission trips, especially overseas, you know the feeling of never really being 100% content. When you are home, you long to be in the other country. When you are in the other country, you long to be home. As I was thinking about this phenomenon and discussing it with Scott it made me long for Heaven. It gave me another item to add to the list of why Heaven will be so marvelous. It was another mark in the “why I wanna go” tally.
See, in Heaven, this is the only place where this feeling will be satisfied. This is the only place where we can be and not be longing to be elsewhere. This is the only place where we will get to be with the people we love back home who have never been to Guatemala and the people we love in Guatemala who have never been to Indiana.
How funny that the Lord brought us to Guatemala from Indiana to give us another reason to want to leave this world.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
What we miss...
Today we miss our dishwasher, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the tub of our Guatemalan dish soap.
Today we miss the smell of our apartment, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the familiar yet still foreign smell of Casa A.
Today we miss good old mac and cheese out of a box, but we know that in two weeks we will miss fried plantains and black beans.
Today we miss the rolling hills of Indiana, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the majestic mountains and volcanoes of Guatemala.
Today we miss all our favorite TV shows, but we know in two weeks we will miss swapping movies with the other Americans here.
Today we miss the comfort and safety of being able to go out after dark, but in two weeks we know we will miss the comforting sound of the guards whistling when they walk by.
Today we miss the faces of friends and family, but we know in two weeks we will miss the smiling faces of Evy, the cooks, the kids, the house parents and everyone here.
Today we miss English, but we know in two weeks we will miss Spanish.
Today we miss carpet, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the familiar tile floors.
Today we miss the USA, but we know that in two weeks we will miss Guatemala.
Today we miss the smell of our apartment, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the familiar yet still foreign smell of Casa A.
Today we miss good old mac and cheese out of a box, but we know that in two weeks we will miss fried plantains and black beans.
Today we miss the rolling hills of Indiana, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the majestic mountains and volcanoes of Guatemala.
Today we miss all our favorite TV shows, but we know in two weeks we will miss swapping movies with the other Americans here.
Today we miss the comfort and safety of being able to go out after dark, but in two weeks we know we will miss the comforting sound of the guards whistling when they walk by.
Today we miss the faces of friends and family, but we know in two weeks we will miss the smiling faces of Evy, the cooks, the kids, the house parents and everyone here.
Today we miss English, but we know in two weeks we will miss Spanish.
Today we miss carpet, but we know that in two weeks we will miss the familiar tile floors.
Today we miss the USA, but we know that in two weeks we will miss Guatemala.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pictures
We've added some new pictures for you all. There are some more huepil pictures of Evy teaching me how to put it on and then also me wearing my huepil on Sunday. I was pretty happy because on Sunday morning I got my huepil on correctly after only my first try!! It even passed Evy's approval; all she had to do was tighten it up a tad! Also in there are some pictures of us eating pineapples with salt. DELICIOUS!!!
Sorry we didn't get to edit through these pictures and take out the bad ones! I know that is annoying. :(
Sorry we didn't get to edit through these pictures and take out the bad ones! I know that is annoying. :(
Monday, July 21, 2008
More Validation...
Hey everyone,
We've settled into another week and another team. This large team from Memphis, TN hit the ground running and is working on 3 heavy labor projects. They're doing great.
We wanted to share with you what God has done in our lives which just further validates our decision to come to Guatemala for the summer.
We are preparing to head home in less than two weeks, and just out of curiosity, we checked Sophie's financial statement from IU. When we pulled it up, we were shocked to find out that her total tuition and fees for the year is less than $100! We couldn't figure it out, and so we looked more closely, and Sophie had received a number of grants. She received a small O'Bannon grant for being an outstanding Indiana resident college student. Then we saw a small Federal Pell Grant that she got for marrying a poor graduate student! :) Then, the remainder of the tuition and fees was paid for by the IU Pell Promise award: an award given to outstanding students who qualify for the Federal Pell grant. We were shocked! As far as we can tell, she will keep this award as long as she maintains a 3.0 GPA. It pretty much means a full ride scholarship.
This just served as such a reminder that God will provide for us. We can trace it all the way back to our decision to switch out of the PhD program at IU and pursue the Master's. As someone said, it's just the cherry on top of all our blessings. As we see it, God is blessing us above and beyond what we could ever hope or ask for. Not only did I get an AWESOME job with a 20 minute phone interview, but he's taken care of us in ways we never even asked.
If that is the cherry on top, we got sprinkles too! I got an email yesterday, offering me an adjunct position at Ivy Tech that I had applied for in the spring. We are still considering and praying about this position, but regardless, God has shown that no matter what, he will provide. It really shows God's sense of humor in the whole situation.
It's a lesson to all of us that the Lord will never stop heaping his blessings upon you if you allow him to and listen to his calling.
We've settled into another week and another team. This large team from Memphis, TN hit the ground running and is working on 3 heavy labor projects. They're doing great.
We wanted to share with you what God has done in our lives which just further validates our decision to come to Guatemala for the summer.
We are preparing to head home in less than two weeks, and just out of curiosity, we checked Sophie's financial statement from IU. When we pulled it up, we were shocked to find out that her total tuition and fees for the year is less than $100! We couldn't figure it out, and so we looked more closely, and Sophie had received a number of grants. She received a small O'Bannon grant for being an outstanding Indiana resident college student. Then we saw a small Federal Pell Grant that she got for marrying a poor graduate student! :) Then, the remainder of the tuition and fees was paid for by the IU Pell Promise award: an award given to outstanding students who qualify for the Federal Pell grant. We were shocked! As far as we can tell, she will keep this award as long as she maintains a 3.0 GPA. It pretty much means a full ride scholarship.
This just served as such a reminder that God will provide for us. We can trace it all the way back to our decision to switch out of the PhD program at IU and pursue the Master's. As someone said, it's just the cherry on top of all our blessings. As we see it, God is blessing us above and beyond what we could ever hope or ask for. Not only did I get an AWESOME job with a 20 minute phone interview, but he's taken care of us in ways we never even asked.
If that is the cherry on top, we got sprinkles too! I got an email yesterday, offering me an adjunct position at Ivy Tech that I had applied for in the spring. We are still considering and praying about this position, but regardless, God has shown that no matter what, he will provide. It really shows God's sense of humor in the whole situation.
It's a lesson to all of us that the Lord will never stop heaping his blessings upon you if you allow him to and listen to his calling.
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