Wednesday May 13

Still no electricity but the showers have remained hot. PTL!

We left a 7:45am for ASELSI to have praise and worship followed by devotions with the department heads. Phillip shared some ideas about what makes a balanced church or ministry. It seemed very well received and appreciated.

We then divided and conquered our next tasks. Some continued work on the fence/wall around the widows while others helped prepare for the Alumni luncheon. We help host close to 75 students of ILIO Bible College for them to have a time of encouragement and fellowship. Pastor Phillip preached with Carlos translating. Serving them fried chicken, cole slaw, and watermelon, we felt right at home! The rest of the afternoon we spent on our work projects.

We have many wonderful stories to share.

Please keep us in your prayers.

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Tuesday May 12

We began our day with a candlelight breakfast - still no electricity! Our meals have been wonderful. We are eating better than at home - things like french toast and fresh pineapple!

We left the hotel by 8am to head to ASELSI and our work projects. Phillip spent from 8:30 until 2pm teaching students about Israel and how it relates to the Church and how to understand its history. The students seemed very interested and asked many good and interesting questions. The teaching was video taped to use in their future curriculum.

After another wonderful lunch at ASELSI, we changed clothes for visits to 4 different local homes. We took food and supplies for the families as well as some small toys for the children.

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We update you with some special notes on these visits, so please check back. We will also add some photos of our families and enlist your prayers for them.

Monday 11th

Sorry for the delay in update. As we were sitting and having devotions on Monday evening, lighting hit our hotel electrical service. We have not had electricity since and have had all our meals by candle light. So romantic!

This Monday morning, we began our day with a visit to a local school. Approximately 150 students k-8 joined us for an assembly. With the help of Claudia and Richard from ASELSI, we led them in worship and fun, interactive songs. We then presented two skits, sharing the gospel. One skit was western in theme and helped the children understand how God's good conquers evil. Our team enthusiastically dressed the part and conveyed their message to much applause! We had prepared crafts, which went along with our presentation. The children enjoyed coloring and decorating the crafts - the glitter glue was something they had never seen (even the adults) and was a big hit. WOC Small Groups donated large amounts of school supplies, which the team packed into WOC logo canvas bags for the teachers. These gifts of love really made an impact on their hearts. We also handed out candy and lots of hugs.

Later, we had lunch at ASELSI with Claudia sharing about ILIO - the training program that takes place on site at ASELSI in Chichi. Following Lunch we started our two work projects. One is building a fence around the property where two widows live at ASELSI. The other project is building a bathroom-kitchen combo for a family that has nothing but a hose pipe. We ended the day after a nice meal together celebrating God's mercy towards all of us, even without electricity!

We Have Arrived!

We made it safely and on time to Guatemala City. It was not raining, which was a real blessing. Because of the size of our group, we could not fit into the vans as in past trips, so we had our own "Chicken Bus" - the common means of transportation here in the hills of Guatemala. It started raining, making our 4-hour drive up into the mountains on narrow, hairpin curved roads that much more exciting. We arrived in time to get a hot meal, followed by a brief meeting with Sharon Harvey who laid out the game plan and some rules that would do us well to follow.

We awoke to clear skies and warm weather. After a wonderful breakfast here at our accomodation, Casa del Ray, we went to the market in town. The market is one of the largest in Guatemala and people come from all over the country to sell and buy their goods. After a few hours of shopping, we had lunch in a local restaurant - pizza was the food of choice. Afterward, we returned to the hotel for a quick change and then departed for trip to a local church. Phillip shared a sermon on forgiveness and the whole group sang before the sermon was given. The local church celebrated Mothers Day and we joined right in on the action!

The church is about an hour away from where we are staying in the state capital "Chiche", a town just about the size of Chichi. Dinner at the hotel was followed by devotions and some much welcomed rest.

Thanks for the prayers! He is answering and we are trusting we will continue to see Him at work.

Saturday, 09 May 2009!

Our team is on their way...

At 3 AM this morning, an excited 16-person team departed Leadership Park for their flight through Miami to Guatemala City, Guatemala. They loaded over two dozen suitcases filled with gifts, teaching materials, Spanish translation Derek Prince books, and humanitarian aid items for those to whom they will minister through ASELSI Ministries, directed by founders, John and Sharon Harvey.

The team will arrive later today and continue on an almost four-hour trek by bus up into the mountainous area of Quiche, northwest of Guatemala City, destination - Chichicastenango. Their itinerary will include visiting a local school of over 170 pupils. With crafts, gifts, and special sets of teachers' supplies in hand, they will minister through skits and much love. Opportunities will fill their week - hospital visits, construction projects, local village home visits, and much more. Additionally, Pastor Phillip Jackson has been requested to teach ASELSI-ILIO Bible College students and staff on "The Importance of Israel".

Thanks to the outpouring of generosity from WOC Small Groups, a local elementary school and business, the May 2009 team members' arms will be continually filled with gifts for those they meet at every turn. From crayons and coloring books to toothpaste and stuffed animals, many hearts will be touched through our gifts. Gozer, our lovable gator-friend from WOC Children's Ministry, is also returning for his third trip to Guatemala. Children can stay posted to his adventures through his special BLOG at: http://www.whereisgozer3.blogspot.com/.

Please pray for this team daily and

stay posted for more updates through the week!