Day 1, Traveling from CR to Guatemala
Steve Oliver
Today we gathered in cars and vans at 3:30 in the morning to ride to Moline. We all arrived in good spirits and had a very helpful attendant named Kayla help us with our luggage and our passports.
At 7am, we took off on our American Airlines flight #1 which took us to the lovely Dallas/Fort Worth. The flight was smooth but a bit cramped. We were glad to get out of the plane and walk a bit. We got to walk together to the shuttle to get us to our terminal and proper gate for our next flight. While at the Dallas airport during our 10am -12pm layover, we were able to stretch our legs, get some lunch and have some good conversations getting to know one another.
We excitedly got on our flight to Guatemala City at 12:30pm. The flight was a little turbulent but mostly smooth and by God’s Grace we all made it in one piece, and after going through customs we were picked up by the shuttle from the hotel we’ll stay at for just tonight.
There we met Ben with Bethel Ministries who had our hotel rooms booked and checked in for us. Then we ate dinner altogether at 6:30pm and had a wonderful time organizing for the rest of the week. Sunday we will travel to Retalhuleu, which is the city where we will be ministering for the week. We will have different accommodations there.
Please pray for our travel on Sunday. We have a four-hour drive to our destination, where we will work and stay for the week. Please pray that God puts us in the path of people who need to hear his truth in addition to those we will already be visiting. And pray for health, safety, and single-mindedness together as we attempt to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the town of Reuthaleu and the surrounding areas.
Day 2, Traveling to Retalhuleu + Home Visits
Morgan Louvar & Steve Oliver
Today we woke up at our hotel in Guatemala City and had a quick breakfast together at the hotel. We all agreed that the Guatemalan people are very kind and accommodating. After breakfast, we all went back to our rooms, packed up and met in the lobby. Ben from Bethel ministries let us know we’d be traveling to Retalhuleu which is about a four hour drive out of Guatemala City onto the highways and curvy byways.
With Ben as our driver, in the first hour we did our first devotional for the week and spoke about the great commission in Matthew 28, where we all shared our perspectives on that passage and how it sharpens our focus on this specific trip. All this while we drove past a volcano near the city and for some reason a car with a small water tower strapped to the top of the car, and some cattle walking alongside the road. As we left the city the winding roads were filled with so many trees, hills and mountains, God’s reminders of his presence in his beautiful creation. When we got to our destination in Reutalhuleu, we had lunch with missionaries Ben, his wife Emily, Nick and his wife Izzy, who will helped our house building projects.
After lunch we checked into our hotel, received two more volunteers and drove slowly down an incredibly stony road to arrive at our first house visits to give groceries and to ask how they’re doing. Michaela was our group’s visit and she is 46 and has 6 kids her husband passed away three years ago of kidney failure. After a long battle with kidney failure and an infection he finally passed.
Her oldest boy Juan Gregorio is sixteen years old and works in the fields to support the family when there is work. When there’s work he helps with $40 a week. Her other four children are 11 and under and go to school. They are a year or two behind in school but Michaela is very proud of her children. She is only able to work a few times a week cleaning houses or doing laundry for others and she only makes $2 every time she does that. It was sobering to see the conditions in which this woman, her children, her mother and her sister live. After Ben asked many questions of the family to find out their specific needs, he told the kids the Jonah story and then gave the family a Bible and scriptures to read out loud to one another. Then after we prayed with the family, the kids came to our van to get some Chickle (Gum) that Ben had promised.
When we arrived at the 2nd home visit we were welcomed by a sweet family that consisted of the parents, seven children, and two grandchildren. They shared their names, ages, and their highest level of education with us. That is when I realized that none of the girls had made it past the sixth grade due to how expensive it is. Most of the girls help their parents by working on their crops. One of their sons really enjoys school and is in the eleventh grade. At one point a mango had fallen onto their tarp roof, and they offered us the mangos that they use to sell and make their income. It reminded me of Mark 12:41-44 especially where it says that the widow in this passage gave two copper coins but even out of her poverty she gave all she had to live on. I was moved when one of the daughters shared, with tears in her eyes, how thankful she was that God was providing food for them. As I reflect on today, I am thinking about how often I can be apathetic towards the ways that the Lord provides in my day to day life, where food is an anticipated expectation, while for this family it is a continuous blessing from God. The parents and one of their daughters also shared the peace that they have in Christ which was humbling and encouraging to hear. Some prayer requests for the family are for the parents’ health and that the Lord would provide for them financially.
After those two home visits, we went back to the hotel and had dinner together and then did our second day’s devotion together from the passage in Exodus 3:1-10 where Moses gives excuses why cannot go and lead God’s people. Please pray for both families that we visited and also pray for the countless families they represent, which are truly “the least of these.”
Day 3, Wheelchair distribution
Steve Oliver & Wyatt Billingsley
Today we woke up and met for breakfast at 7am at the hotel. Breakfast for us is a good place to get to know one another in a personal way through conversations and simply passing food to one another. (Our rides to and from the sites act the same as well, as venues to simply know one another.) Then after breakfast, we packed up and met at the truck in our matching shirts from Bethel Ministries for a devotional led by Nick (our missionary), before we left for the site where we were to distribute wheelchairs to those who can’t afford them. The devotional was about the man at the pool of Bethesda and realizing that we are not only giving wheelchairs to these people who are marginalized, but giving them dignity and kindness.
At the facility where wheelchairs were given we had so many thanks from people receiving and so much patience as we tried to modify wheelchairs to fit properly to each person. Some of us didn’t know what we were doing but God was with us as was his promise in the great commission. We definitely learned how blessed we are and how God provides in even the toughest of circumstances. We’ve never seen so many grateful faces.
Then we had lunch in a mini soccer field next to the Rec center, and afterward we got back to distributing wheelchairs. Also, there were a series of pastors from local churches who were praying for those individuals that we had built the wheelchairs for. The hope was that these men would be able to make our ministry whole and tie our work to God, and in doing so glorify him.
These men were particularly interesting, as it had been explained to us that there is a large population of illiterate people in Guatemala, and it begged the question how did these men direct their congregations to God’s word, when that word is primarily communicated through writing on a page? How did this change their focus and priorities as ministers of the word? As such we asked them about this over lunch, and very kindly they explained that while not all can read, all can listen. So their strategy was to not only faithfully preach the word, but to also encourage congregants of theirs that could read to read to those who couldn’t. In other words, they encouraged their members to come together in small groups, and to disciple one another, just like we do. It was greatly encouraging to know that despite all the differences, the heart of the local church was the same, individual believers guiding one another in their walk with the Lord.
After our day, we all gathered again for dinner and devotions and got to bed early so we could prepare our hearts and minds for tomorrow’s home building work and for our many home visits. Pray that we are safe on the construction site, and pray the the Holy Spirit speaks directly to the hearts and minds of those we visit tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers Grace!
Day 4, Concrete day 1 + Home Visits
Steve Oliver
Today we all gathered for breakfast again at 7am, had some fun conversation, and then at 8am loaded up two vehicles and set off for our destinations. We got to work on the foundation site by digging trenches for the concrete, leveling the blocks for the border, then pouring concrete into the border joints. We scraped and leveled the wet concrete then started to level the middle portion.
We stopped for lunch to rest and gather strength to do the center portion of the foundation the rest of the afternoon. This house that will be built will be a blessing to Oriana and her family. They were incredibly thankful for our help. We were also getting a bathroom setup for them also, keeping it away from the house. Three of the locals dug a hole that was about 24 feet down and about four feet wide. It was a site to see.
Today’s message for us is that sometimes missionary work is hard and dirty work but our missionaries, Nick and Izzy, and Ben and Emily were working so hard and exhibiting such patience and help that we felt like we were on their team! After all we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. All day, God’s glorious sun shone on us and we were blessed to have the number of people on our team that we do. On our home visit, there was a lovely 70-year-old Grandmother who had prayed for a Bible after being a believer for over 20 years and not even owning one. When she received it, she was so overwhelmed and glad and told us she had been praying for a Bible and now God had answered her prayer.
Please pray for these women with children and with ailing needs that God would meet them where they’re at and heal them, restore them, and draw them closer to Him every day.
Day 5, Home build day + Home Visits
Steve Oliver & Cameron Miller
Today we met for breakfast at 7am gathered our things and left at 8am for our destinations, one group for a home build and one group for home visits.
At the home build we framed walls set up bunk beds for the family as well as a stove and a bathroom. Many people in this region don’t have a stove and cook on an open fire so this was a big help to Celia and her four children. We had lunch at noon and the kids played limbo and we had a chance to share stories with one another about how we landed in the various places we are in our lives. Then we got back to building to finish up the house. The house was then painted along with the bathroom so the house isn’t just a shelter but feels more like a home for them. The home was then decorated inside and we dedicated the home and prayed for the family before we left. They were so grateful and we were so humbled by their gratefulness. It is inspiring to see our team and many volunteers working so hard to give to someone who truly needs it.
The group that did the home visits were able to visit four families and the visits generally last about an hour and a half. They gave food, asked how the parents of the families “are with God.” Missionary Ben asks questions also to find out the situation of the family, and leads a Bible story or a passage to witness to them. Then they were given clothing and shoes for the children and prayed for before the group left to the next visit. At one of the house visits, the mother was asked if she had any prayer requests, and her only prayer request was that we (missionaries and volunteers) would be blessed in the work that we were doing, which was remarkable because her family didn’t have much and you’d think that she’d have prayer requests about other things.
So the feeling that came about for the group was a change of perspective. The amount of opportunities we get in our situations in America, sometimes our instinct is to think of ourselves first, but this woman who is struggling in life has shown the love of Jesus in her belief in God and her prayer request.
It takes a follower of Christ and someone who is at complete peace with nothing to make such a prayer request. Thought she may have nothing materially, she has everything n God. After our day we were taken to dinner by the local contact in the area we were serving as a thank you for our service. We had dinner and then we did our devotion which was from Philippians 2, which speaks of Jesus’ complete obedience to God and his complete selflessness by coming and serving us when we didn’t deserve it.
Day 6, An Unexpected Delay
Steve Oliver & Ryan Miller
8:30am
So, this morning we woke up and headed out to 7am breakfast where we were notified by Ben, our missionary guide, that there is a protest today blocking the bridge we need to use to get to where we were supposed to do our home visits and home build. We aren’t in any danger, as the protest is completely peaceful and a bit far from us, but we are now stuck at the hotel waiting for the protest to clear, or be cleared by the local authorities. We were told it might be cleared by 4pm, which would be a disappointment for us and for the people we were meant to help. So, now were are mostly scattered around the hotel reading, getting some computer work done and biding our time. Truthfully we don’t know if we’ll get the chance to do what were here to do today, but we might, we shall see. 🙂
12:30pm
We were mostly sitting around waiting for the protest to end when Ryan Miller, Cameron (Ryan’s son), and Steve Oliver met a man who was from Houston, a truck driver waiting to deliver his tractors to a destination 5 hours away. He was a very kind man named Tomas, and spoke English, so that made it a bit easier for us to chat about life in America versus life here in Guatemala, and he said God bless as we said goodbye to gather together for lunch. At lunchtime we were still waiting for the protest to end, and none of us were restless per se, but definitely wanted to get to building the house we started two days ago.
5pm
The protest had been cleared but the traffic left over wouldn’t allow us to make it in enough time to our destination to complete any work. So we met for devotions and prayer, and then after a short break met for dinner at 6:30pm. Please pray for the families who didn’t receive what they might’ve today, for their salvation, for their home life, and for the salvation of their children.
Day 7, Home Build Day 2
Steve Oliver
Today we were able to get back to work and finish building the home we did concrete for on Wednesday. We woke up and ate our last together breakfast at 7am and then promptly packed all of our bags so we could go to Guatemala City after our home build. We arrived at the home build at 9am and started building from the ground up. The whole team was there so were able to build the home by 2pm.
Once the home was painted we gathered inside with the mother and her children and dedicated the home and prayed with the family. They expressed their gratitude and we loaded our stuff out to the van. At the van we hugged and said goodbye to our missionaries who helped us so much this week, Nick and Izzy, and Ben and Emily.
After we said our goodbyes Ben drove us 4 and a half hours to Guatemala City where we arrived, checked in, and had our last dinner together at 8pm. Then we all headed off to bed so we could be rested for our airport shuttle which will pick us up at 5am so we can get checked in, get through customs and get on our flight which leaves at 7:20am. This week has been a whirlwind and we have learned so much. God is truly good all the time!
Day 8, Travel Home
Steve Oliver
So we had a 4:50am call time for being in the lobby of the hotel. We all woke up to quiet Guatemala City, and our mission today was to get on a shuttle at 5am to get to the airport by 5:20am to be there two hours before to make sure we had enough time to check bags, check in, get through customs, get a coffee and get on the plane. We got on our plane and it took off a little late but God had us in His hands. We had a 90 minute layover in Dallas which turned into a 45 minute window after the first flight being delayed so when we landed in Dallas we had just enough time to get through American customs, pick up and drop off our checked bags, then run to the shuttle to get make it to the gate two terminals away.
We made it with no time to spare to get on our plane. We landed safely in good ole’ cold, snowy Iowa at 2:30pm, thanks be to God. We were all tired, all ready to get home to be with family and to get rest, but also so aware of the needs of a third world nation like Guatemala, which points to a bigger world need because a great percentage of the world lives in poverty and so we understand as Christians that we have a duty to pray, to go and preach the gospel, to give of our time, talent and treasure, and most importantly, to put ourselves in the shoes of another. By doing this, we realize that we in America are so incredibly blessed and rich by far compared to those in other countries in need. God help us to see the need, and to be your hands and feet, both with our neighbor and with those all over the world. God is so good. Without Him, we are nothing, without Him, we have nothing, and without Him, we can do nothing. But through Him we can do all things.
