Hello Friends,

  Last night after a debriefing and feedback dinner
with Helps Intl. Vice President, Richard Grinnell,
Jacob Quick gave a great devotional on how even doing
“good” things can distract us from our pursuit of
knowing Christ.  It was very challenging.  After
cramming everyone and everything into two vans early
this morning, we waited at the airport long enough to
wonder if we would get checked in on time.  We enjoyed
an uneventful flight home and are thankful for a safe
and life-changing trip.  Steve Paris is staying
through Thursday to attend a very special ceremony for
a newly completed translation of the Bible for an
indigenous Mayan tribe near Nabaj in northern
Guatemala.  Please pray for his safety.
  What an encouraging mission project!  There were
many “firsts” for members of the team.  We all look
forward to sharing pictures and videos with each other
this week, and are all looking forward to telling a
few of the encouraging things God has done this last
week.  We cannot thank you enough for your faithful
prayer support.  I am very pleased with every member
of our team of 14.  They were indeed hard-working and
unified ambassadors of Christ and of Redeemer.  May
God get all the glory for what He has accomplished.

Blake, for the team

Yesterday, the two free stoves were delivered to the church we attended Tuesday, and will be installed next week.  We are thrilled to see God help this church reach out to their neighborhood and town.  Our team travelled safely from Panajachel to the former capital city of Antigua early this morning.  With a lot of rain and muddy roads, we were thankful to arrive safely and ready to tour the city.  Some toured the markets and square while a few visited a jade jewelry manufacturer and got an excellent tour. The company contributes 10% of it´s profits to the local hospital that works with Helps Intl.  We joked that the jade would be like gravel in heaven.  After a nice lunch, we had a brief time to walk through the markets and head back to the hotel in Guatemala City.  Having arrived safely, tonight we will have a dinner with the Helps Intl. staff in Guatemala City and get ready to leave for the airport in the morning at 5 am.  This trip is definitely making everyone into early birds.  It has been a very worthwhile trip.  The projects allowed us to interact with people who are needy and humble.  We are honored and blessed to have been able to be a part of telling and showing the power of the Gospel with the Guatemalans.  Thanks so much for your prayers.  We are looking forward to coming home!
 
Blake for the team 

PS- Jacob is on strong antibiotics and seems to be doing better.

Blake asked me to send an email for the Blog to let you know how things went. First Jacob was feeling alot better and was able to go out with the group today and am sure that it was something that he had to eat or drink. The day started off with me giving a devotional about how the Bible is our instructional manual and we need to use it even if we feel we have the answers. I will not go into details but thought it was well received.

The day started off slow because when we got to the area we got a call from our Helps leader Yohanna and her truck broke down and so we let off the group and me and the driver went back to see if we could help. The truck was having some sort of electrical problem and we just ended up pushing it back to our compound. The great thing was that when I asked for some help to push the truck I met a man named Dan and he told me that he had two of our style stoves that we could have and that was just the answer to our prayers for the church we went to on Tuesday. So we are trying to arrange that now.

Besides that we installed about 7 stoves and are enjoying the time we spend with the people and hope that all is well with you all.

Clark Rodgers

Hola de Guatemala,

Started the day early to visit an orphanage and feed the children while overlooking a beautiful vista of Lake Atitlan and the surrounding volcanic mountains. Each of us took a child and provided time for feeding and coddling; the place was abuzz with activity and it was a highlight of the trip being with the children.

Following breakfast, we took a boat across the lake to Santiago for some shopping and touring. While there, Victoria, Christina, Leanna and Jonathan donned some of the native garb and took a lesson in spinning cotton and weaving clothes. To see it done as it has been done for generations was quite an education.

For lunch, we had delicious “build your own” fajitas and chocolate cake with ice cream. The best meal to date.

Our boat captain had a bad day today, having hit two out of the three docks we stopped at and severely damaging the framework of the docks. No one was hurt but the poor captain became the brunt of some of our teasing comments.

It was a very good day today, but we have a concern for Jacob’s health. He has the GI problems common to this part of the world and a fever. We have medications and he is resting comfortably. Pray for a short lived illness for him.

We are finishing out the day with an informative tape about Noah’s Ark. We plan on a productive work day tomorrow having had a relaxing day of rest today.

We are all well and are getting stoves installed and interacting with the families very well. IT is making a real difference in the lives of the people we meet and help. Last night, we attended a church service in which we were in charge- the pastor was ill. Clark Rodgers, Jonathan Raikes, and Christina Cole gave their testimonies. They were wonderful. Christina played “Washed in the Blood” on her violin- and everyone was thrilled. I was asked to preach and Jacob Quick interpreted for everyone. This morning, we visited an orphanage and were all touched by the children and the organization and facilities. It is a great ministry. We all feel blessed to be a part of this trip. God has arranged so many meetings with people and with other organizations and churches that we know without a doubt that He is completely in control and has us here for many reasons. The team is unified and enjoys the company and fellowship of one another. God has been so good to us!

Blake, for the team

Today the first-timers learned how to install the two kinds of stoves by watching and then doing it on three separate teams. The veterans got a refresher course.

We all crammed into a small house with a bunch of other people from the community who were also learning how to install stoves. We also whitewashed 6 homes inside (and a few outside.) The whitewashing is an experimental project for HELPS and we were the first to try it! It was challenging because the walls were covered with soot. We needed some goggles and better brushes, but we made the best of it and everyone worked very hard. It’s an idea in progress. We’ll keep you updated, and It will be a few days before we plan to attempt it with different tools.

We installed a total of six stoves today. They were well received by the families. They make a huge improvement in the air quality inside the homes. Several were cooking on open fires on dirt floors with no chairs or tables. We shared the gospel with about 25 people at our first location, and three people used the evangecube while I spoke and Johanna, the HELPS project leader translated into Spanish. There were some believers among those who heard, and they prayed aloud along with me. A big highlight was interacting with the bright-eyed smiling kids. Glenn Clark was playing with them and joking, and the Rodgers were given some bracelets from an appreciative family. Christina Cole was mobbed by a bunch of kids who loved to have their pictures taken. She did so well in making them feel special. There was good interaction with the Guatemalans. We finished working at 5:30 pm and everyone was ready to shower and get to bed by 9:00 pm. Tomorrow will be exclusively working on stoves and we look forward to a church service in Panajachel in the evening. Thanks for praying for us and supporting this exciting adventure in serving and learning.

Blake for the team

(Brad Hepp posting for Clark Rodgers)

We are in Guatemala. The flight went well and I am currently sending this from our nice Hotel. Please tell anyone that is interested that we are all a little tired but ready for tomorrow and traveling to Solola. Thanks for all the prayers and keep them going!

Blake wanted you to have pictures of all our team members so you can put a face to the names of people you are praying for on this mission. Chad Geiger was originally planning on going on the trip, but was unable to go due to Brian’s passing. Chad wants to be a part of the trip as much as he can, so he is going to be receiving information from Guatemala and putting it on the blog. That will be his participation and contribution.