Guatemala: Day 4

The fourth day of our mission trip to Guatemala began at 7:30 a.m., as usual, with our devotional time together before breakfast. John shared his testimony and the incredible story of a simple invitation from a childhood friend which led to John’s conversion. He concluded by pointing us to Isaiah 41:10 which would be beneficial for all of us to remember and practice daily… “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

As we entered the familiar gates of the orphanage, the children, once again, ran to the bus. They grab each of us by the hand, leg, or around the neck and greet us with words such as friend, buddy, teacher, and even daddy (mostly Spanish but a few in English). All you want to do at that moment is surrender and say… “Hola. ¿Cómo estás? Te amo. ¿Quieres jugar conmigo?” (Hello. How are you? I love you. Do you want to play?)

After playing with the children, we started back on our work projects. The plans for the day included sewing curtains, painting the kitchen, repairing broken toilets, and some carpentry work for the nursery.

Vacation Bible School has been an awesome experience this year. Today’s lesson was the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. The children were taught that no matter what is going on in life, good or bad, God loves them and they should keep their attention on Him. This was followed by a brave attempt on everyone’s part to help the children experience tye dying t-shirts we brought from Conroe. The children had a blast! You should also hear all the screams and laughs during recreation time. You really get the sense that God is answering all of our prayers.

Another soccer game commenced following the conclusion of VBS for the day. This was only barely interrupted by the requirement for all children to eat dinner. Shortly after 6:00 p.m. we began popping popcorn. We were then able to surprise the children with a movie they have been wanting to see… “Kung Fu Panda” in Spanish.

During a brief moment of free time, I was speaking with John about his experience in Guatemala so far. I appreciated his insight and comments which he concluded by saying, “These children are really just like us. We all want to have arms around us.” And you know what, that is true. Each one of us wants to and even needs to be loved. I thank God for the loving arms that constantly wrap around me: those of my family, friends, and those of my Savior. And I thank God that for a few days He uses us to wrap His arms around the children of Fundación Salvación.

Dale