Monthly Archives: March 2017

My Dear Seniors,
It’s over. The trip that you have planned, prepared for, prayed over, and anxiously anticipated is actually over. Right now it feels a little surreal, to the point where you may wonder: did that really happen? Yet your pictures, your dirty laundry, your tan-lines, and your fatigue all assure you: yes, it really happened.

So what do you do now?

What do you do when you remember those little arms wrapped around your neck? What do you do when you remember those little hands touching your face and playing with your hair? What do you do when you remember those smiles and bright eyes looking up at you?

Keep remembering.

Keep those arms, those hands, those eyes and smiles in your mind. When life starts to settle back into its routine and inertia starts to again take over, remember. Remember that there are little lives doing battle against hunger, loneliness, abuse, hopelessness. Little lives like Betsy and Raphael and Andry and Diego. Remember that there are people going into battle for those little lives—serving, feeding, praying, loving. People like Mike and Timothy and Lori, Fernando and Dieter, Mario and Leo.

These are not just names; they are lives that God has cross-pollinated with yours so that you are no longer who you were. You can no longer live the way you once did. You now have to live in the light of this new knowledge—that we all are a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. We are all called to a work that asks for so much more than we think we were capable of. Fortunately, we don’t have to be “capable” because He is (2 Cor. 12:9). So keep remembering. And while you keep remembering…

Keep praying.

The Holy Spirit works in tandem with our prayers. It may seem like such a small act, yet you have seen this past week how prayer is power—the releasing of the power of God upon the lives of people and their circumstances. Pray for those kids you met. Pray for the workers you met. Pray for protection and provision, for discernment and boldness.

Now that you have seen what those little lives must endure—the shadows and light that they navigate through each day—you know how to pray. Now that you have seen what those workers must confront—the choice that they must make daily to die to self in the service of Christ and others—you know how to pray. Now that you know the need—the world that exists beyond the comfort of your own—pray that your life, your decisions, your attitude reflects the mindset of Christ and His love for the world. So keep praying. And while you keep praying…

Keep working.

Today is the first day to live differently. The first opportunity to start melding your old life into this new awareness. As Believers, we do not have the luxury of coasting or leaving it to others to do the work that is required in the world. We are privileged to be part of the Church. We are privileged to be workers. So let’s work. Let’s give of our time, our money, our energy, our resources, our prayers. Let’s expend ourselves in work that matters.

It has been a privilege for me to teach you over the past 5 years, more so to watch you experience—and to experience with you—the transformative work happening in Bethania. To see your willingness to get involved. To get dirty. To love the “least of these” and to let their lives matter to you. Loving others is always a risk—your tears on the bus ride after our last day is testament to that risk. It hurts to leave. It hurts to love selflessly. But this kind of love is worth the risk. As Pastor Mario quoted, “The risk will be high. Your joy will be full.” So keep working. And while you keep working…

Keep loving.

Love Bethania. Love each other. Love Jesus. Love those at your job, at school, at home, at church, at the store, in the parking lot. Often times, this love comes in little moments—a smile even when you’re having a bad day, holding the door for someone even when you’re in a hurry, stopping to help someone even when you’re in need of help, sitting with someone who is alone even when it feels awkward and you don’t know what to say. Little moments matter. Look for opportunities to love.

I love each one of you. And I am still in awe of your tirelessness, your enthusiasm, your compassion, and your selflessness you showed this past week. Throughout the week I prayed many prayers over you, many of them taken from scripture. Today and moving forward, my prayer for you comes from one of my favorites: Philippians 2:1-16. (Go look it up and read it—I’ll wait. Take your time; let the words marinate.)

So, actually, it’s not over. It’s beginning. Throughout your life there will be loads of “beginnings”. My prayer and hope is that this beginning leads you on a journey of prayer and work and love that transforms your relationships, your decisions, and your life.

I love you, dear ones.

Mrs. Urquhart

By: Marissa Martin

Our last official day in Guatemala involved swarms of children running, jumping, and collecting the last bits of popcorn and cotton candy during the school day. We packed up all the bouncie castles and games and headed to the school for a fun block party. The kids were relentless in their hugs, kisses, and endless amount of smiles during the day. We savored the last little amount of time we shared with them before we left. One monumental part of the morning spent with the kids is when the care packages were handed out. Each child received a gift that contained toiletries, school supplies, and toys. The smiles on their faces showed their genuine amount of appreciation and excitement. After the block party came to a close, we came to the hardest part of the week; we were confronted with the reality of saying goodbye. These are kids that we had spent all week building strong relationships with. How can you tell a child, who is constantly confronted with despair and disappointment, that you may never be back to see them? How do you tell a child, who showers you with hugs and kisses, that this may be goodbye forever? 

Although today was filled with sad and meaningful moments, it is reassuring that we accomplished one incredible achievement. Many of these children not only aren’t able to afford simple necessities of life, but they also are a part of a broken family, where they are forced to care for themselves and their siblings. They hold a big responsibility, and they lose what it feels like to show and receive affection and to just be a kid again. We can be assured that this week, we gave these kids that missing piece. We cuddled, loved, and played with them, and in return received the biggest and most genuine smiles. This accomplishment is greater than any physical gift that can be given. The gift of love surpasses all of our understanding. Although we can be assured that we left these kids with a sense of affection and compassion, they also gave us a new and fresh outlook. Our hearts are full with not only the love of these kids, but also the promise of God’s never failing power. 

Today’s blog will feature the senior guys!  Mrs. Urquhart and I are so very proud of this entire class and simply amazed at the transformation that has occurred in this special group.  Enjoy! (Warning: You may need a box of tissues.)

By : Noah Vance

You’ve heard it said, “appreciate the little things,” but most will never realize what this really means unless they witness extreme poverty.  I have been given the chance to witness this throughout the week through these adorable children who literally take nothing for granted.  Even when they have next to nothing, they are often offering you their bag of chips or candy. Their generosity is astounding. Today I watched as a little girl licked clean a napkin that had a small sliver of icing left from her cake, and thought about how we take a piece of cake, which some of these kids may have never had before, for granted.  This treat, which we may seem entitled to, had kids lined up out the door of the small church for only a small piece of cake. Some of these children have nothing but are still content with a hug from a stranger, or a meal, which may put a smile on their face for the rest of the day.  These amazing children have given me a new perspective on life and a piece of my heart will forever be left here in Guatemala. 

By: Ben Coolbeth

During the week prior to this trip I steeled myself for what I was about to witness. Nothing could have prepared me. New sights, sounds, and smells just bombarded my senses. I had to ignore some aspects of life here just so that I wasn’t utterly overwhelmed. Violence, drugs and gang activity are commonplace in the city. Poverty is glaring at me everywhere I look. Thousands of people live in squalid conditions without enough to eat. The reality of it all finally struck me the first day in the park when a little boy tried to take me to his house. He began to climb down a runoff ditched filled with trash, and then made his way into a row of filthy shacks. I sat there at the edge of the park in disbelief as this happy little boy made himself at home in the local neighborhood refuse pile.  Dozens of lopsided shacks piled on top of each other descending down a cliff  is what hundreds of these people call home.  This is the reality these kids face, they know nothing else.  Unbelievably they meet us every day with smiles on their faces. Simply being able to love these kids, make them laugh, and show them that there is a God that loves them unconditionally makes everything our team is doing here worth it. 

By: Kyran Flahive

I tried to mentally prepare myself for the poverty that surrounds the country of Guatemala. I have never been to a different country until now and I can say that I was completely oblivious to the “outside world”. This week showed me how much struggle is in the world, and how much impact Christians can have on it. I thought that, coming into this trip, I would not get the chance to form a relationship with a specific child because of the language barrier. I believed that my impact would come through playing sports with random kids. This thought was soon changed by a little six year old girl named Betzy. Betzy has never talked to anyone in the program so no one really knew who she was. She told me that she has never had the opportunity to go to school. She wanders the streets during the day with little food. She lives on the roof of a small three story brick building with her mother along with six brothers, with only one brother in school. She has no father figure because her dad ran off with another woman and left them all to fend for themselves. Through all the time that I spent with her, I can say she is the cutest and kindest little girl I have ever met. She always had a big smile on her face. Even though she hardly got food, she would give to those that she felt needed it. When she was given clean water she gave it to a crying boy that didn’t get one. She gave away the birthday present full of toys given to all the kids in the church to another kid even though that was probably the only one she has ever received. It is hard to say goodbye to someone that calls you her best friend after three days. The poverty that these innocent kids face everyday is overwhelming and heartbreaking. People in America do not realize how great their lives are. Kids in America get mad when there are only twenty birthday presents instead of twenty-one, when Betzy didn’t even know the date of her birthday. This trip has been incredibly humbling and Betzy wasn’t the only one whose life was impacted this week. She left a mark in my heart and I will never forget her. The power of God was clear this week and I am very happy that I had the chance to experience it. 

By: Noah Johnson

When the decision was made to go to Guatemala I can honestly say I wasn’t excited at all. During the plane ride descent I could see Guatemala City and I remember saying to myself “It’s going to be a long week.” Guatemala is full of chaotic drivers, never before heard of vehicle brands, and armed security guards, but above all these is poverty. This week we had the opportunity to get a glimpse of poverty, and what the children of Guatemala go through everyday. Being an introvert and going into a school yard full of kids was overwhelming but when we entered through the metal gate, all of my introvert self disappeared. Kids jumped on all of us with glowing smiles and complete happiness in their eyes. The first day I met a kid named Diego on the sand soccer field. Diego was a kid who was quiet but very energetic.  Everyday I would go to the soccer field and there Diego would be and we would play soccer. The more I played soccer with him, the more he opened up. Today Diego subtlety asked if he could get onto my shoulders like all the other kids were. When Diego got on my shoulders I could hear instant joy in his voice. He would ask me to hold his hands out to act like he was an airplane soaring through the sky. Some of the kids gave him a hard time about being on my shoulders because he was ten years old, and all the other kids were a lot younger and smaller. It finally hit me that Diego was a kid being forced to be an adult, but wanted the opportunity to feel inside as a kid. Guatemala has changed my life as I see the way kids live in poverty and I’m glad God brought me here to serve. 

By: Rama Mugisha

Coming from Rwanda to Guatemala, I saw a lot of similarities including extreme poverty. So coming from a similar country, I never thought I would really be of any help the people of Guatemala in any way possible. But after we spent the first day with the kids, I really saw how happy we made them. Big smiles on their faces and joy in their eyes. Seeing this really showed me that we were making a difference in the lives of these kids, and I can say that their happiness made us feel like we actually did something great even though it seemed like an easy thing in our eyes, for them it was big deal for someone to pay that much attention to them and spend time with them, hear them out and many more. What I have learned from this trip is to be happy with what we have because the conditions these kids live in are to think about. Also, these kids look out for each other, they always stay together and basically the older kids are like the second parents to the young siblings. They are filled with love between each other, unless it’s like a soccer game then it gets pretty intense but aside from that, they are good kids trying to live on whatever they can find and however they can find it even if it means joining gangs or doing drugs. These kids need more people to bring joy to them, to show them that there is more to the world than they know, and to help them grow in Christ so they can make good decisions. It’s been a good trip! 

By : Seongwon Kang

When we arrived to Zone 7. My first thought was this place reminds me of where i grew up. The homes, schools and playgrounds. One day we had to decide on 2 people to present their testimony. I didn’t want to do it at first, but I decided to do it anyway, because the kids reminded me of my friends and I’m here to help them. I was pretty sure that my story would be similar to theirs. I wanted to give them hope from my story and I also I wanted to tell them that I was just like them. Therefore, I told them my embarrassing background that I  never told anyone. I met a little girl in church. Her name is Kimberly, the sweetest girl ever. She made me so emotional. I had conversations with her through a translator. She is seven years old and she is in 1st grade. I asked her about her family and she said her parents fight most days and she doesn’t even care anymore because she is used to it. I asked her that I can pray for her and she said you don’t have to pray for my parents but I want you to pray for food because her house doesn’t have any food. That hurt my heart. she lives far away from church and her house doesn’t have any transportation so her siblings and mom walk to church everyday after school. One of sweetest things she did was being generous. I asked her if she is thirsty and she said yes. So I bought her and the church group kids a bunch of bags of water with Mr. Lewis money. I gave her first and her brother couldn’t get one. Kimberly just gave her brother the water. She likes to jump on me, hug me, and riding on my shoulders. the last day I just wanted to make the best day for her because I was so impressed from her behavior and kindness. So I picked her up to on my shoulders and gave her my cookies from lunch and sour patch kids. An hour before we left the church. I gave her and her sister three leftover cookies and gave her brother a chip and bottle of water and all my Guatemala money that I had. And promised him to buy Kimberly Coca Cola. When a translator told her that today is the last day. She started hug me as hard as she could. She hugged me for a pretty long time and didn’t say any words. Her mom came to me and said “thank you for being nice to my children.” and she wanted me to take a picture with her kids. I don’t know why it made me so emotional. I believe that God sent me to Guatemala for a lot of reasons. I learned so many important things from Kimberly and I shared my testimony to Guatemala kids who having struggles like I had before. God is awesome  and He never changes. 

As the Spiritual Life Director at Lititz Christian and high school Bible teacher for 18 years, one of the greatest challenges for me is to be transparent with others.  Too many times I’ve seen pastors and leaders show vulnerability and areas of weakness, even ask forgiveness, and then have that exploited by others for judgment and condemnation.  I have to fight creating a “perfect” bubble and keeping those I’m ministering to at arm’s length.  It’s tough to do, to be honest.  I’ve done this to others also.  I’ve used another leaders moment of vulnerability as an opportunity to show myself as “better”, but this has no place in the body of Christ.

Ministry is a dirty trade.  How can we show others the way of Christ’s salvation and freedom from the chains of sin, if we aren’t willing to show our own path of death to life in Christ?  How can we speak truth to anyone if we cannot maintain close enough relationships to gently hold a friend’s face, look into their eyes and share our heart?

This week has been the essence of ministry for this team.  These seniors have held these precious children in their arms and, with the dirty hands of the children on their faces, have opened up their hearts.  And for some of these children, this even means sharing with their new American (and other) friends some of the difficulties that they face daily at home – poverty, violence, and dysfunction.

Today, our seniors had an incredible opportunity to go into the elementary school in Bethania and share a piece their own story, struggles with sin and God’s work of redemption in their lives.  The gospel was clearly shared with each grade in each classroom.  There was transparency, honesty and a clear message of the hope of the Gospel.  You would have been so proud!  This time in the classroom smoothly transitioned to our time after lunch with the children in the Clubhouse program.

Life on life, dirty hands and all, just the way Jesus intended when He said in II Thessalonians 3:5, “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” It’s not something that comes naturally.  We lean toward selfishness and pride, but God desires us to be intention in showing His love and patience with others.  We ALL have dirt on our faces.  When we finally admit this fact and allow God’s grace to be greater than all of our sin, then walls will fall down for His Spirit to lead others from slaves of sin to His kingdom of light.

PS: You may have heard of the fire at an orphanage in Guatemala City that killed 19(+) people. This happened in a completely different part of the city from which we are staying and ministering. However, our translator mentioned today that that orphanage is known for its corruption and abusive treatment of its residents – please be in prayer for those affected, and that this heartbreaking event will be the catalyst for change.

From Tuesday, March 7

By: Jill Albers

The longest day of our trip commenced this morning at 4:30. Up before the sun, we scrambled in the dark at a sorry attempt to get ready for the big day ahead of us just to receive the news that protests were occurring where we were headed. How Guatemalans protest?  They park two or three buses across a highway, throw the keys into the ravine and then walk away stopping all traffic on the highway.  We were only disappointed about not being able to see our joyful bunch of kids(and not at all about the fact that we got up for nothing). We did get the chance to watch the sun rise over the towering Guatemalan mountains and were entertained by Bens “rising sun dance”. Luckily most were tired enough to go back to sleep while the rest of us just hung out in our favorite lounge by the porch. Although we wanted to go back to zone 7, it was nice to just relax and reflect on the past few days, plus we needed our rest after yesterday. Then we went outside to take advantage of the hot sun and get rid of some of our Pennsylvania paleness. After some intense Apples to Apples games, we were put to the job to get some work projects done around the house. We accomplished cleaning out the craft shack, tool shed, outdoor shed and the entire house. By working together as a class, we got everything done within an hour and a half. We enjoyed a well deserved lunch of fresh fruit(which by the way, just wow) and Nutella and peanut butter deliciousness. More relaxing took place and then more food, could life get any better at this point? We watched our neighbors walk around the neighborhood all day in a frantic search for their pet ferret “Max” who had gotten lost that morning. We knew all the details because they asked us several times and we debated whether we’d see Max run through our backyard or if he ended up on a skewer in the marketplace. The night ended with a time of worship led by Tim and Lorie. That small living room was filled with voices deep with emotion and awe. The presence of God was so real as we sang praises to him and prayed for preparation and safety and revival in the school tomorrow.

Welcome to Guatemala! So, we just got news that the protests started earlier.  Highways are already gridlocked, which means we are literally stuck here. The road right outside our neighborhood is already a parking lot.

Our Plan C is going back to bed after watching the sunrise and then doing some work projects here at the Mission House. Prepare for LOTS of photos!