Monthly Archives: March 2024

My dear seniors,

What a wild week! From standing in airports to chasing children, from singing on buses to visiting in homes, from playing spoons to listening to the stories of families. From carrying kids on our shoulders to kneeling and washing their feet.

Right now is the stillness before the full “normal” resumes Monday morning. When school and work and life come at you at full volume. I hope you take a moment to stand in today’s stillness and think. Think about what happened. Think about how you feel. Think about what you now know to be true. As you do your laundry, sleep in your own beds, flush your toilet paper, and continue to process your experiences from the trip, allow this final thought to intermingle with your own:

It’s still not about you.

After our send off on Day 1, when we huddled up in the main lobby, I told you that we were “on mission” from the time we left LC to the time we returned. What I said was true, but I didn’t tell you the full story. The full story is that when we follow Christ, we are “on mission” until we stand face-to-face with Jesus in eternity. That’s who it’s all about.

It’s all about Jesus.

That’s the big picture. The smaller pieces of that picture—like a jigsaw puzzle—is the day-to-day living that we do. The decisions we make. The relationships we build. The work (and homework) we do. The things we buy. The words we use. The jokes we tell. The music we absorb.

Little moments don’t feel significant. Little decisions don’t seem to carry much weight. Little acts of faithfulness don’t seem to matter. But they do. All of it does. Because, miraculously, God wants to use us.  

Not because we’re awesome, but because He is.

Philippians 2 assures us that at the name of Jesus “every knee will bow of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” No one will be singing our names in heaven. (In fact, according to Revelation 2:17, we’ll have completely new names that God gives us in heaven. How cool is that?) Our names don’t matter. The only name that does is Jesus.

When you think about all the other names we learned this week—Javier or Billy or Litzi or Santi or Ashley or Naomi or any of the beautiful, laughing faces we met in Pacaya—remember that Jesus loves them with the same everlasting love with which He loves you and me. And we got to show that love to those kids this week only because He first loved us (1 John 4:19 – that’s our t-shirt, guys!)

It’s all about Jesus. That’s the full story. Our words, our thoughts, our decisions, our lives—the little things and the big things—let all of it be about Jesus. That is our prayer for each of you as you carry this experience forward.

Mrs. T, Mr. Swift, and I are overwhelmingly proud of you. Thank you for allowing us to serve with you this week.

With gratitude and love,

Ms. Urquhart

Reflection from Donnie

Since today was our final day having the chance to work with the kids, we were provided with the opportunity of being able to tell them the story behind Jesus washing His disciples feet. We explained to each child that Jesus washed His disciples feet because it was an act of service towards them. Us being able to wash their feet was our act of serving them. Afterwards, we provided them with a pair of socks and new shoes. We also prayed with them in Spanish. Having the opportunity to serve these kids throughout the week, along with being able to show them God’s grace was one of the most meaningful events I have experienced.

Reflection from Hayden:

For my experience I would say it was awesome. My time here has been such a blast and having the ability to deliver food packs to homes and play soccer all day with school kids just becomes heartwarming. I would gladly recommend anyone who wants to have an amazing experience to come down to Guatemala and play with the kids and deliver food packs while praying for them. I have enjoyed my time here and hope the kids I got to play with stay safe.

BONUS! Reflection from Mrs. T:

I can’t think of a time in life when words have felt more insufficient. The journey we have been on this week has taken us up the rocky sides of mountains, down dusty beaten paths, and into the homes of strangers who have now become permanent pieces of our broken hearts. We have dragged our feet to lava fields…almost, La Tienda more times than we should probably admit, and to the play yard where we have sealed the bonds of La familia de Cristo that we will carry with us always.

Our feet have been tired, aching, dirty and numb. They have toiled along an arduous path that was laden with the worn out remnants of shoes of the men, women and children who walk this impossible road every day. We have come to understand the blessing that it is to be the feet that carry good news, not because we are good, but because He is good.

We came hoping to be instruments of God, to change hearts and point a broken world to Christ, and instead our hearts have been changed—broken for the forgotten image bearers who live in these hills, amidst Creation. We have been humbled by facing our own poverty of spirit against the backdrop of material poverty robed in immense gratitude. Those who possess little are fully aware of their blessings in a way we could never understand. We have been blessed by their example.

Through it all, God has been faithful and patient, even though it would seem He has skillfully turned the tables on us, showing that his sovereign hand is always at work in all of His people, growing us and drawing us nearer to Him and each other in ways we could never predict or orchestrate. He is the Creator and He loves His creation, despite us being consistent only in falling short.

Our feet have brought us to this divine appointment to open our hearts and lives to a hurting world that is simultaneously bigger and smaller than we could ever imagine. Our feet cannot stop here. They must continue to carry this good news wherever they go.

At the conclusion of this journey, we have come to realize it is not our own tired feet we need to serve, but those who will continue to toil along this path. Today, just as Christ lovingly washed the feet of his disciples, we washed the feet of the teachers and children we will leave behind. We prayed over them and presented them with new shoes for their own weary feet. Like words, this simple gesture feels woefully inadequate, but it connected our hearts in Christ’s love, and the memory of that will remain with us always.

One might ask what difference it makes. How can a week change anything? All I can say, having no way to truly explain…it just does. In fact, it changes everything. Our why is simple—love. We love because He first loved us.

Reflections from Eddie:

I would like to start off by saying how blessed I am to be here. Jesus has used me and my friends in a major way. Today we did VBS with the kids and delivered more food packs. Me, Donnie, Cisco and some members from a church in Florida built a stove for a family in the village. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us for the rest of this trip. Thank you all for sending prayers. (I love you mom.)

Reflections from Cisco:

I want to start by stating how grateful and blessed I am to be down here serving with all these people. God has used me in ways to serve him that I would not have expected. Today we woke up and did another day of VBS with the kids from the school. Like everyday with the kids, it was amazing. The connections I’ve developed with some of the kids is so special and something that I would have never expected. After the VBS we did home visits and supported the families of the school students by providing them with food packs and prayer. It’s so touching to be so welcomed into these people’s home with open arms. Once we got back the Florida team that is staying with us at the camp offered Me, Ed, and Donnie the opportunity to go serve with them in building stoves. This opportunity was a true blessing in being able to go along with them and serve with them along with my brothers. I’m so thankful for everyone on this trip especially our leaders and translators. Thank you to everyone praying for us and supporting us in our time down here, and God bless everyone.

Reflections from Joey:

Where do I start? The pure joy and happiness of the children, a family’s gratitude and thankfulness for something that I would barely notice, or their full trust and dependance on God. We visited an older gentleman today during our home visits, and he would not stop talking. When we finally asked him if he had any prayer requests he immediately told us his testimony. Then followed by telling us to pray for his knee and his family. This was a wake up call to me. Instead of asking for requests right away he praised and thanked God for the many blessings he was given. Even though the material things he did have did not consist of much at all. How often do I thank God and praise him for His gracious blessings, and all the things he has done for me?

Reflection from Imani:

This morning we started out with VBS. I loved getting to know the kids this week so far. It’s great that the kids are remembering us and just love to hang out and be around us. I have been getting close with the younger kids. We play a lot of soccer and simply just run around for hours on end. It is amazing that all the children are full of joy and cheerfulness always, even when they are living pretty rough lives. But God has shown me this week that I can’t take anything for granted and I’m so thankful for many things. I can’t wait to see what else the lord has in store for me the rest of the week.

Reflections from Afton:

This trip has been like nothing I have done before. Everyone in Guatemala is so full of joy and they are truly full of life. Whenever we walk anywhere we always say “hola” to the people we pass on the street and to the people in the houses we pass. Every time we greet them, their faces light up and the widest, most genuine smiles appear on their faces. It’s something that you don’t often experience in America. These people are just so happy to see us and their joy is effervescent. The kids we are working with are so sweet too. They love to run around, play soccer, and paint nails. They love to give hugs too, which I love.

The land is beautiful as well. There are flowers and beautiful foliage everywhere and behind our camp there is even a volcano! There is a small tienda at the end of the street that we get popsicles and soda from too.

It is evident that God is working through Clubhouse. The people we have met are so full of joy and they truly love and trust God with everything they have. They are generous and kind and shine so brightly for their Savior. It is an amazing and very impactful thing to experience.

Reflections from Ciara:

This morning we started out with VBS. We did some songs with them to start out and tried teaching them the church clap! I was assigned to helping in crafts with the kids for VBS. I love watching them be creative and embrace their inner creativity! After VBS, we had some down time before we started our home visits. We hiked up a very big hill to get to a neighborhood and hand out some food bags to some of the kids’ families. The smiles on their faces and thank you’s for walking so far made me want to hike up that hill a million times just to keep them smiling. This day has been a blessing and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the week holds for these kids and the rest of our seniors and staff!

Reflection from Angie:

This morning, we were up for breakfast at 8 o’clock, which per usual, was delicious. We then began our church service, which we put on for ourselves and the staff at Camp Calvary. We began with worship songs, then continued into reading Philippians 2:1-11, then Afton gave her testimony in English and I gave mine in Spanish. It was really cool to be able to give my testimony to the staff in their native language. We closed with a song, and then had a meeting with the teachers from the school. It was very touching to hear what these teachers do every day to support the kids here; they devote their entire lives to the education and well being of the kids. After the meeting, we began the walk to go see the lava fields at the base of the nearby volcano. We walked down closer to the volcano, but we weren’t able to go all the way to the lava fields. The hike was still very beautiful, and it was interesting to see different areas of the land and different views of the volcano.

Reflections from Eliza:

This afternoon, after some much needed rest, we went out into the community and did more home visits. We had previously put together food packs to give to the families of different kids from the VBS. Today we made the hike to their houses and got to talk and pray with them. God showed up in a very cool way by providing a bus for us to ride on the trip there. One of the adults from the school donated their time to drive us up the mountain to hand out the food packs. This was very much appreciated as the houses were on the other side of the mountain and we were all worn out from our hike to the lava fields in the morning. It was really cool to see the joy on the families faces when they gave us tours of their homes. Later, once we got back to the camp, we got to rest for a little bit before a couple of the community kids asked us to play soccer with them. It did not matter that we could not fully communicate and that we didn’t have a translator with us, we all had the time of our lives playing and getting to know those kids. After dinner and a team meeting we got to end the day by staring at a beautiful sky full of stars.

After a smooth journey to Guatemala, we started our day with a VBS at the school at Camp Calvary. We told the story of creation, painted “found” objects (mostly rocks), and played oh-so-many games of fútbol. Coloring books were colored, fingernails were painted, and hugs were given.

Then we packed 40 food bags and hiked up the mountain to 8 homes to deliver some of the food. We prayed with families and even sang happy birthday to one of the boys and his family. (He turned 15 today!) Afterwards we hiked back down to hand out backpacks and school supplies to school families, whose school year has just begun.

It was a full first day, but a good day. And a good initial reminder that God is the God of all people, and He is doing amazing things in Guatemala.

Thank you all for praying us through our journey yesterday. Please continue to pray with us for:

1. Health and safety.

2. That all the students would fully engage in the work we are doing, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts and change their perspective.

3. Flexibility as we work in a culture that isn’t as structured or predictable as we are used to.