Reflections from Jerry:

Before this week, I’ve never realized that I’m such an emotional person. During this week, lots of things has happened to me that are extremely memorable. Every morning of this week we serviced kids breakfast and we song songs with them as well. After that there were variety games we’ve done with this group of kids. I mainly stayed with the bigger kids group this week, and I can see their joy from their beautiful eyes. Their laugh during each activities are always reflecting in my ears too. Today, one of the activities that we’ve done with the kids is giving each of them a lot of sticky notes to write something about other people’s strengths. The first note card that I got was from Christopher, the kid who played soccer with us on our first day, and it was a very sweet message. On the card he said, “Jerry you are a good goalkeeper”. I’ve also got many note cards from other kids and all of their words are friendly. Seeing those young kids have fun was the best memory that I have during this trip. I’ll miss playing soccer with them because they all are very talented players. Home visits in each afternoon have changed my view of Christianity. Those families are living in the conditions that I could never imagine, but smiles and joy are always showing on their faces when we visited them. This week has been a super meaningful week to me.

Reflections from Wynne:

This week overall has been complicated. Everyday has been a good day but none of the days have been easy. Today will definitely be a favorite memory that I will hold on to for years to come. We continued our VBS with the kids with the activities of tie-dyed socks and positive affirmation sticky notes. I got to spend time with the older kids and it was such an honor. They were so full of love for each other and for us, I was so surprised by the amount of compliments I got from these kids, their hearts are so kind. Also, I decided to teach them the game “heads up seven up”. I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun than playing “heads up seven up” for two and a half hours. I was reminded that they were kids just like myself, that they just like to be silly and play games and joke around with their friends. Some of the kids are just a year younger than I am and they’re just like us, but they have so much more joy than I ever thought possible. I cannot put into words the honor and blessings I felt when I got to go into these kids homes and make their families’ day just a little bit better. This week has been hard and exhausting and heart-breaking, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Reflections from Grace:

There has been one repeating word that continues to make it’s way into many of our conversations; that word is joy, absolute, true joy. This is what the kids and families exude. Today was no expectation. After our regular scheduled Bible lesson, we all participated in a very interactive activity that involved acknowledging our own gifts and talents and affirming the gifts and talents of others. For most of us, whether we were helping with the older kids or the little kids, this activity was incredibly life-giving. There was no hesitation from the kids to write encouraging words to the other kids, regardless of whether or not they were friends. I received many notes from both the older and younger kids. One kid that impacted me greatly was Kamila. Kamila is full of life and ready to give at any time. At one point, the whole group was playing a game together, and as I was sitting there, I noticed that Kamila was wearing a beautiful ring. I complemented her, and she preceded to take her ring off and hand it to me. My first thought was “oh, she’s gonna let me try it on”, but in the process, she told me that the ring was a regalo, a gift. I didn’t know what to say. I was confused. I wanted to say “are you sure?” in Spanish, but the words escaped me. She was confident and eager for me to have this beautiful piece of jewelry, one that I don’t know how much it cost her. I will never forget her generosity and her lack of hesitation to give. I only pray that she will lead a full life, one that is not lived inside the ravine, one full of the hope in Christ. After you meet these kids and visit where they live, you just want to do everything you can to protect and help them, but all you can do is pray because God is the only one who can rescue them. I will not stop praying to that end, that Kamila will be rescued from the horrors of the ravine, but I will also never stop thanking God for the hope that is present even in such a dark, seemly hopeless place.

Reflections from Brennan:

“You are a beautiful pile of dirt.”

How to start? This trip has broken me and built me up more than I knew possible. As difficult as some of the interactions that we’ve had this week have been, there have been pictures and visions of God’s perfect plan, grace, and mercy surrounding these people. And yes, the quote above was from our time together that was just really funny at the time, but is also a really cool picture of the Gospel. Really I cannot put words to the interactions and feelings that I’ve felt this week. I’m sure that over time words will come, but for now all I can say is God is working mightily in the hearts and minds of myself and my classmates, and I’ve never been prouder to call them friends and family!

Reflections from Brittany:

This week started off feeling like more of vacation where we had lots of time to relax and just enjoy each other’s company. We went from a very luxurious restaurant for lunch in a very fancy shopping area to an area where there were homes not even the size of my closet at home that were basically falling off the side of the mountain into the ravine. When we were taken into the city just to observe the ravine where we would deliver food, it hadn’t really settled in yet just how broken it really was. However, the next day we met the students and weren’t really sure how to relate to them, for a lot of us there is a huge language barrier. The schedule here is nonexistent to put it simply, the first day had absolutely no structure and “15 more minutes” quickly became two more hours. But it forced us to create games and just interact genuinely.

The home visits really hit a lot of us, and for me specifically there was one boy named Christopher who was amazing at soccer when we had played with the kids on Saturday. His mother had said they can’t leave their house once they come home from school because of how dangerous it is in their neighborhood. Later that day I got the opportunity to attempt a conversation in Spanish about soccer with him and it was so special. It made me so emotional thinking about it later on and just made me wish I could’ve given him just even a small part of the opportunity I had with soccer specifically. Even in their circumstances they all have so much joy and faith. God is so good and is continually working in all of us and all of these people. God is allowing us to be broken this week so that we can serve his people and honor him now and back home.

#wecriedsomuchbutitwasamazing

Reflections from Ava:

This trip has been nothing short of amazing and emotional. It has taught me how to be flexible with everything. But, what I was taught the most so far this week is how to be joyful in every situation. The people of Guatemala constantly have a ginormous smile on their face. We visited some of the student’s homes and, wow, I feel so blessed. The first home my group went to, we walked in and the mother had Spanish worship music blaring in her home. It instantly made me teary eyed, especially after we prayed for her and her family. All these people are so joyful, and while on the outside it may seem they have nothing, they have so much in their community and in their savior, Jesus.

This morning also made me pretty emotional as the students surprised us with learning an English song named “Same God” by Elevation Worship. It instantly brought me to tears because you could hear all these little voices praising Jesus in a language they barely knew. It reminded me of the verse Philippians 2:10-11, “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” It was an indescribable moment and all I could think about is that this is what Heaven is going to look like. This week has taught me so much, and I am so incredibly thankful to the Lord for showing me everything that I have learned.

Reflections from Chloe:

Whoa, what a day. I literally have felt every emotion possible. We started the day laughing with the cutest kids you can imagine. Emilie (an elementary student), who is now my best friend, walked into the school today and immediately wiped her nose on my bare arm. After about half a gallon of hand-sanitizer and three packs of wet wipes, we became good buds. After school Emilie and I walked hand and hand to her home. The home visits. They were the maybe the most impactful thing I have ever experienced. I experienced the most real joy I have ever seen and also the most brokenness. I am now broken and yet full of joy. The best part of my day is now the team meetings we have at night. Tonight it was said best, “this is not a fun trip but it is a good trip”. I can confidently say that in the last three days I have grown incredibly close with my peers, teachers (who are seriously some of the coolest people I have ever met), and my Father.

Reflections from Lana:

To say that today was an emotional day for all of us would be an understatement. As we finished our day with our team meeting reflecting on the day there were few of us without tears in our eyes. Something that struck me the most today was watching one of my worst fears become a reality right in front of my eyes. As we were doing the home visits and praying with the families I was trying to take everything in. As I looked around the home that we were in I glanced out the window and saw a woman in distress and a man with complete ease and control over the woman pushing her in the direction that he wanted her to go. As I watched this man have complete control of this woman in distress I knew that this woman was being trafficked. This broke me because human trafficking has been something that I have been passionate about, but when you see something like this it becomes so much more real. Throughout my reflection today I have realized that I never want to go numb to the events that I saw today, and it is through these events that my faith in Christ is even more solidified because we can find our hope in Jesus. It is through what he did on the cross that we can find freedom in a hopeless fallen world.

Reflections from William:

Today many things came into reality which I have only seen on the News. I actually got a chance to visit several kids’ homes, and see what living conditions they have; more specifically, the limited materials they have. It was touching or even shocking for me that the place they are in, there are just so little people can do to make the situation better. Then I saw the faces of those kids, with nothing but joy and innocence, it evokes a strong contrast with the society they are placed in. Very surprisingly, the kids or even the adults living here always have hope in their hearts, they never get upset with their lives, and they showed gratitude for everything they gets. This made me reflect about our “normal” lives, where we are constantly disappointing and feeling ungrateful for the various things we have, which is far beyond what the people get here. I first came in with the attitude of pitying the people, but after seeing what they live by and the optimistic mindset, I felt ashamed. We are incapable of saving ourselves, and we need God to save us. But it is critical to think that whether they live in a insufficient or a “fallen” world materially, or we are lost, blind and fallen in the materials.

FRIDAY:

We departed Lititz Christian on Friday, March 10 right on time. We knew our flight was a little delayed (just an hour and a half), but we weren’t worried. Our amazing parents and LC faculty prayed over us, we each grabbed a slice of pizza, we hopped in our vans, and we headed to JFK airport. Once at the airport we soared through checking in, going through security, finding our gate, and foraging for dinner. Easy peasy.

Our boarding group was called, we found our seats, and we settled in. And we sat, and we sat, waiting for the rest of the travelers to board our full flight. Finally we pulled away from the gate, and then we sat on the runway. And we sat and we sat, waiting our turn for takeoff. For a full hour we sat, waiting rain beat against our windows, waiting. Then the captain came over the speaker: we have to return to the gate. It took too long to take off, and the flight crew couldn’t legally continue to Guatemala City. We had to wait for a new flight crew. Back at our gate, we sat for another 90 minutes. Our flight that was supposed to depart at 6:30 PM didn’t leave until 11:15.

But we were smiling. We were enjoying each other’s company (and playing battleship on the airplane media screens). Nearly everyone got at least a little sleep before we landed at 3:15 AM in Guatemala City.

We went through customs without a hitch, found all of our luggage, and met up with Fernando and Dieter (our Clubhouse leaders) right away. By the time we got to the team house, around 4:30 AM we were in a haze of excitement and exhaustion. By 5 AM, everyone was asleep in our bunks. We had finally arrived.

SATURDAY:

Today we had breakfast, got oriented to the team house, and packed all of the food packages we’ll be delivering to families throughout the week. (Our assembly line skills need a little improvement, but the job was complete in no time.) We then had a group game (“forced family fun”) which Mr. Beachy spearheaded and kept everyone entertained.

After lunch we got to meet a whole bunch of kids – a group of kids from the youth group of the church we’re attending tomorrow, and a group of students from the school we’re working with all week. We piled into the Jehovah Jireh bus, with our driver Jonathan, and went to a soccer (futbol) field (pitch) for several rounds of (quite competitive) soccer (futbol). [there were lots of opinions on the proper names for things.] This afternoon everyone got sweaty and smelly and even more exhausted, but it was so much fun. And it was a great way to start building relationships with all of the kids we’ll be hanging with all week.

We had dinner. Played games. Had our 1st team meeting. And are now winding down for an early night. Our team house – much like our LC building – is a multi-purpose building, where every spare space is utilized. There’s currently a worship team practice happening downstairs, an elders meeting upstairs, and our seniors getting to share space with and work alongside people actively engaged in the work of Christ. What an amazing start to the week.

Reflections from Alissa:

Today was really what I consider to be our first day here. Yesterday was a fairly relaxing day, but today we really started to prepare ourselves for the week. Our day started off with breakfast and then chores. We had some down time before we had to get on the bus to go to church. A lot of us spent our downtime on the balcony with the beautiful weather. I was initially really surprised with how lovely the weather is here. The church service today was outside and it was also really lovely. I thought it was absolutely amazing how universal praise is. There was a moment during service where I genuinely forgot I was in a different country and that the service was in a different language; it was just so similar to our services in the States. Even down to the communion, it was just so similar. After church, we went to this really fancy area for lunch. I was struck by just how beautiful and clean the area was. It just seemed so rich for my assumptions that I had about what we were doing in Guatemala.

That quickly changed. After lunch, we visited the ravine. It was just so shocking to go from this really rich and beautiful area to these shacks built on the side of the ravine. I had the distinct thought about how just one, only one earthquake or mudslide would just devastate the area. One house goes down and it takes out a chain of homes like dominoes. That for me was the hardest to deal with because these are people’s homes. It was all very shocking and surreal at the same time. I think that this week has a lot more of that in store. I really hope that God continues to open our eyes to this and helps us to have more revelations like this throughout the week. Tomorrow we are really going to begin working with the kids and I’m really excited. Thank you for all of your prayers! We’re having a great time so far!

Reflections from Mayra:

Today was the first official day in Guatemala. I can’t believe the trip that we’ve all been looking for is finally here. Taking in Guatemala today was amazing. We attended church today and even though there was a pretty big language barrier for some of us, we could still feel like we were in a US church and were listing to a regular church service. Being able to worship with them was absolutely amazing. Afterwards, we went to lunch in a nice place which seemed almost like the US. In contrast we visited the community where we will be passing out food packages, the culture shock was immense. The stark contrast from where we were eating to where we will be serving. The houses in the neighborhood hang off the side of ravine, but they still have a huge sense of community. The most touching part today was the group worship during our teaming meeting, listening to everyone lift their voices in song. So far my favorite part is our mini worship group we are currently having. Thank you for all of your prayers! Please continue praying that we will be able to have open and receptive hearts and minds during our trip.

1. Chaperones: We have finalized the 4 chaperones for the trip. (We had 3 in place, but were waiting on confirmation from the 4th). The chaperones are:

• Darin Beachy
• Dave Swift
• Anna Urquhart
• NICOLE HURST! Nicole is super excited to be able to join the seniors in this service opportunity! 

2. Flight (+ luggage) Update: We have just made the final payment on our flights. So we’re all booked and ready to go! Yay! 

Please Note: We are flying JetBlue out of JFK, and they will not allow us to take all carry-on luggage as we had planned. Therefore, we will be checking our luggage. Each student needs to:

• Have 1 checked bag and 1 personal item for carryon. 
• The personal item can be no larger than a bookbag. (Must fit under a seat.)
• The checked bag cannot weigh more than 50 pounds. 

Here’s our flight information:

Depart: Friday,March 10, 2023	Arrive: Friday, March 10, 2023
6:30 PM New York, NY (JFK) JetBlue Flight #: 1328 (direct flight)	10:44 PM Guatemala City (GUA)
Depart: Friday, March 17, 2023	Arrive: Saturday, March 18, 2023
11:20 PM Guatemala City (GUA) JetBlue Flight #: 1329 (direct flight)	5:58 AM New York, NY (JFK)

3. Feb. 16 Parent Meeting: We have our final Senior Trip meeting on February 16 from 6:30-8:00 PM in the LC cafeteria. We are asking all seniors and at least 1 of their parent to attend this meeting. 

Please bring the following to the meeting:

• Final payment – if money is owed
• Student’s passport – we will make a copy and return it immediately to you

Here’s the meeting agenda:

• 6:30-7:00 – notary signing of all release documents for LC & Clubhouse Guatemala & collection of final payments
• 7:00-7:40 – final trip details, packing list, preparation details, questions, etc
• 7:40-8:00 – time of prayer

Today was spent at the Miami Zoo followed by one final team dinner. It was crazy hot until a thunderstorm came through on our way home from the zoo and cooled everything off. This crew is tired (and a few are sunburned), but still making great memories and sharing LOTS of laughter – all while talking about graduation that’s coming in less than a week! Now it’s packing time as we prepare to head home tomorrow. See you all soon!

Today was an incredibly full day – ministry in the morning, then Hollywood Beach and boardwalk in the afternoon, a team dinner in the evening, and a fond farewell to our PPM leaders Becca and Makenzy.

Wednesday was filled with a lot of fun and games. We started the day at Parkview Baptist, teaching the kids about David and Goliath and reminding them that we always need to trust God, even when things look impossible. Then we had some one-on-one time with the kids in their classrooms. We colored, reviewed math facts, built block towers, and ran relays (meaning the LC students ran relays with 1 & 2 kids on their backs.) That was some hot, sweaty work!

In the afternoon, we went to the Miami Children’s Initiative and played games and sports with grades K-8. Everyone had a ton of fun with the kids and enjoyed doing homework and playing games with them. After that, we had devotions and talked about the great things we see in each other.

In our down time today we swam and played several rounds of Werewolf (which is basically Mafia) around the pool. All in all, it has been a fun day filled with competition and class bonding.

Some more pictures from today: