One of many active volcanoes in Guatemala as seen from the streets of Antigua.
Hello friends and family,
Thank you for all your prayers and support for our team’s trip to Guatemala. All of your love and encouragement definitely made a difference since we are now home safe and sound with many stories to share.
Janice, Julio and I in Pollo Campero (the Guatemalan KFC) for lunch.
Our first day, we drove from Chilmaltenango to Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala. We spent the afternoon taking seven young boys with disabilities out for lunch and then to the park for some bubbles. Many of the children from the Hermano-Pedro Orphanage suffered from Cerebral Palsy. Our friend Julio, ate his whole plate of chicken tenders and fries and every last spoonful of his ice cream. In Guatemala, there is quite a stigma attached to people with disabilities. 5 years ago when our team started taking these kids out in public many dirty looks were given. Things are now starting to change thanks to the work of the people at Bethel Ministries (www.bethelministriesinternational.com) and the many missionary teams who have visited and loved on these people.
Julio and I just before we said goodbye.
My new friend Julio didn’t say any words to me during our time together. However, on our way back I was saying the Bible verses James 1:12&17 to him in Spanish and he was extremely excited to hear me speaking Spanish beyond “hola”. He kept saying “otro” (other) meaning that he wanted to keep hearing the verses over and over. So that’s what we did all the way back to the orphanage, both of us grinning ear to ear until we said “Adios!” It was hard to say goodbye but knowing that we both bonded over God and His Word will go a long way for both of us.
Monday was a 7 hour drive north to Cobàn where we’d be spending most of our time. The distance was less than 300 km but the windy, steep, speed bump and washout filled road combined with much roadwork and several armed checkpoints made for the lengthy trip.
For the first day in Cobàn, part our team built a house, another laid a foundation for a second house and we distributed a two weeks supply of food and some clothing, shoes, vitamins and hygiene kits to families in the nearby mountains. We learned that 80.8% of the people in Guatemala don’t know when their next meal will be.
This is my new best friend Carlos, age 4, who joined us as we visited the first family and tagged along until we got to his house, the 6th of 8. He’s decked out in his new hoodie, jeans and crocs. Again, it was tough to leave but before moving on to the next family we spent some comforting moments in prayer together.
Chris Mooney (in the black jacket and jeans) has lived in Guatemala with his wife Donna and kids for twelve years. They are an amazing couple whose efforts help build 60 houses and distribute 2000 wheelchairs per year.
On Wednesday we helped distribute and adjust 59 wheel chairs. When we arrived, the hall was filled with the soon to be recipients and their families totaling around 150 people. After a short debrief on how to adjust chairs and a message to the people from Chris we began fitting the people for their new chairs. Some previously had their own rental chairs but for most this would be the first means of mobility in their life. Each had their own story ranging from cerebral palsy to quadriplegics to gun shot amputated legs. Some lived nearby others had driven for six-plus hours to get to Cobàn.
My teammate Tanya and Anna in her brand new wheelchair.
The most touching moment for me was when Anna came to our station for a wheelchair. We gave her a chair initially, began fitting her leg rests but immediately noticed that she was in a great deal of pain. She was graciously and thankfully willing to just accept any chair offered but thanks to Tanya, the girl I was working with and with the help of a translator they did not let her settle. I was unsuccessful in adjusting the chair to a comfortable level so we called Chris over to help us. In his wisdom, he took one look at Anna’s painful posture and pointed us to a brand-new chair in a box off to the side. We pulled it out of the box, unfolded it and sat her in it. With no adjustments whatsoever, the chair was a perfect fit and Anna immediately began to sob. Her pain was finally gone! She was one of the 31 people who committed her life to Jesus that day.
On Thursday, our part of the team was building the second house. We were building a 16’ by 18’ sheet metal and beam house for Maria and her 13-year-old son Elmer. As many of you know, I am not the handiest man around but we had an experienced team who helped build the house in less than three hours. It was equipped with a stove that had a pipe system that actually blew the smoke out of the house, a cement floor and a triple-decker bunk bed. For young Elmer, Friday night would be the first night in his life that he wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor.
Elmer is mentally handicapped because his mother unsuccessfully tried to abort him 13 years ago. His grin was not only due to the fact that he was going to get to sleep on a bunk bed in his new house that night, but he was also ecstatic about his back-pack and the possibility of now starting school.
On Friday, we visited the two homes again on our way back to Chilmaltenango. That night we ate a traditional Guatemalan meal made up of beef stew, rice, fresh homemade tortillas, coleslaw/pasta style salad followed by some good time of prayer and song.
Thank you again for your support. I look forward to seeing everyone soon.
Blessings,
Spencer
James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Dichoso el que persivira bajo padecimiento, al salir aprobado, recibirá la corona de la vida que Dios ha prometido a quienes lo aman.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Toda buena dádiva y todo don perfecto descienden de lo alto, donde está el Padre que creó las lumbreras celestes, y que no cambia como los astros ni se mueve como las sombras.
