Precious Moments

We left this morning thinking we would be going to a school for observations and then conduct a seminar on effective praise in the afternoon.  Our team arrived at the school and began observations right away.  We spent time in some of the primary classrooms where we got to observe music, computer, English, and language arts.  Ruby saw three of the children from Hope For Tomorrow Children's Home while we were observing.  Shortly after completing the morning observations, we learned that the schedule had changed and we would not be presenting the seminar until later in the week.

While all of the changes were happening, our translator contacted her sister about a school in the city that is for street children.  All the arrangements were made for us to go over there immediately to observe and then teach our seminar.  We arrived to Precious Moments to find that 150 students were being taught in a small home.  Each room was turned into a classroom, including the garage and the hallway.  The students are children of drug dealers, prostitutes, and people serving time for crimes.  Twelve children live there at the school.  They share a 8 by 8 foot room that has a bunk bed and a twin mattress on the floor.  All twelve of the children sleep in this room along with one adult.

There are six teachers at Precious Moments School.  They were so open to the seminar and really understood what we were discussing.  By watching the teachers, you could begin to understand the heart and character of all those working at the school.  The founder, Martha, was a street child herself growing up.  She wanted to help children and began this school out of her own home.  She now lives across the street and has continued renting this home for the school.

Today didn't go as planned but God had a better idea.

         Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

Thank you Lord for leading us.  Where you go I'll go, Lord, we will follow you.

Sacampana and Chioya

It was wonderful working with Food for the Hungry in the rural areas of Sacampana and Chioya.  We conducted observations and presented two seminars, one for each school.  Sacampana had five teachers for Kindergarten through sixth grade.  There were very few textbooks in each classroom, many times the teacher had the only textbook in the room.  Chioya has 11 teachers and a director for the school.  The government just finished a new building one month ago that half of the school has moved into, the other half will remain in the old part of the school.  Here the teachers have textbooks for each child in most subject areas.

Sacampana is a new community that FH is moving into.  They have only been there for less than one year but yet you can see that change is beginning to happen.  The woman have begun a community garden, where they are learning how to plant better vegetables for their families.  Once they have worked in that garden for a year, then they receive seeds of their own. Food for the Hungry is also working with the mothers to weigh and measure the growth of the children ages 0-5.  They are tracking the progress of growth and then following up when growth is not shown.  This is the way that they can monitor change in behavior and attitudes with chronic malnutrition.

Chioya is a community that FH has been working in for a few years now.  They have developed a Child Transformation Program with most of the children already having been sponsored.  There are currently 18 families that are building a greenhouse that will enable them to have a longer growing season and a larger variety of vegetables harvested.  The sides of the greenhouse will allow for air movement while blocking out all bacteria.  They will have a decontamination area for shoes before entering the greenhouse so they won't cross contaminate the soil.  We ate at the home of one of the families involved in the agricultural project.  It was very humbling to hear them share how God was helping them in this process so they can change the lives of their children AND their community.  May God bless these families and allow the harvest to be plentiful to glorify HIS name.

In Coban

We drove 4 hours from Guatemala City to Coban today. The road was a bit better than we expected. They were paved (most of the time) and 2 lanes. Think about the 2 lane paved roads in the US, that's basically what they were like. There were places where the roads were washed out from roadslides TWO years ago, we were told! We spent the evening talking with our families and getting ready for tomorrow. We will do school visits and two home visits tomorrow. Please pray for safety, health, and wisdom for us as we share Christ's love with the teachers, students, and families.

Getting Ready

We are in the final stages of getting ready for our trip. Kristin and I (Ruby) are getting together with our families tonight for dessert and a time of prayer for the trip. We have been overwhelmed with the generosity of God's people in providing school supplies for the five schools we will be visiting. Blessings to all who gave school supplies or gave financially to help meet financial obligations for this trip! Please pray with us for a fruitful ministry in Guatemala over the next 2 weeks. Our ultimate goal is to see Jesus lifted up and our Father glorified!