This post was written by Charlene Boatwright, a participant on the mission trip to Guatemala March 3-10, 2012. Charlene is from Summit Community Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
There was no better way to start the week than with our Guatemalan brothers and sisters in worship on Sunday. Translation was not needed as we felt the Holy Spirit in our midst as we worshipped our Lord together.
Being able to share Jesus in the schools with the beautiful, well behaved and attentive children was a complete joy. Tabitha House was amazing, and not at all what I expected, which was sad and needy children... which is a testament of the terrific job they are doing there with these children and moms. A huge reminder that at the end of the day, although circumstances may vary, we are all very much the same, with the same wants, needs, and struggles.
Watching our men on the construction projects was so inspiring, knowing that each one of them was doing all in their power to make the lives of the families better by the changes they made, from a small wall to a whole house. They're home visits were so much more than just construction projects, and in that final hour at the home on Friday, when the dad knelt to pray and received Christ in the middle of the home they had reconstructed, was worth all the sore muscles and frustrations of the week.
The home visits was the highlight for me....from the grandmother and grandson that accepted Christ on Monday, to Wednesday when the family where the father was blind, and was so desperate to hear that he could be forgiven of all his many sins, and to watch the repentant tears turn into tears of joy while we prayed together, and the pastor held and encouraged him and committed to sheppard him and his family. When we were leaving he promised to look for us in heaven because he wanted to see our face and to thank us for coming to share with him. (That was worth every sacrifice to make our trip possible). On Thursday when we went to the community that our teams went one house to the next was truly a picture of Ruth gleaning in the fields at harvest, I have never felt that more than that day. The church members as well as the Holy Spirit were already at work. When we started at the first home of a believer who really needed encouragement to continue in her faith because she was alone in her family and community in her beliefs, that soon turned into a day of rejoicing on earth as well as in heaven. When the very next visit was her very elderly parents and her sister as they accepted Christ, and from there, home after home people came to receive Christ, and as we left each home, I will always remember watching her face and she smiled and walked behind us to each and every home. It was almost hard to focus on the next visit for wanting to watch the celebration of their decisions. Our teams lead 16 to the Lord that day in that small area....that's a church plant in my book!
The many visits that these gracious people welcomed us into their homes, and listened to us share Christ and His love for them, and although there were some that did not receive Christ, I know that every visit was God appointed, and the seeds were cultivated, and in His time those sweet people will come to accept Him as their savior. It is most encouraging to know that the church there is doing the work of spreading the gospel and making disciples, and that all the visits will be followed up on. Although we know we will go back, as this was just the beginning of a relationship with the beautiful people of Guatemala.
