Guatemala Day 2

We got up and left our hotel at 4:00 am because there was construction on the road we were going to be traveling on and we were afraid we wouldn’t get here by noon.  Since we left so early we missed the construction…which was a huge blessing.  We arrived at the Backpackers Hotel a little before 10:00.  The hotel is owned by the orphanage and it is one of the ways they fund the orphanage.  The rooms are like camp dorm rooms with bunk beds, a shower, sink and toilet.  It is a fun experience.  We took small motored boats across the lake (about a 15-20 minute ride) to Casa Guatemala.  There are about 280 boys and girls at this orphanage from age 2-18.  Some of the children are from the village and do not actually live at the orphanage but go to school there.  All of the buildings except the dining hall are built over the water – it is a very different place - it is in the jungle and there are howling monkeys in the trees.  This is definitely a unique experience!

We made it over to the orphanage by 11:00 – we weren’t supposed to arrive there until after 1:00pm.  Since we got there early we were able to spend more time with the children, which was also a huge blessing. Some of the children at the orphanage remembered our group from last year.  Instead of cooking them supper we were able to feed them their hot dog lunch.  After lunch we had our bible lesson with the children.  Raul talked with them about Joseph and God’s purpose for him.  He told stressed that Joseph had to have a relationship with God so that he could be obedient to what God wanted him to do.  He told them how Joseph had been a dreamer, sold into slavery, been in jail, been an interpreter, and finally he had gained favor with Pharaoh and was able to rescue his family from famine.  He challenged them that no matter what their circumstances were – God had a plan for them also and that they needed to be obedient to Him and listen to Him.  He will continue to give this message at all of the orphanages that we visit.

After we had the lessons 5 of the boys from the orphanage played a basketball game with 5 of our team members.  It was a 10 minute game that was very amusing and it ended up in a tie!  After this we gave them a juice box and a package of cookies and then had craft time with them.  We taught them to make string bracelets with the colors of salvation:

Black represents sin – which we all have because we have all disobeyed God.·

Red represents the blood of Christ which He shed for us so that we could have our sins forgiven.

White represents purity – when we become a Christian all of our sins are forgiven because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross – therefore we are washed as white as snow.

Green represents the growth that should take place in us as believers.  Just as a tree grows fruit – so should we as believers show evidence of the fruit of the spirit in our lives.  We told them that the fruit of the spirit is:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

Yellow (or gold) represents the promise of eternal life for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  God has promised we will live in heaven where the streets are paved in gold.

We also gave them the scripture that went along with each of these colors.  After we finished the craft it was time to head back across the lake to the Backpackers Hotel.   We had an early supper and then had our group devotional and were ready to wrap up the day by about 8:30pm…which was necessary since we have had 2 VERY early mornings!

Our team has been very, very flexible with the changes.  Everyone is getting along real well and God is using each person on the team.   Please continue to pray for us!