hello from the most beautiful lake in Guatemala! Our day started with Grand Central Station in the guys restroom! On our way to the Mayan Village we stopped at a pharmacy and bought Pedialyte and meds. Ten out of 15 guys were sick! The women went thru alot of hand sanitizer! Those of us who went up to the Mayan Village played games with the kids , did a craft, led a Bible camp , and sang a couple songs in Spanish. We left the village on a long an winding road up,down, and thru the mountain. By time we arrived at the lake most of the guys were feeling better. We left for the boat ride where several of us jumped off into the lake. Some jumped from approx 20-25ft off the top of the boat into the water! Even three of the leaders! You guess which ones! We spent awhile in the water then rode back and swam in the pool. We had a delicious supper and then met with Joel for devotions and sharing. It was really cool. It was outside, we were in a circle and in the middle of the circle was a table with a candle on representing Jesus the light of the world. A Bible was set down by it. Several people read scripture, Joel played a song by James Gray and then we prayed.Several shared about their week and future. Joel challenged us to stretch our bounderies and search and reach out to the la Limonada's in our world. He talked to us about the sweet aroma of Jesus. After our devotions we celebrated Megan's birthday with a pinata. The kids are now just hanging out except for Nick who is helping the computer challenged leader's. Thank you for your prayers for the health of the youth group and for our travel back home. Our yeah God's for the day: health improved for the guys, hand sanitizer, safe travel, God's beautiful world (this place is awesome), Joel's challenge for all of us,JOEL ,and clear weather so we could see the volcano. We will see you soon! We love you!

What an emotional day! Loaded all the care packages and headed off to camp. Kids were excited and finally comfortable with us being there. Tita said one girl said she was so sad. When Tita asked to tell her the story why she said " the gringos are here for only a few days and then they leave" The final day in the school went great with lots of hugs, kisses, and tears. Lots of pictures were taken except of Sherrie and Steve:) At lunch we all met together and Tita shared her story. After this Megan, Matt, Jeff,and Sue shared their testimonies with the teachers. Work projects are nearly completed. We accomplished more than what was anticipated. Many will have new working bathrooms by the end of this week. Brad and Michelle spent the last 2 days painting the Bible verse(Micah 6:6-8) on the front of the school and some indoor painting projects. After the school alot of us passed out personal gifts to kids they connected with. Many more in home visits were made where your kids again prayed with/for families in there home. This was an extremely rewarding experience for most. We left la Limonada around 5 and hosted a pizza party/birthday party for Michael and Megan. The interpreters,Tita, Joel & family, and work project coordinators were all here. We had birthday cake with fake candles(they blew them all out) and a 4foot spiderman pinata. Joel was the one who finally busted it! After good byes to our visitors the guys started dropping one by one(they all began visiting the bathroom with some not making it that far. Not a pretty site!)Note it's just the guys! We are hoping everyone feels better by tomorrow when we leave for the Mayan Village and the lake. Joel and Marilyn will be coming with us. Oh, yesterday we were able to celebrate the 4th of July. There were fireworks at the Marriot across the street. The kids are now packing for the trip home and the lake. This might be the last entry depending on the hotel internet access. Continue to keep us in your prayers as we begin our trip home. Pray for health as we travel. Our yeah God's today: Most beautiful day of the week so far, Hearing Tita's story, the week's progress on work projects and the success of the Bible camp, God stretching us, Megan, Matt, Jeff, and Sue's testimonies, and the blessing the people in la Limonada gave us. , oh yeah pizza!Love you all!

The day started the same even the plane during prayer. The kids at Bible camp were alittle more hyper today! We are getting to know more of the kids names every day. Today at lunch Dan Sr. , Mike, and Dan Jr. were able to share their testimonies with the teachers. It was very impressive!. Joel left for a couple hours to rest cause he wasn't feeling well so please keep his health in your prayers. He was able to meet up with us at 4p.m. We met at a cemetary overlooking the dump. There we could see those who lived in the dump. What a life! And to think kids live there and families live on 5 dollars a day. The money made by things they found in the dump and were able to sell. The smell was awful and there were hundreds of vultures on the edge of the cemetary overlooking the dump.Our work crews worked foundations, building walls, and set up and delivered the bunk bed to a family of la Limonada. Joel came for supper(which again was awesome) and did the devotions. Devotions were on Judges 19. If you get a chance read it and ask your kids what he said. He encouraged them not to be lukewarm Christians but to be on fire for Him. He told them that mission trips are meant to be a direction change. He as always kept everyones attention! After Joel left we made our care packages for the kids to give out to the kids at Bible camp. Now they are either playing cards, games, or just hanging out. To all you parents that asked your kids for coffee it is here and will be brought along home. Our yeah God's for today are: safety (we found out from Joel that the day after we climbed the volcano the volcano erupted and the villages we had driven thru to get there had been evacuated), Joel's devotions, seeing flowers amidst the tin homes, hearing the song The Power of Your Love as we are walking down the streets of la Limonada,Ryan & Jason feeling better(ryan had stomach problems and jason with cold symtoms), kids completing their encouragement cards and are encouraged from them, and teamwork. Please keep praying for us! We can feel them!

Good Evening. We just finished our evening devotions and now it's time for our blog. We started the day the same. We've noticed everytime we try to pray before we leave an airplane goes over. Is it God saying I'm listening or Satan trying to prevent us from praying? We pray it's God! We arrived at la Limonada and started the day with a good feeling with one day under our belt. It went smoother, Thanks for your prayers! Pray for the afternoon class. They have more kids and they can be rather rowdy! The kids are special. They cling to you!! We are getting to know their stories which makes them more precious! The work crews did alot more grunt work, hauling cinder blocks & gravel either in a wheelbarrow or on our shoulders in bags. We started pouring foundation and laying block for a few bathrooms. We made our daily visits to homes. Your kids are being stretched!!. Several of them have prayed with the families, shared their testimonies, and told them how it feels being a Christian coming to this community. You would be proud! After being late the last two nights by 45min or more our supper was waiting for us when we arrived. It's so nice not to have to cook! Every small group has been taking turns serving the others. It works well! Tomorrow we will spend time again at la Limonada but also Joel is taking us to the dump. Please continue to pray for our safety. Joel will again be leading our evening devotions tomorrow night. Our yeah God' s for today are: Nick making this blog site, Kids stepping up to pray in people's homes, the rain held off during work projects, safety, Rod, Nick, and Dan K. getting the privilege to deliver bunk beds to their home visit family who have no idea it's coming, Tim, Nicole, and Mark sharing their testimonies at lunch with the teachers, your kids and their leaders are being stretched, Heather giving her testimony to the older Bible camp kids, and kids that had left Tita's school are now coming back. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Again thanks for your comments. It's great to hear your encouragement!

No words to describe the first day in la Limonada. Arrived at the top of the hill and were amazed at the poverty. After 130 steep steps down and across the river/sewer/dumpster we arrived at the nicest building in the whole city. The teachers there were amazing! We led Bible School for a combined amount of approx. 160 kids. We fed them brk or lunch, handed out vitamins and helped them brush their teeth. Several kids already connected with some of our YP. They spent their time between games, snacks, crafts, and bible lessons. After school groups visited homes of some of the kids,heard their family's heartbreaking stories, and spent time in prayer with them. Some felt very stretched but also rewarded. Many of these stories were discussed at our evening devotions. While half of the group was in the school the others spent time doing work projects such as carrying cinder blocks and sand to work sites. These were carried from near the river to the top of the ravine. Others tore down old sheds preparing for new bathrooms. Some of the crew helped build a retaining wall(that Niekerk started) and bathroom walls.Parents your kids are great! We did really difficult work, alot of grunt work but there was no complaining.
We left la Limonada and came back to the training center,showered, and had another Guatemalan meal. This one was really good! Some of you parents and maybe girlfriends recieved a call. The others will recieve theirs tomorrow. We spent time in small groups and as a large group to discuss todays events . Many of the kids shared stories of the day. We are opening the eyes of our hearts to Jesus. Michael shared an especially touching story about his connection with a young boy at day camp. Yeah God! After cleanup most were ready to call it a day. Continue to keep us in your prayers, we covet them. We can feel your prayers and enjoy reading your comments during our evening devotions. P.S. Dave & Sue Rod gave Matt a big hug and kiss for you! And yes he was embarrassed! Our yeah God's for the day: the cleaning lady came! Translators and teachers there, very little rain(walking would be very trechorous with any rain) , safety , first day learning curve is over, no complaining, Heather, Rachael, and Jan giving testimonies with the teachers, meeting and praying with families, realization of our blessings at home, and strength to do hard labor. We love you guys!!!!

Wow what a day! We just finished an inspirational devotion with Joel. He spoke about being crazy for Jesus. We can be on the spiritual parade where we just go thru the motions or we can stop and sense when Jesus is passing by us. Our challenge is to open the eyes of our hearts and sense the presence of Jesus. Our day started with a bus ride to one of Joel's favorite church which has an very active youth group. We started with prayer and praise then went to the youth Sunday school room. We played a ice breaker game with them. Racheal B.'s group won. Then we listened to a Christian rap group. Michael represented the Michigan group in break dancing. We watched a group of girls choreography dance. Tim attempted this (just kidding). Then we broke into groups for a Bible activity. Emily and Ryan read scripture in Spanish.The lesson was on how we are the image of God, we are his special treasure, and Jesus paid for my sins. We then left for Antigua. We spent an afternoon shopping where every guy bought at least one knife. Have fun DeVries's! We saw an erupting volcano,a beautiful candlelit hotel, and ruins of a monastary &cathedral. Joel then took us out for American food ! Yeah God! We left after that for our ride home. Joel pumped us up on the way home for a possible trip Friday to a Mayan village. Matt came to our rescue once we got back and killed a monster cockroach.You should have heard the screams! Our yeah God"s for the day: Safe travel, No rain while we shopped, an excellent service with involvement of our youth and theirs,safety in the neighborhood, and Joel.

We want to share our yeah God's with you
*no one hurt on the lava
*weather(saw sunny skies,clouds roll in, standing in the clouds, avoiding a Guatemalan downpour
* sharing water with eachother
*teamwork cooking hotdogs
*showers
*energy