Sunday, November 7, 2010
We've Moved!
In an effort to keep our blog more up-to-date and better serve others we've moved our blog. Check us out at www.clcguatemalamissions.wordpress.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
So Close!
We're down to less than 2 days till we leave!! Everything is falling into place and it's great to see how God is ALREADY working in our group to make sure everything works out and gets done.
Again we can not express how GRATEFUL we are for all your support! We're really hoping to be able to post on this blog while we're there but are unsure if that is going to be possible. So please check back often and be sure to look here when we get back for photos and stories!
Again we can not express how GRATEFUL we are for all your support! We're really hoping to be able to post on this blog while we're there but are unsure if that is going to be possible. So please check back often and be sure to look here when we get back for photos and stories!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Just a few short days till we're on our way to Guatemala!! We are all extremely excited. Thank you to all for your continued support! Below is our Prayer Calender for the week:
• It’s our first day of travel, and it’s a long one! Please pray for safety. We will be leaving Pullman around 9:00 in the morning and driving to Spokane. Our Delta flight leaves Spokane International at 1:00 p.m. We’ll fly to Salt Lake, LA, and then all night to arrive in Guatemala City at 6:36 a.m. (4:36 a.m. Pacific time).
• Please pray that we all remain in good health as we travel.
• Ask God to groom our hearts, minds and bodies for servanthood.
• Please pray that the children and youth of Puerto Barrios will welcome our love, and God’s Good News in Jesus Christ.
• Pray that loved ones at home may be kept safe and healthy while we are away.
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Please pray for Lexi Carter, Anna Hansen & Abbi Olson
• Please pray for safety as we are transported from Guatemala City across the country to Puerto Barrios where Christ the Savior Lutheran Church and Lutheran Community Center are located. Also pray for the pastor, Byron Paz.
• Pray for us as we settle into our accommodations and meet with Rebeca de Franco, our international ministry center director in Guatemala, and her husband, Karloz.
• The worship service at Christ the Savior Lutheran Church in Puerto Barrios has been changed to Saturday night. Please pray for our presentation to the congregation! We will introduce ourselves (in Spanish), sing songs, and offer a message… after 36 hours of travel!
• Please ask God to give us the ability to be ourselves as we meet people from a different culture in unfamiliar surroundings.
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Please Pray for Charlie Clark, Alyssa Gundersen & Matt Hardman
• We request prayers for our group planning session with Rebeca and Karloz on Sunday morning.
• Pray as our construction at the Community Center begins in the afternoon – for safety and effectiveness. We will begin work on the block and mortar wall that will span the front of the center’s property line. This is Phase 1 of a project that will span several mission groups’ visits.
• Please ask God to bless our final preparations for the VBS we will be providing for 335 children (ages 3-12) tomorrow morning at the Lutheran School, and 100 more children & youth tomorrow afternoon in the Community Center.
• Pray that God continuously renews our focus on what is needed at any given moment to serve Him in the best possible way.
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Please pray for Seth Gibbon, and Ashley & Rick Leary
• Praise God for the 435 children we will meet today! Please pray for our singing and communication, and for the clarity, simplicity and significance of His message through us. VBS theme for this day: God’s Everlasting Love.
• Pray for all the people of Puerto Barrios, that God might become quite real to them, in part, because of our presence.
• Give thanks for this amazing opportunity we have to impact lives!
• Please pray that our construction work on the Community Center wall goes smoothly.
• Pray that we may be able to adapt and be flexible to all the challenges and changes that we will face.
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Please pray for Shawn Nolph, and Gary & Rebecca Quarles
• Thank you for your continued prayers for our morning & afternoon VBS sessions. Praise God for His provision on every level! VBS theme for this day: Trusting God in All Circumstances.
• Please pray that our faces reflect our joy, and His joy as well, and that the message of Christ’s love is clear.
• Please pray for our group that we may support, love and build each other up during our time of serving, and that our attitudes remain positive as we battle fatigue.
• Pray that as we help others learn more about Jesus, we also continue to grow in His word. Especially keep our daily sharing and prayer time lifted up to God.
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Please pray for Elisa Romaneschi, and Bob & Jane Shrope
• Please pray fervently for our LAST day of VBS! Theme for this day: Eternal Hope in Jesus.
• Pray for the Garifunas and Mestizos, the people of Puerto Barrios. May they find God’s plan for a balance within their culture that marvelously accommodates the Gospel.
• Pray for the strength of our team: physical, emotional and spiritual.
• Ask His blessing on the deepening friendships we are building with one another.
• Please ask for safety as we boat across the bay to spend our lunchtime on a beach. A quick swim in warm salt water is an amazing gift!
• Thank you for praying for our last day of construction. We want to leave the people in the neighborhood around the community center a secure and sturdy place to use for God’s special purposes in Puerto Barrios.
• Please pray for the future of the Lutheran Community Center – for all the events that will happen within its walls!
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Please pray for Ellen Simonsen, Carla Tibbals & Matt Thom
• Ask God for traveling mercies as we journey back across the country, stopping at a Mayan ruin on the way.
• May He bless our visit to the Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Guatemala City and our stay at the beautiful Lutheran Center in Antigua, previously a hospital – now a peaceful retreat center.
• Pray for missionaries around the world that they may be encouraged as they spread God’s word.
• Please also pray for those who are feeling called to take trips similar to this one. May God bless them with a connection to mission opportunities that fulfill His particular objectives around the globe.
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Please pray for Annie Smith, and Ann & Mark Summerson
• Praise Him for His very specific care for us this entire week!
• Please pray for our time of relationship-building as we have walking tour Antigua with Olga, our guide and shop in the local market. It is our day to experience the culture in the ancient city of Antigua.
• Please pray for clarity of thought as we pack our belongings and continue absorbing and integrating all we have learned in one very fast, very full week.
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Please pray Rebeca & Karloz de Franco and Polly Gregali, Lutheran Hour Ministries
• Praise and thanks to God for this extraordinary opportunity to serve His family in Guatemala!
• We awaken at 4:30 a.m. local time in order to catch our Delta flight that leaves Guatemala City at 7:40 a.m. (5:40 a.m. Pacific time). We arrive in Spokane at 8:36 p.m. after our two stops in Los Angeles and Salt Lake. Exhausted? Yes! But also filled with joy! Pray that God would keep our drivers alert as we continue on the last leg of our extraordinary journey home to Pullman and Moscow.
• May God give us courage to formulate new goals for our personal mission opportunities on the WSU and U Idaho campuses.
• Please pray that we would all find a balance in the days ahead between the tasks at hand and the processing and application of all we have learned, now that we have brand new hearts for mission.
• Finally, please ask God to bless us as we assimilate an entirely fresh set of attitudes about His world and our place in it.
We also request continual prayer for Lutheran Hour Ministries in all they do to spread the Word.
Thank you!
Prayer Calendar for the Concordia Lutheran
Mission Trip to Guatemala
March 12th-20th, 2010
We invite you to pray daily with us and for us as we travel on this servant-trip to minister to God’s family in Guatemala. We will work hard, touch lives, grow in faith and perspective, become closer to one another through our experiences, and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we roll up our sleeves! We treasure your presence with us in thought and prayer. Thank you!
Trip Blog: www.clcguatemalamission.blogspot.com/ (If it is possible to update this during the week, we will. Otherwise, watch this and the Concordia website www.concordiapullman.org for post-trip accounts of our experiences.)
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Please pray for Garner Alzheimer, Shanna Goplen & Ben BarrMission Trip to Guatemala
March 12th-20th, 2010
We invite you to pray daily with us and for us as we travel on this servant-trip to minister to God’s family in Guatemala. We will work hard, touch lives, grow in faith and perspective, become closer to one another through our experiences, and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we roll up our sleeves! We treasure your presence with us in thought and prayer. Thank you!
Trip Blog: www.clcguatemalamission.blogspot.com/ (If it is possible to update this during the week, we will. Otherwise, watch this and the Concordia website www.concordiapullman.org for post-trip accounts of our experiences.)
Friday, March 12th, 2010
• It’s our first day of travel, and it’s a long one! Please pray for safety. We will be leaving Pullman around 9:00 in the morning and driving to Spokane. Our Delta flight leaves Spokane International at 1:00 p.m. We’ll fly to Salt Lake, LA, and then all night to arrive in Guatemala City at 6:36 a.m. (4:36 a.m. Pacific time).
• Please pray that we all remain in good health as we travel.
• Ask God to groom our hearts, minds and bodies for servanthood.
• Please pray that the children and youth of Puerto Barrios will welcome our love, and God’s Good News in Jesus Christ.
• Pray that loved ones at home may be kept safe and healthy while we are away.
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Please pray for Lexi Carter, Anna Hansen & Abbi Olson
• Please pray for safety as we are transported from Guatemala City across the country to Puerto Barrios where Christ the Savior Lutheran Church and Lutheran Community Center are located. Also pray for the pastor, Byron Paz.
• Pray for us as we settle into our accommodations and meet with Rebeca de Franco, our international ministry center director in Guatemala, and her husband, Karloz.
• The worship service at Christ the Savior Lutheran Church in Puerto Barrios has been changed to Saturday night. Please pray for our presentation to the congregation! We will introduce ourselves (in Spanish), sing songs, and offer a message… after 36 hours of travel!
• Please ask God to give us the ability to be ourselves as we meet people from a different culture in unfamiliar surroundings.
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Please Pray for Charlie Clark, Alyssa Gundersen & Matt Hardman
• We request prayers for our group planning session with Rebeca and Karloz on Sunday morning.
• Pray as our construction at the Community Center begins in the afternoon – for safety and effectiveness. We will begin work on the block and mortar wall that will span the front of the center’s property line. This is Phase 1 of a project that will span several mission groups’ visits.
• Please ask God to bless our final preparations for the VBS we will be providing for 335 children (ages 3-12) tomorrow morning at the Lutheran School, and 100 more children & youth tomorrow afternoon in the Community Center.
• Pray that God continuously renews our focus on what is needed at any given moment to serve Him in the best possible way.
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Please pray for Seth Gibbon, and Ashley & Rick Leary
• Praise God for the 435 children we will meet today! Please pray for our singing and communication, and for the clarity, simplicity and significance of His message through us. VBS theme for this day: God’s Everlasting Love.
• Pray for all the people of Puerto Barrios, that God might become quite real to them, in part, because of our presence.
• Give thanks for this amazing opportunity we have to impact lives!
• Please pray that our construction work on the Community Center wall goes smoothly.
• Pray that we may be able to adapt and be flexible to all the challenges and changes that we will face.
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Please pray for Shawn Nolph, and Gary & Rebecca Quarles
• Thank you for your continued prayers for our morning & afternoon VBS sessions. Praise God for His provision on every level! VBS theme for this day: Trusting God in All Circumstances.
• Please pray that our faces reflect our joy, and His joy as well, and that the message of Christ’s love is clear.
• Please pray for our group that we may support, love and build each other up during our time of serving, and that our attitudes remain positive as we battle fatigue.
• Pray that as we help others learn more about Jesus, we also continue to grow in His word. Especially keep our daily sharing and prayer time lifted up to God.
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Please pray for Elisa Romaneschi, and Bob & Jane Shrope
• Please pray fervently for our LAST day of VBS! Theme for this day: Eternal Hope in Jesus.
• Pray for the Garifunas and Mestizos, the people of Puerto Barrios. May they find God’s plan for a balance within their culture that marvelously accommodates the Gospel.
• Pray for the strength of our team: physical, emotional and spiritual.
• Ask His blessing on the deepening friendships we are building with one another.
• Please ask for safety as we boat across the bay to spend our lunchtime on a beach. A quick swim in warm salt water is an amazing gift!
• Thank you for praying for our last day of construction. We want to leave the people in the neighborhood around the community center a secure and sturdy place to use for God’s special purposes in Puerto Barrios.
• Please pray for the future of the Lutheran Community Center – for all the events that will happen within its walls!
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Please pray for Ellen Simonsen, Carla Tibbals & Matt Thom
• Ask God for traveling mercies as we journey back across the country, stopping at a Mayan ruin on the way.
• May He bless our visit to the Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Guatemala City and our stay at the beautiful Lutheran Center in Antigua, previously a hospital – now a peaceful retreat center.
• Pray for missionaries around the world that they may be encouraged as they spread God’s word.
• Please also pray for those who are feeling called to take trips similar to this one. May God bless them with a connection to mission opportunities that fulfill His particular objectives around the globe.
Friday, March 19th, 2010
Please pray for Annie Smith, and Ann & Mark Summerson
• Praise Him for His very specific care for us this entire week!
• Please pray for our time of relationship-building as we have walking tour Antigua with Olga, our guide and shop in the local market. It is our day to experience the culture in the ancient city of Antigua.
• Please pray for clarity of thought as we pack our belongings and continue absorbing and integrating all we have learned in one very fast, very full week.
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Please pray Rebeca & Karloz de Franco and Polly Gregali, Lutheran Hour Ministries
• Praise and thanks to God for this extraordinary opportunity to serve His family in Guatemala!
• We awaken at 4:30 a.m. local time in order to catch our Delta flight that leaves Guatemala City at 7:40 a.m. (5:40 a.m. Pacific time). We arrive in Spokane at 8:36 p.m. after our two stops in Los Angeles and Salt Lake. Exhausted? Yes! But also filled with joy! Pray that God would keep our drivers alert as we continue on the last leg of our extraordinary journey home to Pullman and Moscow.
• May God give us courage to formulate new goals for our personal mission opportunities on the WSU and U Idaho campuses.
• Please pray that we would all find a balance in the days ahead between the tasks at hand and the processing and application of all we have learned, now that we have brand new hearts for mission.
• Finally, please ask God to bless us as we assimilate an entirely fresh set of attitudes about His world and our place in it.
We also request continual prayer for Lutheran Hour Ministries in all they do to spread the Word.
Thank you!
Friday, March 5, 2010
This Sunday, March 7th the lovely ladies of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League will be holding their annual Chicken Dinner at noon at Concordia Lutheran church!
Join us after the 10:30am worship services for a full spread of chicken, mashed potatoes, beans, rolls and pie!
All home-made and delicious!
Donations will be accepted and all proceeds will go toward our Guatemala trip.
Hope to see you there!!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
HUGE Thank You In Order...
A few words and pictures from Ann:
On Saturday, February 27, trippers and congregation members were very industrious! Around 20 gathered at the church to prepare VBS crafts and daily gifts for the 435 children we’ll get to share Jesus with in Guatemala. We unwrapped, sorted, counted, repacked and labeled around 2,600 crafts projects and presents for our kids. That included punching holes, sticking stickers, cutting and tying ribbons, and stuffing little zip lock bags with all manner of fun things! With jazz playing and good conversation, the morning flew by and the stacks grew until everything was done.
Witness Bracelet update: We have reached our goal of 2000 bracelets to give to Rebeca de Franco to share with every Guatemalan Lutheran in the country! We also have enough bracelets to give one to each of our VBS children, too, with a handwritten message that says, “Please share the story of Jesus with others” in Spanish!
Here are a few photos from Saturday's wrok party:
Matt H., Anna, Jane, Ben, Ellen, Carla, Matt T., and Mark write Spanish phrases for gifts that will go out to the children at VBS. Ellen took the prize for "best hand writing"
The Grimes and Gary & Rebecca work on assembling crafts for VBS
Mary and Garner work on witness bracelets
Out at Jane & Bob Shrope’s home on that same Saturday, Anna Hansen and Charlie Clark joined Jane in making dozens and dozens of fresh cinnamon rolls for a Sunday a.m. sale of rolls and strong Guatemalan coffee. Their efforts brought in over $200 for the trip fund.
On Saturday, February 27, trippers and congregation members were very industrious! Around 20 gathered at the church to prepare VBS crafts and daily gifts for the 435 children we’ll get to share Jesus with in Guatemala. We unwrapped, sorted, counted, repacked and labeled around 2,600 crafts projects and presents for our kids. That included punching holes, sticking stickers, cutting and tying ribbons, and stuffing little zip lock bags with all manner of fun things! With jazz playing and good conversation, the morning flew by and the stacks grew until everything was done.
Witness Bracelet update: We have reached our goal of 2000 bracelets to give to Rebeca de Franco to share with every Guatemalan Lutheran in the country! We also have enough bracelets to give one to each of our VBS children, too, with a handwritten message that says, “Please share the story of Jesus with others” in Spanish!
Here are a few photos from Saturday's wrok party:
Carla and Matt assemble bracelet bags (this picture is special, or "especial" in Spanish)
Matt H., Anna, Jane, Ben, Ellen, Carla, Matt T., and Mark write Spanish phrases for gifts that will go out to the children at VBS. Ellen took the prize for "best hand writing" The Grimes and Gary & Rebecca work on assembling crafts for VBSMary and Garner work on witness bracelets
Out at Jane & Bob Shrope’s home on that same Saturday, Anna Hansen and Charlie Clark joined Jane in making dozens and dozens of fresh cinnamon rolls for a Sunday a.m. sale of rolls and strong Guatemalan coffee. Their efforts brought in over $200 for the trip fund.
Charlie and Anna working on sweet Rolls at the Shrope's
Congregational members enjoy some sweet rolls and coffee last Sunday morning
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
We leave in 8 days and 14 hours!
I know I personally am beyond excited. Everything is coming to together, God is good indeed!! Last Saturday about 20 trippers and congregational members met at the church and assembled over 2,000 craft kits and gifts for the 425 children we’ll be putting on a VBS for. Thank you to everyone who got it all done in record time! INFO FOR TRIPPERS: We’ll be having one last meeting on Sunday, March 7 at 7pm, dessert will be involved. Come with any last minute questions. Also don’t forget to pick up your Malaria pills!!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Coming up this Sunday, February 28th at Concordia Lutheran's 10:30am church service all the trip members will be participating in a Commissioning Service in preparation for our trip in just a couple weeks. All are invited to attend.Also join us after both the 8am and 10:30am services for sweet rolls and real Guatemalan coffee. Donations accepted and will go towards our trip.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
We Need Assemblers!
This coming Saturday, February 27th from 10am till 4pm we'll be assembling craft projects that we will be taking with us to Guatemala. While there we'll be putting on a Vacation Bible School for 425 children (our numbers went up!). Supplies that we ordered will be coming in this week and we'll be assembling on Saturday. We welcome anyone who'd like to come by for 3o minutes or the whole day to help out. Any questions email Ann at asummerson@turbonet.com
Just 18 days till we're on our way to Guatemala!
Here's some info about why we're making around 2,000 witness bracelets for all the Lutheran churches in Guatemala:
Rebeca de Franco, our Guatemalan Lutheran Hour Ministries host, will visit every Lutheran church in Guatemala in the upcoming year. She asked about witness bracelets that could be used to tell the gospel story through the colors of the beads. When the Concordia Lutheran congregation heard about the project, they jumped at the chance to make a mountain of these bracelets. We have nearly 700 made just from CLC, and a Spokane tripper Mom and youth group are donating another almost 500. Kits are underway to get to the goal of 2000 by the time we need pack the bags on March 9. Each bracelet will be accompanied by a card with the meaning of each bead’s color and Bible verses, all in Spanish.Thanks to all who've been counting beads, cutting string, trying knots and putting literally thousands of kits into bags!
Annie and Elisha count beads into kits for congregational members to assemble. 
Ben and Garner cut strings for kits.
Garner and Shana work on assembling kits at the LSF Winter Retreat
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Just 23 days till we leave for Guatemala!
Here are some of the things we've been working on:
- planning VBS for over 360 children!
- assembling several hundreds witness bracelets that will be given to EVERY Lutheran church in Guatemala.
- Continued fund raising including plans for a cinnamon roll sale on February 28th at Concordia Lutheran church in Pullman, WA
- tons of individual prayer and preparation (like travel shots, woo hoo!) as we get ready to serve and grow in ways we can't even imagine!
Thank you to all for your continued prayer and monetary support! Our work would not be possible without your gracious gifts!
I will be trying my best to post daily while we are in Guatemala in hopes that we will be able to share our experience with you! However at this time we're not sure of what our Internet and computer situation will look like, so please stay tuned.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thanks!
A big THANK YOU to all who came out for the Spaghetti feed last Saturday, it was a great success! Thank you also to the Nez Perce Thrivent chapter for matching funds too! Here are a few pictures from the evening:
Matt T. & Ben serve up TONS of spaghetti...
Cooks in the Kitchen
auctioning off ice cream cakes
Coloring on the tables...
Good crowd
Our friendly $ takers; Matt H. & Anna
Matt T. & Ben serve up TONS of spaghetti...Cooks in the Kitchen auctioning off ice cream cakes Coloring on the tables... Good crowdThursday, January 28, 2010
We're getting Close!! Just a mere 6 weeks until we leave for Guatemala! Planning is going well, this weekend we'll start working on our VBS curriculum that we'll be sharing with 360 local children! We are beyond excited and thank you all for your generous support thus far.
Please mark your calender for this weekend!
All-you-can-eat Spaghetti Feed!
Concordia Lutheran Church
1015 NE Orchard Drive, Pullman, WA
Sunday, January 31, 2010
5:30pm-7:30pm
Suggested Donation of $5 per person, $20 max for family of 4 or more
All proceeds go towards
Concordia's Guatemala Mission Trip
All-you-can-eat Spaghetti Feed!
Concordia Lutheran Church
1015 NE Orchard Drive, Pullman, WA
Sunday, January 31, 2010
5:30pm-7:30pm
Suggested Donation of $5 per person, $20 max for family of 4 or more
All proceeds go towards
Concordia's Guatemala Mission Trip
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
quick update
Hello All,
I wanted to apologize for the lack of posting lately on the blog, so here's a little update on how we're all doing:
Fall semesters at WSU and U of I ended in early December so many of us traveled home to be with family over the holidays. We've all been working on sending out appeal letters to family and friends and some of you may have received one in the mail. Spring semester starts up again next week and we'll be back to hard-core fund raising (and regularly updating the blog). Our final payment for our plane tickets will go in this month and we'll be officially on our way! Check back here in the next few weeks for updates on upcoming fund raising events!
Thank you for reading and for your continued support!
-Carla
I wanted to apologize for the lack of posting lately on the blog, so here's a little update on how we're all doing:
Fall semesters at WSU and U of I ended in early December so many of us traveled home to be with family over the holidays. We've all been working on sending out appeal letters to family and friends and some of you may have received one in the mail. Spring semester starts up again next week and we'll be back to hard-core fund raising (and regularly updating the blog). Our final payment for our plane tickets will go in this month and we'll be officially on our way! Check back here in the next few weeks for updates on upcoming fund raising events!
Thank you for reading and for your continued support!
-Carla
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