Concordia Pullman's Guatemala Mission: March 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:

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 Barr
• 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!

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:

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 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.

Charlie and Anna working on sweet Rolls at the Shrope's