November 8-15, 2014 - This Guatemala trip was an amazing opportunity and privilege. This was mainly intended to be a construction group with the task of building a combination soccer, basketball, volleyball court/playground adjacent to the Pasojoc feeding program (www.adopt-a-child.com/home/feeding-centers/pasajoc) but it also became very evangelistic as well. This program is carved into the side of a mountain in Quiche, Guatemala and only accessible by 4-wheel drive vehicle. Nearly one thousand children come to this feeding program to be fed physically and spiritually throughout the week and the impacts go well beyond those registered with the Adopt-A-Child program through Living Water International. Many of these children walk for hours each way in the mountains to participate. This is one of nine programs in Guatemala serving nearly 10,000 children each week. We mixed/poured 134,000 pounds of concrete by hand, painted multiple buildings, ministered to many people directly and indirectly, visited multiple churches, feeding programs and home visits, saw many salvations (including one of the children Sara and I sponsor - Alvaro) and left an incense of praise everywhere we went. The completed project will be a ministry tool for thousands of children for many years to come. Our group consisted of individuals representing six different churches (plus the local missionaries Steve & Ana McDaniel and Brinson & Lori Barker) and it was a great example of unity as we developed immediate relationships with those we were serving with. We went to bless others and we still got blessed anyways. I had the privilege of leading worship during devotions each day and even threw out a late night continuous worship session for over an hour one evening. The group was stretched on many levels physically, spiritually and emotionally throughout the trip.
Of these 10,000 children, around 6,000+ children have sponsors and the rest of them are provided the same benefits on faith that God will provided the needed finances to cover the expenses. No children are turned away. Sponsorship of a child in the program costs $30 per month which includes meals, medical and dental care and also an opportunity for the sponsor to connect with the child on a deeper level. The children consider their sponsors Padrinos (like a god-parent) as we have the opportunity to bless them additionally through prayer, letters, cards, additional gifts and/or personal home visits (when available on organized mission trips). If you would like to learn more about sponsorship, please contact Michael or Sara Thorsby and we'll direct you as needed. Also see more at www.adopt-a-child.com.
Random Note - Ironically, one of the guys I bunked with (Niko Ilias - Youth Pastor from King's Way in Pensacola, FL) had just been at David's Tent, DC the same weekend Sara and I were prior to arriving in Guatemala and as we discussed further, his worship leader (Christina Walden) was attending the same Burn 24-7 Field Training school as Sara and I and many others in our Burn family. He certainly helped bring our worship to another level. It's amazing how God unifies people with similar DNA... even in a different country.