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Salem Lutheran Church
Juliette (Siebels) & Ryan Alvey's
Ministry in Guatamala
February 23, 2006
Link to: Salem Guatamala home page
Juliette (Siebels) & Ryan Alvey's
Ministry in Guatamala
February 23, 2006
Link to: Salem Guatamala home page
Hola!
Today was probably the earliest day yet. We all were up and preparing ourselves for the day to come shortly after 6am. At 8:00 we began with morning devotion at the mission’s school house chapel. We were blessed with having a chance to see the children of the school perform a few songs with their hand bells.
After the service had concluded we were given a chance to see the school’s facility as it was performing its day to day function. The school itself had approximately 165 students, grades PK—8. During our tour we were allowed a chance to visit with the children and get to hear what their life ambitions and favorite subjects were. It was an uplifting experience listening to the children, whose parents were spending the day in the dump, telling us how they were going to graduate and attend the university.
Before we were given our lunch we had an additional opportunity to visit some more of the shanty homes in the village out side of the dump. Each team had a chance to visit at least two homes. It is a remarkable experience to see the living conditions of the residents of the village and to witness the love of Christ to them. Seeing the peoples’ hearts receive the Word and to hear the way God has already touched so many, has brought many of the team members to a new level of humility and thankfulness for all He has done for us.
After a quick lunch we traveled to a local park were we met up with many of the teenage students of Servants Heart School. The topic of the devotion we presented was “respect”; respect for God, and our fellow man. This allowed a sag-way for a chance to present the teenagers with a discussion about abstinence. Culturally, the children in Guatemala become sexually active much earlier than children in the US, surprisingly as status symbol. Many believe you can show your importance to the community if you are able to become pregnant or if you could impregnate a young woman. There are many fronts in which Christian ethics are in direct conflict with the established cultural dynamic. The discussions on abstinence were well received by both the girls and boys. However, just as in the US, changing the behaviors of multiple generations will take a lot of time and work. When the discussion concluded we were afforded the chance to play some “futbol” and eat pizza with the teens.
Tomorrow we will be traveling to Antigua. There we will be visiting a hospital the ministry has been working with, offering care to mentally handicapped individuals. Today and the days already past have been a true blessing.
We ask for you to pray for our continued safety as we travel tomorrow. We also ask that the impact of God’s word remain on the hearts of those He has touched and those that he continues to touch.
In Christ Alone,
The Guatemala Mission Team