Bread House

I've been thinking about bread a lot lately. I know it sounds strange, but stay with me. One of the great things about Guatemala (but not so great for my waistline) is the abundance of bakery's. Just about every other store in our town is a bakery; stocked everyday with fresh, warm bread. Along with their beloved corn tortillas, pan Frances (French bread) is practically a staple in most Guatemalan homes. And while I love this bread, it still leaves me empty and unsatisfied.

During this season of Advent we are anticipating the birth of The Bread of Life. He is the bread of Heaven that we can feed upon everyday and will satisfy our souls.
Did you know that Bethlehem means "House of Bread"? It makes me smile to see God's goodness in that. The Bread of Life born in the Bread House. God knew our great need and provided His only Son. And 33 years later, he broke bread with His disciples foreshadowing the breaking of His body for us.

This is the message we want our communities to grasp. As we've held several Christmas parties in the villages, our goal was always Jesus.  As fun as presents and cake are, I pray they would recognize the significance of Christ's birth too and that these sweet people will realized just how much God loves them. That The Bread of Life came and can satisfy them.

Tomorrow Mitch and I will fly to the States. We will go from a culture where the over-materialized aspect of Christmas is a sin, to a culture that celebrates the over-abundance of commercialism. While we are excited to be with family and friends, the simplistic way celebrating this holiday as they do in Guatemala will be missed. No matter where we are for Christmas, seek The Bread of Life. Only He can feed our hungry souls. He is our Enough.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! 

thankful hearts, surrendered lives

Just a week after the murder of a man in Los Chilitos, many of the Catholics gathered around in the village to preform rituals that would supposedly make the evil spirits flee. We drove into the village that day not knowing what was going on. We realized there weren't many people walking around, but we gathered with those that were. Hail and rain began pouring down and all the schools kids waited patiently under the school for the opportune time to make a run for their homes. The little ones waited with Rebecca and I and together we read the story of Abraham. We followed the story with a song that even the village kids knew, "Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had father Abraham."       

While we kept occupied, waiting for the rain to slow down, Mitch and Esaú met Gilberto in his home with chicken and tortillas. Even in Guatemala, the best way to win a man is with food. Gilberto is the father of Sindy, the 17 year old who was recently saved and baptized. After talking and eating for a while, Mitch asked him a hard question, "Are you about ready to give your life to Christ? 
I'm almost ready," Gilberto answered easily. 
The following Sunday we drove up to their home for bible study liked we had planed with him. We studied John 1 and it was evident that they were soaking up God's word. We wrapped up our study with prayer and said hasta mañana. 
We rolled in on Monday and followed our normal schedule with the kids. When we were done, we walked to Gilberto's house and sat and listened as the guys' conversation grew into something spiritual. By the end of our time there, Gilberto was on his knees in prayer surrendering his life to Christ. 

We are thankful to be a part of this ministry; to witness families give their lives to follow Jesus. As we continue to meet with Gilberto, I pray his home becomes a beacon of light for the gospel in the village of Los Chilitos.
Here are some photos of Gilberto showing us around his village; some of the prettiest views we've ever seen!

Gilberto, Mitch, Esaú, and Clay

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

The gringos are back!

I know I'm three weeks late on this, but we're back in Guatemala!

Back to living somewhere in-between an over populated city and the middle of nowhere.

Back to speaking Spanish and playing fútbol.

Back to a dusty home and a leaky car. 

Back to eating eggs, beans, and pan Frances.

Back to afternoons spent with giggling little girls and energetic little boys.
Back to the slow-paced, small town lifestyle.
Back to being surrounded by volcanoes and mountains! 

Back to the beautiful people and rich culture that make up the place we call home.

I can remember exactly when it started to feel like home. It wasn't but a few months after moving here that Mitch and I had this mutual feeling of Guatemala being home.
Even with the long lines at the bank, limited items at the grocery store, random stops by the police, and the constant rain (October is las ultimas lluvias!), we're still thankful to call Guatemala home.

Right now we are in the final stages of turning in our paper work to become residents. Once we are accepted, Guatemala will officially (and legally) be home to us!

Being home also means new things in our ministry. Like having our friend Rebecca live and serve with us for the next 2 years! We've also started something new with some of the women in the villages. Have you seen paper beads? You may of heard of ministries in Africa making jewelry from paper and we're joining in and beginning this here in Guatemala! This is such an amazing opportunity because paper is an affordable and available resource. I have a huge vision and desire in my heart for the women in the villages. I want these women to have dignity and to thrive in their communities and personal lives.  For now we are just making beads while talking about life and Jesus with one another, but I can't wait to share more of this as we progress.

This beautiful adventure of ours has led us to a lot of places, but Guatemala is our home.
And I'm pretty certain that it always will be.  

Stateside travels

We are currently in the last leg of our stateside visit. We spent 2 weeks in Nashville and got to send off 5 of our friends to Uganda, Guatemala, England, and Czech Republic. It was a sweet time of prayer and worship. After Nashville we headed off to Fayetteville, AR; Owasso, OK; Stigler, OK; Austin, TX; and now we are in Houston. Our time has been spent speaking at churches, fundraising and visiting with friends and family.We have 2 more stops to make before we head back to Guatemala- West Monroe, LA and then back to Pensacola, FL. Here are some photos from our travels + a recent photo shoot!

Nashville:

Photo Shoot:

Oklahoma:

Austin:

We have some BIG plans in mind for Guatemala! The Lord has really given us a vision for the villages that we are working in. We can't wait to see what that entails and how it unfolds! We are so ready to get back to our home and the sweet people we minister to- just 2 in a half weeks left in the states! 

Florida

Senior photos are some of my favorites and who doesn't love beach photos? I'm so thankful I get to spend some time doing photography while I'm in the states. It's something I kind of miss when I'm in Guatemala.

Mitch and I spent a good bit of time in Pensacola and happened to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary while we were there. We're still a little in shock that it's already been 3 years. Time has flown! But it has been a blast and I wouldn't want to do life with anyone else. 

A lot of celebrating took place during our Florida visit. And this was one of the biggest celebrations of all-my best friend of 20 years got married! Isn't she beautiful? I'm so glad I was a part of such a lovely wedding. Congrats again to Hillary and Jon! 

                       

Introducing----> The Big LAUNCH! This is a video from our organization, Mobilizing Students. One of the main reasons Mitch and I came up to Nashville was to be apart of the launch ceremony held for several friends within our organization. They will be spending 2 years in England, Czech Republic, Guatemala, and Uganda doing the same type of thing Mitch and I are doing in Guatemala. 

Watch and see how you can be a part of sending missionaries to the nations. 

If you need us, we'll be enjoying Music City for the next 2 weeks. 

You're next, Fayetteville, Arkansas!