On Mission to Guatemala

For the last week, my husband and oldest daughter spent their time in Guatemala ministering to the needs of the Christians there, encouraging them in their faith, and sharing the Word with it's people. I haven't posted this past few weeks because I just simply haven't had a chance. Our family has a special love for the people of Guatemala because we have a daughter adopted from there. Their time in Guatemala was wonderful and I hope to share with you some of the stories from their journey.

Because of our business, Todd and I have to be in contact with one another throughout the day so that he can keep things running here by phone. I don't like for them to be gone and I most certainly do not like running a plumbing company. It's a week when the days can start out smooth and take a turn for the worse in about 2 minutes flat. Todd always leaves a schedule for the guys to know where he wants them, and when. He figures about how much time each job will take and schedules accordingly.

So, the guys arrive and load their trucks at 7, leave the shop about 7:30, and off they go. Once they arrive there are dozens of things that can go wrong, throwing a wrench in the entire day or even the whole week: the supplies that were supposed to be delivered aren't there, they don't have the right parts on their truck, the home is locked up, the job isn't ready, etc...

I can tell you that as much as I want them to go and share Christ there, I do not enjoy the week they are gone, or the few weeks preceding their departure. There are days and days and hours on end of preparation involved in leaving the country, even more so when you are leaving a business behind that's expected to run while you are gone. The items you have to pack when you are leaving to go on a trip out of the country is long enough, but when you are going to an area that doesn't have clean water, sanitation, or the basic things we consider to be necessities, the packing list gets even longer.

Their time in Guatemala is always wonderful. There are many stories I want to share with you all from this trip. Some of the stories I sent out to the families and friends of those who were also on the trip. I am always the unofficial "liaison" between the members of the mission team and those they leave here in the states, so I'm going to share with you all those emails and then I will sprinkle in a few other stories that Anna and Todd have shared with me since they've been back home.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori