A night in Antigua

We spent the evening in the vivacious city of Antigua. This historic, colonial city is located about 30 minutes from Art and Lisa's home in San Lucas. Antigua is lined with cobblestone streets, bright colored buildings, large doors everywhere, and historical monuments. We went to dinner at a hotel and were entertained with a Guatemalan/Mayan dance and serenaded by marimbas, the national instrument. Jenni and Meryah danced with swords and maracas in hand alongside the Guatemalan dancers.

We had a great time with Art, Lisa, and their grandson, Brett Jr. Tomorrow begins our time at Casa Bernabe. Buenas Noches mis amigas.

Josie for the team

We have posted some of our favorite photos from our day as well...

A few more photos from the village...

Here are a few more pictures of our amazing day...

Our Day in the Village

We just returned from an incredible day in a remote village outside of San Lucas. We served alongside Anita Giagnocavo through her ministry with Hands of Hope. Anita is a nurse and her family runs a little community clinic in a very poor area (which receives no government support). Throughout the day she and her staff provided medical and dental help to the community. We watched Anita serve these families with a contagious amount of joy, laughter and love. Anita treated one little boy with a temperature of 105 degrees! While Anita and her staff ran the clinic, our team built beds and treated children with lice.

After constructing 5 beds, our team delivered the beds to 4 different homes in the community. In order to qualify for the beds, the women had to complete a "home study" and participate in 13 hours of community service. We were really touched by this unique ministry which is meeting a very specific need. A local doctor (who serves at the clinic) told us that 95% of the people in this area sleep on their dirt floors. It was indescribable to see the pride, joy and excitement on these womens' faces as we carried beds into their homes (sometimes through treacherous jungle paths or down steep embankments). Their homes were very humble and yet the children laughed and played in their yards (without any toys) and the grateful spirits of each family were unforgettable.

We were blessed to serve alongside another short-term missionary as well as a local Guatemalan volunteer. Each had their stories of how God called them to minister and serve the beautiful Guatemalan people. I was captivated by the bright colors of the villager's native clothing. The children were absolutely gorgeous and I took way too many photos!

We are having a short rest, then heading to dinner with Art and Lisa.

Thank you for your prayers! There is much more to come as we head to the Casa Bernabe orphanage tomorrow...

Jenni for the team

(P.S... Mike, I used a drill today for the first time! You would have been so proud!)

Hemos Llegado (We Have Arrived)...

We had a great day of travel today. Thank you so much for your prayers! There were absolutely no problems w/customs at the airport. This was highly unusual since we had a new printer and many bags filled with gifts. God is definitely with us! We are staying at the home of Art and Lisa Camarena, dear missionary friends. We were greeted with loud fireworks and warm abrazos (hugs) at the Camarena's home. We enjoyed a delicious traditional Guatemalan dinner together.

After dinner Ufi presented Jenni (and The Village Church of Irvine) with a thank you card and certificate on behalf of the women's Bible study for our many years of support. It was a very precious moment which made me feel proud of our church's love and support of the Camarena's ministry for so many years. We also brought gifts to Art and Lisa from our church and their supporters - it felt like Christmas morning!

We are headed to bed after a long day of travel. Tomorrow we will work with Hands of Hope to build and deliver beds to families in a nearby village. We will be going out to dinner in Antigua tomorrow night at a restaurant with a traditional Guatemalan show.

Thank you for your prayers, we hope to post more tomorrow night!

Buenas noches!

Jenni for Emily, Josie and Meryah

Orphan Sunday is Nov 7, 2010!

Is your church doing anything for Orphan Sunday? If not, please ask your church leadership to look at this website. They have amazing resources, including videos and bulletin inserts. Please take a few minutes to watch the video preview on the site (video hosted by Francis Chan).

Check out http://www.cryoftheorphan.org/

Haiti Trip - DATE CHANGE to Feb 26-Mar 5

God is moving in Haiti amidst the pain and destruction of the earthquake. Please pray for the people of Haiti, and consider joining or supporting our team in January! We will be taking shoes to the children in the orphanage, please let us know if you'd like to help.

URGENT - IMMEDIATE NEEDS FOR GUATEMALA

We have just been told that the orphanage in Guatemala is in need of a(used) laptop computer. Also, a very poor family that lives near Art and Lisa Camarena (Village Church missionaries with Ripe for Harvest) just had twin girls. They are in desperate need of baby clothes and toys for these girls.

Please let us know if you can help with either of these needs. Contact Jenni at jenni@allblessings.org

Thank you!