An Eye-Opening Afternoon...

Written by Roberta Keenan

If you ever get to a point in your life where you’re feeling sorry for yourself because you don’t have the best house or best car, I encourage you to take a trip to a third world country. Today we had the opportunity to visit six impoverished families. The moms in these families are part of Lisa Camarena’s weekly women’s Bible study. The team was blessed with generous donations of gifts and money from you, our supporters, which allowed us to shower each of these families with provisions to feed their flock, including 10 lbs. of rice; 10 lbs. of black beans; 10 lbs. of sugar, oil, and some nutrition drinks. Through donations, we had socks, shoes, toys, and toiletries to give each family. When you enter a home with a dirt floor, tin sides, and see wood burning in the corner of the main room, which acts as their cooking surface, you realize what you’ve given them is a tremendous gift.


This was the condition of our first stop, Maria’s family. The gift they gave us in return was their extreme gratitude, their freely given hugs and their words of faith, purpose and encouragement. Their faith is deep, and they are truly thankful for what they have.

Our next stop was to the home of Esparanza and Francisco. A little step up in their living conditions, but not by much. The Bible study group had been praying for Francisco for the last three years. He had fallen away from his faith and belief in God. The visit from our group and the encouraging words from our host, Art Camarena, led Francisco to confess that he had fallen away and wanted to become reunited with the Lord. What followed was a sweet time of prayer and anointing as Francisco rejoined the family of God. We were all humbled as Francisco fell to his knees and cried out to God. Tears flowed from his precious wife and children, and there was not a dry eye in the team.


We then came to the home of Julia and her single-mom daughter, Marta. This family has suffered the tremendous loss of two children, but their faith is vibrant. Again, we showered them with provisions. Marta is struggling to keep strong with her three children, since her husband abandoned them and is now on the streets in the city. She struggles to keep food on the table, and to get the supplies she needs to get her children into school. Her faith in the Lord is strong and she knows that His love sustains her and her family.


Pastor Zacheus and his wife Ireni were next on our route. He pastors a small church, and is in the midst of building a home on the roof, making a second floor. Their living conditions are currently make-shift. The stairs up were steep, uneven, with nothing to hold on to. Coming down was even scarier. Ireni struggles with these steps since she’s recovering from a broken foot (as a result of falling down the steps, which would never pass code in the USA), and has two pins in her foot.


Their oldest daughter, Dana, is 20 and suffers from severe medical conditions. They also have four other children. Ireni spoke words of encouragement to me, since my dear Ben recently passed away. The team surrounded them with prayer for healing and to bless their ministry. At the end, their precious son, Ephraim, presented each woman on the team with two long stem red roses, a purchase that was a real sacrifice for them, I’m sure.


Our last stop was to the lovely home of Christina, her husband and family. They recently moved into a new, modest home that they were able to purchase as a result of the sale of another property. Christina, only 27, has five children and suffers with a heart condition. Their youngest child is 4 months old and the doctor told her she can’t carry her child around due to her poor heart. One of the dear ladies on our team felt led by the Lord to buy a stroller for her. Art went to the local WalMart (yes, they have several down here) and purchased a sturdy stroller so it could be presented to her this afternoon. She was overwhelmed to the point of tears. We also had the privilege to pray over their new home.


This is my 4th trip to beautiful Guatemala, and it always amazes me … we think we’re coming to be a blessing, but it is always us that are blessed.

Doing the Lord's Work

Writen by Jackson May (age 13)

Today we had the opportunity to paint Eufy's house. It was a breathtaking experience for all of us. In case you don't know who Eufy is, she is the woman who cooks all of our magnificent meals (yes, breakfast, lunch, and dinner!). Eufy and her family (two sons and one daughter) live in the other house on Art and Lisa's property. They have worked really hard to clear out the trees and plant flowers around their house. Lisa told me that Eufy loves her flowers and is really proud of them.

Eufy is really nice, and she is even learning to understand and speak some English. I asked her if she needed some help pouring a full 20-gallon water jug into a pan, she then replied, "Yeah." We are learning to communicate! Without her, we wouldn't have received the full Guatemalan experience... the meals have been great!


Around eight this morning we had our devotion and then started off to her house. My dad (Phil), Conner, Morgan, and I were at Eufy's house painting it a bright "amarillo"(yellow). The rest of the crew were back at Art and Lisa's painting the window sills. When we first got there, Josue was already almost done with the front side of the house (not sure whether to call it the front or back, because the front, that is facing the road, doesn't have a door). We started on one of the sides. That took us about two hours just to do that side, because we have never painted that kind of surface before.

Their home was almost like adobe, but really fragile and had many, many texture spots that took very tedious work to fill in. After that first side, we realized that Felipe had done the bottom two feet of the rest of the house. That was really helpful, because that was the hardest part. Let me clarify. It wasn't really hard work, but it was just awkward to hold the paint can, hold back Eufy's precious plants and paint, without letting the paint drip everywhere. We tried our best to respect her plants and do the best job possible.


Once we started, we kind of got the hang of it. On the first side, I was doing the bottom, my dad was on the ladder doing the top, and Morgan and Conner were using the rollers to do the sides. The next side though, we were able to switch it up and me and Morgan did the rollers, while Conner followed and got the cracks that we couldn't get with a flat roller. Good thing Felipe (Eufy's husband) did the bottoms of the other two walls, because we were called inside for lunch, just as I had finished touching up the last wall. As could be expected from experienced painters like ourselves, the house looked AMAZING when we were done.


Eufy's house hadn't been painted in fifteen years, so it was nice to help her out. It felt good to know that they were proud of their new paint. I would like to help do some additions to her house next time, because some of the walls aren't even high enough to reach up to the tin roof. It probably gets really cold in the winter. Seeing her home made me thankful for my warm house back in Tennessee. Overall, it was a great day of work and it felt good to help!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

Post by Jenni Ramsey

Today I looked through our team photos (which were all downloaded onto Lisa's computer), and was deeply touched by the emotions that were captured on film. We have an incredible team of humble servants who are extremely gifted in many areas. Clearly, many of them are gifted in photography. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did!


Presenting a surprise birthday gift to Roxanna... who was moved to tears

Jackson and Damaris Sophia... the precious little girl who looks very similar to the May's adopted Guatemalan daughter, Sophia

An unforgettable hug

Conner and Damaris

Amy loving on the babies

Preparing the gift bags

Marlene bonding with a baby

The beautiful plaque for Ben

Jenni and Roxanna (who wants to be a missionary)... instant friends

The worship of the saints

Morgan and Damaris

Lisa is deeply loved by this community

The gate into the Camarena's property

Roberta was overwhelmed by all of the hugs

Our wonderful cooks, Eufy and Blanquita

A Celebration Designed by God

Blog post written by Marlene Eckert and Lisa Bussard

Today our team was deeply touched by the humble, simple and passionate faith of our dear Guatemalan brothers and sisters. Our hearts are so full as we write this blog that we're not sure that words can possibly capture the incredible experience God designed for us and the Guatemalan neighbors of our missionary hosts. We felt his presence throughout the day, which began with the best wake-up call ever--Guatemalan music--and sunny skies! Preparation for the day's events included assembling over sixty "goody bags" for each of the guests. As the sun peaked in the sky, the ladies who attend Lisa's weekly Bible Study and their children arrived with enthusiastic hugs and smiles for each of our team members.

The festivities commenced with planting a magnolia tree in the memory of Ben Keenan, who led previous teams to serve with Art and Lisa and had a tremendous heart for Guatemalan missions. We were moved to tears as the ladies from the Bible Study sang worship songs accapella to honor Ben's legacy. This was a special blessing to Roberta, Ben's wife and our team member, because hymns had to be omitted at Ben's service in California due to time constraints. Art gave the eulogy and several Guatemalans participated in scripture reading and tree planting. Roberta placed the first shovel of dirt around the tree, and a plaque stating Ben's favorite verse, 1 Corinthians 2:9, was added in front of the tree. It was evident throughout the ceremony that he deeply touched the heart of many Guatemalans.

After the ceremony we all went to the "Upper Room" to enjoy a Guatemalan lunch, sitting side-by-side with women who do not share our culture or language, but share our love for Jesus Christ. While the education of most of these ladies is extremely limited, we have much to learn from their spiritual knowledge and love of Christ in the face of tremendous adversity. Both the Guatemalan ladies as well as team members shared stories of painful loss as well as extraordinary faith. We were once again blessed with their hymns accompanied by Jenni on the keyboard.


While the ladies were in the Upper Room, the children enjoyed lunch and playing Guatemalan games on the soccer field. The 3 young people on our team, Jackson, Morgan, and Conner, jumped into participating although the rules were explained in Spanish. By the time the rest of us joined the children, they were enthusiastically playing on the bounce house slide and ball pit inflatables, as well as playing soccer, volleyball, and on the playground equipment. While bounce houses are common at American childrens' birthday celebrations, we were told these children (from impoverished homes) had never played in a bounce house before. Needless to say, it was an unforgettable celebration which brought smiles to the faces of over sixty children. Additional highlights included a "Cars" pinata, a birthday cake for the Camarenas' grandson Bret, and distribution of gifts to all of the Guatemalan guests. The ladies and children showed their appreciation to each of us with unending hugs and expressions of gratitude. A smile translates easily into all languages.


We had prayed that God would provide good weather for this primarily outdoor event. We are very grateful that God chose to wait to open the skies until shortly after the last guest had left.


We are thankful for the beautiful Guatemalan people and so grateful to be here today! We came to Guatemala to bless the people who live here, but even on our first full day we feel that we were more blessed by them.

"Entering the Land"

In the Old Testament book of Joshua , chapter 1, the Lord prepares Joshua to enter the promised land. In Joshua 1:5-7 & 9 it says:

"I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give to them. Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you, do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

We have arrived! Thank you for all of your prayers today! It was an uneventful travel day and we are all grateful to be resting in Art and Lisa's beautiful home tonight. Our day was filled with many blessings, including "divine appointments" on flights, the opportunity to pray over our luggage attendant (who turned out to be a Guatemalan pastor!) in the airport and the fact that Roberta was seated next to team members on both of our flights. Roberta purchased her flights after the rest of the team and assumed she would be separated from us. It was a great surprise to discover that she had been placed right next to us. The customs officers examined four of our donations bags, but after some "sweet talk" (and prayer, of course), they let us through without any issues.

We were welcomed at the Camarena's home with traditional fireworks and enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal. We are all tired and the house is quiet as everyone has settled in for a good night of rest.

Tomorrow is a big day here at the house. We are throwing a large celebration for the community, which will include a home-made lunch, Bible study, music, pinatas, games, soccer and a bounce house (which is a very special treat for the children here). Everyone will receive a gift bag (thanks to Roberta's home group and the donations of others). We will also be honoring Roberta's husband, Ben, who led many outreach teams to Guatemala and passed into eternity this July. Needless to say, it's going to be an unforgettable day!

Buenas noches!

Donations, donations, donations!!!

Our team has been overwhelmed by the donations that continue to pour in! Our duffel bags and hearts are full and ready to serve! We have an entire duffel bag filled with medical supplies and can't wait to pass these donations along to the medical clinic.

The following donations have been collected by our Tennessee team members:

Jeans - 219
Silly Bands - 5,561
Toothbrushes - 98
Toothpaste - 147
Bandaids - 1,800

Thank you again for all of your support! Please pray for our team as we travel from November 16-23. We would love your prayers for the following needs:

(1) Safety as we travel
(2) Health for the team members
(3) Communication (with the language barrier) as we serve the Guatemalan people
(4) Team unity
(5) For all of our hearts to be impacted and changed as we serve
(6) Pray that we can communicate God's love, hope and healing to everyone we meet
(7) Pray that the 5 families who receive beds this week will have a strong sense of God's love for them
(8) Pray for our family members at home

-Jenni for the team

3 days until departure...

Our team of nine departs for Guatemala this Wednesday, November 16th. All of our team members are currently packing and preparing to serve the beautiful people of Guatemala. We have been AMAZED by the incredible outpouring of support and donations for this trip! The pictures above are all of the donations that were given to the Ramsey family. Jordan and Aidan collected candy at their school last week and were thrilled by the tremendous response of their classmates. The CA team members will be meeting on Monday to finalize packing and attempt to fit ALL OF THE DONATIONS into the duffel bags! We want to express our gratitude to all of our donors for your support, compassion and sacrifical giving!

Please follow our journey as we travel to Guatemala. We will be posting photos and updates daily!