GCC Guatemala Update #2

Guatemala is such an amazing place, I’m so happy for the opportunity to come here with my mom and sister and the rest of our Guatemala team! You can see how God is working through the Banta’s and the members of their crew, especially Charlie! So far we have visited the market and purchased food for families in need, and the family that I got to distribute our team’s food basket to was an older man and his granddaughter, who was special needs, and they lived in a house with a small table, 2 small beds, and dirt floors. When we gave them the basket, the man immediately knew it was from God, because he prays every night for things like that. When we prayed with them, they got down on their knees before the Lord, and we put our hands on them and prayed that the man would find work. We have also been working on painting a building on the land of the soccer field, which has been hard work, but very rewarding. We have cheered on the soccer teams, and held a carnival for them also, and its so awesome to see how God is using us to help the people of Guatemala get to know Him better. Given the opportunity, I would definitely come back and help with Global Soccer Ministries again.

–Kiersten

Every time I go on a short term missions trip, I am continually amazed by the contrast between my life and the life that the people in these different countries live. These people live in homes we wouldn’t even call shacks, they work day in and day out just to struggle by, they go to bed hungry, but they are thankful and they are grateful for what they do have. This is one of the biggest things that I see in people here in Guatemala. They have so little but they don’t worry on what they don’t have but they focus on what they do have. We took a food basket to a man who was living with his special needs granddaughter and the people that knew him said that he was going to share everything he got with others. That just blows my mind. The people that have the least are so willing to share what they have with others. GSM has such a great ministry going and I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of it. You can see God’s love radiated through all the people working here in Guatemala. This has been such a great experience and I am really looking forward to going on another missions trip. God bless GSM and their ministry, the Bantas, Charly, and everyone spreading the love of God.

–Abi

I love Guatemala and the people here. I have had such an amazing opportunity to come here. Now that I am actually here and I made it alive, I have noticed how different it is here than Michigan. In Guatemala I have noticed that the people live in tin houses and some of the people have diseases. Most of the people here don’t have the money to cure it. They most of the time just have to deal with the pain and do what they can. Most of the people also need god in there life. Some of the little children don’t have dads or don’t have the education they need. The girls help there mothers in the markets with either making tortilla’s or fixing up there little area. The people have cars but no traffic lights. The children here have great hearts and just want to be loved. The kids also love having there pictures taken. While we are down here I have thought about how lucky we are to live in America. But saying that, we also aren’t so lucky. The people here are very good at soccer and some of the little kids can beat me. (Almost beat me) I also took a food basket to this couple and they were an elderly couple with a daughter that has migrates everyday almost all day. The mother has asthma and she has an inhaler. The father has fallen and hurt his hip and a little later he fell and hurt his knee. With those injures, he kept working and he continued to help the family. That just made me think of how loving

they are to step out of being hurt just to help there family. These people were so loving and we prayed with the daughter and the couple. They were just a great family to be with. I just hope that most of the kids and the adults just to get to know god better and let him lead there life. They need to know that he loves them, and that he wants to be their fathers. I want to thank the GSM for letting us paint over there and help them grow bigger. I also want to thank Charly for helping us and I saw God through him a couple of times this week. Thanks for this wonderful opportunity and God Bless You.

~Madi

Eye-opener is an Understatement…

The sights, smells, and sounds that I have experienced this week can not be described accurately using vocabulary known to you and me. To say imagine a family that lives beneath a multitude of tin sheets molded together, or children roaming the streets while their parents are at the market, does not do justice. Even an array of photographs would not come close to being immersed in it all. This week has opened my eyes, not simply to the very real poverty present in Guatemala but God’s presence regardless of it. One moment that truly moved me was when we delivered a basket of food to a grandfather and granddaughter. Despite the roughness of the neighborhood, where shootings take place on a nightly basis, the family graciously welcomed us into their home. This touched me greatly for in an area where it seems no one can be trusted they had evident trust in God and thus let us in with open arms. Among many other incidents this one in particular will stay with me. I am eternally grateful for being given the opportunity, especially being able to share it with my grandpa; I know it is one I will never forget.

- Tiff