Take Me to the River

We don't know where to start about this day......We shared with some of you before we left that God had revealed to us that we would have the opportunity to baptize someone in the river while we were in Costa Rica.
We were elated when we heard that the two teenagers we have know since our first trip had decided to make this commitment! The funny thing is that the seed for them was planted during VBS when we were teaching the younger kids what baptism was. They were leaders in our VBS and I thought I was speaking to the kids but all along their hearts were open and hearing. This was confirmation that we did in fact hear the Lord before we left. We had plans to go to the nearby lake and this was an answer to prayer.

BUT..............
As usual, God's plans are bigger and better than we could ever think or imagine. We went to the lake with a few families and after the kids frolicked in the water, we gathered for a lakeside teaching on baptism and what it meant for these two teenagers to publicly declare themselves as disciples of Jesus. As the teaching was going on, you could sense the Spirit moving and see the contemplation on the faces of many present. Before baptizing the two teens, Ted and Gracie asked if there were any others who would like to be baptized. Two or three raised their hands and the excitement grew in our hearts.

The sky was cloudy but the water was warm as the first girl was baptized, then the rest followed. Suddenly, the dad of the teen boy to be baptized came forward and made his decision. He was not one we necessarily expected at all. LITERALLY, as Ted and Larry lifted this Dad out of the water, the clouds separated and a strong beam of sunlight came through and shone only on the top of his head!!!!! It was like watching the bible in video!!! After this man came up, he then had the privilege of baptizing both of his sons!!!

There are no words to describe the atmosphere, feelings, or situation that we were part of. It would seem that you could never top this but God is only just beginning! So, by the end of the service, 8 people were baptized, about 6 families were forever changed, and many many more had seeds planted.  "Some will sow, some will toil, some will reap the harvest".... I feel that we were part of all of these this week.

Gaylor and Angie- 14 year-olds who chose to be baptized, hearing the word of God and deep in prayer prior to their demonstration of faith.

Missionary Graciela Quiocho and Melody Beckwith Babb
who shared the passage about running the race and never giving up!

Missionary Ted Quiocho and Larry Ziner baptizing  14 year-old Angie in Rio Frio

Ted and Larry baptizing Edwin (father of Gaylor) . He didn't plan on this but was the most remarkable demonstration when the skies opened over his head as he came up!!

Gaylor being baptized by Ted and Larry with his Dad now supporting his back!!

Larry and Ted with the 8 people who were baptized. The heavens were rejoicing!

This is what a formerly traumatized boy with a tough tough life, looks like, after the spirit of God falls on him and his Dad. Really, no caption is needed for this one!!! This picture says it all.

The joy after the service

Couples Relationships Blooming

As planned we had the opportunity to share with approximately 6 couples one evening. Mel shared the topic of having a "Nathan" in our lives. Nathan was a prophet that spoke directly and honestly to David after his sin with Bathsheba. David had the choice to accept or reject the truth that was spoken to him.

We discussed how in relationships, we can confront someone in love or in condemnation and also, we can receive the truth with confidence and conviction or with pride and an unyielding spirit. Despite the language barrier, Mel's delivery was awesome and there was much laughter along with very open ears and hearts of the couples who attended. One of the couples even came to this group as a result of their son coming to our VBS, so everything we do can have a far reaching and lasting impression!  All of the couples expressed the desire to continue coming to the group and the husband of the new couple said he didn't want to come at all but now wishes he could have this meeting everyday!!!

As is the mission of Life to Life, THE seed was planted! We look forward to an amazing baptism service in the morning.

Big update

Shortly after our last post, two of the teenagers we met on our first trip two years ago who accepted the Lord last year after we were here came and shared their desire to be baptized while we are here. We were so excited because we were intending to discuss baptism at the couples meeting tonight, but God already moved in the hearts of these two teenagers. We will keep you posted.

Dios es con nosotros siempre! (God is with us always)

Our week of Rancho Avalancha (a kids western themed VBS) has come to an end and very sadly for those of us who have to leave these kids behind. The children had a great time and  learned so much about God each day. For our closing day, the parents all came and watched the kids sing and share. They sang with such joy and excitement and also shared the five points they learned....Dios es real (God is real), Dios esta con nosotros siempre (God is with us always), Dios es fuete (God is strong), Dios es asombroso (God is awesome), Dios esta en control (God is in control). Their last song was Our God Is an Awesome God, and we taught them to do it in sign language. When they finished they knelt down on their knee and worshiped. It was truly wholesome and beautiful. One parent told Mel, "that we loved them so much in one week!!!" God really shined in this place today. After serious discussion, many children expressed the desire to accept the Lord as their savior.

When leaving the school, the last student brought her mother to us ; who told us that tomorrow was the little girls birthday and that all she wanted was for our team to pray for her give her a blessing before she went. It was an extremely humbling moment.

We have been welcomed by neighbors to visit their homes and have received many food gifts. It really is too bad that all the weight we have lost in pounds of sweat, we probably have regained in delicious foods. Tonight we have the opportunity to host a couples marriage group and are praying for opportunities to share not only the gospel but the opportunity for baptism if they are interested. We will have lots to share tomorrow.

It has been a wonderful time and our team is really blending. We appreciate each one of you.  See you soon.

Dios es real! (God is real)

After weeks of planning and many sleepless nights, our team arrived in Costa Rica Sunday afternoon and made our way through the rainforest to our destination of Finca 2.  Our first evening and first day (Monday) consisted of preparing for the week and adjusting to getting along with each other despite lack of sleep and incredible heat. By days end we collapsed in hopes of  reenergizing before beginning our V.B.S today. Thanks be to God, we all woke up in better spirits and began to work as the united team we are supposed to be!



Some of the kids had their faces in our windows by 5:30 am waiting to catch a glimpse of the team. We began our cowboy themed VBS on time and prepared, and we melted as the first smiling faces entered. There is something about their eyes that reminds us of why we are here and shows us the truth we taught today; That God is Real!






We are blessed to be back here to serve with missionaries and friends, Ted and Gracie Quiocho. We have also added three new friends who volunteered to help us this week. Larry and Ted have begun their projects of building bunk beds and doing home repairs and improvements. As is the case often in Latin America, supplies were not ready when promised so their schedule will be long and hard for the balance of the week. We miss everyone and appreciate your support. Prayers are needed for each and every day as there is always opposition! Keep posted!

Wednesday we continued our VBS with 10 additional children. We are anticipating more tomorrow! The children already know the first 2 songs by heart and are working on the dances. Today the children learned that God is with us always, even when they are being naughty!! (And that goes for us too:) We had a cultural "aha" moment, when we surprised the kids with fruit rollups and failed to tell them not to eat the plastic rapper. Good thing they get a lot of fiber in their beans to help the plastic pass through.

Larry and Ted have been busy building bunk beds to help the ministry house large teams. But as is the way in construction, the wood was not ready when promised. But, they're working hard to accomplish their project by weeks end.

Guatemala 2011 Team Returns Safetly and Richly Blessed

Going to Guatemala and serving alongside Jose and staff at Hope For Guatemala was nothing less than life changing for all of us! Feeding and spending time with these children who have nothing, yet have such thankful hearts and smiles is a reality check for us all! 

 

 

We left Guatemala with hearts full, tears in our eyes not wanting to leave, our lives changed, their lives impacted, and a new resolve to come back next year with more Spanish under our belts! We have experienced living out James 1:27 this week . . . Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. 

Marie Groves.

Day 3- Blessings at the market

Day number 3 of our wonderful trip to Guatemala started with us leaving at 4:45...before the sun was even up. After picking up two amazing teenagers, we headed to the market to collect the food donations that will feed the children at the ministry, their families, and two other local ministries for a week.

Jose has been coming to this same market since the beginning of the ministry, and has therefore built strong relationships with all the farmers at the market. Before collecting food, we engaged in conversation and sometimes prayer with each vendor. Through this, we were able to learn about each individual farmer and their lives and needs. It was only after engaging in conversation with each person that we received the food donations. Through these conversations, we were able to learn a lot about the Mayan culture, as most of the farmers are indigenous Mayan indians. Clark learned how to say "you're welcome" in one of the (many) Mayan languages, and he repeated it over and over no matter what the context of the conversation!

At the market, we met up with Rolando, who helped translate on our first trip to Hope for Guatemala and also on our first trip to Costa Rica. It was great to see him!!

After the market, we returned to Hope for Guatemala to sort and organize the food. We also saw the teenagers recycling projects where they took recyclable objects and turned them into a new creation. These children are so creative! The child who came in first place in the contest turned an ordinary lamp into a rabbit figure in order to add decoration to her house.

Once all the food was sorted, the families of the children arrived at the mission to receive their weekly gift of vegetables and fruits. The mission has also adopted 3 elderly ladies. As we were serving these "abuelitas" we were reminded of the verse in James 1:27

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Please continue to pray for us as we continue to minister to the children!
~Alisha

Day 2 in Guatemala

So today was our first day to serve at the ministry Hope For Guatemala! After today, I'm already dreading our last day here . . .I don't want to leave!! My heart has been touched in ways that I can't find words to describe. We helped feed over 200 children today. We took 50+ kids to a really cool park in Guatemala city. The laughter, screams of delight, and smiles were heart warming to the core! Cristian and Johann lead a devotional for the kids which they loved. I wish I could have had at least 15+ hands today, as the kids were fighting over taking turns to just walk with me and hold my hand. I have hugged, kissed, smiled, & laughed my way through this day . . .what a way to live!!! While on the bus this morning on the way to the park, two girls took hair clips out of their hair and insisted that Cierra have them. It was all they had to give, but it was so important to them that Cierra except their gift. I think we will frame the hair clips upon returning home!

Alisha led a devotional this afternoon with the teenagers that involved them trying to put a puzzle together without any instructions or a picture to look at. The moral of the devotional was that life is like this when we don't allow God to lead our lives and we don't follow His instruction book for us the Bible. At the end, she invited the kids to pray and invite Jesus into their hearts. 1 boy did so!!! It was truly an amazing moment for us all!!

After the last group was fed and all dishes were washed and put away, Jose took us to one of the kids homes that is apart of the ministry to take them a 25 lb. bag of powdered milk. No words can describe the conditions that a family of 11 lives in. Yet the smiles on the faces of the kids and the joy they had in showing us their home was so amazing! They hugged and kissed us before leaving and were literally screaming for joy that we had come by!

We have another busy day ahead of us in the morning as our day starts at 4:45am.

Experiencing God one moment at a time!
Marie Groves and Team

Day 1 in Guatemala

Wow, where do we begin . . .we woke up to a beautiful day! It is cooler here than what we expected it to be. No humitity, just gorgeous 70+ degrees. We went to church this morning with Jose, and the presence of God was so very real! It is wonderful to feel God so close when you are so far out of your comfort zone, yet worshipping with beautiful people in another language you don't even understand. We serve an amazing God!!

The one request that Cristian had before coming on this trip, was to go back and visit the orphanage he was adopted from. Today after church Jose took us back to that location. The orphanage is no longer there, and the current owners of the building were not home but we were able to take pictures outside.

Jose took us down to the market where we walked around experiencing all the sights, sounds, and smells of a typical Sunday in Guatemala. It was so very interesting, and the kids were amazed to enjoy some Guatemalan culture! There was a juggler on the street entertaining people, so as we walked by him he immediately picked me out of the crowd and came over and asked me to marry him. It has been our joke all day long!! Obviously, I couldn't speak spanish (which he didn't know at first) so Jose had to translate for me which made the whole situation even funnier! We then went to this very nice resturant in a beautiful hotel which had so much history. The food was amazing!

After scouting out the park where we are taking the kids from the ministry tomorrow, we came home for a much needed nap! :>) We took some time this evening to plan our day for tomorrow. Cristian and Johann (Jose's brother who is 12 yrs. old) are leading the devotional time with the kids at the park in the morning. Cristian is sharing a devotional that God has placed on his heart, while Johann is translating for him. Cristian and Johann have become very good friends and it is so awesome to watch God bond these two boys together!

Good-night from Guatemala and a team that can't wait to see what God is going to do tomorrow!
Marie Groves

We made it safely to Guatemala!

We arrived safely to Guatemala this afternoon after what was the easiest day of travel imaginable! We continuously experienced the Favor of God as we were able to skip long lines and board the airplane first. Additionally, there was no line at customs upon our arrival in Guatemala, which is unheard of! We landed in Guatemala during a rainstorm, but quickly met up with Jose who took us to dinner at Pizza Hut in an upscale mall in Zone 10. We got a chance to experience a different (and much nicer) part of Guatemala City than we will be working in for the rest of the week.

After dinner we headed to Jose's house where Cristian met Jose's little brother Johann. They became instant best friends. Cristian and Cierra are super excited to be back in Guatemala for the first time since their adoption as babies, and we are all really excited to see what amazing things are in store for us.

Please continue to pray for us! Pray for a hedge of protection around our team as well as continued favor and that God will soften and prepare the hearts of all those we will come in contact with.

There is not much to update about tonight. We are headed to bed now for some must needed rest in preparation for the busy yet exciting week that is to come!

~Alisha