The events of Friday, July 4th 2008 have permanently changed our worlds as our team knew them. We were witnesses to God's power, saving grace, and his desire to use common but willing hearts.

After the pageant Thursday, we had the opportunity to talk with each child about God and what they knew about him. We found that most said they knew God and Jesus but had not actually trusted him with their lives yet. We discovered that some wanted to have that personal relationship with God.

The amazing thing was, that a month prior to our trip God showed Georgia, in a dream, that there were some children at the orphanage that would want to be baptized. When we talked about it, we used the usual responses, "we can't do that, we aren't pastors" and "how are we going to bring that up to the children" etc... etc... But in faith, Georgia went to the bookstore and bought beautiful baptismal certificates to bring with us. We had them the entire two weeks and mentioned nothing to the children.



On Thursday night, we told the directors of the orphanage that we were going to offer a baptism for anyone who was truly interested. They spoke with each child separately and found out 13 of the children desired a baptism! We then discovered that one of the lovely adult kitchen workers we spent the week with, asked to be baptized as well. The directors began to cry when they found out. They told us she was the first employee of the orphanage and they had been praying for her for 15 years!



We were so overwhelmed at the awesome responsibility and opportunity we had before us. We prayed and asked God, "how and where do we do this?" He provided the answer right away. The owner of the orphange lives nearby in a large home and she had a sunroom with a hot tub. Her son is the pastor of Freedom House Church, Guatemala and he offered to assist us with translation.

Friday morning we piled 21 of us in a mini van (Guatemala style) and left for her home. On the way, I said to Georgia, "do you realize that right now, we are literally driving people into the kingdom of God!" It was an indescribable feeling. As if things couldn't get any better, Rebekah turned to me and said," Mom, I haven't been baptized yet, can I be baptized too?" And then Mel said, "I haven't had the opportunity yet either." We couldn't believe it! We were up to 16 people!

We arrived and the director prepared the children for the serious commitment they were about to make. Larry and I had the opportunity to get in the hot tub and begin to baptize each child and adult! It was simply amazing!! Their faces told so much, they were truly new children! After we were finished, one of the 8 year-old boys gave a testimony that before he was lowered in the water, he asked God to "deliver him from all evil". He said when he came up out of the water, he had "never felt so happy."

It was truly an honor to be used by God for the transforming of lives and to be part of a miracle here on earth. The Word says that "we cannot think or imagine the great things God has for us." This has been an experience that we will never forget.

God says "some plant, some water, some reap" (michelle version). We realize that it was not us who reaped but God himself. We also know that without all of you who sowed for us to come and reap the harvest, none of this would be possible. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for partnering with us and we assure you, you will have your reward in heaven.
We have left the orphanage with tears in our eyes as the kids waved in the distance shouting "adios". I know in my heart that it is not "adios" but "see you soon" even if it means not until we get to heaven.
We know now that there will be at least 16 more in heaven!!
See you soon.
Love,
The Ziners
Georgia
& Mel

Hi Friends and Family,
It has been difficult to get to a working computer the past few days and we have been busy all hours of the days. Tuesday, we went to visit some of the families in Zone 18. It was difficult to see the degree of poverty as bad or worse than it was last year. On the bright side, we were able to visit the family of a little boy that Georgia has been sponsoring the past year. He was so excited to see her, he was beaming and didn't stop smiling the entire time. She shared gifts with him and and his cousin and left things for his mother. It was wonderful for her to be able to follow through and have that time with him.

Wednesday, we spent the morning with the kids playing, hanging more laundry on lines and helping around the orphanage. Mel, Josh and the girls worked together to make an "American" meal for lunch. It was decided it would be meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and apples with cinnamon and sugar. They worked hard for hours and the meal was fantasic. Since this gave the cook and the kitchen help time off, Georgia set up the "Salon de Georgia" and invited the ladies to our room for manicures and pedicures. She served them coke, and gave them candy, both of which were big treats for them.


Wednesday, we boarded a school bus and took all the kids to the city to go to the movies. Their eyes were so wide when they saw the inside of a mall and when we attempted to go on an escalator, fear prevailed for most of the kids! Only two kids fell and one cried. The rest of the kids conquered the new adventure. Each child got a box of popcorn and a soda. It was so wonderful to see the joy on their faces just receiving popcorn. When returning, we found that Larry had made great progress on his tiling however, he came down with a stomach sickness and we found him in bed.

Thursday, we invited our friends to spend time at the orphanage helping with translating for our special event. We gathered all of the children and explained to them that they were princes and princesses of the most high king, Jesus Christ. After discussing that, we interviewed each child about themselves. We then had all of the girls come and have their hair done, make up done and their nails polished. We chose gowns for them and dressed them up. When finished, we gave each one a tiara. The boys all got crowns and ran inside to put their best clothes on. We set up an area for a Fundaninos pageant complete with background music. We invited local workers to come and watch while each girl was escorted by one of the boys. They had such a great time and they were all so beautiful.

Unfortunately, Larry is still sick and a nurse determined he is dehydrated so alot of poweraid was in order. He has had some antibiotics now and is starting to regain some strength.

We are planning a bonfire and marshmallows tonight however, it looks like monsoon rain is coming. The reality that we are leaving soon is setting in and the kids are starting to ask questions. I feel like I have connected with each child here in some small way and I will definitely not forget the love they give, even though that is the exact thing they crave.

We are extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know them and to furnish them with so many material and spiritual things. Thanks to all of you, many needs have been met.
The house behind the kids in the photos is the new baby house which will provide them with much better living condtions. You guys are awesome, see you soon. The best day (tomorrow) is yet to come. Wait until you hear what is going to happen! Don't forget to check the blog tomorrow night. To God be the Glory.

Love,
The Ziners
Melody
&
Georgia

THE REST OF THE TEAM ARRIVES!

THE REST OF THE TEAM ARRIVES(YEAH!!!)

Saturday and Sunday were exciting for us with the arrival of Larry, Georgia and Mel. Our missionary friend, Tina, from Guatemala city picked them up and had us all back to her house for a dinner fiesta Saturday night complete with friends from Charlotte who run the ministry we visited last year.

Sunday we had a personal day with our friends. We drove to Antigua where we had authentic food in an open air market and we shopped for hours. Larry and Jose toured the ancient Mayan ruins which they absolutely loved. After a relaxing day, we made the ascent to the mountains for our return to the orphanage. Unfortunately,we stopped at Burger King on the way and Georgia became ill right away with stomach problems from a fish sandwich, and was in bed all day Monday. We prayed like crazy and she is doing better.

Monday, we greeted the day with excitement. Thanks to Mel, we had several crafts to set up and do with the children. They come running when they see us, wondering what fun thing they will do next(this is such a blessing). When finished, Mel brought out the huge bag of lollipops and immediately she was surrounded by niños. Needless to say they loved that!

Mel spent alot of time working with the babies and was a little (no I mean alot) frustrated with how they were being cared for. This is definitely something they need help with. They don't have baby wipes and only get a certain amount of diapers per week, so the kids are not changed when needed. They are changed on a schedule to conserve on diapers.

When Georgia was strong enough to get up Monday, she came to see the toddlers. A little girl, who looks alot like her daughter, was crying because a volunteer was checking her head for lice. When she found a live one, she yanked the little girl inside to wash her head with the dreaded medicine. Georgia, in her usual "big hearted" way, intervened. She brought the little girl to our room, and gave her candy and a new pink headband to wear when the shampoo treatment was done. The smile on her face over the plastic headband, took all of the pain away!
At the crack of dawn, Larry was up and ready to work. The new baby building was staring him in the face and he was anxious to get started with construction. The construction is being done by Orphan Resources International, from PA. When the project manager arrived, Larry was able to give him the $3,000 he raised for the completion of the house. The gratitude from the man was overwhelming and there are no words to describe how thankful we were to be part of bringing such a huge blessing to this orphanage. (Again, THANK YOU TO CHARLOTTE AREA SUBCONTRACTORS!!!!) Larry's first order of business was to lay about 2,000 sq feet of tile. With no kneepads he was hurting the whole way, but in his usual fashion, he cranked out a ton of it the first day. One of the oldest boys in the orphange asked right away to be his helper. What incredible work ethics these kids have. The US kids definitely lack in this area and we parents are definitely to blame. You never have to ask a child for anything more than once, and they WANT to help. They make a game out of picking up trash!

We closed the day Monday with perhaps one of the most emotional moments of our trip so far. We planned a "pajama party" for the kids to present them with the pajamas we raised from all of our sponsors. We gathered the kids together and the director told them that when they have a need, they pray and ask God for it and he hears. We called each child up to the front and presented them with new Disney pajamas. They were so ecstatic. When we were finished, several of them came up to the front and gave a short speech, thanking us for the pajamas. The real clencher was when Larry's helper, Geraldo, age 11 came to the front and asked to please pray. He told God he was "thankful to have a "family" this week, thankful for the people who sent us here, thankful for the fun times and mostly thankful for the provisions of new pajamas" Georgia started with the tears, then Mel, and then my heart was bursting and we were all humbled. We topped off the night with homemade popcorn and the Bee Movie, with all the kids in their new pajamas. Whew, what a full day. Thank you God!

Well, Tuesday, we are off for the day to ZONE 18 of Guatemala City,(the poorest and most dangerous). We are going with Hope for Guatemala, the ministry our chuch supports, to visit the families in the mountains that we helped last year. We have compiled "blessing boxes" filled with food, fresh fruit, supplies and few fun gifts Georgia collected. We will update you on this adventure tomorrow.

Love you all.

The Ziners

Georgia
Melody

The last two days of the week at the orphanage were filled with time spent with the children finishing vacation bible school, crafts, and just having fun with the children. The kids went crazy when we presented them with a snack of peanut butter and chocolate. In this country, peanut butter is so expensive and hardly available. The kids literally hung on Rebekah to get more and more. When the jar was empty, Rebekah had it caked on her hands and left to wash them. She never made it to the sink since all the kids followed her and literally licked her fingers until every last bit was gone.

When Rebekah finally made it to the bathroom, in the kids school, she realized the lock on the stall didn't work. She used a toothpick from the craft we were doing to slide the latch closed. After doing so, she lifted up the toilet seat and found distgusting unmentionables. When deciding to try another stall, she realized the reason the lock was broken was because it didn't have a handle to slide it. She then realized she was stuck behind a 15 foot tall concrete door which ran from floor to 2 feet below the ceeling. She was truly stuck. She screamed for me. I came with a whole group of kids behind me and we tried to figure out a way to get her out. There wasn't one. Finally, she climbed on top of the toilet and, since she has years of gymnastics lessons, she leaped to the top of the stall wall and balanced herself on top of a six inch wide wall with only 2 feet of clearance between the top of the wall and the ceiling. From there, she hung over the door and we were able to lower her down! Never a dull moment with Rebekah.

Josh had the opportunity to help in the kitchen with food prep and then got a lesson in making homemade tortillas. It is a skill God gave to the Central Americans inherently since they can make perfect circles every time!

We never before realized how isolated we were up at the orphanage until we spent a week there. We hadn't seen moving cars, or markets or light in the evening for that matter. It gets dark at 7pm so after dark there is nothing to do but go to bed. You get up and work with dawn and go to sleep at dusk. The children are such a blessing despite battling with scabies and lice. They are always smiling and wanting more hugs.

In retrospect, we think we were sucessful helping the children to learn a little about God. They have memorized
God is real- Dios es real
God is with us always- Dios esta con nosotros siempre
God is strong-Dios es fuerte
God is awesome-Dios es grandioso
God is in control-Dios tiene el control

I guess if nothing else, they have these verses to rely on during their lives. We also have wonderful memories with them.
Thank you for praying for us.
Love,
The Ziners

In and Out of Our Comfort Zone


Comfortable:


Well, the last two days of our time at the orphanage have proved to be some of the most enjoyable and hardest ever!






Yesterday, after bible school, we were needed in the babies room due to a shortage of staff. We fed, bathed, changed and played with the 6 babies. This was very comfortable for us since we are very used to that.

Not Comfortable

However, today after bible school it was time for us to do what the older kids wanted. Here is where things got tough! The orphanage is located a short way up a mountain but the kids wanted to go on a hike to the top of the mountain. They have done this before and assured us it was so beautiful at the top, it would be worth it. Our climb began through beautiful fruit vineyards, under beautiful foliage but got steep very quickly. The orphans ran ahead and literally could run to the top.



While I struggled for my life since the most I have walked in the past years is once around the mall. My heart beat out of my chest, I rested at times and kept on going. Some of the orphans who had made it to the top already, ran down to see if I was ok. One of the kids at the top said "Michelle se murio" and "Michelle esta perdir" which means "Michelle died" and "Michelle is lost" in Spanish, and several came to help. Needless to say, I pressed on with help from Jackie and Rebekah and about 2 minutes from the top.......

This came......

Immediately, we were filled with fear as the clouds rolled in and thunder began to boom. In Guatemala, it is the rainy season and when it rains they could get about 12 inches in 1/2 hour. Being at the top of a mountain means that the water would cause a mudslide. We had to call the kids and Alisha from the top, and head down, "quickly". I realized as we were coming down that God (with his sense of humor) allowed this so I had a way to reinforce our bible lesson from today which was "Dios es fuerte" God is strong. I had the opportunity to tell the kids (mostly myself) that God was stronger than the thunder storm and we would make it back before the rain.
Make it we did, and although it was very uncomfortable for me, the little kids cheered when I got down and said you are a "super madre" (super mom) bshoom.


Seing that the mountain was about 2 miles tall it took about 2 hours going up hill and about 30 min back down. (We slid down the mountain, the kids on purpose, me not so willingly)




It was a great experience but it is true that you must be flexible and be out of your comfort zone while away on a mission trip. Our kids found this out too, when they had to wash our clothes and hang them on the line to dry. I doubt they will forget that when they use the dryer at home!! We were even more humbled when after dark we walked by the laundry room and there were two 8 year-olds washing all of the kids socks who went to the mountain with us. The girls spent hours washing them on a washboard and hanging them up, all with a smile.


Rebekah decided to try cleaning our socks and found it to be alot of fun. We'll see when we get back!

We miss you all,

The Ziners

Just a Reminder

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Thanks for reading and keep us in your prayers as we will you.

UP AND RUNNING!!

Fundaninos, the orphanage we are working at, is located in the mountains of Guatemala. Although it is warm during the day, the nights are very cold. However, the birds, foliage and view are beautiful.



After a "very camp-like" night in our sleeping quarters, we were up and working with the kids bright and early. They were so excited to see us and greeted us with hugs, hugs and more hugs. We spent time getting to know the children outside sitting under trees and playing, before we began our first day of bible school. We attempted to teach them (in Spanish with a Southern accent) that "God is real!" They were very excited to have the crafts, music, candy and games that we brought.

There were two horses here today from somewhere in the mountains and the kids got to ride them. Rebekah took a child for a ride but the horse went backwards down a hill and Rebekah and the little girl fell off sideways!! I'm sure that little girl will not grow up to be cowgirl!.


The kids do not have many toys or "things" here but they entertain themselves in very creative ways. It is very strange to see 48 kids and no toys. Yet, they are always smiling. Most of them have skin conditions from bites or mites and they itch alot. We were able to get some creme on some of them to make them more comfortable.

We will serve again early in the morning and look forward to seeing God work in these children.
Love,
The Ziners

First Day in Guatemala

WE HAVE ARRIVED IN GUATEMALA! WE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR ABOUT,
Well I don't know how long because there is a 2 hour difference. When we arrived we went through the immigration center, got our passports stamped, got luggage, and very smoothly we left the airport. On our way to Fundaninos, the orphanage, we traveled through dirt rocky roads. When we finally arrived we unloaded and went to meet the kids. We met the babies, 6 to be exact, they are SOO cute! Now we are at another american missionary's house. And we are having a delicioso tortilla dinner. Tonight we are staying here and tomorrow we are going to church and back to the orphanage.
We haven't really begun anything big with the kids yet but Monday we are starting Escuela de Biblia, (VBS to you).

We thank God for every opportunity he has given us. And we are fully putting our faith in Him to provide for us. Because it is only through God that we could be here with the opportunity to minister His will THROUGH US to the children of Fundaninos. We pray that everything we do and everything we say is a God's Word through us, to the kids.

Jackie Ziner

Te Amo Mucho!
We love you tons!

We're On Our Way

Thanks to the generous donations from so many, we are packed and prepared to leave for Guatemala on Saturday, June 21st for two weeks. As we've told you, we will spend the two weeks at an orphanage in the mountains outside of Guatemala City.

We were made aware of a desperate need for pajamas for the children of the orphanage. Because of your huge hearts, we are bringing 90 pair of pajamas with us tomorrow to surprise the children. We got a lot of them from the Disney store for a "steal" and we are bringing Disney movies in Spanish to play during a pajama party we will give the children, complete with popcorn and candy. (and you thought our house was loud!!)

Through contact with the directors of the past few weeks, it came to my attention that there was a building under construction to house the infants of the orphanage which was 90% complete but has been sitting for the past year, due to lack of $3,000 necessary to complete it. Motivated by compassion, and a desire to see God's plan complete, Larry contacted many of his subcontractors in the construction field to see if any had a desire to help. I am ecstatic to say, we raised the $3,000 in less than a day!!! The Charlotte Construction Industry rocks!!! Now, Larry is coming for the second week to personally do the work to complete the building.

So, now we had new pajamas and a building complete! How much more could we ask.
Despite our overjoy at the provisions we were bringing, support keeps coming in!! Just this morning I was able to purchase 48 pair of children's jeans for the kids with a check we received from a neighbor who we have never even met!! They put the check on our doorstep and now the kids have jeans too!

We will have access to a computer while we are there but we understand the internet service is not usually up to par. Please click on the button below to receive emails when we post on the blog during the trip. We will update regularly and you will be along for the ride with us.
We love you!
Pray for our safety and for God to accomplish his will in the lives of these children.
Thanks for reading.
Michelle, Larry, Alisha, Josh, Jackie & Rebekah Ziner


Because of the build

Perparing For Our Return To Guatemala

As many of you know we spent some time last spring serving in Guatemala City with a group from our church. During our visit we had the opportunity to cook for 150 children seeking refuge from the dangerous streets they live in. We visited their makeshift homes consisting of metal walls, dirt floors and no plumbing. As an outreach, we brought 600 pair of new sneakers and fitted a village of children with their first pair of shoes.

While there, we ventured outside of the city and visited Fundaninos, an orphanage located in the mountains. This orphanage is funded and run solely with donations, alot of which come from individuals and churches in the United States. Because of the contacts we made while we were there last year,we have the opportunity to return again this June.

We have decided to spend two weeks at Fundaninos, leaving on June 21st and returning on July 5th.

Larry does not have time off from work so I will be going with Alisha, Josh, Jackie and Rebekah.

Ethan, Jakob and Anna will stay here with Larry on the nights and weekends and with their preschool teacher during the days.

Alisha is heading to college in the fall to major in International Studies and minor in Spanish. In addition to serving, she plans to to utilize and improve the Spanish she has learned over the past 4 years.

Joshua is interested in culinary arts so he desires to work in the kitchen, cooking etc..

Jackie and Rebekah are used to working with children and will spend most of their time working directly with the babies and toddlers and hopefully making some new friends their own age.

I feel led to learn how an orphanage is built, run, and funded. I feel someday we might be involved in opening an orphanage somewhere. There is no better way to learn

than to jump in and do it!!

The purpose of this trip will be to serve at the orphanage in any way necessary. Whether feeding, changing diapers, dressing children, teaching, playing, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking or putting children to bed, we will be the hands and feet of Jesus.

We also plan to take some of the older children to the movies. This seems basic, but most of them have never been to a movie theatre, never mind had a coke and some buttery popcorn. This will truly be a highlight for many.

We want to emphasize to each of the children personally that they are important in God's eyes.

One day we plan to do a fashion show with the girls, dressing them up in party dresses, crowns, makeup and then videotape them. The boys will dress in cowboy hats and bandanas. And after the day is done, we will show them the film of themselves. This is another thing they have rarely seen.

We would also like to interview each child and write a short story about them to try to help them become adopted someday. I am sure this will be an emotional and enlightening time.

We will be sharing all of this with you, each day that we are there. We have been blessed to receive financial support for our plane tickets from a friend and business associate of Larry's. We are continuing to raise funds to cover the activities we plan to do while there and to allow us to meet some very basic needs of the children.

One way we want to make a difference is to provide pajamas for the children. I have been told that they don't have pajamas for children over the age of 3. We feel that each child deserves at least one pair of pajamas, no matter what circumstances they live in! If you feel led to help us purchase pajamas for the children, please let me know. Between all the people we know, I am sure that gathering 65 pair of pajamas won't be that hard!

I hope you choose to join us on this trip via this blog. Please pray for us and check back often for updates.

♥ Michelle & Larry Ziner Alisha, Joshua, Jackie & Rebekah ♥