Guatemala Campaign: Day 10...Heading Home and Final Thoughts.

Guatemala Flag waving in Central Park in Guatemala City

Day 10.  Monday, March 21st, 2011.  Well today started as normal.  We all got up and had breakfast at the free breakfast buffet at the Guatemala City Holiday Inn.  On today's agenda? No doorknocking or sightseeing.  This morning we packed our bags, checked out of our hotel and headed to the airport to head back to Denver.  Hi and Byron took us to the airport. I am torn about leaving the wonderful country of Guatemala.  A big part of me wanted to stay.  But I had to return to Denver to tend to my responsibilities there.  We did have a little mishap in Houston though.  Jared, being from New Zealand had a hassle in customs and would not get back until 10:35 this night since his hassle caused him to miss our connecting flight to Denver. Sad times but all worked out.

I will never forget the people I have met or the experiences I have had.  I have made some new friends while in Guatemala that I will continue to be in touch with via Facebook.

This is only the second campaign I have been on but something tells me it will have been one of the most fruitful.  We gained some contacts and found a lost sheep, Emma.  We also found out that 39 people were in attendance at the Coban church yesterday.  The highest it has ever been!!! God be praised!!!

Emma is just one of the many people I will never forget.  Others that will hold a special place in my heart will be Darvin and his family, Anibal and Dulce.  Dulce's name means sweet and as Byron put it, this 13 year old girl lives up to her name.  Only knew her for a couple of hours but she and I became good friends almost instantly.  Of course Hi and Byron also made this experience unforgettable.  They really went out of their way for us and made everything we did in Guatemala possible.  But there is one more group of people I need to mention.

Last but not least, the men I came with, Tony, Jared, and Jordan.  Our different personalities and abilities made for an interesting and fruitful campaign.  They held up my hands as student campaign director and helped me fulfill my duties as such.  I could not have done the job I did in Guatemala without their support, encouragement and love for the Lord and His work.  THANKS GUYS!!!

Finally, I wish to thank you the reader.  You guys are much of the reason I kept up this blog during our time in Guatemala.  Thank you for reading and for all your comments.  I enjoyed keeping people posted on the happenings during the campaign.  We had over 150 views so far on this series of blogs.  YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!! LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS!!! SO FOR THE LAST TIME IN THIS SERIES, THANKS FOR READING!!! LOVE, YOUR HUMBLE AUTHOR.

GUATEMALA AND EVERYONE IN IT, YOU WILL BE MISSED. IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE SERVING YOU.  THIS IS DAVID MALLEY, SIGNING OFF. :-)

Guatemala Campaign: Day 9...Worship with the saints in Guatemala.

Translation: The church of Christ Meets here.

Day 9.  Sunday March 20th, 2011.  Today was the Lord's Day as it was where you the reader were.  Today was another day I was looking forward to while here in Guatemala, another day of worship with the saints. Oh and by the way all in Spanish. :-)

This morning we worshipped at the Linda Vista congregation (pictured above).  Linda Vista is actually not within Guatemala City but in a little community called Villanueva located just outside the city.  On the way to services we detoured and drove past what is known as the mega temple.  The mega temple is a Pentecostal church building that holds up to 12000 people and has parking for about 16000 cars according to one of the ITL students, Benjamin.  After this detour, we went to services. 

Not sure if I have mentioned it but worship is handled differently here than what most of us are used to in the States.  At Linda Vista, they have worship first then Bible class.  I preached my second sermon in Spanish on Philippians 2:1-11 talking about being humble and serving others this morning with Byron serving as translator for the guys.  Had an issue with the mic though because I needed one hand to hold my Bible and another to speak with.  I had to stand close to the mic which was handheld but as a result Byron was unable to hear the whole thing to translate.  However, my message did get across and I received encouraging compliments.  Tony handled the adult Bible class and Jared handled the Teen Bible class.  I translated Jared's class.  It was really good as he followed up my sermon with a lesson on how we can put service into practice in our lives for the teens.   After service, we had a good lunch at a member's home and returned to our hotel for some afternoon R & R before evening service. 

Evening service went really well.  Jordan preached a sermon called Christianity Made Simple from Ephesians 2:1-10.  I translated for Jordan as well. The translation went well because I put into practice some pointers that Byron gave me to be an effective translator.  He told me do not only translate the words but also use the same tone of voice and body language that the speaker is using to make the message that much more effective. Even my peers, Tony and Jared noticed much improvement in this area. I was happy about that.  At the end of the sermon, this would bring our campaign to its official close. After evening services, we all went to a popular Guatemalan chain called Pollo Campero, a KFC type chicken restaurant.  We had a good meal with Jonathan, a relatively new convert, Benjamin and Anibal the preacher at Linda Vista along with Hi and Byron.  We returned to the hotel to prepare to fly out at noon on Monday back to Denver.  

On a final note, in addition to all this I got to celebrate my 27th birthday (Today) here in Guatemala. I wish to thank all who texted me and/or posted on my Facebook wall wishing me a Happy Birthday. I could not have asked for a better way to celebrate my birthday then being reminded of how loved I am and being humbled to know I have touched so many lives in so many ways. I am also happy to have celebrated my 27th worshipping with Hi, Byron, and all the saints at Linda Vista.  Safe to say I have fallen in love with Guatemala and the people here and pray I can return for a visit sometime in the near future. 

THANK YOU FOR READING EVERYONE!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND TOMORROW I WILL BE POSTING MY CONCLUDING BLOG IN THIS SERIES WITH SOME FINAL THOUGHTS REGARDING THE BVBID GUATEMALA CAMPAIGN OF 2011!!! LOVE Y'ALL!!! GOD BLESS!!! 

Guatemala Campaign: Day 8...Exploring Guatemala

Day 8.  Exploring Guatemala.  Today we all started bright and early with the free breakfast buffet here at our hotel.  After breakfast, Tony and Jordan went back to the rooms but me and Jared took a stroll through the immediate neighborhood surrounding the hotel.  Among other things, we found a little hole in the wall shop where me and Jared found some souvenirs we liked.  When we came back to the hotel we went to the top floor and snapped some pics of the city.

Soon after we began our day as planned.  Hi Jones came and picked us up and we went to downtown Guatemala City.  There we visited Central Park and witnessed some sort of political protest going on.  We also walked into an impressive cathedral where there was a lot of people praying and there were statues and figures of Jesus.  We then visited the underground market.  Nothing shady here.  This is literally a market that is underground in the basement area of a building.  It is a popular tourist attraction.  Some souvenirs were bought here as well.  We then had some lunch and headed off to what turned in to the most interesting part of our day.  We headed to Antigua.

Antigua means old.  Antigua is actually where the old capital city of Guatemala was located.  This too is a popular attraction.  Antigua sits at the foot of the volcano seen in the picture above.  This volcano is still active.  Antigua was beautiful.  Walking around there you are immersed into Guatemalan and ancient Mayan culture.  The market there had many items that reminiscent of Guatemalan and Mayan culture.  We also witnessed a wedding going on in a cathedral there in Antigua and watched it for a few minutes.  I also some children dressed in Mayan attire which really grabbed my attention.  I snapped some shots of it.  We also saw some men playing the marimba, the national instrument as well as some of the local artists at work.  At the end of our tour of Antigua we stopped into a coffee shop and Tony, Jared, and Jordan had some coffee.  Me and Hi chose not to get anything.

At the conclusion of our outing, we went to a little restaurant called Las Cebollitas (The Little Onions) and met up with Byron where we all had dinner together. It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last full day here in this country I have grown to love.  Ashley, I can now see why you love it here so much.  It will be hard to leave.

Tomorrow Tony and Jared will be teaching the Bible classes at the Linda Vista congregation and me and Jordan will preach the morning and evening sermons respectively. Ill let everyone know how tomorrow goes.  I cannot believe that over 100 people have read this series of blogs. I am glad I have kept your interest everyone. THANK YOU FOR READING!!! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! NEW POST SUNDAY NIGHT!!! :-)

Guatemala Campaign: Day 7...Leaving Coban and Return to Guatemala City.

Day 7.  Friday, March 18th, 2011.  Well today we packed our bags and checked out of our hotel in Coban. We took a little longer than expected because Jared got charged for dirtying up a hand towel after cleaning his shoes after yesterday's adventure.  It was amusing yet surprising. One thing we discovered here is that you have to pay for just about everything.  They charge you here for everything from syrup to creamer for coffee.  But this is a poor country so they probably need the money.

After we checked out, we went and had breakfast at brother Darvin's house with him and his family.  When I saw those two bundles of joy, Alyson and Camila, that's when it hit me we were leaving Coban for a good while.  All four of us fell in love with Alyson and Camila.  There is nothing like the joy and innocence of a child.  It is no wonder the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Darvin's wife, Lily cooked chorizo and eggs with refried beans and plantains (fried bananas) this morning.  She has filled our belly with so many good things this week.  She is a very caring and hospitable woman.  She (and her cooking) will be missed.  Daniel, Darvin's boy was at school so we did not see him.  I pray he becomes a great man of God. Then there is Alejandrina aka Ale.  She, a 13 year old girl really exemplifies what it means to put others before yourself.  She would wait to do her vast amount of homework until the late hours of the night and/or the wee hours of the morning in order to serve the needs of others, her family and the church in Coban.  This brings me back to Darvin.  Darvin will also hold a special place in my heart.  This man has taught me so much this week.  He has taught me that all we need to rely on when studying with someone is God and His Word.  I discovered outlines are handy but not necessary to study with someone.  He also gave me an excellent sermon on the need to work and not be lazy in the Lord's church.  I will miss Darvin and the whole Alvarez family so much.  We are all sad to leave Coban and pray for another opportunity to return and that the Lord's Church continue to grow there.

Upon arrival in Guatemala City, we arrived at the Holiday Inn and got checked in.  We relaxed for a little while and then went and had dinner with some of the students and the preacher at the local extension school. There I met the preacher's daughter.  Her name is Dulce (pictured with me above).  Her name means Candy or Sweet.  She is 13 years old and as sweet as her name. She took the time out to initiate what turned into an hour of conversation with me.  She is spending some time with other family this weekend so I probably won't see her again until I return to Guatemala sometime in the future.  Tomorrow we are going sight seeing with Hi Jones, Byron's partner here in Guatemala as Byron has to teach tomorrow at the Saturday program.  Tomorrow night we are having dinner at the home of one of the members of the :LV (Linda Vista) congregation here in Guatemala City.  Ill let you guys know how that and other activities go in tomorrow's blog.

As I write this, I realize how much I love Coban, the experiences I have had and the people.  We still have one more job to do in Guatemala City on Sunday, preach and teach at the Linda Vista congregation.  It's too bad we can't spend more time with the LV congregation so I pray we can make a difference in the time we have there.  I'll keep everyone posted on our activities during these next couple of days as we approach the close of our time in the beautiful country of Guatemala.  It has been a great campaign with great people.  LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! THANKS FOR READING!  

Guatemala Campaign: Day 6...Adventures in Guatemala.

Day 6.  Thursday, March 17th 2011.  Well per the title this day was most definitely an adventure.  It had all the key ingredients.  Mishaps, laughter, necessary teamwork and good times with those involved.

This day was supposed to be a day of rest and relaxation.  And it was but not without a little work first.  We stopped first to explore a popular cave.  Here the lights did not work so they gave us candles for a pitch black cave.  Not exactly ideal.  The lights eventually did come on but at this point we were deep inside the cave.  I also heard a bat which shook me up a little bit since I hate bats. But we got out and enjoyed it.  So after this, we were on our way up to Champey, a community about two hours from Coban.  This is where it got interesting.  Champey is known worldwide for their clean and natural swimming holes. The ride up there was going pretty smoothly until we came too close to the side of the dirt road we were on and our back tire fell into the gutter on the side of the road (pictured above).  We tried a variety of methods to get it out and eventually did.  We learned here that our little diesel engine 15 passenger van was not equipped to make the trip to Champey.  So what did we do?  We ended up leaving the van in a community called Laquin and hopped in to the back of a pickup Guatemala style and went the rest of the way to Champey.  The roads on the way up there only reinforced the fact that there was NO WAY our little van would have made the trip. After this part of the adventure, paradise.  We took a short hike to these amazing swimming holes where all but Tony decided to dive in to cool off from the Guatemala heat.  While there, I met a Canadian girl named Sandrina, an Australian girl named Veronica and on the way back to our van, I met a couple from Argentina as well as a guy from France whose names escape me.  But the adventure does not end here. 

When we finally got back to our van, the little diesel engine with Darvin at the wheel was put to the test again. This little van has trouble climbing hills on dirt roads.  So when we came to a steep hill, Jordan had to go to the top on foot and make sure no traffic was coming so our van could get a running start and get over the hump.  After the third attempt, we made it.  We had to drive past Jordan a few yards to a flat spot so Jordan had to run to catch up to the van before he got in and we made the trek back to Coban. 

When we finally got back, I had never been happier to see Byron and I gave him a big hug.  Byron did not go with us because he had a lot of work to do.  We all had dinner together and recounted the days events to Byron.  Byron just laughed at all that happened.  I was kind of frustrated and worried while it was happening but I now laugh about it as I should have then.  God took care of us for sure.  We joked and said while God took care of us, He messed with us a little bit since we did not knock doors on this day.  So all in all, eventful but good day. :-) LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! THANKS FOR READING!!! 

Guatemala Campaign: Day 5...Final day of Coban campaign and falling in love with Coban

Day 5.  Wednesday, March 16th, 2011.  Today was a very eventful day.  Today was the last day of work here in Coban.  We wrapped up our series on the Armor of God and did more door knocking and Bible studies.

Day 5.  Today we did a variety of things.  The first thing we did was visit a member of the church who unfortunately had been unfaithful.  When we arrived at her house, only her son of 15 was home.  Byron and brother Darvin spoke to him for a good while showing him what I would call tough love in an attempt to spur him on in his faith and get him involved in the church again.

We also paid a visit to some contacts brother Darvin had.  There was a woman who had a sick daughter and another man who worked for a major food company who had a sick wife.  We offered prayers and scriptures of comfort to these two people.  After this, we had lunch at brother Darvin's home and began some more door knocking. This is when it got interesting and the pace was picked up.

On one block alone, we knocked several doors. When me, Jared, and brother Darvin we met a man who went to a local Pentecostal church called "Puerta de las Ovejas" or "Door of the sheep." The conversation started because we invited him to our series on the armor of God and the question came up what church we were affiliated with.  After this, a theological discussion got started.  Not because of different churches but it came down to the guy believing what he had been told without verifying it with the Scriptures. Most of the problem which caused the debate was because he refused to look at the Bible and the authority of the Bible. Things did not go well here. We wrapped up that block and went on to pick up some tea that we all wanted.

The last event of the afternoon was when brother Darvin had me lead a study with his sister about the gospel message.  Jordan, Jared, and Tony were also present and they helped read some Scriptures. I pray more comes of this study I had with brother Darvin's sister.  After this, we went back to the house and got ready for the evening activities.

Tonight was great! Jordan delivered an excellent concluding sermon on the sword of the Spirit as being the only piece of the armor we use to attack and not for defense. Byron did the translating for Jordan. It was after the closing prayer that I think it sank in for all of us, we would be saying goodbye to these people that we have fallen in love with.  Brother Darvin and his family (all pictured above)

This whole campaign has been quite an amazing experience. We are taking these next few days off until Sunday where Jared and Tony have to handle the Teen and Adult Bible classes and me and Jordan have to do the morning and evening sermons.  These next couple of R & R days will be spent preparing for that. However, we do have plans to go somewhere with brother Darvin tomorrow.  Return to Guatemala City Friday and spend Saturday touring Guatemala city concluding with dinner at a member of the Guatemala congregation's (Linda Vista) home Saturday night.

We are definitely going to miss Coban and the congregation here.  We have fallen in love with this place and with the people we have met. This has been quite a unique campaign getting to be immersed into another culture and I could honestly not have asked for a better group of guys to have come up here with who are seeking to do the Lord's work however they can. THANKS JARED, TONY, AND JORDAN!! But Brother Darvin, his family, and the members of the Coban Church of Christ (Iglesia de Cristo) are what have made this experience so amazing for us.

These people will always hold a special place in our heart, especially the children such as brother Darvin's youngest daughters, Camila and Alyson (On Darvin's lap in the picture).  These two girls are bundles of joy and all four of us had so much fun with them.  Ale (Pictured top right), Darvin's oldest daughter is probably one of the most polite and caring 13 year old girls I have ever met. She goes out of her way to serve others.  She even cleaned up Jared's mess mentioned in my last blog.  We teased Jared for that one too saying he made the girl clean up his mess. Still get a kick out of that. But Ale (or Alejandrina) is very mature for her age and actually looks older than she is. Lili (Top Center), Darvin's wife is very much a servant at heart and even helped me and Tony roll our shirt sleeves up in a presentable manner.  She also filled our bellies with some great food this week. Daniel (Top left), Darvin's only son is a quiet boy but when you talk to him he is very polite and also willing to help out where he can. And then there is Darvin himself (Seated above).  This man loves his family and helping the Lord's church by going out and evangelizing in the community. He was very encouraging to me while I was here and I can safely say I will miss him.  Look forward to spending the day with him tomorrow.

As this has gone long enough. My closing thoughts are that Coban is a wonderful place. There is a lot of potential for the gospel to be spread here in this city of 60000 people. I will miss Coban and the church here and I pray I have another opportunity to come back here in the future.  Love y'all! Sorry this was kind of long but thanks for reading!!!

Guatemala Campaign: Day 4...Finding lost sheep in Coban: Emma

Day 4.  Tuesday, March 15th, 2011.  Today was simply AMAZING!!! Must admit, things got off to a rough start for me personally.  I did not get enough sleep so I woke up with a headache from the night before.  Not a great start to my day but I took some Aleve and my headache was gone by the end of breakfast. Praise the Lord.  Today we did things a little differently.

We began our day with a prayer and went to visit some people brother Darvin knew.  These people were found in some local businesses.  The first one we met owned a small cafe and gave us some crackers with some pineapple marmalade.  It was pretty good.  After that we visited another lady and the situation was bleak. She had a son who died two years ago and as a result her family has been torn apart.  Not at liberty to share what else is going on but her story was pretty tragic.  We offered her some Scripture of comfort and prayed with her and invited her to come to the third session of our series on the armor of God.  Unfortunately, she did not show. It was not long after this that we met Emma (Pictured above).

Emma was the highlight of our day. As we were walking along, we saw a woman (Emma) and her daughter Paola (not pictured) sitting in front of a doorway in the shade waiting for school to get out to pick up her youngest daughter, Samantha.  We approached her and I initiated the conversation. We began to talk to her about what we were doing and we mentioned that we were with the church of Christ here in Coban. When we said church of Christ, she stopped us and asked us if we were the ones that don't use instruments. Naturally we said yes.  Her eyes lit up.  It was at this point that we discovered she was actually a sister in Christ!!! She had moved to Coban in 2004 and had been a member of the church in the place she moved from.  When she moved to Coban, there was not yet a church here at that time so she had not worshipped since 2004!!!  But we were all excited because we had found what brother Darvin called "una ovejita perdida."  What this means is we FOUND A LOST SHEEP!!!  I was reminded of the Parable of the Lost Sheep found in Luke 15:4-7 where the man found the sheep and rejoiced and invited all others to rejoice with him. This really touched my heart. We also invited Emma to come to our Armor of God lesson tonight and you know what? SHE CAME!!! Her two daughters also came! They sneaked in a few minutes late but they were there none the less.  This really made me happy.  She does need prayer finding a job and also she asked for prayers for her family and her health.  She plans on coming back tomorrow. We also were able to give her a ride home tonight.  It also warmed my heart that everyone else welcomed her with open arms and hugs. This was the highlight of today.  What made this more awesome was that this morning we had prayed that God would take us to the people He wanted us to meet, and there is not a doubt in my mind that the prayer was answered today in meeting Emma.

The rest of the day proceeded as usual. We had a few studies and tonights meeting went off without a hitch.  I translated my first sermon for Tony successfully. In addition to that I was encouraged by brother Darvin when he recognized me in front of the members for my willingness to translate and for being willing to get a sun burn on my head out in the Guatemala heat just because "I love the work." The Lord's work that is.  Actually, there was one hitch, Jared spilled his drink at brother Darvin's home and made a mess.  It was quite hilarious watching him clean it up and teasing him for it.  But I am happy to say that is the worst thing that happened so all in all as I said at the beginning, this was an AMAZING day!!!

I will never forget meeting Emma and her daughters. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.  She has truly been a blessing both to the church here in Coban and to me. LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! THANKS FOR READING!