A Big Belly for the Lord!

Today we went to Proximos Pasos (The Next Steps) a Christian girls school in the village of Santa Maria de Jesus, which happens to be located ON the volcano! The weather continues to be beautiful--"Forever spring" here in Guatemala during the rainy season. We haven't had a drop of rain since arriving! On the way to the school, we stopped at an outlook to take pictures of the volcano yet again (I will never tire of seeing a giant volcano silently screaming the awesome majesty, glory and power of God every time I look at it!) There happened to be some clouds covering the top, and Lauren prayed that God would remove the clouds...literally within seconds most of the clouds were gone!

Once we arrived at the school, we were a little nervous. Not speaking Spanish and all, we weren't sure what to expect. We were introduced to the girls, and then the girls had a little worship service where they sang some songs to us. It was awesome to see their little faces lighting up as they sang about their Lord.

Then it was our turn! We went from classroom to classroom to teach them "You Are Good" a favorite from Kids Avenue...but in Spanish. Noah became a member of the worship team helping to teach them the motions to the song. One of the little girls really captured Jaci and my hearts. She sat in the front row and was so excited about the songs that the joy of the Lord literally jumped off of her face. The look of being so lost in her joy and love for the Lord on this precious little one who in the eyes of the world is so insignificant was something burned forever into my mind and was something of priceless value to her Creator. As the saying goes, "when you worship, God smiles"...well He must have been beaming this morning.

I am happy to report that the language barrier was broken by my big fat stomach. I started giving high fives to some of the girls and they were so eager for any kind of affection or contact with us that it just made your heart break for these little girls. How precious they are to Christ! Well, in doing this little game, some of the girls began poking me in the stomach. Now, I have never thought that my love of food and hatred of all things exercise related would ever lead to serving the Lord, but as you can see in the above photo I became quite the drum set for these young ladies. Pass the donuts, AMEN! It just goes to reinforce 1 Corinthians 1:17: "preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." We need only to allow ourselves to be Christ's hands and feet and HE will work through us no matter what barriers we face! He'll even work through a fat bald guy's belly.

I have to say that the girls seem to be rather fond of Noah. They giggled and smiled and could be overheard saying "novio" about him (it means boyfriend!) Noah is really getting to see some of the hardships that others face. After the school, we went to a house that the appropriate technology team from Mission Impact (led by a wonderful Guatemalan man named Margarito) was building a brick stove in. This family would literally bring wood into their house, set a fire on the floor and cook dinner. Their houses have very little furniture, and are pretty much like a dark and dirty basement would be. They have so very little, but they reflect a radiance of the Lord that I can't explain. 1 Corinthians 1:28 does say: "He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him." All of our ipods, cell phones, a/c, material possessions, power and accomplishments are indeed nullified when you see the joy of a Christian living in these conditions. If only we were so content and allowed the joy of the Lord to so permeate our lives!

I also wanted to say that Lauren really shines down here. Psalm 90:17 says, "may the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--yes, establish the work of our hands." God has firmly established this work in Lauren's hands. It's not just that she's so fluent in Spanish, but rather it's such a blessing to see someone who has discovered the purpose that God created for her and flourishing in the power of His calling. It is the Lord working through Lauren, Jeff, Terry, Gerber, Mirna and the others at MI that establishes His kingdom here in Guatemala.

Jaci has also truly shined here. Her eyes lit up today at the school when she was working with the kids. There is such a childlike innocent joy that radiates from her face when she is really engaged in doing the Lords work that is so beautiful to watch and makes me proud to be her husband. In addition to working with the girls with music, Jaci was also called upon by MI to take a bunch of pictures of the girls and the staff for their yearly calendar. How awesome that the Lord allowed her to work in an area that she loves so much! God really demonstrated that in our own weakness, He is strong. We were a bunch of gringos who know very little Spanish, and yet I can't help but think that the smiles and voices of this precious little girls were bringing such a giddy joyful grin to our Savior's face today. As 1 Corinthians 1:25 says "the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength!" What a blessing to know the all-powerful Savior of the world loves each little smile and hears each cry!

In other news, we got lost in Antigua today and were wandering around for a while trying to find Lauren's car. This is why Jaci and I will never apply to be on the Amazing Race. Not exactly walking GPS devices now are we? Don't worry, we were able to find Burger King alright! Then later tonight, Noah got to see Domino's pizza delivered via motorcycle!

I can't help but think about coming back next summer with a team of people to work in the schools (hello Kids Ave people!) and to help the appropriate technology folks (hello Nick Strohl!) There is such a need down here that you just feel so compelled to do something...anything that you can about it. Pray about it folks, because we'd like to take a lot of you down here next year!

Your feedback has been such a blessing to us, just to know that you care enough to read about the adventures of a few crazy gringos living in the shadow of a volcano!

God Bless You!