Pastor Gary Has To Stay After Class & The End of The World Via Toilet Paper

The team from GCCC arrived this morning. When they came out of the airport, I could tell I had some blog fans as they told me that descending the escalator caused them to think about our little "upside down turtles" on our own arrival here. That made me laugh! They had lunch and orientation at EVE (Esquela Vida y Esperanza AKA School of Life and Hope.) This school is the location where the work team will be building on the newly purchased plot of land. The land was possibly going to be sold to put up a brothel right next to the school, but God had other plans! Now the school will be able to expand their facility and not have to worry about a brothel opening up into the courtyard where the kids play. Above are some pictures of the area that is being cleared for construction.

Now, I'm not going to lie. Many people come into a missions trip with their own personal agenda on what to accomplish. One of two things will happen. They will "take their toys and go home" after not getting their way, or they will experience a tremendous breakthrough as God teaches them something in their humility and service to others. Part of the secret to a successful trip (and a successful life) is being flexible to what God has in store for you. Things don't always play out the way that you had planned, but your goals and agenda are much more limited than the endless possibilities that God has for you. As with any mission trip, there will surely be some folks here that need a breakthrough. Please pray for them that they don't miss out on the tremendous blessing God has for them.

So, today during orientation, there was a big to-do over toilet paper. In Guatemala you can't flush anything that doesn't come out of your body in the potties. This was a difficult thing to deal with for the team. Many questions were offered as to what this means for the future of humanity. Lauren simply told them that they need to fold and double fold their toilet paper and place it gently into the trashcan. More than one team member came to fearfully confide in me that they had flushed some toilet paper at the airport. Toilet Paper--the end of the world as we know it. You're not in Sewell anymore folks!

As Lauren was trying to get through her presentation, one Rev. Gary Clark was cutting up in the back of the class room and texting on his phone. You can't teach an old dog new tricks folks. He's just as zany down here!

Marcus, Sara and Becca broke out in an impromptu worship session in the stairwells of the school before leaving as well. It was a nice moment for the team.

Oh, and Lauren and I took everyone's money to "exchange" it for them. Little did they know, that we just had a great time shopping on their dime! (For all the friends and family of the team reading this, please note that was sarcasm. I didn't really steal from your family members and friends in the middle of a mission trip!)

Side note to anyone who uses facebook: If you are friends with Lauren on Facebook, you probably remember reading a status update a few weeks back where she was humorously lamenting being chased by wild dogs and accosted by a drunk man in the street before coming to work. I got to see the drunk man. He probably would have left the GCCC team alone, but for Gary Clark. Gary walked right up to him and said "hola" to him causing the man to stagger along with the team to the school. That Gary, always causing trouble!

The team headed to Proximos Pasos to get settled and Lauren and I headed home to pick up Jaci and the kids for dinner! Jaci had been home all day with the kids as we met the team and got them started. We went into Antigua for a nice Italian dinner for my birthday. Jackson, Reagan and Noah enjoyed throwing pennies in the restaurant's fountain.

Tomorrow we have a dental clinic to run at Proximos Pasos and the work team is going to head back to EVE to begin work. Pray for safety, but also pray for a humility and grace for each member of the team. Pray that we would be vessels here to help the Lord's work at Mission Impact, and not a hindrence due to our own agendas.

Psalm 121 says "I life my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth."

It is not in us that miracles will happen and lives will be changed. It is in that ever-powerful help that comes from the LORD! Continue praying for our little ones as we will be on the go for the next week pretty extensively. Also pray for the team to be of one mind, to be humble and a blessing to Mission Impact, and that God would accomplish exactly WHAT HE WANTS TO ACCOMPLISH during our time here!