Last Day of Ministry

Today has been a bittersweet day! It was our last day of ministry and the focus was in San Pablo, one of the poorest towns around Lake Atitlan.  The dentists, doctors, women's one on one visitation, children's ministry and pastor care teams went there to minister, pray, help and bring the good news of Jesus to the people of this town.

One of the main reasons why Bridge Builders exists is because we want to build relationships with the people of the Lake area.  One great example is a young man named Timoteo that was born in San Pablo.  We met Timoteo around 11 years ago, he began helping our medical team translating from Spanish to Tzutujil and vise versa.  He has a heart for his people in San Pablo and through working with Bridge Builders he began to see the need for medical health care in his town.  He finished high school and enrolled in a "Nurse assistant" program, after that, he enrolled in a "Nursing" program and today we learned that he will be taking a two year program to further his Nursing career.

The beautiful thing about this is that he is doing this and comes back to San Pablo to help his people.  Many here will go and get further education and move away from their birth places, Timoteo wants to come back and help.  It was good to see him come in to the clinic wearing his scrubs.  What a great example of dedication and determination he has been to many of us!

Yes, it has been a bitter day because we are done with the work we came to do but sweet because we have met new friends and seen old ones.  It has been amazing to see God working in the lives of the people in the team, many of us did not expect to be used the way God used us this week!

Tomorrow we will be going to dedicate the 6 homes that were built and then will be traveling to Antigua for a day of reflections, debriefing and processing of all that happened during our time here.  Please pray for safe travels.

Thank you for jumping in to the Chicken Bus with us through your prayers and/or financial support, we couldn't do it without you!

Dr. Mark Solfelt with a "little patient" at the medical

clinic in San Pablo.

Church Service Celebration

Today we had a full day of ministry in our host town of San Lucas Toliman.  We did the English teaching here, the home visitations, the dental and medical clinic, the children's ministry and the Alcoholism and Recovery ministry.

We also had the water filtration team going to other sites that are a couple of hours of travel by car from where we were today.

We got our ministry bags, (thank you for praying!) which means, some of our ministries can get more supplies to finish their work. Please pray for the water filtration ministry as the delay in the ministry bags getting here meant they are behind in their filter installation and servicing.

One of the special things that happen during the trip on Thursday night is the Celebration!  The 10 churches we work with come to the host town and we praise together, pray together and learn together. Wooddale sends with the team a pastor.  We have Pastor Tom Correll with us this year and he preached on Daniel 6.  We learned that we need to "Pitch our tent" with God and follow his lead and say "we will follow you Lord" no matter the crisis or circumstances we face, He is there to protect us.  What a great time it was to see old friends and reconnect with them.  They all remember us and are grateful for the relationships we have and have build through the 19 years we have been coming to the Lake Atitlan area.

The church was full, many came from their towns by boat or bus, it is such a blessing to see all of them!!!

Tomorrow most of the team will be traveling by boat to San Pablo, one of the poorest towns around the Lake.  Please pray for a safe ride, a great time to minister to this special people and energy for the last day of ministry.  Thank you again for your prayer support, we couldn't fight the battle without it!!!

Have a blessed and rested night.
Buenas noches!

Experiencing God

Today we began our day with a wonderful reflection time.  We were given two verses, Psalm 43:3 that says "Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell" and Luke 6:12 "And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God."

Psalm 43:3 becomes more real when we have the view of mountains and how grand they are here in San Lucas.  We were encouraged to think about how we are letting God guide us and to spend time in prayer to Him.  Prayer becomes more important when we are doing God's work and we want to ask for your continued prayers for our health, safety and work here in Guatemala.

Today, the truck that we have been using broke down and it sounds like it will have to be towed to the city to be repaired.  Please pray for provision for this, as it will be costly.

Our bags were not yet released today because we need to have one of the people that is connected to one of the bags present at the airport with their passport.  That one person had to be the one whose name was on the bag that had been lost but now it is in customs with the other 32 bags.  Marty Leenhoust is that person and he had to travel today to the city with Davis, one of our Guatemalan partners.  They will go to the airport early tomorrow morning and get the bags.  Thank you Marty for taking one for the team!!! Please pray that the process goes smoothly and that the bags get released with no problems.

Tomorrow, most of the team will be traveling by boats to San Pedro.  We have a full day with visits, medical and dental clinics and children programs.  Your continued coverage in prayer is very much needed and appreciated!

Thank you for your support for the work being done in Guatemala!

Maltiosh, Hermanos!

"Maltiosh, Hermanos!"

This means "Thank you brothers" in Tz'utujil, one of the Mayan languages spoken around Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.  We have been hearing this all day today and will be hearing this all week long, as the people we meet are always so grateful for the blessings brought to them.

One of the blessings is the construction of homes that provide, for many families around the lake, a safe place, a roof and protection from the rain and cold weather.

This is Antonia Reanda, a widow and one of the first recipients of a home 19 years ago when Bridge Builders started coming to Guatemala.  We visited her and when asked how has this home changed your life? she answered, "It has allowed me to cook, go to the bathroom and wash my clothes without worrying about the rain or the cold.  How we take the simple things for granted and here Antonia said "Maltiosh hermanos" for helping me live a better life by having a roof over my head that allows me to be warm and do my everyday chores without the worry of getting wet or cold.

It was an exciting time for the construction crew to meet the families they are building for this year!  Many got more than what they expected, as children from the communities where these houses are came to see what they are doing, shared smiles and played with them.

It was a very busy day for all, and after dinner we were all tired and ready to go to bed and get a good rest for tomorrows work.

Please pray for our ministry bags, we were not able to get them out of customs at the airport in Guatemala City today.  Pray that tomorrow we get the OK to take them and bring them to the lake.  But God is good and he is always working, we have seen that today!

Buenas noches!

Celebration and Preparation

One of our Bridge Builder's veterans Rafael Iverson, that now lives in Guatemala and works here as a missionary, visited us today with a very special person in his life... his fiancee Keely, which he met here.  Rafael and Keely are both adopted from Guatemala.  Rafael was adopted into a family from Minnesota and Keely was adopted into a family from Indiana.  They both now live here, have a relationship with their biological families and minister to the people of their birth country!  What a blessing and a treat it was to celebrate with them their engagement and future wedding in March!

Today was also preparation day, we got together in our teams and planned for the week ahead.  The children's ministry got to meet Luis and learn the songs and bible verses they will be using to reach children of the Lake Atitlan area.  They will be using the "salvation bracelet".  They will make a bracelet with the kids with 5 colors, black (means sin and separation from God), red (the blood of Christ that forgives our sins), white (the color of our hearts after they have been cleansed with the blood of Christ), green (means growing in faith) and yellow (the color of gold, which is the promise of heaven and eternal life).

Some people in the team got to go on boats across the lake to Panajachel and do some shopping and "tourism".  Some stayed and walked around San Lucas and visited some of the homes that will be built and meet the families that will be blessed by these homes.

Tomorrow will be officially, our first day of ministry. Please, pray for safe traveling, as some will be going by boat to towns across the lake (San Antonio Palopo and Panajachel) and others will be traveling by pick up trucks... yes, in the back of pick up trucks! (Santiago, Tzan Chaj and Chacaya).

Will hopefully have some pictures to post tomorrow!

Buenas noches!

We Made It!

After flying for almost 7 hours and traveling by bus for another 3, we have made it!!!
God was with the team as we traveled in three separate airlines to get to Guatemala, after a long day of traveling, we have made it to our Hotel in San Lucas Toliman Guatemala.  We are exhausted!!!

All but one of our bags made it, we were able to get our personal bags out of the airport but our ministry supply bags were not cleared by the immigration in Guatemala. We will not be able to get them out of immigration until Monday morning.  Although this might seem like a big road block, it is not, we have enough things and supplies with us to make it through our first day of ministry, praise God!

Continue to also pray for our health, Bill, our fearless leader, has a pinched nerve on his neck.  Also, two of our team mates were not able to come with us due to health issues.  Tom Siegert had surgery on his foot due to a torn tendon and Peg Weller had a skying accident in which she broke her shoulder.  We ask that you please pray for their continued recovery.

Tomorrow we will be working and organizing our ministries for the week ahead.  It is an exciting time to connect with our local ministry partners as well.  The Children's ministry will be meeting with Luis, a Guatemalan missionary to his own people.  He trains teachers to bring the good news to kids in an exciting way.  Pray that they have a wonderful time preparing with the songs and testimonies that they will be using to reach the kids that will be coming to see them.

Our dinner was very satisfying and we are off to get a good night sleep and rest for the work ahead.  Thank you for partnering with us in this adventure.  Until tomorrow, have a blessed night!

Buenas noches!

PRAYER!

Prayer is the glue that holds the ministry of Bridge Builders together!  As we make the final preparations to go into the field, we ask for your prayers.  Today we will be "Commissioned" by one of Wooddale's pastors.

Here is  a copy of our prayer letter sent to us by our Prayer leader for this year, Rick Borus:

Dear Friends,

First of all, the Bridge Builders team would like to thank you very much for all the financial and prayer support you have given us! We pray for God to bless you all! Second, we are asking for your continued prayer support as we proceed as the hand and feet of Jesus Christ on this mission trip.

We are departing on February 16th and returning February 25th. We have many ministries which will be taking place while we are in the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala during this trip, and we are asking for your continued prayer support. The following are each of the areas in which ministry teams have been formed, and will participate in the communities surrounding Lake Atitlan.

Medical 

Dental    

Water Filter  

Water Education  

Teaching English  

Home Building (6 homes)   

Family Ministry  

Alcoholism and Recovery    

Pastoral Care Ministry  

Leader Training

Following is the day-to-day schedule of events and communities we will visit while on the mission trip to Guatemala.

Sat - Travel to Guatemala  

Sun - Ministry Prep  

Monday - Panajachel and San Antonio  

Tuesday - Santiago Atitlan, TzanChaj, Chakaya  

Wednesday - San Pedro La Laguna  

Thursday - San Lucas Toliman (where we are staying) and the Celebration Service  

Friday - San Pablo La Laguna  

Saturday - Travel back to Antigua  

Sunday - Refreshment and Reflection and Celebration  

Monday - Travel back to the US

As the prayer leader for our mission team, I ask that each of you would continue to pray for us as we proceed in our various assignments. Additionally, we ask that you pray for each of these communities, and for the people and churches of these communities in which we share the Gospel message. Our goal is to continue the “Bridge Builders” tradition of nineteen years, by being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in ministering to the people of these communities.

MUCHAS GRACIAS (Thank you very much!) for your involvement in this ministry through participation in prayer, financially and/or going.

We will be posting on this blog as we travel and do ministry during our time in Guatemala, please, check often for updates and prayer requests!

Dedications done

We did split up the team into a few trucks to go to each of the five homes built this week. Prayer and thanksgiving were offered at each. Oneof the homes was built for a woman with five children, each one with a different father. Her oldest daughter also has a son and no husband. The woman had awbandoned the children to be raised by her sister. The pastor talked very frankly and instructed the woman to stop sinning! He also challenged the children to forgive their mother.

One of the women from the pastor training team was able to go to three homes yesterday to visit. She said that she did not see how the women were able to do home visits all day. The pain and emotional energy the morning took for her, she has an appreciation for those of us doing this all week. Othersof us have gotten the doctors to come to homes where the sick are unable to come to the clinics. Teeth of one of the construction workers in San Pedro came to the hotel and had his tooth pulled on the balcony a couple of nights ago. Some of the computer team have reported their challenges. Even though they are attempting to tell us in lay terms, some of us remain clueless. Suffice it to say, all of us have worked together well all week. Teams have helped each othr. People, like Paul, a trained dentist, was on construction until the two dentists from Guatemala City were down. Then he pulled and cleaned teeth in extremely primitive conditions. Friday was the poorest village and some of the tools had gone to Guatumala City with the dentists that needed to return before the week was done.

All in all, this week has been amazing. Much has been accomplished. Many seed have been planted. The churches have families identified that need to see specialiats and need to help make that happen. Some of the returning team members have reconnected with friens from the pat. All of us have made new friends. April first at six thirty in the evening we will gather to share some of our experienes with any and all of our supporters and those other interested parties at Wooddale Church.

Please excuse any delays, brevity, typos, and ommissions from this week's blog.

We will eat lunch shortly and it smells like much garlic. We take one more boat ride across this beautiful lake, load up on buses and head to Antiquia for an evening off with money to dine any place we would like.

Thank you for all your prayes. Contiue to pray for the health and safety of the team. Four people fly back Sunday morning. Especially pray for the wait staff that talked with a coule of us later last night, once done with his duties. He is reading the writings of other religions. He did accept a New testiment and committed to read the book of John. He will e-mail his comments to one of us after he does that. He is a very plesant young man traveling the world and searching for what to believe above the focus on the present and accepting bad as well as good. Pray he comes to see Christ for who He is.

Until later!

Last day of ministry

Sorry we did not post a blog page last night, we had a church service and it was realy late. Today is the last day of ministry and tommorrow we are going to look at the houses that the home construction team have made, we are also going to Antigua to go to the hotel Don Rodrigo for the weekend. We also lost 3 team members that went to Guatemala City and the Nelsons went to Intermission, a conference for any missionaries in the country. It is held this weekend in Panajachel.

A previous team member had moved to a town about 1.5 hours from San Pedro. He has agreed to teach various Bible classes at the English speaking high school. Yesterday most of the teams were in San Padro, the town where we are all staying. We were in the poorest village around Lake Atitlan today. There are so many needs there. We helped with some. There will be a surprise play after dinner.

Until later, keep praying for us for safe travels, good night sleep, and health!

Midweek Update

Today the teen ministry had their big opportunity to present a drama to a large group. We will hear later this evening how that went. The children continue with their boundless energy to work as clowns, do dramas, and play with all the local children. It is before supper and some of us were able to shower in between the electricity breaker flipping off due to on demand hot water heaters. The crew who headed out early this am willnobe back until after supper.

Most of the team updates and highlights are shared after supper. So, the information I have now is very limited. All but the coastal crew is back. More are using sunscreen and a number of us have stomach cramps. Due to HIPPA, I cannot give specifics. The bottom line is, a few have missed somework due to abdominal distress. The medical team did see a young woman who nees to have immediate medical attention for asthma. We had nothing we really could do for her other than stress she get to a specialist, soon.

Yesterday, one of the women's home visiting teams spent time with a widow and other family members of a man who committed suicide 5 days before. He had also taken another wife. His 15 year old daughter refused to remain in the home with her mother because of so much sadness there. She did come talk with us and told us that she is a Christian. Her mother is not. Today we visited a 93 year old couple. They had had 4 children, all of whom had died. The man was selling off his tools to get money for them to live. They did recieve a home consisting of two rooms built by one of the local churches. We did challenge the women of the church who took us on the visit to think od the needs of this family and what could they do. The idea of carrying water all the way up the hillor washing the women did not seem obvious to them, butwas tous.

I appologize for the lack of photos on this post. If you would like to see pics of one family's experiece, go to www.boelkefamily.blogspot.com.

Until latter.

Day late and not sure why!

Sara Lloyd and Connie Dummer posted about our first ministry day last night. Today, it is no where to be found!

Monday and today, clowns have joined us at breakfast. Yesterday we asked the question,"Who is that clown?". The ministry teams have been working at their various locations. Most of the teams were in Panajachel on Monday and today in the villages around Santiago.

The dental team was busier today and did not have time to treat all the patients. Some of the visits to the homes were the same homes the team, including Connie Dummer visited six years ago the first year of the home visit ministry.

Water filtration is going well. The government has tested the water and reported to the communities it is clean. Drinking it is increasing. The 38th system will be installed tomorrow some distance away. Steve Dummer and Lewie Marshall will attempt to leave at 6:30am. Pray they get going and have safe travels.

The computer lab is fully installed in Tzancha. There are many people in that community who will be able to access educational materal juat off the main road around Lake Atitlan past Santiago.

Teaching English was done in a public school today. The team seems to be enoying themselves as the young Mayan children, who don't know Spanish get to try to learn numbers and colors in English.

A baker's dozen of pastors gathered for Bible training and activities on the joy of the Lord. The leader's of that team are pleased with the day.

We are worshiping God and learning songs in Spanish to sing in the celebration service on Thursday night. There was an opportunity to shop after the worship time tonight. Beautiful weavings and garments madeby a pastor's wife in San Pedro.

I am sure there is more to share. Mant are sunburnt, some on cipro already, and a few meltdowns, but good overall. Dr. Mark claims he did the least intrusive micro prolapse surgery today--or something like that. One patient had a raging throat infection and antibiotics will prevent the heart damage from strep throat that we do not even think about in the USA.

Until later. Hope this posts!

Team preparation day

Today we had 4 transportation options a big bus, a medium bus, a van or a car. We went on a big boat across lake Atitlan to get to the hotel Mikaso in San Pedro. One team member is sick and many people got sunburned. The lake is very high, and many businesses had to close! And for lunch we had pink noodles!

In the afternoon we broke up and went to our ministry groups. The teams made there plans and got ready for the big day! The medical team and dental team sorted all of there stuff.We are gathering for dinner. Buenas Noches!

On the airplane to Guatemala!

Buenos dias! We woke up at 2:00 am and our bus at church left at 3:05 to drop us off at the airport. Things went well; an extra bag is now a $40.00 fee. Leaving Atlanta was delayed 1 hour. This meant that both teams on each airlies arrived close together.

The team supplies were held in customs for over 5 hours! Some leaders stayed in customs while the rest of our team loaded on 2 buses to go to our hotel.After dinner we learned our bags got through customs. There are many beuatiful birds and flowers! For diner we had soup, chiken or fish, tortillas and rice milk. This is the first time we have met team members from other states: Tennesse, Texas and Nebraska.

It has been a long day! Breakfast at 8:00.

Prayer Letter

A New Year, A New Team!

Welcome aboard!  We are starting up the bus once again!  Even if you aren't physically able to hop on the bus while we travel to the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala, you can follow the team here again at this site....your own Chicken Bus "stop" if you will.

This years team includes a blend of seasoned veterans and brand new participants.  Many of these participants are between 7-18 years old and are sure to add a whole new level of energy to our team, and we are excited that many of the teens will be involved in a new ministry area--to teens!

Keep watching this site for further team updates as we continue our planning and training....we will post updates now and then with information and prayer requests between now and when we leave (which is February 18th, at 3:00 am), and hopefully daily updates while we are in Guatemala.