Stuff!!

The VBS week was very successful. We ended up having about 130 students each day and I think some of the kids from the colonial heard the story of Daniel for the first time. It was a jam packed week and we were going none stop but I know the Lord used the hard work by the team for His glory.

I got to do something really cool with the team on Thursday when we headed to Antigua. We went to a coffee farm call Finca de Filadelphia just outside of Antigua. Jessie and a few from the group took a tour of the coffee plantation while the rest of us did a 7 part zip line course. The longest line was about 700 feet long and in the middle we were about 150 feet high. It was so much fun and I got a few cool pictures while flying through the trees. Next weekend, after the current team leaves, Jessie, Jennifer, Justine (the english teacher) and I are going back and doing another zip line through canyon. (Jessie is a bit nervous but I'm proud of her because she's going to do it anyway)

The team that came in yesterday is smaller with only 15 people. They're from Pennsylvania but there are a few Colts fans in the group and one couple visited Corydon a couple of weeks ago for a family reunion. You know you miss home when you get excited because someone here was near home not too long ago!

We have a special prayer request this week... there are two new children arriving in the home this week. Both are under the age of 7 and will be living in the "baby house" as we call it which is for children ages 2-6. Please pray that the children will adjust quickly and easily to this environment. Also, pray that the house mom's in the baby house will have the energy needed to love 2 more children. (It will push the total to 9)

Jessie and I will head home a week from Monday and we're very excited to see everyone when we get back. Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

One last thing, I know that many of you sponsor children around the world through organizations like Compassion and the like. If the Lord has been tugging on your heart to do something like this then Agua Viva is a great way to serve the Lord in that way. You can sponsor a child from Agua Viva for $30 a month. Each child here needs 11 sponsors but right now most are getting by with only 8 or 9. You can show the love of God to a child here at Agua Viva for only $30! And someday... you can come back with Jessie and me and meet the child you are sponsoring and even bring them a gift!

VBS

We just finished up with day one of VBS! (Although the kids here are actually in school right now so it's not actually vacation) The team this week has put a lot of time and thought into putting a 3 hour program together for today, tomorrow, and wednesday about the story of Daniel. The children from Agua Viva must attend of course but today there were around 40 children from the small town near the home that also attended. I think the Lord is going to use this to reach some children that haven't heard about Jesus. Please pray that some children come to know the Lord this week through VBS.

The beginning of a new week

It's a little funny how things work at Agua Viva in terms of teams. A team leaves on Friday morning (this usually consists of tears from the team and from some of the kids) and a new team, always full of energy arrives later the same day. We went from a team of 9 to a team of 26 yesterday so this week is going to be different and I'm sure Jessie and I will be very busy with making sure everyone is doing ok. With only 2 teams left this summer the projects are starting to wrap up... it cool to see finished products and we can certainly take some pride in knowing that we helped to build or paint things to make the home a better place.

I really wish that I could be in two places at one time this next week when the Hillview group goes to CIY. I love CIY and the Lord used last year's conference to start the process for this trip. I can't wait to see how he uses this year's conference to challenge all 16 people going on the trip.

I keep hearing about how hot it is back home... just thought we should let you know that it's 75 and sunny with a light breeze here.... everyday... :) Ok... sorry but I had to rub it in a little.

Keep us in your prayers. Much love!

Hey!!

Sorry it's been so long with no post. It's been a very busy and tiring week. Jessie had a battle with (we think) strep throat. She took the antibiotic we brought with us and is feeling back to normal again. The team we had this week was from Mobile, Alabama and they were a joy. They worked very hard and were so much fun. On Wednesday night the entire home just sat around the campfire and sang worship songs and shared testimonies. It was my favorite night so far. There is something very special about hearing worship songs go up in different languages and thinking about how much joy that sound must bring the Lord. Thanks for the continued prayers. We're sorry we didn't post it a while... I knew it was bad when Granny was posting about it on my facebook wall!! :) We can't wait to see everyone. We come home 2 weeks from this coming Monday. Much love from us to you!

Back in Antigua!

Wednesday is a "tourism" day for the teams that come to Agua Viva. The team this week was planning on visiting Lake Panchel (something Jessie and I were very excited about) but because we have had a good bit of rain this week the trip to the lake had to be canceled and the team instead came to Antigua. After eating lunch I decided I would go find a barber to trim my beard. I wasn't sure how well I could explain what I wanted but when it was all said and done my beard is trimmed exactly the way I hoped it would be. I finally look like a human being again!

I have also made a new friend in a young man named Logan. He is 25 and grew up at Agua Viva. When he was 18 he received a study visa for the U.S. and also got a soccer scholarship to Seton Hill (not Hall) College just outside of Pittsburgh. He double majored in Spanish and International business and graduated about a year ago. He has decided to return to Agua Viva for the foreseeable future to, as he puts it, "try to give a little back to a place that gave me so much." He got to Agua Viva last night and all of the boys look up to him so much. As he told me about himself today I couldn't help but think about how generous he was being with himself. His visa in the states is good for 2 more years and it can easily be renewed. He could have stayed in the U.S. (something he said was tempting) and lived a much easier life. But instead Logan has answered God's call and returned to Agua Viva. Even with a college degree he said he will help in any way possible... building roads... mowing grass... working in the garden. He's perspective shows much wisdom as he said, "I'm giving all of myself to God and for right now that means giving all of myself to Agua Viva." I hope I can say the same thing each time the Lord calls on me.

On that note, I listened to the Southland Christian Church podcast yesterday. It was a sermon by Jon Weece (in my opinion simply one of the best) called, "Refresh others and you will be refreshed." It was a fantastic message and I would recommend you give it a listen if you have time. You can find it here.

I will also include a couple of pictures of things I've written about in past posts.

Work, Work, Work

(Cameron Writing)

Mondays and Tuesdays at Agua Viva are work days for the mission teams. I've been helping the team with building a road. It's hard work but very rewarding as we can see things coming together and getting accomplished. The kids at Agua Viva are so full of life. They love to be loved (who doesn't?) but they also just love you back. I have been sitting with a group of boys all between the ages of 7-9 and they always save me a seat during meals. They are constantly playing tricks on me... poking me... tapping me on the shoulder... al those sorts of things. Some are even practicing their english with me. (I certainly appreciate it)

Jessie has been spending a lot of time with the 4 kids that are too young to go to school during the day. There are 3 girls (twin sisters) and 1 little boy. They are full of energy and I can hear them yelling, "Jessa" in all morning long. She is so good at loving on them and giving attention to all of them at the same time.

Yesterday afternoon I picked up one of the twins to play with her but instead of playing she wrapped her arms around my neck, laid her head on my shoulder, and was asleep within a minute. It was a precious moment for me.

Keep us in your prayers! We miss everybody!

Agua Viva!!!

(Cameron Writing)

Hey all! We finished up our classes in Antigua this past Friday. I rocked my grade "A" test! And we are now at Agua Viva to begin our month of serving God here. The team here this week is from Dayton, Ohio... it's nice to talk with some fellow midwesterners! There are a couple of the high school guys that are big sports fans and I haven't had anybody to talk sports with for over 3 weeks so we are getting along very well. Our room is very spacious and comfortable and Jessie and I both have gotten some very good nights of sleep. We are really excited to see God use us and change us through our time here. We miss everyone back home but we know we'll see everyone soon. Keep praying that God will use us in a mighty way for the next month!

(Cameron Writing)

Jessie and I had a wonderful weekend as we were able to spend it with the people at Agua Viva. Jennifer (an American going on her 5th year working at AV) picked us up at 8 am on Saturday morning. It only took about 40 minutes to make the trip from Antigua to AV and Jennifer used the time to explain some things about the home and the area. We were only able to stay on campus for a couple of hours before we were off to pick up the team flying in from the US. (They had been delayed an entire day) The trip was a little rough for Jessie as the school bus jerked and bumped the entire hour and 15 minutes to the airport. We picked up the team with no problems but the ride back was a long one as a construction detour in Chimaltenango (the city nearest AV) had us waiting in traffic for about 45 minutes.

Saturday evening and Sunday were very fun as we hung out with the kids at AV and got to know the team from Kansas City.

One of the guys on the team insisted on calling me Leonidas, a reference to a character on the movie 300. I one thing I have in common with Leonidas right now is the fact that I forgot my beard trimmer thus haven't trimmed it in about 3 weeks. Jessie thought the long beard gave me a "taliban-esq" look. I like Leonidas better.

The church service on Sunday was great. There are 6 or so students from Agua Viva that make up the worship band and they did a fantastic job.

We spent Sunday afternoon hanging out with the students and I watched the older boys from AV take on a team made up of boys from the small colonial (village) near the home in a game of futbol (soccer). It was a fiercely competitive game and in the end the boys from AV were victorious 6-5.

Sunday evening we had smores around the campfire and the students played some games. All in all it was a very fun weekend and we both are so ready to start our time there.

We left Agua Viva at 7 am on Monday morning to return to Antigua in time for class at 8. We were both pretty tired but Jessie was still on top of her game and was able to pass the Grade "A" level test to move up. I am taking my test tomorrow and we'll see if all that I've learned is apparent.

We'll post again soon.

Singing in Two Different Languages

(Jessie Writing)

Several days ago, Cameron's teacher recommended a cafe to us that she said was owned by Christians. She also told us that she thought they had a bilingual service on Wednesday nights. So, last night at 6:30 Cameron and I went to check it out. The place was a little hard to find because the cafe had already closed it's main doors so we had to find a little side door and search for it. We ended up wandering around a little alley until we were about to leave when two people standing at the end of the alley where we had entered asked us what we were looking for. Thankfully they knew where it was and pointed us in the right direction.

When we got to the building there were people running around getting things ready in rooms (for what we found out later was for small group time after the worship service). There were just as many Americans as there were Guatemalans and it didn't take long before a wonderful Guatemalan man named Antonio approached us. He spoke English very very well and introduced himself and asked us where we were from, etc. (He made us nervous though, because when we told him we were studying at CSA he immediately said, "No mas ingles! (No more English!)" He laughed at us because I'm sure our faces went pale and after having just been at school for 4 hours we were pretty drained!) He really made us feel very welcome though, and told us that he and his wife (who is American) were ministers there and they led the small group for married couples. Antonio also told us that that particular night they had a mission team that was staying in Antigua coming to visit as well.

Antonio directed us to another building where the worship service was going to take place and there were about 50 people (about half American/half Guatemalan) sitting. The building was very nice and they had awesome sound equipment and even a little tech room were the powerpoint and sound was being controlled. When we walked in the guitarist and singer were sort of playing around and practicing a little bit. I have to admit, when I first heard the guitarist strumming a worship song (I'm here to meet with you.. come and meet with me..) I immediately teared up. I didn't realize how much I missed hearing that beautiful sound and it also made me long for camp. I have been very happy here in Guatemala, but not finding a church for 2 weeks and missing out on camp- my favorite place in the world- has been a little hard.

We proceeded to worship through music (sung in English and in Spanish!) for the next 25 or so minutes. It truly was heavenly. I got the opportunity to listen to the words I know and can sing to without looking, and also hear the beautiful sound of the same words in another language. The experience reminded me of maybe what it will be like in heaven... everyone worshipping in their own language, but we're all singing the same thing.

There was no message after worship because then they split into their small groups (there were 3 to choose from. 1. How to study the bible 2. Discipleship 3. Married Couples doing the "Fireproof" material). However we didn't stay for the groups because Antonio told us that the missionaries were just going to sit in and didn't get the actual material so we knew it may be hard to follow along for us too. We went for a truly American dinner at McDonalds (haha) and talked about how wonderful it was to praise our Lord through music again. We are planning to go back next Wednesday and are very excited about getting to worship (through music) at Agua Viva every Sunday!

Our God is so awesome. He knew just what our hearts needed and at just the right time He directed us to a place that could meet that need. Praise Him always, for He is Good!

(Cameron Writing)

I echo everything that Jessie said. I had really missed worshipping with a group and it was great to do so last night.

We are spending this weekend at Agua Viva and we're excited to meet everyone there. We will head there on Saturday morning and be back early Monday morning before class. I don't think we will have any internet access while at Agua Viva so we probably won't write until Monday.

This is a picture of a "Tuk-Tuk" like the one I wrote about yesterday. They are zipping around all over the city all the time and in fact our neighbor is a "Tuk-Tuk" mechanic.