Video

A reminder...

Reflection (Video)

Flight home

All the kids are on the flight home for sure. Arriving 11:50pm. Kel and I are waiting standby now. Continental 1492. Crazy travel day!!

Update: we are too!! We had to settle for first class, but that's the breaks ;)

It's not all smiles and new shoes

We've had a great week, and I've posted lots of fun pictures. But there have also been some really difficult experiences this week. We have met more than one person struggling in the fight against cancer. We have been in houses that are destitute and in shambles. On Thursday, we were taken into the home of a pastor, and brought bedside to meet his dying father. This man was struggling against stomach cancer, a very painful disease, and he was laying on a small cot, covered in tarps and blankets in an effort to keep him warm and dry. He spoke with us about his years of drinking, turning away from God, and just a week ago, reconciling his heart with God. We learned that this man died yesterday, the day that Guatemalan's celebrate Father's day. The community mourned throughout the night, and the man will be entombed today. I have never been so close to death, so challenged in my faith, but so certain we were in the right place at the right time.

We met the older boys of the Chavez family: Esben and Carlos. Both of these boys are in their mid to late teenage years. And they both have important choices to make. They can work hard, earn money, and help their family. Or they can keep their money for themselves, hang out with the wrong people, get into trouble, and drag down their family. As we talked with Oscar and Telma at dinner last night, they told us that they are very concerned about these two boys, and that God needs to change their hearts.

These are just two of the experiences we had that challenged us greatly. The landscape is beautiful and the smiles of the children are unbelievably kind and loving. However, there is real pain. There is real hurt. And we really need to pray for the lives of the people we have met, both here in Guatemala and back home. There are some things that only God can do. But we have the responsibility of coming alongside a person, sharing the heart of God, and doing our best to intercede on behalf of the individuals we know who are in need.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Sat. Flight Itinerary

Here is our flight itinerary for today. As of now (6:30 am, local time) the flights are on time. We'll see how it goes today!

Continental Airlines 867

Depart:                      11:45am            Guatemala City, Guatemala Guatemala City La Aurora (GUA)

Arrive:                        3:35pm            Houston, TX Houston George Bush Intercntl. (IAH)

Continental Airlines 5947

Operated by: CHAUTAUQUA AIRLINES INC DBA CO EXPRESS .

Depart:                         4:55pm            Houston, TX Houston George Bush Intercntl. (IAH)

Arrive:                        8:29pm            Columbus, OH Port Columbus Intl (CMH

Kayleigh (to LAX)

Continental Airlines CO47

Depart:                       7:10pm            Houston, TX Houston George Bush Intercntl. (IAH)

Arrive:                        8:38pm            Los Angeles, CA (LAX)

Friday Pictures

We had a blast in Antigua today! It is such a beautiful city, easy to navigate for tourists, and we were able to get some really fun pictures.