Hello.

We are all in Santiago, Guatemala!

Yesterday morning in Antigua our students had many conversations with folks and shared the Gospel many times. Chris Cole was particularly excited that the gentleman he talked to put his faith in Christ. After sharing the Gospel and handing out papers with the Gospel in Spanish (especially for those of us who don’t speak Spanish), we went back to the Hotel de Don Rodrigo for lunch. They entertained us with a Spanish folk dance accompanied by marimbas while we ate. Some of our students even joined in for part of the dance. It was really cool and unique; we’ve not gotten to see anything like that on previous trips to Guatemala. We then loaded two buses for the 3 and a half hour bus ride to Panajachel. Then we got on a boat to cross Lake Atitlan to travel to Santiago. The weather has been amazing so far (no rain) and cool…great working conditions. Please pray this fabulous weather continues. And thanks for your prayers for our safe travels. Praise God we are all here safely!

Last night we had dinner and then our group meeting. Our group meeting usually consists of worship songs (thanks to Jon Dansby, Ben Brown, & Joe Burkett), time to Give God the Glory, and our teaching time. Every night this year we are going to be teaching on something we’ll be experiencing in Guatemala (missions, service, evangelism, community, joy, priorities, materialism, etc.), seeing what the Scriptures say, and discussing how we can implement these things when we’re back in Fort Worth. We really want the students’ hearts to be changed and these things to be a part of their lives year-round…not just for a week in Guatemala. Please pray with us that this happens and that this trip is not simply a “camp high” experience for our students.

While I always enjoy the teaching we do in Guatemala, I must say that my favorite parts of our time together are the singing and Give God the Glory time. The acoustics in our meeting room and the students singing to God here make this my favorite place in the world to sing to God. I feel almost selfish that I get to worship God with them and hear them Give God the Glory and you just have to read about it in an email. For our Give God the Glory time, anyone who wants to share stands and completes the sentence, “I give God the glory for…” Here’s what some said last night… how He controls His creation, allowing us to come here year after year, that the bus ride is over, His creation, the smile on the kids’ faces while we were sharing the Gospel, how people are different/unique, the evangelistic hearts of the students (especially Walker, Chris, & Alex), Dixon and that the body of Christ keeps coming back together, life itself, the Guatemalan people, His grace, the 4 students from CrossPoint, that the language barrier is no obstacle for God, great hosts, freedom as Christians to speak the Gospel, new brothers/sisters in Christ, how we get to be a part of what God is doing (He doesn’t need us but uses us and lets us see Him work), seeing God save someone today, hearts of the seniors, everything He’s given me…

This morning we went to 4 work sites and will be working all day. I’ll tell you more about these work sites throughout the week. With 90 people working, it’s quite a logistical puzzle to figure out. The elders and deacons at the Alfa y Omega church in Santiago are gracious hosts to us. Many take off a week of work to come to the sites to give us direction. Pray for them as they lead us. Pray for safety on the sites. Pray for us to be able to get the resources we need (the first day on the site it always takes time to get learn what we need to know, get tools, etc.) and for students to be patient and flexible. We plan a tremendous amount before we get here but there is only so much we can know and do until we actually get to the sites.

I’ve attached a picture with a few images from Antigua. May you all have a great day. And as always, may God be glorified in all things. “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Thanks for praying with us to this end.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Kathy Harrelson
High School Director at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas

Image – Antigua1.jpg