Category: Personal Page 7 of 10

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Hello!

Yesterday was another busy work day for us. The groups flip-flopped sites again and worked hard. The students at The Colony also took a tour of the mudslide area. I have included some pictures today from the tours. You can see the mudslide down the mountain. There is also a picture of the mass grave that looks like a field. We were actually standing on mud that is covering homes and dead bodies. About 350 people are still living in temporary shelters (many provided by the US) in the area we walked through. The government began building permanent housing nearby (to replace the temporary ones) but after some studies of the terrain declared that area a “red zone” because of the potential of future mudslides. So construction on the new permanent housing ceased and they are considering where in the city they can move those folks.

You’ll also notice pictures from a few things we did yesterday. A group of our students played a group of people from the Alfa y Omega church in soccer (in the middle of a corn field). The score was tied 7-7 at the end of regulation. The US lost to Guatemala on the very last PK. A rematch is scheduled for this afternoon (weather permitting).

Also, a group of about 12 folks went to the prayer service that was at the church at the Colony. Pastor Abraham’s brother Jose is the pastor there. Our group participated in the service and prayed for Jose and his wife Maria as well as the other folks that live in the Colony. Our group was blessed by the sincerity and generosity of the people they worshipped with and humbled and challenged by their commitment to prayer.

There is an immense amount of laughter at the Posada and on the work sites, sometimes due to practical jokes. At Campamento David some of our folks taught Chelsea Inman how to say, “I am very, very excited” in Spanish and kept encouraging her to speak those words to the Guatemalans. When she finally did, she got some weird looks from the Guatemalans. The group had intentionally taught her to say “I am very, very pregnant” (which Chelsea is not) instead of “I am very, very excited.” Also, we print common Spanish phrases in our students’ workbooks. One we printed was the translation (or so we thought) for “Only faith in Jesus can save you.” Chris Cole, however, informed us that what we had printed actually says, “Only faith in Jesus can save you money.”

Last night Brent Kesler continued our teaching on missions and did a great job. He taught on the Great Commission, Matthew 28:16-20. “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.,”

A few folks have stayed in sick this morning. Pray for their health and that none of their illnesses spread to others.

I have throughout the week referred to the Gospel a number of times and have not really defined that word yet. And since I don’t know who is receiving this email (Richard keeps the list) I recognize that some of you may not know what the Gospel is. I am including at the end of this email a copy of the Bad News/Good News presentation of the Gospel that our students often use to share the Gospel with folks. It would be their desire (and mine) that all of the Guatemalans we meet and all of you who read this email embrace and believe this amazing news (if you have not already). We are so grateful for what Christ has done for us. And we want all people to receive the blessing of getting to know and be amazed, now and forever, by the person of Jesus Christ, to the glory of God. He is our delight.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Kathy Harrelson
High School Director at Christ Chapel Bible Church

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Hello!

Yesterday was our second full day of work on the sites. The team that went to The Colony on Saturday went to Campamento David yesterday and the team that went to Campamento David on Saturday went to The Colony. The folks at the Colony continued moving rocks for the wall, digging holes, and clearing the new land. The folks at Campamento David moved lots of dirt (which will help level the land on the soccer field), began clearing new land, and helped build the retaining wall (mixed cement, carried rocks, and more). Now is the time in the trip when folks’ stamina tends to fade. Prayer for strength for the workers on the site so that we are able to continue to work hard. Pray also that we take the breaks we need (and drink enough water); some of them almost work too hard.

Wayne also took the folks at The Colony on a tour of the mudslide area. Hurricane Stan brought great devastation and mudslides here in October, burying and killing around 600 folks. The students went and stood on what looks like a field but is really mud piled on top of homes and bodies that were buried in the mud. The folks (especially the children) are very fearful when it rains and many lost a number of their family members (we met one man yesterday who lost 33 members of his family). Please pray for all the folks in this area so impacted by the storm.

There are a couple folks who have been a big blessing on our trip. Jared Kesler was a part of the college ministry at Christ Chapel when he was at TCU; he just graduated in May. He is spending the summer living with the pastor of the Alfa y Omega Church (Pastor Abraham) and doing ministry in Santiago. He helped coordinate some of the details for our trip while Wayne and we were in the States. His help beforehand, work on the site, love for the Guatemalans (especially the children), and heart to minister to our high school students is a blessing.

Also, I wanted to be sure to mention what a blessing the Burketts are. Joe (a doctor) and Molly (a nurse) are here with us for any medical needs. Thankfully we haven’t needed their medical assistance very much this year. But they work as hard as anyone on the site. Elizabeth Butler mentioned in Give God the Glory last night Molly’s tenacity in a hole they were digging. The Burkett’s love for the Lord and students encourages us as well. I told them that though their children have now graduated from high school that the two of them still are not allowed to graduate from the CCBC high school ministry.

Last night Jon Dansby taught the group. We are continuing with our discussion of missions. Jon taught about how God is a missionary God and talked about His Kingdom. We looked through the Scriptures at God reaching out to all nations and then at the vision of victory in Revelation 5:9-14. It has been incredible to see the students’ eyes opened to missions; I’ve walked by and heard discussions among some of them considering extended summer missions experiences or maybe even a career in missions. In Matthew 9:36-38, we read Jesus’ words: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'”

Happy Birthday to Sarah Ice! She turned 15 yesterday. We asked for a candle to be put in her dessert last night so we could sing to her (which we did). As I went to the kitchen to check on it, I saw 6 Guatemalan men gathered around decorating a small cake for her. They wanted to put 15 candles in the cake but eventually gave up and settled for 5.

By grace alone,

Kathy Harrelson
High School Director at Christ Chapel Bible Church

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Hello!

Yesterday (Sunday) was our day of relaxation, rest, play, and shopping. We started with breakfast at 9am (much later than our normal 7:15 breakfast) and then had our worship service at 10:30. Two of our seniors who just graduated, Malcolm White & Dave Burkett, taught us at the service. They chose to talk about suffering. Malcolm began by talking about how many people refuse to believe in the Christian God because suffering exists. Their argument is that if God is both all-powerful and all-loving then suffering should not exist. Yet their argument doesn’t consider the fact that God can and does have a good purpose in suffering. Romans 8:28 communicates this. 1 Peter 4:12-13 also talks about suffering. Dave then shared about the life of Job and Job’s life of suffering. Job didn’t know all God’s purposes or see what was really going on during his suffering, but God was definitely involved and at work.

Here’s how Malcolm concluded the talk: “The most important thing to realize is that nobody understands our sufferings better than Jesus. He understands physical and emotional pain better than we ever will, and more than that, he understands its purpose. How pointless must His death have appeared to the disciples! He to be their president and they his cabinet. But God demonstrated purpose and love in suffering by sending his Son to die a death in pain and abandonment. For with His resurrection, we find salvation.”

After our worship service, we gathered for a cookout around the pool. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad, and brownies. Then we all went into town to shop at the market and returned to the Posada mid-afternoon. We all then played cards, swam in the pool, took naps, played hide and seek/tag, and more until dinner. There is one large room at the Posada where we all eat and hang out, and there is always someone in that room playing cards or chess or some other game.

A group of us (Wayne Huff, Micah Barnum, Andrew & Sarah Haverly, Tyler Roberts, Clifton Hickman, Ernie Elbert, Chris Cole, Brent Kesler, Kellye Watson, Mary Norris, and Joe Burkett) went to part of the evening worship service downtown at the Alfa & Omega Church.

After dinner we all gathered for singing, Give God the Glory, and a brief talk by Wayne Huff (the Wycliffe missionary who is coordinating the trip) about our work projects. Then we broke into separate groups (girls/guys) for teaching and discussion. The guys (led by Brandon Stewart, Brian Granaghan, Kyle Gitchell, Tyler Roberts, & Carlton Alexander) chose to talk about man-centered vs. God-centered missions. They broke into groups and discussed the difference between the two and how the right motive for missions and evangelism flows out of worship (both obedience to God and amazement at Who He is). Acts 4:19-20 quotes Peter and John (after they were told not to talk about Christ) and says, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

The girls (led by Sunni Sonnenburg, Blythe Duffey, & Kara Bagley) also talked about how the perfection of Christ and amazement at who He is motivates us to do missions and evangelism. (By the way, they picked topics separately and yet ended up discussing the same thing.) Specifically the girls broke into groups and discussed how Christ has so many seemingly “opposite” characteristics but is perfect in all of them. Each group discussed a different pairing (justice & grace; all-powerful & submissive; Lion & Lamb; strength & gentleness.)

There were two things I specifically noted yesterday. (1) The group of seniors that graduated this year is stellar. I cannot wait to see the impact they have at the colleges they attend and jobs they start. They have been significant leaders for us. In addition to some of them teaching, a group of a few upperclassmen found a few of the underclassmen and they (about 10 of them) went aside during their free time to pray specifically for the trip and talk about the Lord. (2) The spirit of unity and genuine Christian fellowship on this trip has been amazing. Christian fellowship is more than simply some Christians eating a meal together. It is sharing in the things of Christ (talking about Him, serving together, and more.) Last night I looked around the room during our free time and saw several groups with their Bibles open asking hard questions and talking about the Lord.

One funny note. Our group uses every room at the Posada in Santiago and we need more. So several people who have homes right by the Posada let us use their homes. Dave & Malcolm (two senior TVS football players) are staying in one. Dave was so freaked out by some of the odd, weird-looking decorations that he moved his bed into the room where Malcolm is sleeping so he’d be less freaked out. (Sally, Molly wanted me to share that as she thought you’d particularly find that funny.)

Once again, thanks for your prayers. Pray for continued spiritual growth and Christian fellowship among the students. Praise God for this group of graduating seniors and pray for them as they move into new areas of ministry. Pray for our work on the sites.

In Christ alone,

Kathy Harrelson

High School Director at Christ Chapel Bible Church