Today we dug a trench for electric lines, that are going in a new ministry construction site. The site will be used as a central work site, for a ministry that builds houses for those in need. The work was extremely difficult, some of the toughest work I’ve ever done. The ground was like concrete, and underneath was layers of brick and rock. We used pick axes and shovels, and all have blistered hands after a long day. We are so blessed by our minstry contact though. She has pretty much opened up her home to us, and her house is amazing, and tonite after a long day she had us over and bought us pizza. This was a treat, as we have been living on a very slim budget.
Tomorrow I will be going with a couple teammates to a hospital that cares for malnurished children. One nine year old child there apparently weighs 20 pounds. Today I had my body broken, tomorrow my heart will be, which will be more difficult. But it is all so rewarding. We have opportunities to serve God and His people, for an entire year! Although it is tough, it is helping us grow stronger, and grow closer to God.
Soon we will be building water filtration systems and wood burning stoves for people in the villages. We will also be teaching children and families about health and sanitation, and also have opportunities through all this service to share the gospel. We have learned a lot about health and sanitation in third world countries, and will be blessed by that knowledge over the next year! It is pretty intense to hear all the effects bad water has on people here in Guatemala, and to think about how little the cost is to provide clean filtered water to them.
Please pray for strength, rest and healing for those on our team who dug trenches today. Please pray that God blesses our ministry at Casa Jackson ( I believe they have a website, this is the hospital for malnurished babies and kids). Please also pray that our team stays healthy. It is difficult to find healthy meals, but we are managing. Our leaders have been awesome about giving advice for food and health. Thank you for your prayers, and hopefully I will send out another blog soon.
love,
michael
