This was our first full day of missions in Guatemala City, and it was a great day.  We started with a trip with Compassion International to visit Shawn and Wendy Wallace’s sponsored child and his family.  My sponsored child, Miguel, had a family emergency and was out of town.  Shawn and Wendy took groceries to Irma and her family, as well as treats for their sponsored child Samuel and his siblings.  It was great to see the projects Compassion is involved with, but there was nothing to compare to the honor of being invited into this family’s home to get to know them.

They live in a simple home with a partially dirt floor, but it was evident that Irma had cleaned everything for us.  The children were excited about their presents, and they loved the chocolate milk.  At the end of the visit, we circled around the family in the middle of their main room with the dirt floor, and we prayed for their family.  It was one of those moments where I am absolutely certain that God is very near and that this moment is part of his plan and pleasure.  I left their home feeling like we had had church, we’d been to church, we are the church.

Our afternoon at Eliza Martinez was so much fun.  We talked to the kids about how God desires for us to care for our bodies, that we were created in his image, and that he said making us was “good”.  We practiced hand-washing and teeth-brushing, hoping to teach them some basic health skills and tasks that they will need to be independent with when they are on their own.  We took pictures, handed out the Foreign Exchange gifts, and the kids loved their photo albums, pouring over all the pictures and showing them off.  We played baseball and shared lots of hugs and kisses.

It’s good to see all the levels of God’s work today.  Maryland Community Church is doing a great thing by praying for and providing the gift of relationship and attention to these boys.  There are people in Indiana who may never see Guatemala, but they love a Guatemalan child in the name of God.  There are people who come to visit these kids, who are the hands and feet of Jesus.  Those hands wipe snotty noses and fit nicely around the shoulders of a lonely child.  Those feet run to play games and play tag.  The church met up and prayed together in 2 different languages today.  And I’m pretty sure God smiled while his children played.