La Croix UMC-Guatemala-NLCH

We Made It!!

2008-03-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say that we are all back in Missouri...
As I write the LeCamps and Cindy are in route about an hour from Cape. We all made it despite the airline mishaps and the rotten weather we returned to in Missouri!! I am sure I can speak for everyone when I say it is GOOD to be home! Yeah God!
Kristy

we're still here...or there

2008-03-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well the Miami team made it safe and sound today. We had no problems with flights, customs, etc. (thanks all who prayed for us this weekend at church!)

Kim and Phil spent another 3 hours in line trying to get us either on flights today or hotel vouchers at MIA while the rest of us camped out literally with the bags. We are at a hotel in Miami awaiting our various flights tomorrow. We are all confirmed and most of us were able to get our boarding passes online tonight. I wish I could say we enjoyed our stay in Miami and took advantage of the unplanned extra vacation time, however, it stormed today...figures! Casey & Taylor did manage some pool time tonight after the rain stopped.
Keep praying for all of us, especially those still in Guatemala (Lackamps, Cindy and Eddie) who will fly out tomorrow morning to Dallas & then to STL.
We are happy to report that Dorothy has successfully made it back to Missouri!! Yeah God!
Hopefully we will see you all tomorrow!!
For the team,
Kristy

Update

2008-03-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

Here´s what is happening.

Sunday
Staci, Sarah, Diane, Dorothy, Ixchell, Cristina, Brandy, Taylor, Casey, Kristy, Phil and Kim will fly out at 7:00am to Miami and will spend the night there again on American Airlines tab. The rest will stay one more night in Guatemala.

Monday
Eddy will help Amber, Sandi, Mike and Cindy get checked in for their flight to Dallas and then on to St. Louis. Eddy´s flight will leave a little before theirs but they will all check in together. He will make sure they are taken care of before he leaves. It´s only one hour before their flight. Eddy arrives in St. Louis via Miami at 4:00pm

Kristy and Casey arrive STL via Dallas at 2:55pm Amber, Sandi, Mike and Cindy arrive in St. Louis via Dallas at 6:00pm...I´m hoping they can get bumped toKristy and Casey´s flight

Dorothy, Staci and Diane arrive STL via Little Rock at11:40am (although, I think Dorothy is not through to St. Louis on Sunday)

Brandy, Taylor and Sarah arrive STL via Raleigh, NC at1:30pm

Kim and Phil arrive STL via Jacksonville at 4:45pm Ixchell and Cristina will take different flights back to Chicago from Miami. Ixchell will get back that morning around 9:00am and the other will arrive at 9:00pm

As of now I think we have rides back to Cape lined up for everyone. Our hope and prayer is that we can all fly back together tomorrow. Everyone is doing well for the most part. We are all still on the healthy side but very tired. We are blessed and will be fine but we are ready to be home and our families are ready for us.

Kristy or I will keep you posted on any new developments. Thanks for your prayers. I do not know how to make a smiley face on this crazy keyboard but just so you know I am smiling.

En Jesus Cristo,
Kim

Update...

2008-03-29T20:17:00.001-07:00

Right now our plans have not changed. Kim has been working all day to try to get us flights home tomorrow. She has a cousin who works for American Airlines. So far only one of us has a confirmed seat home tomorrow.
We plan to fly to Miami, hopefully, and get out tomorrow whenever we can. Kim is working on booking rooms in Miami just in case...since she found out the airline has not done that for us.
We will try to post from the airport tomorrow or get word to Rob to post for us whenever we know if we will be flying out.

Stuck in the City...

2008-03-29T15:28:00.001-07:00

Hey all. Kristy here. Since we are stuck here in Guatemala City I thought I would update you on our happenings over the last day and a half.
Friday we had an early morning and we were taken on a fun day to Antigua. We were treated to a delicious breakfast at a beautiful 5 star hotel.

After breakfast we went to an old monastery where Saint Peter is buried, not Peter from the Bible, BTW. We also toured some old city ruins and a coffee plantation where we sampled some coffee of course. Yum.
We then went to an art market where we shopped till we dropped and bartered for the best prices. Taylor is quite the negotiator, can you believe that? After a lunch out and more shopping we returned to the Children´s Home for dinner.
Eddie and I had the privilege of speaking to the parents of the students who attend the Christian School run at the Children´s Home. It was a real stretch for me as anyone who knows me well knows how much I like to speak in public...NOT. Eddie translated for me and I got through it but it was definitely not easy for me. Eddie of course was amazing and we appreciated his gift of leadership again.

After dinner the kids at the Home put on a goodbye program for us with a slide show of pictures and 3 special dance routines performed. The kids and staff all gathered around us and prayed for us then each hugged us and said goodbye. We also each received a special handmade card and photo of us with a child. It was very special to say the least and there were lots of tears by all...

We packed up, tried to get some sleep and got up at 3 a.m. to get to the airport for our flight this morning only to find out there was no flight...bummer.
We are all doing fine but we are, of course, anxious to get home and see our loved ones and get back to our lives, jobs, etc.
We are doing everything possible to try to get out of here ASAP but it is still looking like it will be Monday. Please keep us in your prayers, we are faithful and know God is in control.
Love to everyone.

Team Update

2008-03-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Rob Mehner. WHAT!?! I know, I'm not on the trip, but I needed to give everyone an update. The team is stuck in Guatemala City. The flight to Guatemala that would have provided the plane for their return trip through Miami was cancelled. All other flights were completely booked, so the airline has put all of them up in the Crown Plaza Hotel with meal vouchers.

The plan for now is to fly to Miami and stay there Sunday night and come back on a variety of flights on Monday. However, the Wheelers and the airline are working on trying to get all or most of the team back tomorrow.

Check here for more updates.

Amazing Day-Thursday

2008-03-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hi this is Kim and Brandy. Eddy is here too but he says he doesn't want to type. Today was a great day and probably our busiest. We're all a little weary but very full...of joy, thankfulness and Jesus. We started our day by leading devocionales with the children of the school. The first group had 84, next 98, then 120, then 94. Whew! It was awesome! Although Eddy says he doesn't like to talk in front of a lot of people he did an excellent job sharing the gospel with all these kiddos. He talked about how we all have sin in our lives and that we can try to clean our sin ourselves but we can't do it. We painted the kids hands and had them put their print on a piece of fabric. Then he asked them to wipe of their hands (sin). Of course, they couldn't. Then he told them Jesus is the only one who can forgive us and cleanse us of our sins. Then we helped them wash their hands. He shared a lot more but it was in Spanish. :) Taylor and Casey performed "God of Wonders" singing acapella and doing sign language. They all were great and God really used them. Be praying for Eddy and Kristy because tomorrow they are sharing their testimonies for a parents meeting here at the school about what it means to raise kids in a Christian home.

Then the rest of the day most of us painted the comedor (dining hall). (Ixchell, Cristina, Dorothy, Cindy, Kristy, Sarah, Diane, Kim, Staci, Taylor and two girls that are here with us) God was really with us because I didn't know how we were going to get it done and get everything cleaned up by dinner time. There were lots of people helping and it all got done!

Some of the group played with the kids when they got out of school either playing Uno, making bracelets or playing basketball.(Sandy, Brandy, Casey, Amber, Eddy and Staci) Then Amber got wheeled around the gym in her wheelchair by all the little girls. We all hoped she wasn't going to fall out of her chair! She had a blast!!

The rest of the group has lived in the shop.(Phil, Mike, Eddy and Taylor) They have been working their tails off welding together the frame for desks. They are totally dedicated to this and are willing to give up their visit to Antigua tomorrow but the project leader has to drive the rest of us to Antigua so they have to come with us. They deserve a break although they don't see it that way. Even Taylor has learned a little welding. Eddy even hung blinds in the new apartment for short term missionaries.

This evening we were blessed to hear Kendon and Wendy Wheeler's story about how they were called to be missionaries and the work God has done here at New Life Children's Home. They told us about some of the kids and their stories and some of us signed up to sponsor some of the kids. GOD IS FAITHFUL! He has made a beautiful place here in the middle of such poverty, abuse, violence and oppression. We wish you all could be here! Love to all of you! We miss you.

Happy Wednesday

2008-03-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hi. This is Staci

Greetings from Guatemala. Today has been an exciting and busy day. We kicked off with a big breakfast (Casey's eggs are awesome) then it was onto working hard. There was exterior painting, stencil painting in the girls dorm (and some free hand painting by me), and lots of playing and connecting with kids. Taylor round up some of the boys and played torture Casey, stealing her shoes, headband, and some other personal items.

I'm not sure how the guys spent their evening, but the girls spent the evening at "Casa de Unas" the House of Nails. Brandy had the terrific idea to paint the younger girls nails. The girls had a better idea - the painted our nails. And as you can see in the photos Kim and Dorothy showed everyone some smooth moves on the dance floor. Tons of fun.

Our first day at NLCH - WOW!!

2008-03-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hello again! It's Brandy.

Our first day in Guatemala just flew by! Lee and Staci and the rest of the NLCH folks cooked us a wonderful breakfast of pancakes and sausage. They have a rule here that you have to eat everything on your plate. I think we may all come back several pounds heavier. The food is great, the fruit and veggies especially yummy and the coffee is wonderful!

After breakfast we were given a full tour of the facilities. What an amazing place full of amazing people! God's work can be seen everywhere: the children's dorms, the classrooms, and in all of their happy little eyes. After the tour we all split up to do various projects around the home. Some painted or cleaned. Others worked on plant beds and other various jobs. Some of us did projects that we had never done and didn't feeled qualified to do. But God was with us and we all prevailed.

We were able to get to know some of the children during lunch and then ate supper with them also. What a blessing it has been to have Ixchell, Christina, and Eddie here with us to translate! The rest of us are picking up a few things too. Oh, and yes we did see little Michelle. She is sooo beautiful and so alert and happy!! No one can look at her little 6lb 11oz body eating crackers and smiling and not believe in God! She is a miracle!

Well I am off to join the others playing with the kids. I'm not sure who is more excited that we are here - us or them! Thank you all for praying for us, keep up the good work!!

Yeah God!! We arrived safely!

2008-03-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! This is Brandy.

We arrived in Guatemala safely on Monday at about 9pm central time. It was only 8pm here, apparantly they get to decide each year whether or not to observe daylight savings time. So far they aren't this year, but could change their minds.

Nerves were a little high when our flight to Dallas was delayed causing us to barely make our connection flight. God was there, we arrived just in time and the gate for the connecting flight was 10 feet away.

Everyone was so excited to be here, but a little hungry since we didn't get food on the flights and didn't have time to eat between flights. But the great people here at NLCH were there for us. We had a great meal of fried chicken and rolls before going off to bed.

Christ is Risen!!

2008-03-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

He is risen indeed! Celebrating the risen Savior with the family of God is amazing! Serving with them is also amazing! Tomorrow morning we will leave La Croix around 9:15 am and head for St. Louis. We'll have a layover in Dallas and then arrive in Guatemala City around 8:00pm. Our time zones are the same so that will be nice. Time now to finish packing, relax and enjoy time with family. Guatemala here we come!

2008-03-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Let the packing begin! Tonight we packed up all of our extra materials and suprisingly they all fit! Even the megaphone found a nice comfy place. After packing up we all enjoyed a dinner of fried fish and then a great service where we remembered the last sayings of Jesus. What amazing love God has for us.

One Week and Counting

2008-03-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

We are 17 people from La Croix UMC getting ready to go to Guatemala on a mission trip to New Life Children's Home. We are pumped! We consider it a privilege that God allows us to work with him in this world to share the Good News of Jesus Christ!! Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to prepare.