A beautiful day in Guatemala!

I received one of the best Birthday gifts today! Jessica, one of the precious girls here at the Oasis and one who has become very special to me personally, walked to me and greeted me with a hug and kiss while declaring to tia Lydia "my Papa!" We then took a long stroll hand in hand around the Oasis! (Three years ago, Jessica was in a wheelchair and couldn't walk...and the only sounds she made were shreeks or gutteral sounds...God is amazing!)

We all had a good night of rest last night and were able to sleep in just a little bit and have a slow start to our day. We had breakfast at "Casa del Waffles"...it's always a bit interesting to see what comes from the kitchen compared to what you ordered...that is just part of the flexibility of Guatemala hospitality! It was a great time of fellowship as a team. We headed back to the Oasis to see our girls again! Some of us spent time with the girls and a few of us headed back to San Lucas to finish the shopping for the picnic tomorrow.

Today was family visit day at the Oasis for the girls, so it was important for us to not be here during that time. For many of these girls this can be a good day...for others difficult. We headed to Antigua to do some people watching and shopping. While in Central Park, as we were waiting to gather as a team from our small excursion groups, Tony had the opportunity to share the Gospel with Alejandro...a Guatemala man who was visiting Antigua today. Please pray for Alejandro as he was very open to what Tony had to say, but still wasn't ready. He and Tony have exchanged email addresses to continue the conversation!

We had a great dinner at the "Sky Cafe" and headed back to the Oasis to have team devotions and then continue our prayer focus for each of the girls, staff members and missionaries that we began several weeks prior to our arrival in Guatemala. This week we are breaking up in to groups of two and praying together...then writing on the back of bookmarks that will be given to each girl by each two person team...by the end of the week, each girl will receive seven bookmarks that will have personal notes from each of us! Thanks Neil for organizing this!

It's now time to play games and settle in for a good nights sleep with all the familiar Guatemala night sounds...church in the morning! Good night dear friends, thanks for all your prayers!

Kyle

First impressions from a new guy

This is my first time here at the Oasis. Here are my first impressions:

- Guatemala, with it's green mountains and volcanos is VERY beautiful.

- The Oasis itself is amazingly beautiful: a huge central playground surrounded by beautifully colored housing: looks like a courtyard of heaven where these girls can live in security and healing.

- Arriving at the Oasis was amazing. As we got out of the van, I saw some of the girls run up and greet some of the men of our team that they have known for years: they gave big hugs and big smiles. It was like watching a daughter greet her daddy who had been away on a long trip. It was also a little awkward that these girls did obviously not know me, but they were willing to begin making friends with us newcomers very soon. When the girls learned that I actually speak real Spanish, they stared teaching me their cool greeting and lingo of the day.

- The staff was also very appreciative for us coming. We had an orientation, and learned about the vision and strategies of the director. They are really working to bring God's transforming power to an entire village of Zapote with a nearby school they have started.

- I feel both blessed, overwhelmed and exhausted from the trip. I look forward to tomorrow. God bless the Oasis, it's staff, and the girls!

Tony

Arrived Safely in Guatemala

We arrived safely at the Oasis at 4pm. All our luggage arrived as well - praise God! The guys are please to be here and the girls are pleased to see us. We are taking it easy for a while, getting orientated and settling in. Stay tuned to this blog for more updates soon....

Team Members

The guy's going to Guatemala this year are:

Dave C, Tim O, Pete, Chris, Kory, Greg, Randy, Mark

Zack, Dave T, Tony, Kyle, Neil, Tim B

Thank you for lifting these guys up to the Lord in prayer.

Ready to leave

The team leaves for Guatemala on Friday morning. Please see the prayer requests on the right side of this page. You can also pray for the van situation in Guatemala - it was involved in an accident and has been impounded by the police and they are not sure when they will get it back and what condition it will be in. Pray that the Lord's will be done in that situation. We are meeting at NHC main campus at 4am on Friday........you are welcome to join us for prayer. Thanks to Pastor Dave who will be driving us to the airport!