Today half our team went to the remote village of Zapote
while the other half remained at the Oasis. The Oasis team continued on with
the tasks of hanging drywall, taping and mudding, as well as applying
additional coats of paint. The primary
focus of the Zapote team was to tackle small maintenance projects, and the major
task of getting photographs of all 220 kids at the KAG Source of Hope school. All
the photos were taken by Tim with the help of Dennis, Xochitl, and Pam as crowd
control. The photos are used by Kids
Alive for sponsorship of the kids in Zapote. Meaghen De Aku (Burge) is the KAG missionary
located in Zapote and she gave the team a tour and update of the school as well
as around the village. She introduced us
to Jorge, who was a student of the first class to graduate from the school and is
first generation in his family to pursue higher education. He received his degree in Physical Education
and is now the PE coach at the school.
After finishing the tasks at the school, the team made their
way through the village to the church Iglesia Galilea (which is a church plant
from the one in San Lucas by the same name). This was the location of the school
prior to the completion of the new site around 2010. We spoke with pastor and he shared the
amazing Church growth that continues to take place in spite of the pagan influence
in the village. He also showed us their
a new food initiative that helps to grow fresh vegetables and tilapia for the
community.
Tim was able to distribute pictures to families whom he took
pictures of in previous years. The joy
and smiles on their faces for this seemingly simple gesture helps one understand
what true gratitude is. One family that
received these pictures includes a boy that has been featured in a previous KAG
video. His name is Elmer and on top of all the other maladies shared amongst
the children of Zapote he suffers from epilepsy. His mother informed us that he ran out of the
little medication that the government provides them and has been going without
for quite some time. Any commotion by
his surroundings has the potential to set off his life threatening seizures. Thankfully God provides and a medical team
will be visiting in a few weeks on their six month rotation and hopefully they
will be able to provide him with a six month or more supply of his medication. There are many kids in Zepote that need sponsorship,
so if you feel lead, please visit the Kids Alive Guatemala homepage.
At the end of the day the New Hope Church team was able to
attend group devotions and service with the girls of the Oasis and their house
moms. The service included a departure
of one of the house moms, which always leaves many feeling a little melancholy.
Sharing in praise songs lead by the girls was also very encouraging because we
were able to the passion they have for God and their faith. Some of the girls shared how they recognized
the values they are all being taught in there housemates this week. Korby, the KAG site lead, facilitated the
devotions afterword reinforcing those values.
It was a good day!
~Caleb
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