Church, Picnic and a Volcano

After a good nights sleep we all piled into the van and drove the bumpy roads of San Lucas to church where all the girls from the Oasis attend. It is always a blessing to worship together with the girls and hear some great wisdom from their pastor. To our surprise we saw Doug (orange jacket) and Sara there. It was truly a blessing to see this man who by all accounts should not be with us. 

Neil and Mark talking with Doug at the Nazarene Church

Straight after church we all bundled in the van again and headed south towards Guatemala City to a Park. We set up tables, made lunch, ate plenty of food then the fun began...

Sandwich making

Randy introduces the Parachute. 

Sandy and Lisa do a little face painting

Dave playing a little "Futbol" - I think he got beat!

Neil scored points with Mirsa by getting his face painted.

Fuego Volcano Erupts

We saw so much today. The love that came from the pastor to his congregation and for the people who do not know Christ in Guatemala. To the laughter and giggles that you heard and saw from the girls as they played games in the park, to then at the end of the day Fuego Volcano decides to put on a show for us. God the creator of this universe showed his splendor in that volcano - but even more so in each of these girls as you watched them play. The week has only just begun and we have been blessed already.

Lisa Bodkin - Reporting for the team.

Saturday Cultural Experience

As expected, we were only able to bank about 4-5 hours of sleep before heading out the gate of The Oasis on our way to Panajachel near Lake Atitlan this morning. We stopped at a roadside and modern Burger King for breakfast in Chimaltenango, the town sometimes referred to as "the armpit of Guatemala".  It was a blessing to meet a former Oasis sponsored girl there with her new husband. We were able to have breakfast with them and pray over them for God to bless their marriage before we had to hit the road again.

We enjoyed visiting the beauty of a jungle valley nature preserve near the lake and then see a little bit of the busy streets of Panajachel and Solola. This was the first visit to this area for 4 or 5 guys on the team. A rain storm, unusual for our times here, blew in after lunch and shortened our time seeing the colorful street vendors as they hurriedly covered up their wares. Even so, we were able to visit with a few and attempt communicating with them, sometimes successfully - always an encouragement!  Almost all the Guatemala people we encounter are extremely hard working and resourceful and seem generally grateful for the sometimes meager existence they endure.  It is always a reminder to us to see the joy in serving God and others above all the things and "stuff" that distract us sometimes in our lives.  Hebrews 13:5 comes to mind:  "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  This invariably is always a lesson we are reminded of when we are on the mission field. 

Thankfully, we arrived back at The Oasis tonight after at least 6 hours on the roads. Tomorrow morning we will be going to church with the girls and staff here. After church, we're planning a picnic lunch outing for the girls - somewhere outside The Oasis.  This will be the first time we've tried this. We ask for your prayers that we will be able to bond with the girls well and especially get to know the new girls on this picnic, and also that the weather will cooperate. Oh yes, along with this afternoon's rain and fog came a chilling cold front. Josh, our host, reminded us that there are zero heaters at the Oasis before kindly loading us up with extra blankets tonight.  Someone remind us to bring nose warmers next year.

Thanks for praying.

After a long day of travel, we've arrived safely at the Oasis.
Thanks again for your prayers.

We got unloaded and a short prayer of thanks for good arrival: getting settled in.

We're off!

Well, here we go. We were able to share in a circle of prayer at church with some family and available church staff before heading off to the airport. We'll be departing MSP at about 2:45 to Houston, and from there on to Guatemala City, arriving at about 10:30. It's likely we won't arrive at The Oasis until well after midnight. Of course, it will take a while to get settled in to our bunks, but we should get 3 or 4 hours of sleep before we need to get moving early Saturday morning at 6:00. 

Because tomorrow is monthly family visiting day for the girls, and we don't want to distract them from their family visits, the team is heading out on a day trip to Panahachel. This will be a team bonding day and an introduction to a part of Guatemala many on the team haven't seen before. We'll spend the day there and then start the 2-3 hour drive back to The Oasis at about 5 PM.

It's always an adventure and a blessing to go outside the walls and interact with the beautiful people of Guatemala. We're able to use our meager Spanish skills (except Tony who is fluent) with folks on the street and they are almost always very friendly and willing to share a smile after we offer a "buenos dias" to them. At the same time, we recognize the need to be vigilant and cautious.

We ask for your prayers for safety along the way, both today as we fly and tomorrow on the road to Pana and back. We also ask that we can be used by God to share His love to all that we come in contact with. Also pray for health for the team members as a few are starting today with mild health concerns, and we haven't even touched the Guatemalan water yet. :-)

Thanks again to all of you supporting and praying for us. We hope the notes you read this week and beyond will be a blessing to you.

Hasta Luego!

Tim Oberg ~ for the team

Retreat with Girls

One of the new things we are planning this year is a mini-retreat with the girls. We are planning a VBS style rotation on Saturday, March 9 to include Bible teaching, crafts, a prayer path and games based around the following passage of scripture:

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 2 Peter 1:5-7

Please pray for Lisa, Kyle and the team as they prepare the activities for the retreat that it would be an effective time of ministry to the girls.

Donations

Thank you to everyone who has donated supplies to go to the Oasis - we have enough now! The girls will definitely appreciate all the clothes, games and toys.

Fund Raising

Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year. We have exceeded our fund raising goal - Praise God! Additional money raised will go to support the work of Kids Alive and the local church in Guatemala.

New Team Picture

Here are the good looking guys and gals going to Guatemala this year!

Back Row: Dan, Doug, Kory, Randy, Greg, Kyle, Tim
Front Row: Lisa, Dave, Tony, Mark, Neil, Sandy

Oasis needs

Below is a message from Corbey requesting some donations for the girls in Guatemala:

We need to increase the fun quotient in the Oasis as some of our games and other things have become depleted. We are looking for people to donate anything young girls like to play with, especially:

- dress up/make believe clothes such as old ballet wear, princess outfits, customs (anything that is NOT scary, witchcraft or monsters) even gowns.  The things girls like to play make believe.
- dress up/play jewelry, hair stuff etc.
- toy tea sets
- games that require a low level of english:  memory games, young girls games, CandyLand, Pretty Pretty Princess  (of course any donated spanish games would be awesome)
- doll clothes
- puzzles, especially larger pieces for younger children, but more complicated puzzles as well.


New is preferred but gently used would do. If you have anything you would like to donate you can bring it to church and drop it off at the front desk.

Getting Ready Again

The new team is in place, flights have been booked, several meetings have taken place and fund raising is almost complete. We are excited about our new adventure and looking forward to what God is going to do in us and through us this year. Thank you for all those who have supported us financially and continue to pray for us. We have been particularly challenged this year by a series of videos we have been watching that have encouraged us to "do better at doing good". Check-out the "Restore Video Series" by lifechurch.tv