Dear Friends and Family,
Happy Spring! I do not know about you, but I get so excited and energized by the warmer weather. Last week we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. In Guatemala, it is a special Holy week. They have processions every day of the week. People pay money to help carry one-ton floats through the streets of Antigua to celebrate the final week of Jesus.
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At our school in Guatemala, it was spring break, a time for a vacation. While most people spend time relaxing during spring break, seven students went on a mission trip instead, to tell others about their Risen Savior!
The student and their adult chaperones went to the town of Livingston on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. A 6-hour bus ride turned into a 10 hour drive due to heavy rains, and traffic. They arrived after dark. The final boat ride across the bay to Livingston was rocked by rain. The students were frightened and they asked Karla, more than once to pray. The more the boat rocked the more they prayed. This reminded us of the story of Jesus in the boat with his disciples during the storm. By the time they arrived in Livingston, the electricity was turned off for the night.
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The teens and the chaperones stayed with families from a local church. They shared meals and every meal every day was the same, beans, eggs, and tortillas. The students were true soldiers and never complained!
Every day, 75 local children from the village showed up for the Vacation Bible School. The students eagerly contributed to the success of the VBS. The mission trip was organized by Ready-Set-Go. Each afternoon, they visited local families. They blessed the families with bags of food, as they prayed with them. Just as we have done for THEIR families through our ministry for the past 9 years.
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Upon returning one of students summed up her experience: “I am delighted to have been able to have gone. One day I hope to be able to share with you what they shared with me!”
Another student explained it this way: “It was a time of GREAT joy! It is incredible to see how God was with us at every moment. I also learned about the Garifuna culture. There is a word that I learned in Garifuna (Buiti binafi). That means good morning. I really enjoyed sharing with them. Thank you for making it possible for me to go. I love you!” So, I say to each of YOU…. Thank you for making this possible.”
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In Livingston, the majority of the people are from the Caribbean. They are called Garifuna. So, even though they live in Guatemala, their culture is different from that of our students. They were able to experience how we see another culture.
We are SO thankful that God allowed them to have this experience. We were so excited to see all the work that the students put in to raise money so that they could go on this trip. To help raise the funds, the students sold their artwork through an online art auction. Even the students who did not go contributed their art. In their community, they sold clothes at a bazaar. They did all this so they could have this opportunity to share the love of Christ with others. The students came back asking if they could do this EVERY year! Our hearts are so thankful to God for their desire. We are so thankful to those of you that purchased paintings, and made donations so that this trip was possible. God showed up, and showed off during this trip! He is SO Good…. all the Time!
We cannot wait to return to Guatemala in June. Two Spanish teachers from Savannah Christian Preparatory School, where Richard teaches will join us this summer. During the day, we will work with the students at the school. In the afternoons, we will do a Vacation Bible school for the younger students in our Bible/ English program. Since the theme of the Bible school is how we are God’s creation, beautifully and wonderfully made, on Wednesday we will take all the students to an art museum. We are so excited to be able to share with these students.
We covet your prayers as we prepare to return to our second home, to spend June with these people that we love like family!
By the way, the vaccine mandate to go to Guatemala has been lifted. So, if any of you would like to visit us in Guatemala this summer, we would love to have you join us!
Many Blessings,
Richard and Melissa
www.lightforthefuture.org
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