Another early wakeup call for the crew…on the bus at 4:55am. And again…no complaints! Everyone got some rest last night. Once they heard the bus departure time, everyone rushed off to hit the sack. We have a few today that are struggling a little with being tired, mild stomach issues, and mostly those who are sad that today was our last day to hang out with the kids. They have formed some special relationships with the Guatemalan kids based on shoulder rides, soccer, pushing on swings, lots of laughter, pictures, holding small kids…and even some of the big ones too!
It was exciting to see the first bus of kids pull up to City of Hope for breakfast. Our team made a tunnel for the kids to run through while we were cheering. Jose prayed over the first breakfast to give thanks to The Lord for all He has provided. That was a powerful moment…lots of teary eyes recognizing the enormity of the moment. Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done here.
We spent the entire day playing and hanging out with kids. We served several more lunches and washed a ton of dishes again…with smiles and lots of laughter as always. Lunch consisted of rice, fajitas, cucumbers, and rice tortillas. We ended the day with an awesome dinner of chicken tenders, pasta, chicken noodle soup, tortillas, and pineapple juice. We enjoyed several games of UNO and lots of good conversation. Our girls realized that they had done a lot of work in the coloring books we brought…and were quite proud of themselves!
We ended our time at City of Hope with a campfire. We sung several songs and then shared how The Lord has used this trip in each of our lives. We heard things like “I’ve learned to find joy in the little things”, “this trip has restored my hope”, “I’m so glad I could use the Spanish I’ve learned to build relationships with people so I can share Christ with them.”, “this trip has changed me.”, and on and on. We encouraged our students to not only talk about what The Lord has shown them this week…but more importantly to live it out as we return home.
We are on the bus back to the seminary now to pack and get some rest before our journey home tomorrow. We can’t wait to see our families…but we have definitely left a piece of our hearts with the amazing Guatemalan people we have had the privilege of serving this week alongside the ministry of Hope for Guatemala.
Adios…mañana
