shawnw

Who’s in Guatemala?

• Ann Voskamp - http://www.aholyexperience.com
• Lindsey Nobles – http://www.lindseynobles.com
• Lisa-Jo Baker – http://thegypsymama.com
• Amanda Jones – http://babybangs.blogspot.com
• Patricia Jones (trip Leader) – http://jonesbones5.com
• Shaun Groves (trip Leader) – http://shaungroves.com
• Keely Marie Scott (trip photographer) – http://www.keelymariescott.com

Why are they in Guatemala?

The four bloggers above get to experience first hand what it’s like to be a child in Guatemala impacted by the love of a Compassion project. I went on a Compassion Vision Trip last October with Scot and, let me tell you, it changed me. Forever.

What can I do?

Pray for them. Visit their blogs daily. Leave encouraging comments on their Guatemala posts. Let yourself drift from your comfy life into the developing country that is Guatemala, soak in their words, let them be your eyes and ears. Sponsor a child with Compassion.

When our team went to Guatemala in April the boy’s home was restricting photography. We have no idea if this will still be the rule but, either way, I’ll be bringing my Flip video camera along, just in case.

One thing I will be doing is trying to capture video of what it’s like to just be in Guatemala City. Just about everything is different, from the driving, to grocery shopping (it’s not uncommon for grocery stores to be walled in and have guards) and everything in between. I’d really like to be able to capture the style and culture of every day life in Guatemala City so you can experience a part of what we get to experience.

How to keep up with us

Of course, we’ll be doing our best to update Twitter and Facebook as often as we can. Here’s where you can find us on those sites:

• Shawn (me) – Twitter | Facebook
• Wendy – Twitter | Facebook
• Adam – Twitter | Facebook
• Jody – Twitter | Facebook

Our itinerary

Tuesday, August 17th

• 5pm(ish) – leave Terre Haute for Chicago. Arrive around 8 or 9pm and check into our hotel for a brief rest

Wednesday, August 18th

• 3:30am – arrive at Chicago O’Hare (ORD) airport to check in for our flight
• 5:35am – depart on Flight CO463 (track on FlightAware)
• 10:48am – arrive at La Aurora airport (GUA) in Guatemala City
• Afternoon – we’ll get a little rest, grab dinner and shop for any other supplies we may need (specifically, groceries for our Friday Compassion visit)

Thursday, August 19th

• Morning – help staff at Hogar Solidario with various tasks that they do to support the boys
• Afternoon – Day one of our custom VBS-style teaching, where we’ll look at Rahab and how God uses unlikely people to do amazing things

Friday, August 20th

• Morning – The four of us will venture to GU-909 to visit Wendy and I’s Compassion child Sammy, then we’ll go visit Jody’s Compassion child Miguel. Should be an amazing morning
• Afternoon – Back to Hogar Solidario for more VBS!

Saturday, August 21st

• Morning – helping staff at Hogar Solidario support the boys by assisting them with various chores and tasks
• Afternoon – Our final day with the boys. We will wrap up our VBS plus play games and just spend time with them. It’s amazing how therapeutic it is just hanging with them, talking with them and showing them love (for both them and us!)

Sunday, August 22nd

• A day of rest. We’ll be traveling to Antigua to check out the famous local markets, visit the Hill of the Cross and take in the Central American culture

Monday, August 23rd

• 7:15am – depart Guatemala City on Flight CO457 for Houston (track on FlightAware)
• 11:04am – arrive at Houston Bush (IAH), layover
• 1:15pm – depart Houston Bush on Flight CO146 for Chicago (track on FlightAware)
• 3:52pm  -arrive at Chicago O’Hare (ORD), head back to the hotel where we parked the van, load up, drive back to Terre Haute

This one’s easy, folks.

I’ve got a friend named Chuck who lives at the Light House Mission. Chuck has no shoes that fit him. He has responsibilities at the mission which require him to be on his feet all day. Sometimes he has to walk around bare foot because his ill fitting shoes hurt him too much.

Chuck has big foot. HUGE feet, actually. We need to order him some specially sized shoes (13 4E’s to be exact.)

That’s where you come in. His shoes are going to cost around $100, shipped.

And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded –Matthew 10:42 NLT

In this case, shoes that fit = a cup of cold water.

Let’s get Chuck some shoes. Click the widget and donate what you can.

What would happen if the church (the church = you and I, not a building) stopped trying to block legislation, stopped protesting, stopped persecuting every category of person it feels is “sinful,” stopped keeping all of its money for itself, (I could go on and on)…

…and started loving our neighbor?

What if we stopped worrying about the world, and each of us simply focused on our immediate sphere of influence?

The world’s population: nearly 7 billion. The Christian population? 1 billion.

We each have 7 friends we can talk to about Jesus, right?

Christians, it’s not you or I that changes the heart of those far from the Creator.

We need to get over our egos and realize it’s Jesus that changes hearts. The Christ, the savior of the world, the word made man, he does the work. It’s just that sometimes, He chooses to do it through us.

We are to be messengers of the gospel, the Good News. We are to carry the glorious message of our salvation to the world. It’s a message unparalleled by anything created by our hands.

It’s time to stop broadcasting our message, and start broadcasting His message.

Amen?

Shane Claiborne  has written a fantastic article on how we can take care of each other this Independence Day. Here’s a snippet:

23) Visit a worship service where you will be a minority. Invite someone to dinner at your house, or have dinner with someone there if they invite you.

24) Confess something you have done wrong to someone and ask forgiveness.

25) Serve in a homeless shelter. For extra credit, go back to that shelter and eat or sleep there and allow yourself to be served.

26) Go through a local thrift store and drop $1 bills in random pockets of clothing being sold.

You can find his whole list here.

Click here to post some of your ideas in the comments. Go!