Pictures (at Last) & Our Trials, Temptaions, and Growth in God

 Hello, everyone! Claire and AJ here. :) Day 3 in Guatemala is coming to a close, and we wanted to share some pictures with you, and tell you a little about our day.

This first picture is the whole gang in front of one of our hotel rooms. The hotel is open around a courtyard, and it is very colorful and beautiful. We love it!

This is our group visiting some Mayan ruins on Sunday. We learned a lot about the culture of the Post-Classic Mayan era. For example, Mayans used to crawl up the steps instead of walking up them. 

Here is Marissa Bognanno with a few little angels during VBS on Monday. 

Jonathan found a little buddy and shared his sun glasses with him!

Look at how hard Tim is working! We finished putting stucco on the walls of one of the homes we've been building. A fun job, but a messy one as well!

Bolvito and Claire take a break from plastering to say hello to the camera!

Katie Bolvito cleaned off all our stucco tools in a wheel barrel of water and got some unexpected help from eager assistants!















Hey y'all! AJ (or Ahe as the little ones call me) here!

I'm gonna start out with a couple of things that I REALLY think y'all should know.

1) THE FOOD HERE IS AWESOME :D
2) I have NEVER seen so much color in my entire life! I feel like I walked into an every-color-you-can-ever-imagine-in-your-born-days paint store and just started chucking the paint on a ginormous canvas.
3) This place could EASILY be my home one day in the future. The culture is so rich, the people are so friendly, the history so intriguing, and the work and blessings and love of God never stops here.

First off I'm going to tell you what has been happening on this trip to me and some others I am sure.  I have never heard God call me or speak to me so much as I have these past three days and in the weeks leading up to it.  Actually I started REALLY hearing his voice before I even knew what mission trips were being offered. All I heard was "Guatemala; go see the children."  Strange isn't it?  So simple, but so direct and so powerful. I'm actually crying as I write this because I can feel my heart miles away from this hotel and back in the communities of the Treasures.  Yesterday we started to work; one hour in the morning.  As I was leaving my renovation site I heard "You'll be back here in about an hour." I was assigned to do VBS yesterday and I said "No I won't be. I won't be back in this house; I'll be with the kids." As I ate lunch all I could think about was "Go ask if you can work again instead of doing VBS." Finally I gave up and walked up to Katy Peterson, who is in charge of VBS, I didn't even open my mouth and she asked me "Hey AJ, would you mind going back to work instead of doing VBS?" I nodded, kinda stunned, and then sat back down. I heard His voice again "Ask to be on the renovation project." By this point I knew that I would lose if I tried to argue, but again, I didn't even have to ask; it was my assignment.

You're probably asking now "why is she telling me this? I wan't to hear about everything else." Well, that story ties into what I'm about to tell you.

We have all been tested and tried and grown stronger and closer to God.  I've learned to just shut up and LISTEN to God cause He's trying to tell me something important.  I know Marrissa has told us that she is stepping closer in her walk with God to making her personal commitment.  Jessica was asked to tell her testimony and agreed to it, but then had to leave for a moment because she felt incredibly sick the second she said yes.  We have so much spiritual warfare here, but all of us are battling our hardest and winning with a LOT of help from our Father.

How much more are these people who live in squalor and breathe in air that no being or animal should have to be near?  What about the young girls who are left at home while their brothers and fathers and mothers are out? What about those who don't know where they can turn to?  They are struggling to survive and I feel so much joy to see the ones who are not just surviving, but living.  Something to think on.

On a more boring note.  We have managed to put stucko on all the walls, paint the renovation home on the inside, and we have a roof over one house.  EVERYONE is feeling the toll of lack of sleep, BUT no one is slacking off.  Andrew and Jenna were not feeling well, but they kept pushing themselves and are now feeling a lot better.  I think the projects are coming along well, and we are already building some relationships with the families here.  They are such joys, especially the children, :).

Well, signing off now! Buenos Noches mi amigas!