Thursday Night - 6/17/2010
Greetings! We are excited that you have chosen to watch the progress and read the miracles of what God has done and is doing in the lives of all of us as we serve the people of Guatemala on this missions trip. The purpose of these posts over the next 9 days is to let you in on the day-to-day operations and stories, and to also be able to share prayer and praise reports.

To start with, I thought that I would lay a little bit of the foundation and story of how we ended up in Guatemala. The philosophy in 10-12th grade at Grace Fellowship is that once every three years we take a trip outside of the United States. Our trip this summer happens to fall on that cycle. This past fall, after much prayer and talking to many of students and volunteers in senior high, we came to the decision that we were going to head down to Reynosa, Mexico (just south of McAllen, Texas). This trip was going to focus on leading some vbs programs and the building of homes. We had agreed to partner with World Servants, an organization that had come recommended to us by numerous individuals (and through the wife of our young adults pastor had provided me a chance to play golf with them during their fundraising tournament...always a perk that I am in favor of! BOOM!).

Near the end of February, upon our return from our Winter Retreat, we became aware of the unrest that Northern Mexico, especially near the border of Texas, was experiencing. We continued to monitor the situation, talk to any and everyone that we could who could shed light on the situation there, and spend lots and lots of time in prayer. Finally after talking to World Servants, the consulate in Mexico City, and others we came to the choice that going on this trip was not in the best interest of the safety of all participants who are headed on this trip.

On April 18, 2010 we gathered the entire team and students parents to announce our choice to no longer go to Mexico. At that time, the only things that we knew was that the dates of the missions trip would stay the same (June 18-27), and that  God knew exactly where we needed to go. Talk about a step of faith that challenged all of us and left with nothing but being able to rely upon Him. I love the way that He molds and challenges our faith!

For anyone who has ever been a part of a missions trip before, you know the countless hours that go into the prep of the trips. Normal for us is to start the planing back in early November. To start the process from square one on April 18, a little less then two months before we leave, seemed insurmountable. But we have an awesome God, who knows our needs, hears our prayers, and has a plan for all of us. He took over, and the miracles began to happen!

Within one weeks time, we were put back into contact with local missionary's to Guatemala by the names of Jason and Tressa Patton (check out http://www.life-builders-international.org/ for more info). It seemed like an impossible task to be able to get there, but the more that we prayed, the more peace that we felt that Guatemala was the place that we needed to go. The choice was made, and Guatemala City became the new destination. Plane tickets seemed impossible to get...one travel agent who believed in prayer later, we were all booked on the same flight down, something that I had been told was going to be an impossibility, and only two groups for the return trip. And, as just another amazing testament to the God that we serve, the prices per person came in at only $35 more then what it would have been to fly to Texas. Lets Get it!

During our time in Guatemala, we are going to leading vbs programs for over 500 students, helping with construction projects, and the oppertunity to serve and meet the needs of orphans and widows through food distribution. We have met twice as a team already in preperation, and now tomorrow and Saturday, will complete our training before we head out sunday to Guatemala City.

The last month has been a whirl-wind of prep, planing, prayer, and pure pexcitement (ok ok...had no awesome word that started with p!). I can not wait to see what God has in store for us...a group of 20 students and 7 adult leaders! As we start this adventure, we KNOW that our God is faithful! Lets get it!

Pastor Josh Christenson