This is my first exposure to technology since we left, so I haven't had a chance to read everyone's blogs. Sorry if I repeat a little here.
Well, we are on the bus back to Brooklyn Park. It has been a fantastic trip filled with community living,  hard work, loving on kids during VBS, preaching the gospel, and amazing worship! It is hard to believe that it is really over. Our theme for the trip was "Immeasurably More". God can and will do immeasurably more than we can hope or ask for. On this trip, God kept that promise in many ways. On several occasions, we had changes in our plans that we were not necessarily prepared for. It was in these times that we felt closest to God's will. For example, our VBS team had anticipated that we would probably do VBS for a total of about 300 kids. By the second day, we already ran out of handout materials. This was awesome because it forced our team to be creative with games and interact on a more personal level with the kids for the rest of the week. We were also excited to present our program to a church's general assembly and worship with them. The people of Guatemala were so friendly and interested in what we had to say.
Our VBS team also had three work projects,  At the mission base, we did various repairs, painted, and helped organize. At the hanger/distribution center, we hauled a lot of dirt out from behind the building, painted, and got the bathroom functional. In addition to these two locations, we also cleared out some farm land, organized supplies, and constructed a pole barn at the feeding center. The feeding center is a special place where Life Builders provides firewood, food, and the gospel to widows. It was an amazing experience to be able to minister to the people of Guatemala.
For me, this trip has taught me that the best way to be in the center of God's will is to make a plan, include others in the plan, and work the plan. This way, you are less likely to back out. If things change, they will likely change in a way that increases your dependency on God during the task. It is just too easy to sit back and think that some day you will do this or that for the Lord, and then that day never comes. A lot of preparation went into making this missions trip go so smoothly. We had several meetings ahead of time to prepare ourselves for what was ahead. But, more importantly, Jason and Tressa Patton, and Josh Christenson, put in a great deal of time laying out our week. I guess, when we do our part, God does His part. Thanks for praying for us, supporting us, and following our posts!
Scott Fleming