Day 2: Ministerios Sendero de la Cruz y mas

Dear family and friends,
I am a little bit of a control freak about some aspects of the Guatemala trip, but I am trying to back off a bit. . . well, a little bit.  We have never had a team that was not up to the experience and this team is no exception, so I am going to ask other members of the team to write about some of their impressions each day.  Not willing to give up the entire ship, I will set the stage and then ask a team member to remind you who they are and what touched them on that particular today. I am not sure if they have been dying to wrestle this thing from me for years or if this is more like an unwelcome, eighth grade writing assignment.  Either way, I know you will enjoy hearing from them. Again, I will set the stage, and then you will hear from a team member about his or her thoughts about the day. To that end, our day began as follows.

After at least nine hours of welcomed Guatemalan rest (in addition to dogs, roosters, fireworks, motorcycles, thunderstorms, leg cramps, falling flashlights, bunk beds, air mattress squeaks, misplaced glasses, and a moth the size of my hand), we were up early and ready for our trip to Ministerios Sendero de la Cruz and more.  The church is a storefront celebration of faith and fellowship.  Each year I am always initially impressed by the teenage liturgical dancers, male and female, and the way in which the church seamlessly welcomes us into their family of worship; however, the experience is so much more.

After church,  grilled cheese, chips, and salsa (what could be better), we set about fine-tuning and perhaps even overhauling portions our faith lessons for the week.  Ali and I are preparing the adult lesson; Julie and Leyna took on the teen lesson; and Alaina, Jen, Johnny, Megan and Deb have the children.  After spending most of the afternoon working on our respective lessons, many of us independently muttered we would rather build houses. We were reminded today, however, God does not call the equipped; he equips the called.  With that in mind, we persevered . . . and laughed, a lot.

Here goes with our new format.  Out first guest blogger is fan favorite, Alaina Petzold. Alaina will be a senior at Lutheran North this fall.
Blessings,
Sally

The most impactful part of today for me was while we were at church. The praise band is phenomenal and does an amazing job engaging every one, even those of us who don't know the language. The second song we sang was "This is Amazing Grace." This is one of my favorite songs that we sing at Trinity. It captures God's unfailing love for us in a way that moves my heart every time I hear it. Singing this song in Guatemala was beyond special and opened my heart in a way I haven't experienced. I felt an incredible connection to the Guatemalan people as well as the Trinity congregation. It reminded me that we all worship the same God and are all united in His family. Though we may have different cultures, skin color, and experiences, we are ALL children of God. Please continue to pray for us while we share God's love to the Guatemalan people. I know the kid's lesson could use some serious prayers, and I'm sure the adult and teen lessons could as well! Thank you so much for all of your support!
I miss and love you, dad.

Love,

Alaina Petzold and Team

P.S. We all would like to wish Megan's little sister Rachel a very happy birthday!

This is Sally again. As I post photos, I am watching Johnny, Alaina, Ali and Megan do planks and sit-ups before bed.  I don't think it has occurred to them how sore they will be tomorrow and how difficult it will be to sleep tonight.  You have to love their "enthusiasm!"

Leyna and Julie working on the teen lesson.

Johnny, Alaina, Jen, and Deb recreating a whale of a tale for the kids.

Ali and Sally pretending to have a solution to their problem.

Megan apparently does not eat vegetables, but did!