Sunday, July 13, 2008

A very productive week.

It is 1:00 AM here in Guatemala right now and the rain is coming down. A week ago when it rained we could not hear ourselves think. After a week of hard work we now have a drop ceiling. The tiles are so good you can barely hear the rain. My home church Mt. Harmony was here all week and we had a great time. Even though we have only been on the field for a few weeks it seems like months. There have been so many changes to our house in those weeks. I want to thank all of the teams that have come down this summer so far to minister at Casa and help us build our house.

I am going to post pictures on Monday of the house so you can get an idea of the work that has been done. I will also be sharing a story with you about our block party on Saturday. You do not want to miss that. It was an incredible weekend and I must say that these chicken buses in Guatemala are tanks. Well I am very sleepy so I am going to hit the pillow. I will give you more updates in the morning.

His Servant,
Mike

Sunday, July 6, 2008

A Day With Nature

Have you ever had one of those days that just make you want to stay in bed. We started out our day going to church at Casa. Mike had a great message then He and Dottie had us over for lunch. So far a great day. Then we got the bright idea of going to the city to buy shelves for my books. This is where the fun begins.

As we got to the shopping center I realized that everyone in Guatemala goes shopping on Sunday afternoon. It took us about 30 minutes to find a spot to park my tank. Then we go into the store and get the things we needed and a few we did not and we started to exit. As we start toward the door this down pour starts up and would not let up. It was so bad the guys helping us load the truck even told us they were not going outside. I saw my truck only 100 yards away so I made a break for it. In a matter of 25 seconds (Yes I am Slow) I looked like I had jumped into a pool. So we get our stuff and head back to the house. As we start up the road the rain got harder. We then see cars floating down the road. There were wrecks everywhere. At some points we were driving in over 2ft. of water. As we start up the mountain dirt is falling and washing off of the side of the mountain. It was crazy. Then I see this bus parked with the driver standing in front of it. Next to him was about 2ft. of water. I hit that puddle and that guy bless his heart got a bath of the muddiest water you will ever see. I had to laugh but Carla said I was mean. Finally after and hour we made it back to the house. Carla told me that I was a true Guatemalan because of my driving skills. I took that as a compliment of course.

The rest of the night was quiet until just a minute ago. Katie screams out from her room "Daddy why is my fan moving side to side in my room. As I looked up in the living room that fan was moving too. It was an Earthquake. A 4.3 to be exact. I am telling you I just need to go back to bed.

What I did not tell you is that in between the excitement, I finished the sheetrock in the bathroom and it is ready for our team coming Monday. Well it is now after midnight so it is time for bed. I'll keep you posted as Mother Nature shakes things up here in Guatemala.

His Servant,
Mike

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Finally We Have Communication

It has been a crazy 2 weeks and I am sorry for not blogging. We have not had internet until Thursday night. Our house is finally coming together thanks to Central Baptist Bearden and First Baptist Seymour. Our Kitchen is finally unpacked and we have running water in the sink. We still do not have a shower. Our bathrooms are about 65% complete. It has been a challenge for the first 2 weeks.

We had an amazing week last week with Sonlight puppets. They came to Casa to do a camp toteach our kids how to do puppets. Our kids were awesome on Thursday night and seemed to have learned a lot from Sonlight. Both sets of kids were so excited. We hope to start practices to build on the momentum from the week.

Sonlight also went to many places to perform. One place that has become very special was El Castillo Home and school. This is a organization that fosters street kids and gives them and education. On the last day of puppets we went to the school and I got to go and invite the public school to join us. We had almost 300 kids total. It was amazing to watch. If you ever want a top notch puppet team call Ray and Jane at Central Baptist Bearden. These guys are amazing.

I want to thank Sonlight for blessing our family so much the entire week. From the work they did to the financial support they have given. They are amazing people and true servants of God. The highlight of the week was the Queso. For those of you that may not know that is a cheese pie from McDonalds. The best way to describe it is deep fried cheese cake. That team hate about 45 of them. Well Mike one of their adults had 10 so 35 for the team. Thanks again you guys for an unforgettable week.

Our family is doing well. We are all trying to ajust to everything. I think once we get our house in order it will be great. I am excited about next week, our church is coming but also there is going to be a Women's conference here at Casa. Every girl 13 and over will be attending. They will be doing small group each night so we are hoping that this could be the start of small group Bible for all of the girls. We have a lot of stuff going on and we are excited that we have hit the ground running.

Below is our list of needs. If you have not started your monthly commitment we would love for you to do so. We are now 100% living on faith and I must say it is so cool. God has been so good to us through you and others. Thank you so much for your willingness to be involved. Please check out my blog each day as I will be adding new stuff. Also if you would like to call us I have a Knoxville, TN phone number through Skype. It is 865-329-6811. It is free for us and a local call from Knoxville.

His Servant,
Mike

Needs

1. 15 Monthly sponsors at $30.00 per month
2. Frequent Flyer Miles for Plan Tickets for Carla
3. $1000 to fix roof on a local school in Antigua

Prayer Needs

1. Carla's Dad doing better but hard with s being here.
2. Our adoption. We have been told we can not have the boys until the paperwork is finished. We thought they would be with us when we moved. It has been very hard.
3. Salvations for a Outreach event we are doing July 12th.
4. Our puppet ministry that kids will be excited and it will grow in numbers.
5. Pray that relationships would grow that we are making.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

An Amazing Week


I am sorry it has been so long since our last update. Our Internet has not been hooked up in our house yet so we couldn't give you updates. I say we because Carla and Katie wound up going with me and Zach. On Friday afternoon we made the decision that we would all go. US Air would not let them change their tickets so we decided to go down for the week then come back home and fly back down at the end of the month. Please continue to pray for Carla's dad. He is home but still not doing well.


We had an amazing week with the folks from First Baptist Seymour. We got to Casa on Saturday and hit the ground running. We spent a lot of time getting ready for the village we would visit on Sunday for a block party. Jack Ciak another missionary at Casa has been working with Pastor Daniel to put together this week of ministry. Jack did a ton of hard work on the front end so we could get into this village to not only do a block arty but also to do a medical clinic. This Pastor was amazing. He was so thoughtful to our entire group. They fed us lunch and dinner which was very good. The dinner was a good old fashion "pot luck" and I had some Guatemalan food I had never tried before and it was amazing. We held our block party at the school and we had well over 200 kids there jumping in the Spiderman jumper, playing games, and taking in the puppet show that the kids from Casa put on. Then at the church First Baptist put on an awesome concert. As we looked around the party and church we saw that folks were having a great time in Christ.


Monday through Wednesday we were able to go back and do a medical clinic. I say we but I stayed behind so that me and 8 amazing people could work on getting our house finished. The three days at the clinic were incredible. We do not have all of the numbers in for salvation's but we know we had 24 the first day and many more on the second and third. We were able to offer free medical and dental care to around 500 people in 3 days. We also provided a back yard bible club for all of the kids for those 3 days. I know that on the first day 20 of those salivations were school age kids. While they were doing the clinic our other team was working hard on our house and and putting in new speakers for our worship center. In 4 days they were able to get all of our kitchen done, most of the tile complete and helped us unpack and move a ton of stuff into our house. They also were able to get a lot of outside work done to help seal our house from water leaks. This team also brought brand new speakers for the worship center, then bought a new projection screen, and power amp so that the kids from Casa could enhance their worship. They also left with me a brand new sound system for block parties and musical instruments for the Casa praise band to use in worship. This church was amazing servants and have made an impact that will go for years to come.


The rest of the week was just as exciting. I made a new friend at a church just down the road in San Lucas and we went there on Thursday night to sing. The church was so awesome. Susy the pastors wife could speak perfect English so I had the opportunity to preach during the concert. The congregation was so welcoming, even I got amens!!! This is a church that Mt. Harmony Baptist will be going to and doing a block party on July 11th so please pray for them and the church as we prepare to do outreach in San lucas. We also went to a christian school on Thursday and the choir got to experience some Guatemalan dance for the first time. The kids at the school loved the music from the choir and begged us not to leave. It was a great time and also another new relationship to build on with this school.


As you can see it was a very busy week. Please pray for us as we continue to make the move. On Saturday we got a blessing that was not expected. We were sitting on the plane waiting to take off then the captain came on and told us the flight was being cancelled because the plane would not pressurize. So we all got off the plane and went back into the airport. US Air said they were looking for folks that could be flexible. So I told them we could wait until Monday. They in return put us up in an incredible hotel for 2 days in the city and gave us 4 free round trip tickets. God is amazing!! Then I went back and talked to them about our team and they flew home on Sunday and every team member was given a free ticket. So please pray that they will come back to Guatemala with their ticket.HAHAHA


Again thank you so much for your prayers. It was an incredible week of ministry. Please continue to pray for Carla's dad and just the entire situation. It has been very hard on us as a family. Those 2 days in the city just hanging out together were God ordained because our family has been feeling pretty beat up by satan and we needed the rest. Please take a look at the needs below and pray about how you can be involved.


Prayer needs


1. Carla's Dad

2. Relationships with good friends and new friends at Casa and in the villages.

3. Our house to be finished

4. Our adoption

5. Pastor Daniels village, that salivations would continue.


Financial needs


1. 16 families to join us at $30.00 per month. Email mike@clubhouseguatemala.com

2. Hot Water Heater and Mattresses for the Boys $800.00

3. Skymiles for tickets for Carla to go back and forth. Right now tickets cost $800 per person.


Praises


1. Many Salvation's at Pastor Daniels village.

2. Plane tickets for our family

3. Carla's Dad is home.



Thursday, June 5, 2008

Times are Tough but God is Good!!!


Man what a week. I tell you what I wish someone would hit the stop button on the roller coaster. I appreciate your emails and encouragement over the past few days. It has been tough on everyone trying to decide what to do and to make sure Carla's dad has everything he needs and that her mom is taken care of. One of the hardest decisions we have made is to have Carla stay home. She is so heart broken because she is finally ready to make the move. So please continue to pray for her and please send lots of emails of encouragement to her. Her email address is carla@clubhousegutemala.com.
The picture to your right was taken the day we took our boys back to their orphanage as a family. That was one of the toughest days of our lives. Every time I have a bad day, I pull this picture up as a reminder that God made a promise and I know he is always going to be there. Thank you for your prayers. It is through your actions that we see and feel God with us during the dark times in our life. It is hard to type through the tears, but thank you for being a part of our family.


We have made one change in our plans for this week. Zach is going to go with me to Guatemala this Saturday. I am excited because this will be an all man week for us. He will help me and a few others from First Baptist finish our house. We will also be doing a major block party on Sunday so please pray for all involved with that. Then starting Monday part of the team will be doing a medical clinic in the same village. I am so excited to see what God is going to do. With all of the adversity I know it is going to be major. Please pray for Zach. He loves his momma very much and sometimes does not do well when she is not around. So I am going to keep him very busy.


Please continue to pray for us with our financial needs. With Carla and Katie not going and us having to travel back it has really hit us hard. We will have to buy 2 tickets next week plus pay a lot of fee's on Carla and Katie's tickets. I know it seems like I have been talking about money a lot lately but it has been very tough. The encouraging part is God has been there every time, just when we needed it.


Finally I want to say a big thank you to First Baptist Seymour for all of the work going into this upcoming week. They have been raising money for supplies, getting medications donated, and all kinds of other stuff to get prepared for this life changing adventure. My prayer is that the team will have tons of opportunities to share their faith. Please pray for them this coming week for their safety, health, and new salivations.


Current Needs


1. $1500 for plane tickets.

2. 14 monthly sponsors (Keeps going down) Thank you!!!

3. $2000 for Suburban for ministry.

4. Frequent Flyer miles for US Air, Delta, or any other big airline. Usair is most important right now.



Prayer Request


1. Salivations next week.

2. Carla's Dad and our entire family.

3. Financial Junk.

4. Julian and Hector (That they will understand 2 more weeks of waiting)



Praise Report


1. $1300 for tile was given. (Thank you so much)

2. We have 4 more families in the "Clubhouse"

3. Container Arrived!!!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

8 Days and Counting


Ok the time is here. We are packing our final bags, checking for our passports and eating at every favorite place one last time before we head out. I want to thank you for your prayers. Starting next week we will have a brand new look to our website and our newsletter and blog will all be on our site. I am so excited. Not only will I have a blog but Carla and the kids will too. I know you must get tired of hearing just from me. We will also try to blog at least every other day to keep you up to date on things.


This week has been great. We have made a great connection with Compassion and already have a few parties and puppets booked with them. The really cool part is one of the churches is just down the street from Casa. They ask me if i could help them with outreach. Are you kidding me!!! God is so awesome! Please pray for the First Baptist Seymour team as they are going down with us. They will be helping us move in and I must say they have already blessed our socks off. They are providing a complete sound system for our block parties and adding some nice speakers to the worship center. They are also donating instruments for the praise band at Casa. God is already doing some amazing things at Casa with the teenagers and I can not wait to start working with them.


This week has also been tough on us financially. We have had some things come up that have drained us. Satan is pulling out all of the stops to get us to stay in Tennessee. Please pray for us that satan would be bound and could not get to us. Our container has been delayed by two weeks and over $6000 in taxes had to be paid. We had some goofy stuff come up that cost us extra and then somethings to finish the house. We also found out that we will have to buy new plane tickets to travel home because of extreme fee's.So please also pray for our fiances that they would replenish before we go. We also have to sell our van here so that we can buy a vehicle in Guatemala. So this picture is our van we have for sale. It is $4000.00. That is what we paid for it with taxes and fee's. So please pass this to anyone that you know that may need a van. Finally on the wining front we still need 16 families to meet our budget.


You know with all of the attacks and all of the problems there is one thing I know for sure. We are meant to be in Guatemala. God is so awesome and has provided every need that we have had. He has done that through you and folks like you. So thank you so much for your willingness to serve God through this ministry.


We have a ministry plan that we would love to share with some churches and business owners. If you would like a copy to share with someone please email me at mike@clubhouseguatemala.com and I will get it to you to share. Please make sure to check out the website next week for some really cool changes.


Financial Needs


1. $1300 for tile for our house.

2. $2000 for vehicle in Guatemala

3. $2500 for taxes on container

4. 16 monthly sponsors


Prayer Needs


1. Carla's Dad and his cancer.

2. Our final week.

3. The hearts of those we will encounter

4. Our boys as I know next week is going to be big for them.

5. Our parents as we leave next week.


Praises

1. Carla's dad got a great report from his lung doctor that things are improving.

2. God continues to add folks to our clubhouse.

3. Genesis is doing amazing!!!

4. Needs are being met.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Time is Now!!!


When I try to think of titles sometimes it can be hard. But for this post it was easy because our time is here. We leave in 2 weeks to start a new chapter of our lives and we are so excited. It is hard to believe that after months of planning that it is time.


As we started our week this week we took the family to see Narnia. I must tell you I went into the movie excited to see a movie but left after a meeting with God. Now I don't want to spoil the movie for you but I have to tell you about one part. There is a scene when Lucy meets up with Aslan. Now she has seen him thought the movie but never went to him. Finally when they have their face to face meeting Lucy shares that she knew that He was there. Then Aslan with a very sad and hurt look on his face ask her "then why did you not come to me?". At this moment I began to cry and Zach looked at me and ask what was wrong. I told him we would talk after the movie. After the movie I explained to him that I had a new understanding of God. That God was so hurt when we did not come to Him with our problems, our struggles, or our victories. God doesn't just want us to come to Him he expects us too. It was ironic that the we saw the movie right after I started a new book called "In a Pit, With a Lion, On a Snowy Day". This book has transformed my thinking of how we are to follow God. If you get a chance get this book.


We have an immediate need we need to share with you. We still need 18 families to meet our basic budget. We leave in 2 weeks and we really need to have that finished before then. So please pray about that with us and share our ministry with everyone you know. If you would like more information about partnering with us please email me at mike@clubhouseguatemala.com.


Prayer Request


1. Carla and her Dad (Not doing well)

2. Our Budget that needs will be met

3. Teams that are coming down this summer.

4. Hearts of the people we will be working with.

5. Property next door to Casa (That Casa could raise the funds to buy it)



Financial needs


1. 18 families @ $30.00 per month

2. $1300 for Tile Floors

3. $700 for Taxes on Container

4. Airline Tickets for return home in December ($2500.00- $3000.00) 6 Tickets!!! (The Boys are coming home for Christmas)

5. Computer for Radio Station $800.00



Thank you to all who are praying and supporting our ministry. It is because of your faith and prayers that we are able to go to Guatemala and share the gospel. You are awesome people that are truly going to help change the country of Guatemala one child at a time.


His Servant,


Mike