Greetings from Guatemala. What an amazing day! Today was a day of spiritual feeding for each of us. We went to Manuel's church just a short distance from Groundworks. As this group of pastey white Americans made their way from the van to the church we were surrounded by members of the church welcoming us, greeting us with hugs and warm words. Worship began softly with music as the liturgical dance team made their way to the front. 10 or 12 young Guatemalan girls from about 8 to 17 years of age came forward. They were dressed in simple blue gowns and had shear pieces of fabric in each hand. As the music continued they began their dance. It was amazing. They had a praise team and three trumpeters. Little by little the music built. Song by song the pace quickened. The praise was fantastic and the name of Jesus was lifted and glory was give to God over and over. The liturgical dance team flowed with beauty and the Spirit of God glowed from their faces. Then the cloth was replaced by tambourines and the clapping and dancing grew in intensity. It climaxed amidst great shouts of joy and celebration. Then for an hour the pastor preached calling us to know the love of God and express it through service of love to others. Jamie on our team is pretty good with the Spanish language and was able to tell us a bit of the message. We all came away discussing how we might bring parts of this worship into our own at home.
We have been preparing for the days to come getting our crafts together. We are filling this house with laughter and prayer. God is good. As Kevin of Groundworks likes to say, were glad were here! Thank you for your prayers. We keep you in ours as well. - Mark