Happy Father's Day!

First, we want to thank all of our padres, Rick, Jeff, Steve, Mark, Lonnie, Dan, Brian, Pete, Jeff, Louis, and Don, and this brings me to the topic of church.  Just like church may have begun in Clinton Township, our day began with thanking God for fathers at Sendero de la Cruz (Path of the Cross), a store front church not far from the mission house, and Manuel’s (Guatemalan ministry leader) home church.  As 21 of us literally poured out of the van to gather in the street in front of the church, it was clear we were going to have an EXPERIENCE.  The ministry attends different churches from time to time and this one, on this particular Sunday, turned out to be particularly interesting.  We arrived before the previous service had ended because there are raffles between services some Sundays to benefit the church, and Manuel had potentially thought this was one of those Sundays.  It was carnival-like in the street as folks gathered and folks poured out of Sendero de la Cruz.  We were welcomed with words of greeting in English and we returned those greetings with Spanish…kind of poetic.

Worship at Sendero de la Cruz is always a happening, and today did not disappoint.  Each service begins with about 45 minutes of music led by an impressive praise band of sorts and 8 teenagers dressed in orange, flowing dresses dancing in unison while everyone stands, claps, sings and dances… not exactly Lutheran faire as Jordan pointed out…and that was only the beginning.  Some of the songs were those we sing at home; some were new; it was a “Paul Finazzo special”, then the guest preacher began.  The preacher appeared to be a member of the national police in full uniform with guns and clips.  I may have been reading a bit into this, but police officers are sometimes feared here for good reason, so the fact that it was a police officer, a Christian, and there to preach had everyone’s attention. As it turned out, he had a lot to say.  About two and half hours later we left… but not before lots of hugs, hand shakes, well wishes, and more than one mention of the fact that we were all brothers and sisters in Christ.  Those of us that had not been in Guatemala before discovered another cultural difference in worship.  When a preacher prays, individuals pray out loud at the same time and unless you have seen this before, it is a little unnerving as were a few other things that occurred in the service… all good but definitely new to us, not the least of which were the women dressed in white blouses and navy blue skirts and vests, assisting those who were emotionally moved by the service with pillows and blankets. Yes, it was a little unnerving but extremely interesting too.  It was fascinating watching our kids process all of this.  The boys were a little more open with their reactions; the girls could be poker players.  Nevertheless, it was eye opening, led to interesting conversation later, and gave us all another window into the world and the world of believers.

After grilled cheese, tortilla chips and Guatemalan fruit, we practiced our songs led by the ever able Emily.  The photo is from that practice.  If you look carefully, it spells JESUS…from a song entitled “Quien es el Rey de la Selva?” (Who is the King of the Jungle?).  Later we were blessed to be able to go to the safety of a municipal park to play soccer and walk; Sunday is a day of rest at the ministry, so it was great to get outside and move. Kara had a chance to match soccer skills with Manuel’s sons, we discovered Nick may have a future as a goalie, and Emily is working on forgiving Lonnie for the hit she took in the shins.

Tomorrow we head to the Guatemala City Garbage Dump and begin visiting the shanties to meet the people who live in its shadows.  It was a good day.  We talked about Father’s Day and became a little more acclimated to the house, the elevation, the expectations, and each other.  Parents, you would be very proud of your kids.  Hope you had a good day too.

Blessings and thank you,

Kara, Lonnie Nick, Jennifer, Emma, Kelsey, Jordan, Jeannie, Shelby, Emily and Sally