The Truth of Being an Agent of Reconciliation

I must start this post with an admission of guilt. I have been kicking myself in the face all day (figuratively of course, I am far too portly to literally kick myself in the face) because as I have dealt with this idea of the “Gospel of Reconciliation” I have consistently argued against it using my knowledge of Scripture and reason which was easy enough to do, any fifth grader who had read the Bible could have done it, but never once did I actually go to the Bible to read what is actually says about reconciliation! And that is shameful! How can I accuse others of not reading the passages about it when I haven’t done it either?  But now that I have taken the plank out of my own eye and have committed myself to not inserting it again, I can write this post about the truth of what the Bible really says about reconciliation.  So here we go.

I just finished listening to a recent chapel service from the MidAmerica Nazarene University, the college I attended, as well as my wife, my brother, my wife’s sister, and now my son and other’s from my church and district.  They had guests speaking about being “missional” and that all of us are called to be “agents of reconciliation”. Now, one point that was made was that as Christians we can no longer sit back and expect the missionaries to be the one’s taking part in God’s mission in the world while we remain cozy in our world of tasteless salt and dim light.  (my words not his)  And in this I am in full agreement with him. However, it seemed as though no one on that stage had even the slightest clue what God’s mission actually is and what being an “agent of reconciliation” means.  How 7 or 8 Christians could sit on a stage for over a half an hour and talk about how they are doing God’s mission and living out being His agents of reconciliation without once mentioning the Gospel amazes me. So the following is a look at the primary passages where this concept of reconciliation is revealed in Scripture.

Romans 5:1-11

¹ Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God's glory. ³Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance, character, and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷(For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God's wrath. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? ¹¹Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

   “This entire passage is about the Hope that we have in Christ and that is our inclusion in God’s glory at our resurrection. The point of the cross is laid out clearly. That is to be made righteous and to be spared His wrath. The words “reconciled” and “reconciliation” here refer to our Salvation from His wrath and the forgiveness of our sins.  Notice that it is only AFTER our reconciliation that we are “saved by His life”.  This phrase means that our hope of the resurrection and God’s glory are secured by the reality of Jesus’ life after His resurrection.  This is a great promise for us.  In this passage, reconciliation is synonymous with salvation.”

Romans 11:11-15:

¹¹I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous. ¹²Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring?

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, ¹⁴if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

   “Here again we see that the word “reconciliation” is synonymous with the word “salvation”. Additionally, the word “world” is referring to the people called the Gentiles, or all peoples who are not Jewish.  So Paul’s point is that by the Jews rejecting Christ as Messiah, the opportunity for salvation was afforded to the rest of the people of the world. And salvation can safely be defined by Paul’s earlier definition in Romans 5 as being saved from God’s wrath, having sins forgiven and having a hope for a resurrection into God’s glory.”

II Corinthians 5:1-21:

¹For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens. ²For in this earthly house we groan, because we desire to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked. ⁴For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. ⁶Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord - ⁷for we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.

¹¹Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too. ¹²We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who take pride in outward appearance and not in what is in the heart. ¹³For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died. ¹⁵And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised. ¹⁶So then from now on we acknowledge no one from an outward human point of view. Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, now we do not know him in that way any longer. ¹⁷So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away - look, what is new has come! ¹⁸And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people's trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God!" ²¹God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

   “Here we have an entire chapter highlighting the very points made in Romans 5 and 11 but this time written to the Corinthians.  The first part of the chapter is stating the fact that we do not belong here on this earth and that all of our longing should be for Heaven. But we are able to have courage in this life and can be content in this life while God’s will is for us to remain here because God has given us the Holy Spirit as a promise that one day we will be with Him in Heaven.  Paul then proceeds to reiterate again what it means to be saved and that it is not just something offered a select few but it is offered to every person in the world.   

   One thing to point put is that Paul is clear that the reconciliation proceeds from God NOT from us.  Reconciliation is not something we do, ever.  It is something God does.  Paul also defines reconciliation again for us with very clear and precise language.  Here he defines it as “not counting people’s trespasses against them”.  To restate that in more modern language, that is the forgiveness of sins. Immediately following that definition, Paul then says that God has given them that very message, the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation.   

   Finally, to make sure his point is well taken, Paul again defines what he means and likewise what Christ means, by reconciliation when he says, “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” This entire chapter is about the forgiveness of sins in order that people can someday be with God in Heaven!  And THAT is the message of reconciliation that we are to take to the people of the world

Ephesians 2

¹And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you formerly lived according to this world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, ³among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest...

⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, ⁵even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you are saved! - ⁶and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹it is not from works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

¹¹Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh - who are called "uncircumcision" by the so-called "circumcision" that is performed on the body by human hands - ¹²that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, ¹⁵when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. ¹⁷And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, ¹⁸so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, ²⁰because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²²in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

   "Once again, just as in Romans 11, Paul makes the point that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles and that through the cross, both are equally reconciled to God, so much so that they are to become one body and that the Church. The point is clear; the cross of Christ reconciles us to God."

Colossians 1:9-23

⁹For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects - bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. ¹³He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,

 ¹⁶for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him - all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers - all things were created through him and for him.

 ¹⁷He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.

 ¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.

 ¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son

 ²⁰and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross - through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

²¹And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, ²²but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him - ²³if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

   “And again, we have Paul writing the same points to the Colossians that he had written to the Ephesians and Romans before.  We should not expect that this rendition would be any different than his previous two writings nor that the definitions of the words used would be different.  In this part of the letter Paul does specify that they should bear fruit in good deeds but that in order to please Him, saying nothing about those fruits attributing to their redemption which he clearly states in verse 14 is “the forgiveness of sins.”   

   Further on Paul describes Jesus Christ in great detail culminating in His purpose which is reconciling “all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross - through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”  The language here is slightly different than what is used in the other letter’s but the idea being expressed is identical; we are reconciled to Christ by His death on the cross.    

   If there is any question, Paul continues by stating the fact that they are reconciled by Jesus’ physical death so that they might be presented “holy, without blemish, and blameless…”.  Paul leaves no question as to what he means when he uses the words “reconcile” or “reconciliation”. He is the only one to use these words in the New Testament and he clearly defines them each time they are used as the forgiveness of sins.

   Its amazing how deceived Christians have become. The “Gospel of Reconciliation” that is being preached from our pulpits and taught on our universities is directly from the mind of Satan and it is time to cut away the sheep skin from the wolves who have invaded our churches and school.”

Romans 8:18-23

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

   “Finally, I must include this passage from Romans because it is used in combination with the verses about reconciliation to create this impression that Scripture teaches that we, as agents of reconciliation, are to bring about this redemption of creation. I have already explained fully the passages regarding true reconciliation so it seems this passage should be moot but let’s look at it anyway.   

   This passage first begins with stating that the things we go through, the suffering, ‘are not worth comparing with the glory’ to be revealed.  And what is the ‘glory’?  It is our entrance to Heaven.  Paul further describes this glory as the ‘revealing of the sons of God’, ‘adoption as sons’, ‘the redemption of our bodies’.  Additional clues that Paul is strictly talking about Heaven comes when he refers to this glory as ‘this hope’.  And not simply “this hope” but that in this hope we were saved.  This language matches the other passages exactly.  Paul is consistent in his presentation of the Gospel as being the forgiveness of sins which saves us from God’s wrath and gives us the hope of Heaven. He says the same thing here in regards to those who are to be adopted as sons.  Then he makes a connection that we see nowhere else in Scripture.  He tells us that all of creation longs for the day of our final redemption so that it too may be set free from its bondage to decay wrought on it by Adam’s sin.  Yet it is clear that creation’s hope does not lie in us but in our redemption by God.   

   He also makes clear that this will take place at the redemption of our bodies which will take place upon Christ’s return. So in the end anything we do to attempt to redeem or reconcile creation to God is an effort in futility.  It isn’t pure vanity since we are called to be stewards of what God has given us and made us rulers over but if we expect our work for the planet or even for our fellow man to somehow be a part of their redemption, we are being duped.”

Guatemala Day Eleven - Thirteen

Day Eleven Wednesday morning we headed back the Scheel center (the short route) and met the Psychologist there who offered to take us to the poorest families on the mountain. He had three female long term volunteers that were to come with us to document life on the mountain and because they had not been able to go up the mountain yet. We parked at the Scheel Center at the base of the mountain called Vista Hermosa which means beautiful view. And the view was to be beautiful but nothing on the mountain was beautiful. It took us two hours to climb the mountain and visit 10 families. The climb was exhausting, slippery, dangerous and often disgusting. The path was very steep and very narrow in places. There were many places where only one person could pass and there would be a hundred foot drop off at the edge. The path was at times crossed or bordered by small streams of water and raw sewage and garbage. Some families had make shift outhouses but many didn’t. There was garbage everywhere and feces strewn throughout the pathway. The smells varied from feces, rotting garbage, death and smoke from burning wood and charcoal used for cooking. The families lived in small shacks, normally one room, made of sheet metal, bamboo and other vegetation. Some of the rooms had beds but others did not. One family we visited had one bed for four people. Most of the families consisted of at least 5 people. There are many tales to be told but two I want to highlight right now. One woman we visited was very glad we came and she was willing to answer a lot of questions. She was actually living in a one room house that was built by volunteers from the Scheel Center. She had an outdoor concrete washing basin, access to water, and a separate outhouse (which was simply a hole surrounded by a wood framed, sheet metal roofed structure whose walls were just tarps tied together). But what she told us was that she was so grateful for the food we brought because that day she had run out of food, so her and her 5 children would have not had anything to eat that day or maybe even for several days. When we left that home the reality of their situation set in for me and it was very difficult to deal with. Then there was a family we had stopped to see on the way up and we passed by them again only a few minutes later on our long trek back down the mountain and they came running out to greet us. They were all smiling brightly and I immediately spotted the reason why. Each of the children and the mother as well had a candy sucker in their mouth and they were so happy and excited. Those were the last thing we purchased the night before and it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. We had spent a lot of time developing healthy staples to provide them the most we could and at the last moment I the thought came to my mind that it might be nice to give them something that was sweet to break up the monotony of the beans, rice and tortillas they exist on daily. So we found the suckers. And at that moment on the mountain I felt like we gave them something a little more than just sustenance. Something that made them a little more human. We are not meant just to live. Humans were created to live life abundantly and it is the creative things, the beautiful things and the sweet things that make us so very different than the animals, the way God intended. And in an extremely small and brief way I think we brought a moment of that to the lives of these families. We all wish we could have done it to the full for every family on that mountain and we pray that God will bring that about someday, in this life. After arriving at the bottom of the mountain, we thanked those from the Scheel Center who helped us and headed back to the house. It seemed odd this time, as I sat parked in front of a beautiful and secure villa that was worth a lot of money here in Antigua and lifted my head to the mountain directly above me which had become a monument to human suffering and poverty. Often times I hear peple come back from missions trips to third world countries and they tell us that though these people had nothing they still had such a happiness about them. Maybe that is true. But the two places that I have been where severe poverty was the norm, there was little happiness. The people of Vista Hermosa were not happy. In fact, one of the women related how sad she was that she could not provide for her family. There is no happiness on that mountain, only misery accented by fleeting moments of relief brought about by small things like a piece of hard candy on a stick. We cleaned up, packed up and headed to eat and hit the market one more time before we left. After we finished at the market, we dropped off our friends from Guatemala City near the bus stop and made our way out of Antigua to our next adventure on our way to Panajachel. The first part of this 3 hour drive went pretty smoothly in terms of driving in Guatemala at least. I have become almost used to the style of driving here. Or lack thereof. We had some issues getting through Chimaltenango. The city was constructing a new road through the city center and so it was down to one lane. This meant that one direction of traffic had to wait for the other direction to go for a while until the police let us go. Thankfully we hit it at just the right time and didn’t have to wait too long. But as dusk set in, we began the ascent up the mountain and the higher we got, the thicker the clouds became. I would call this fog but it really isn’t fog, it was the actual clouds. That is how high we were. We were passing through the first level of clouds. The road was two lanes each direction but had a turn every 100 meters or so and the turns were often extremely sharp. The incline was trying for our over packed car and there were many places where there were fresh landslides that at time blocked both of our lanes so we had to pass on the oncoming lanes. These were all marked by arrows and cones so there was not danger for the most part but as the night grew darker and the clouds grew thicker, the ability to see was at times down to a few feet. I had drawn close to a car in front of me and decided to stay close to him in order to better make my way through the clouds since I couldn’t see anything really. We passed another landslide that sent us into the opposite lanes and we slowely made our way up the steep incline. Suddenly, the car in front of me pulled all the way to the left into the far lane of the oncoming traffic and there was nothing for me to do than to follow him because I couldn’t see what he was driving around or why he had made that move. So I did. But as we moved farther along, I came to the realization that what he had moved over for was the sign that told us that we needed to go back to our lanes. The clouds were so thick that I didn’t even see them. What this meant was that we were now traveling the wrong way on the highway and the cars coming down the mountain had no warning that there would be cars coming the opposite direction in their lanes. Panic set in but there was nothing that could be done as there was a large cement curb that prevented me from returning to our lanes. As we rounded a curve I realized what had happened. There were two semis who were directly ahead of us traveling the same direction as us. The first semi must have not seen the return in the clouds and continued when he should have crossed back over and the truck and cars that followed, not being able to see either just followed the one in front of them, resulting in two semis and about five cars driving the wrong way on a mountain pass, at night, in the clouds. I felt a little safer knowing that someone would have to plow through two semis and tow cars before they got to us but I wanted desperately to get back on the right side of the road. After several miles we came to a return and we were able to all cross safely to the proper lanes. What a relief. Little did I know this was just the beginning. As we reached the peak of the mountain I recalled that what goes up, must come down. And so we did. I had been on many steep roads on this trip but never had there been a warning sign. All of the sudden we were barraged with signs warning of extremely steep inclines and warnings to downshift. So we began the descent. It was so steep that at one point I had my brakes fully on and there was no way we were stopping. We wound around sharp curves and giant waterfalls, occasionally catching glimpses of the cities far below us and even lightning. The lightening was below us. It was a very strange feeling being on the ground yet looking at a thunderstorm from above. The steepest portion of the road down to the lake was only 6 miles but it took us a very long time. We traveled an average of about 5 miles an hour all the way. So after over 4 hours we finally pulled into Panajachel. It was packed with people and cars and street side food carts. I was a bit surprised because in both Guatemala City and even Antigua things closed very early and once it was dark the streets emptied rather quickly. Not so in Panajachel. I would describe the city as a more trashy Guatemala City by a lake. We had a hotel that we were planning to stay at which however we did not know where it was in the city. We passed by the city center that was absolutely packed with people, and cars and motorcycles. I felt that we might be in trouble when a guy came running up to our window and began shouting and pointing toward a hotel that was in front of us. After we had moved away from him I asked what he wanted and it turned out he was a guy from that hotel whose job it was to get people to stay there. The troubling part was that part of his effort to draw us in was highlighting the fact that this hotel (unlike others?) had hot running water. That was disconcerting. Asking directions from strangers is a normal way of getting around any city in Guatemala but the results can be iffy. And Panajachel was worse than normal. After being sent in every direction multiple time, we finally found the hotel. It looked nice enough from the outside. They came out and directed us to their “parking garage” which turned out to be more of cellar large enough to park cars. From there we went up to our rooms. They were concrete and tile just as everywhere else we had been. They looked nice enough though the entire room was lit by a single light bulb and the lights went from dim to bright and back to dim every few minutes. There was no air conditioning and no heat and it was vented to the hallway and to the alley out the back of the hotel. The hallway was really a covered but open balcony. So this hotel kept the theme of very open construction that you find throughout the cities we had been. One other interesting item was a sign above the toilet asking to please not throw toilet paper in the toilet. The alternative was not very pleasant. We had not eaten supper yet so after disqualifying the hotel restaurant we went out to the street to find a suitable restaurant. Most of what we found were food vendor carts. They had raw meats piled onto an upright skewer from which they would carve a piece when ordered, grill it and place it in a tortilla. We decided against any of those. We did find a restaurant that had a number of foreigners leaving it so we thought it may be safe but as we tried to enter, we were told they were just closing. After commenting on the beauty of the girls in our group, asking them how old they were and if they wanted to come back for a party later (men here are much more aggressive in showing attraction to women in public, this sort of thing was more the norm than an exception everywhere we went) they directed us to a good restaurant down the street. However after arriving and seeing 3 stray dogs lying about the floor of the dining area we decided to buy some chips and cookies from a small convenience shop we had passed and turn in for the night. Day Twelve The morning came quickly and we showered and packed, retrieved our car and headed down to the lake front to acquire a restaurant for breakfast. We found a paid parking spot and were immediately accosted by men and women shoving menus in our faces and assuring us that their restaurant was the best. We decided on one that one of the members of our group had eaten at the previous year. The view was breathtaking. A very large lake surrounded by green mountains, three of which were volcanoes. The sky was clear but the volcanoes create their own clouds so the tops of each were covered. There was much activity along the lake with tour boats and fishing boats. There was a small concrete soccer field right next to the lake where some guys were shooting a small, plastic soccer ball. On wrong kick and the ball would be in the lake. One wrong challenge and you could be flying off a 25 foot concrete wall. We sat down for a wonderful Guatemalan breakfast with fresh papaya juice, plantains, eggs, chorizo, tortillas, frijoles and a spicy sauce full of flavor. After breakfast we were asked if we wanted a boat tour. The full day tour was too much money for us and we did not have the time either. So we chose a short, one hour tour that would take us to a hot springs on the side of the lake and to one of the lake villages where we could buy crafts from the actual people who make them. We pulled into the dock made of two simple planks hovering just above the water. We balanced along the planks, to another set of planks that crossed in front of a flooded restaurant a tree stump, across a small sandy area and up a mud bank to a mud and concrete littered lot next to a muddy soccer field strewn with trash where kids from the local school were just finishing recess. We aimlessly wandered down a narrow ally way and finally emptied out onto a street with some shops. We were able to watch a lady actually making a scarf which would take forever. It increased my appreciation of the items they had. We passed five native ladies who were making hand-made tortillas and we asked if we could take a photo but they sternly said no. Then we asked if we could purchase some fresh tortillas, and again we were met with a glare and another stern no. So we put our collective tails between our legs and sulked away down the street. After the village experience we went back to Panajachel and spent a little time in the market there and then made our way out of town. I was very concerned that we would not make it out but there was not much traffic and I was able to accelerate enough on the lighter inclines to make it up the steeper one. We stopped to take pictures of an amazing waterfall and to take picture of the city and lake from high above. The rest of the trip back was uneventful aside from the construction mentioned before. This time it took a very long time to get through which was annoying. We arrived back in Guatemala City with time to spare for once and made our way to a restaurant where we would be dining with the Guatemalan relatives. It was a beautiful restaurant serving true Guatemalan cuisine to the sounds of a Marimba band hired specifically for our dinner. We enjoyed classic Guatemalan dishes and desserts. It was a wonderful night. We turned in early, ready for our second free day of the trip and our last full day in Guatemala. Day Thirteen We awoke on our last full day in Guatemala and headed out to the Nazarene School to take photos with the children. We arrived pretty quickly and it was amazing getting to spend time with the kids. They were so excited and it was difficult to leave them. We then went and got the food that I was the most excited to try. Shukos. It is a small hotdog or Chorizo on a grilled hoagie bun with cabbage, mayo, mustard, Guacamole and a variety of sauces and onions and cilantro. We went to a cross street that that had about 15 Shukos restaurants. There was only one lane to drive on the four streets that converged at this intersection. And there were guys running everywhere to the cars driving through asking them how many shukos they wanted. It was a rudimentary drive through system. There were small areas to sit inside each restaurant but most people simply drove through, ordered from the street and waited for the guys to bring the sandwiches back to them. We wanted to eat inside so we found a guy that said he would clear a table for us and we parked about a block away and walked back to his locale. It was a small concrete room, open to the street with a small cooking area in the corner and the remainder of the room filled with plastic tables and chairs. We ordered and I enjoyed the shukos. Most of the others did not. I think they were really more concerned with the sanitary situation so it colored their opinions. I would have liked more meat because it was a bit like eating a cabbage sandwich due to the very small size of Guatemalan hotdogs. When we paid, we were shocked to find that eat sandwich was only seventy cents. So with our drinks we each spent just little over one dollar. We then got the car we had borrowed, serviced and then stopped at a very large mall to meet some other friends. I met with some fans of my band from Guatemala City and it was absolutely wonderful to sit with them for about an hour and a half and just talk. They presented me with some great gifts from Guatemala and I signed some autographs and we took some pictures. After that our other friends arrived and we went to eat at a favorite restaurant called Friends which was like a Hard Rock Café but with a movie theme. It was pretty good and a great way to end our trip, saying thanks to the guys that really helped us out in the services. It was a sad departing. Tomorrow we leave Guatemala and fly back to Chicago where I will take a nap and then we will drive back to Bismarck. My last updates will be from home. Thanks for following our trip Pray for us.

Guatemala Day Nine - Ten

Day Nine Monday morning, we were able to check out the house more. It was a wonderful little two story villa at the base of a large mountain, within a secured complex. Now, when I say secured, we all think of having a gate around the area we are living but in Guatemala, secured means not only the gate but armed guards at the gates and strolling through the complex, 24/7. The villa had three bedrooms and a bath up stairs. All the bedrooms had large windows that fully opened to the outside. There are no screens here. One bedroom had a door that opened to a small balcony and also had a loft with a hammock. The main area between the bedrooms and the bathroom had a door that lead to a large rooftop sitting area that offered a good view of the surrounding area. There was a wonderful courtyard off of the dining room that was accessed through French doors. The courtyard was surrounded by 15 foot walls and was a combination of grass and tile with a large tree in the center, a small fountain on the left and several flowering plants along the wall, where humming birds would come to every morning. The first floor had a kitchen and dining area separated by a beautiful wood counter and a small living room just inside the front door. The living room had three wooden benches with pillows and a small TV. There was also a very small bathroom and shower down a few stairs off of the living room. The shower was so short that it would have sprayed my chest only if I had attempted to use it. The entire place had tile floors and concrete walls just as the majority of the building here. Directly above the house was a large mountain which was covered by small shacks piled on top of each other all the way up the steep sides. We decided immediately, we wanted to go there. The city of Antigua is an old city so there is much great architecture but since it was built using cobble stone streets and those were intended for horses or mules, it is a very tight squeeze to get around with all the cars, trucks and busses that are now used. It is situated at the foot of a Volcano named Agua which has already destroyed the city once but is now sitting dormant. The volcano towers above the city and is mostly covered with clouds, even when the rest of the sky is clear. We were there to volunteer for the God’s Child project which is a project of schools, clinics and shelters started by a man from Bismarck, North Dakota. The main offices are in Bismarck and that is where we got connected. We went to the Dreamer Center Monday morning. This is the main center for the God’s Child project. Despite my attempts to let them know we were coming, it still caught them by surprise. So after a tour and filling out some forms, we were sent home because the director of the location we would be working at was in Guatemala City for the day. So we went back home and got some much need sleep. We then went to a market that is housed in a section of ruins of a large cathedral that was destroyed when Agua buried the city in the 1700’s. The market was a unique and surreal place. It was very compact with little room for two people to pass at the same time. It was dark but very colorful with all the handmade Guatemalan purses, scarves, shirts, skirts and crafts. The people at each table immediately began trying to bargain with you but of course in Spanish. Some spoke a little English and they were very helpful. The concept here was to find what you wanted and then try to get them to the lowest price you could. That went very much against my German—American sensibilities and since things were very reasonable to begin with and since I knew many of these people had almost nothing, I didn’t bargain as you were expected to do. I brought a couple things down a little but for the most part I just paid them and went on my way. I found everything I wanted in a very short time so I was very excited. We stopped at an Italian restaurant and had pasta for supper and then headed back to the house. Day Ten Tuesday we headed out bright and early to the Scheel Center which is an elementary school and clinic for the poorest of the poor in Antigua. We had got directions from the Dreamer Center which was on te other side of town from where we were so we went there and flowed the directions that took us closer and closer to the mountain above our house. The Scheel center turned out to be at the base of that mountain and only about 3 blocks from our house. So the twenty minute drive to get there was completely unnecessary. The Scheel center is a four story building that houses a school, a clinic and soon a pharmacy. Its main benefactors come from the mountain directly above it though some come from Antigua below. They are chosen by their poverty level and only the poorest children are allowed entrance to the school. This school goes entire days and serves two meals a day while the public schools only go half days and only serve breakfast each day. The method of the Scheel center is not just to be a place for the children but for the entire family and if the families pay the 12 to 24 cent fee per month tuition, they get access to the clinic and medicines for free for their entire family and well as classes for the mothers and fathers on many different subjects from hygiene to cooking and nutrition to even make up application. In addition to schooling, the children all get trained in one of two vocations. These are cooking and carpentry. They all get certification in typing and Microsoft Office as well. We spent are time sweeping the tile floors which get dirty very quickly, preparing for lunch and cleaning up after lunch, clearing some drainage issues and installing sound panels in order to cut the immense reverb caused by having tile floors and cement walls and ceilings. The difference the panels make is really quite drastic. After we left the Scheel center for the day, we cleaned up and headed to pick up some friends from Guatemala City who had rode the bus out to Antigua to assist us in our project for Wednesday morning. We went to a grocery and used money that the Worship Team had earned while leading several retreats and services in the States and purchased enough food to feed 10 families for 3 days. Each bag contained Rice, Corn Flour, Sugar, Noodles, Salt, Black Beans, Coffee, Cooking Oil and Candy Suckers. We went back to the house and separated out the food into 10 bags and then went to bed, excited to head up the mountain in the morning to distribute the food. We did not know what to expect. Pray for us.

Guatemala Day Seven – Eight

Guatemala Day Seven – Eight I am sitting in a hotel open-air lobby in Panajachen, Guatemala waiting for the others to be ready to go on our second quest to find foreigner edible food for breakfast. I have not been able to post any blogs since Saturday because of little time Saturday and Sunday and then extremely limited internet access Monday until today while being in Antigua. We have driven many, many Kilometers since then and have done, seen and experienced a large variety of things since then; from the awe inspiring, to the terrifying, from the “awwwwwwww” moments to the very sad moments. Since this will be split into a couple large updates, I will try to stream line a synopsis of each day so you can get an idea of where we’ve been and what we have been doing. I will try to blog later about specific, major events on this section of the trip. Day Seven After a great service Friday night, we got up Saturday with great expectations for that evening’s service. We got up and began preparing for the service as we had plans to meet some of the family at a local restaurant for lunch and then head over to the church. Have I mentioned the traffic? There is a running joke amongst us about “Guatemalan time”. Just add an hour to whatever time is established and you will be close. Well, to be fair, I am beginning to realize that a big part of that issue is due to the immensity and unpredictability of traffic in Guatemala. There is simply no way to accurately determine how long it will take to get anywhere and this was never more evident than during our attempt to meet the family for lunch. A drive that should have taken no more than 30 minutes ended when we gave up after over 2 hours. We had run out of time and needed to be at the church, so we stopped at the next restaurant we saw which was a Dominos Pizza and we ate there. (It was an eat in shop which we don’t typically see in the States). We then proceeded to the church and made it just on time. Of course, no one else was there and after close to another hour we were finally in the church.. From the start, nothing worked right. The sound system that worked flawlessly the days prior just wouldn’t come together. Frustration was high and what added to that was another band that it was decided would play with us had to be worked into the evening which was something we had not planned on. They also needed time to practice and that was not available, mostly due to the sound problems. We finally got the sound working adequately, and only a half an hour late (the people didn’t care much because they are used to that and they were playing football up on the roof) we began the service. This was a typical N.O.W. service like we had held in Mandan several times. It consists of songs of worship and praise, a little talking, some Scripture readings and a time of group prayer. These aspects of the service are interspersed throughout the service, not in any particular order. The singing was great. The people here really sing out and love clapping (in time, I might add) and so that was a nice thing for us. When we got into the prayer time, the power of the night was really revealed. Of course all the prayers were in Spanish but we were informed later that they were amazing prayers of dedication of lives to God and a focusing on living every moment as worship to God. It ended up being a great night. Day Eight The next day was Sunday and we were in charge of the morning service. We arrived early and turned everything on and everything worked perfectly. This was such a drastic contrast from the night before. I fully believe that Satan had tried to thwart Saturday night’s service by messing things up but in the end God was victorious as always and this morning had a very peaceful start. We had arrived before Sunday school but since only one of us spoke Spanish well enough to really be able to follow a lesson, we took that time to get some breakfast. It was a quick run and we were back and ready for the service. Things went very well, though the crowd was smaller and older than the night before. People responded well to the music and to my sermon which had to be given through an interpreter. That was a unique experience but I know that the message got across so that was good. They had a potluck planned after the service but we had already scheduled a dinner with one of the Grandmother’s of the Guatemalan member of the team so we waited a while to speak with people and as we were about to leave, an older man came up and began speaking to me. I called over someone who could speak both languages and the man basically said he really enjoyed what I spoke about and the need for obedience in our lives as Christians and it really had an impact on him. That was a great conformation that the message had been delivered. We left the church and headed to the grandmother’s home. She laid out an amazing meal for us that consisted of so many different foods, in such great quantity that I didn’t know how all of that could have possibly come from the incredibly small kitchen. There was chicken and cream, whole, cooked carrots, potatoes, two types of rice, two other vegetables that I could not identify as they are not common in the U.S. and the requisite corn tortillas. To drink, she made a rice and cinnamon beverage, served cold. It had a very unique flavor. Very sweet. The cinnamon was not the brown type that we would typically put into foods but the red type that we would more often use in hot beverages, or as candy. It was really good but I would prefer it as a drink to be drank on its own, not as part of a meal. But it was a great experience. We had an awesome time hearing the stories of the family and then she broke out what was possibly the most amazing dessert any of us have ever tasted. It was made from fresh pineapples and was topped with freshly sliced strawberries. I wish I could describe it but though I have thought of it often, I cannot find the right words to use. The consistency was something that I haven’t really experienced before so I can’t compare it to anything familiar and though it was called a cake, it was not anything like what we would consider a cake. I will post a picture later and maybe exact assistance form the others in giving a good description. One of our team members asked if we thought it might be able to withstand mailing to the United States. I think that sums up all of our reaction to this magnificent dessert. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall and then headed to Antigua. The distance is not far but the drive is. We arrived after dark and so we acclimated ourselves to the new home we would stay in for the next couple days and we went to bed. Pray for us.