We're here!

We arrived yesterday with very little trouble. No flight delays or sickness, so that was a huge praise. We had some confusion with the baggage (our 20 bags of supplies that we checked) but we were able to get it worked out and all of our bags were released to us. :)

Thankfully we had yesterday afternoon mostly to ourselves to get some rest since most of us did not get much sleep prior to arriving at Asheville airport at 4 AM. Our hotel is right next to the airport and overlooking beautiful Guatemala City. We have a great view of surrounding mountains AND a gorgeous, huge volcano. I have been trying to get a decent pic but so far the clouds have been covering it too much to get a good picture.

We will be leaving in about 20 mins (noon EST) to make a 7-hr drive to Comi where we will be spending most of the week doing ministry.

Our 2 teammates that were supposed to arrive this morning are delayed at Atlanta airport until tomorrow due to Delta overbooking their flight. Please pray they get here w/ further complications. Also pray for safe travels for our drive today and for our health.

Looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us this week.

T-minus...

I cannot believe that we're leaving for Guatemala in just over a day. This week has flown by so fast that there hasn't been much time for it to sink in yet. We had a "packing party" tonight where we packed supplies for VBS and supplies for our team into nearly twenty duffel bags then we weighed each bag to make sure it's within the 50 pound maximum for checked baggage. We also got vital instruction tonight such as: do not drink the water; do not touch your face with your hands; use hand sanitizer often; do not flush the toilet paper. Hmm...now that I think about it, we didn't get instruction on what to do with the toilet paper. Guess we'll figure that out when we get there. :)

I have most of the Spanish songs down. I'm still stumbling a tiny bit, but one of the biggest pieces of advice I was given is to be patient with myself, so I plan to do just that. I am not going to stress over it. I'm actually surprised how quick and easy memorizing the songs ended up being.

We're finishing up the last-minute details...tomorrow after work we'll be taking our dog to Paul's parents' house and then coming home to pack. We're supposed to meet at Asheville airport at 4 AM Friday morning. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

Hope to update more when we get there. Thanks for praying!

Estoy cantando en mi corazon

It's hard to believe that we're only two and a half weeks from departure. I was given the music and lyrics for the Spanish songs I volunteered to learn last Thursday. I am driving around with the CD on repeat and singing as much as I can remember to myself OVER AND OVER. Feel free to send up some extra prayers for Paul who will probably get really tired of my Spanish singing repetitions really soon. Ha.

The songs I'm learning are: Jesus Loves Me; Sapo Song (my favorite of the moment); God's Not Dead; Making Melodies In My Heart; Mighty to Save

I already feel pretty comfortable with Sapo Song (which is a song about a frog) and can sing it to myself without any music or help. I have bits and pieces of the other ones down but am still working on mastering them. I have realized I'm thinking in Spanish more now, so when I'm out in public and hear a word that I know in Spanish, I think that word instead of the English one. I hope I don't start talking broken Spanish out in public. :)

Paul and I are going to spend the next couple of weeks preparing our training session for incorporating technology into worship. We're going to be teaching some Excel and Pro Presenter 4 (which is a worship software) and we're trying to research a program called Media Shout which is a program they're already using some down there. We still have a lot to prepare before we go, so we appreciate your continued prayers.

Y yo agradezco sus oraciones por la memorización de los canciones. (And I appreciate your prayers for memorization of the songs.)

-Amber

Paid in Full

We're still two weeks away from the deadline of needing all of our required funds to be turned in for Guatemala, but we got word today that all of our fundraising needs are met. Praise the Lord for His provision! And thank you to all of you (again) who were able and willing to contribute financially to our trip. It's appreciated more than you know.

Also wanted to share some of the local businesses whose owners are sponsoring us:


Mountain Dental Lab (Asheville, NC)
Power Church Software (Asheville, NC)
Greentree Christian Bookstore (Asheville, NC)
Wright's Hearth, Heat & Home (Arden, NC)
The Carpet Barn (Waynesville, NC)
Buncombe Baptist Association (Asheville, NC)


Thanks for caring and supporting missions! :)

Guatemala Mission Trip Update

Our mission trip meeting went great last week. It was nice to meet some of the team members that we will be accompanying on our trip and hearing what gifts each person has that will be used to serve the people of Guatemala. Paul and I will be putting a list together of ways that the pastors and leaders of our sister church can use technology to enhance worship. I attended a training session on setting up and using Pro Presenter 4 (a software many churches use in worship to put videos and words up for the congregation) so that we can better train the leaders how to use the software if they choose.

One need that was discussed at the meeting was for someone who can lead the worship for the Vacation Bible School sessions. The girl who was supposed to be attending but found out she couldn't go (whose place we're taking) is normally the one who leads the songs. Unfortunately, with her out, that leaves one person who is fluent in Spanish and she says she can't carry a tune in a bucket. Ha. So I offered to step up to the plate and lead the songs (provided that the team leader is able to get me the songs in Spanish so I can learn them before we go). The good news is that I am comfortable enough reading Spanish (thanks to my two years of Spanish in High School and two years in College) that I think I should be able to learn the music pretty well provided I have a couple of weeks to play it on repeat. However, I am still a novice when it comes to Spanish so we'll see if I can pull this off. :)

In addition to providing technical assistance on this trip and helping to lead the Vacation Bible School sessions, Paul and the men will be spending the mornings constructing kitchens at several locations and the women and kids will be loving on the ladies of Guatemala and teaching what God's Word says about His love for them (since women are not as valued or held in high esteem in their culture). We're excited to see what God is going to do on our trip.

In case anyone is wondering about our fundraising, we're really close to having all the funds raised. We only need $575 TOTAL by July 1st. If anyone is still wanting to partner with us, there is still time! Thanks again to all of you who have given and who are praying for us and for this trip. We can't thank you enough for your support!

Five Weeks Until Departure

Our tickets have been booked and we've gotten our vaccinations for our trip to Guatemala! It's hard to believe it's only about five weeks away! We have been able (thanks to all of you) to raise almost all of the funds needed for our trip -- only a few hundred dollars and we'll be paid in full! Praise God for his provision!

We still have more preparation before our trip. Paul has been practicing with some of the technology he'll be responsible for and learning the ins and outs of the camera and video equipment he'll be using on the trip. Amber has an appointment this next week to learn more about the software that she'll be helping to teach to the leaders in Guatemala as we train how to more effectively incorporate technology into worship.

We are starting our first of several meetings with the whole team that is going tonight and making sure everyone knows what they will be responsible for and what our itinerary will be. We'll also be praying together as a group about how God will use us and use this trip for His glory! It's so fun to be part of something so much bigger than any one of us. We're counting down the days until we leave on July 8th. Thanks so much for your continued support and prayers as we continue on this journey. We love all of you. :)

Change of Plans

Sorry it's been a while since we've blogged about our mission trip. There have been some developments with our trip to Kyrgyzstan and we've been in a bit of a whirlwind of decisions and plans changing and trying to contact our sponsors and the like. As we were getting close to having to book our tickets, we got word that the team in Kyrgyzstan that was going to be our main point of contact (who would be coordinating our trip and hosting us while we were there) got news that there were concerns on their ultrasound with their fourth child. The scans showed fluid on their baby's spine and brain and it was recommended they go somewhere w/ better equipment to get more ultrasounds and tests made.

After they packed up and flew immediately to Istanbul for more testing, they got confirmation that their developing baby has spinal bifida and some brain development problems. It was obvious that this was no time for us to be planning a mission trip with this couple in the midst of this heartache. Paul and I agreed that we should not pursue physically going to Kyrgyzstan right now but perhaps seeing what we could work on and plan to help with computer training this fall over skype or over video conferencing of some sort.

Pretty much as soon as we decided that we would not be going to Kyrgyzstan, we were cleared to attend a trip to Guatemala this summer (July 9-17) with the team who will be doing construction projects and Vacation Bible School for our church plant down there. The team leader told us that his worship leader who would normally be in charge of setting up the technology and sound for worship during the trip had found out she cannot attend, leaving him to coordinate the trip/people as well as teach the pastors down there and try to set up and lead worship. He asked if we'd be willing to take the responsibility of heading up the technological portion of the trip and helping to train how to incorporate technology into worship. :) So Paul and I will be going to Guatemala this summer instead of Kyrgyzstan. However, we are still planning to partner with Kyrgyzstan as soon as we are able (and as soon as the host couple is able).

Please pray for them and the rest of their pregnancy. Their baby (they've picked out the name Jonathan) is not eligible for in-utero surgery, but they have been told he will have to have surgery as soon as he's born to close up the skin around his spine. They are not yet sure the extent of his brain damage or how severe his handicap will be. They are obviously devastated at the news, but trusting God through it. They would appreciate your prayers as they move forward and try to find the best treatment they can for mom and baby.

To all of you who have given toward our trip, THANK YOU so much! We are only $1500 away (total - $750 each) from reaching the amount we need for Guatemala. We love and appreciate all of you for your giving and your prayer support! :)