MOST Guatemala Vision Mission 2017

Today we left our hotel in Zacapa for the town of Antigua for a well-deserved break day. Our day started at 5am. We stopped for breakfast around 8am at a lovely local restaurant... The roads are slow-going and we arrived in Antigua around noon where we had to switch from our large charter bus to a small bus that could drive through the city. The roads are much more narrow and large busses aren't able to travel through the city. We visited a jade museum where we learned about the different types of jade and that Guatemala has one of the most rare types of jade in the world. They make and sell reproductions of Mayan jewelry. After the Jade tour, we ate lunch at an Italian restaurant, then walked a ways to an indoor market where locals sold some handmade items along with imported gifts. Next up was the Cross on the Hill, which offered a great view of the entire city and the volcano, "Aqua." Our day then took us to a coffee plantation

God is so so good! Today we held clinic from 8am - 3pm, with a short lunch break. A group of today's patients walked since 4am to meet us in clinic. They only had enough money for one bus ride, so they saved the ride for when they traveled home. We were blessed to be able to give them all the gift of sight and more importantly let them know they are loved and important to Christ. There were a handful of people coming through the clinic who needed high prescriptions that we didn't have, but when they tried on what we did have, they worked perfectly. We didn't have one person come through who we couldn't make work with the inventory we brought with us, despite our small fears that we may run out of what was needed. God came before us and provided, as always! Our clinic was able to see 1,312 people and give them 1,692 prescription glasses and over 1,000 pairs of sunglasses , all while sharing the joy of God's love. Grateful to Him who provided this opportunity

Yesterday we were blessed as a group to not only serve 403 patients with eyeglasses, we saw over 443 children in VBS. Our group worked with the Lutheran school and its teachers to provide a Bible lesson for the students, along with singing. They learned that Jesus cares for the birds in the air and the flowers of the earth, but even more, cares for us, His dearly loved children. With this story, we also emphasized the importance of prayer and how they can communicate with God all their fears and worries. Today, we served 456 people with almost 900 pairs of glasses! When we arrived at 8am, the line was already around the block. After lunch, we took an extended break to take a boat ride on the Caribbean Sea. The photo below is of a Cuban oil ship that has been stranded for 10 years for not paying taxes. We visited the Pirate Cay and the Green lagoon. It was a great break in the middle of the day.  Thank you for your prayers for the pe

Today's plan was to attend church with the community at the Lutheran Church and run a half day clinic. The church service was a traditional LCMS communion service. Before service ended, the children came in and shared what they learned with the congregation, including their verse of the day. Then we celebrated all the birthdays for the week and counted  from the youngest to the oldest age! We quickly got into position for clinic and the team acted as if we have done this many times before and everyone was well trained.  By lunchtime, we had 99 people come through! We took a short break at the hotel we visited last night for a relaxing lunch before heading beach to the clinic. The team was extremely thankful to see so many people come into clinic unable to see and leaving with literally a new outlook on life. Having the correct prescription can impact a community by allowing for easier learning and taking care of families. We saw 158 peopl

We arrived at Santa Cruz hotel last night just in time for dinner and a restful evening before heading out this morning for the coast. The area we will be working is considered the same as the Amazon with the tropical vegetation. We traveled another five hours to Puerto Barrios. We traveled on a highway that ran parallel with the largest river in Guatemala. If you have eaten a Chiquita Banana, it most likely came through this port. We stopped by a Mayan Ruins called Quiriua Geologocal Park. They had many stone columns that were hand carved called estalas. Our host Nury used to volunteer here and gave us a wonderful detailed tour with history of the location in which athletes competed and the losing team captain was sacrificed to the gods outside the temple for all to see. We ate lunch on the way and we stopped road side to pick some fresh Ramu Tam, a hairy looking delicious fruit. We went to visit the church and school we are serving that was established in 1947. The

The team members came together at the Miami airport, grabbed some lunch, and hopped on the plane to Guatemala. We are on our way! Due to a lightning storm, the plane was delayed on the tarmac for a while. Here are photos of the Kansas and Asheville groups and we'll have a full team photo taken soon. Please keep our travels in your prayers and that we will all be prepared for growth, learning, and serving the people of Puerto Barrios. We hope to have frequent updates on the trek as the week progresses.

MOST team members from Hope Lutheran Church and School in Shawnee, Kansas were commissioned today during church services. The team has prepared over the past 6 months to serve the people of Guatemala in Puerto Barrios. These team members have gone through eyeglass clinic training to be prepared to spot eye health problems, measure community member prescriptions, and fit donated eyeglasses to each person. Above all, sharing the unconditional love of Christ to those they serve is the most important aspect of the trip. Kansas Team Members (l-r): Michael Wray, Garrison Fangman, Gabrielle Fangman, Kathy & Ted McIntosh, Ella Schempp, and Nancy Jankowski.

Young ladies from the Hope Lutheran Shawnee 4-H group put together 70 eyeglass cases for the mission team to hand out with glasses in Guatemala. These are important to protect the glasses when not being worn. It gives each person something in which to take their glasses home, if not wearing them out the door. Mission trips allow many people to be involved, even those who aren't physically going to the host country. For every team member that goes on each trip, it requires multiple background people for support of through monetary means, prayers for safety and encouragement while on the field, organization of the trip including setting up trip plans and daily schedule, eyeglass donations and lens prepping, and more. The Hope Shawnee 4-H group is made up of Hope students (1-8 grades) plus children from the area that meet once a month. Six of the girls have purchased goats and have been working with them since April to show at the Johnson County Fair. Member Delaney also show in t