Summer Teams 2010

Guatemala '10 Photos

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hi-res promo shots

Guatemala 2010

Ken Simerly
Gloria Choi
Christina Tamai
Nicole Hostetler
Natalie Andino
Andre Vanderstoep

Laura Schuh
Elizabeth Lawrensen
Danielle Goeders
Jeremy Yang
Ankie Lin
Daniel Crespo

One last time...

Written by Laura Schuh Friday, 27 August 2010 12:42

Well, it has been just over a week since we said goodbye to Guatemala, but though this experience has come to an end I am thrilled to be able to say that the lessons we have learned through it have not ended. Since coming back from Guatemala I have really begun to appreciate so much of what God was doing there in and through my team. I know that I am not alone in saying that my life will be different now because of what I experienced with CTI in Guatemala this summer. It was so cool on debriefing day to hear all about how the teams, not just team Guatemala but team Mozambique and Honduras as well, were going to walk away from this summer not remembering what they had done, but what they had seen God do. And that of course is exactly why we do what we do, for the opportunity to see and experience God “doing” in and through us, and the people around us.

To everyone who spent so much time and energy to help give us this experience, God has truly blessed us through you, thank you for your prayers and support.
-Team Guatemala 2010

M-I-C (See ya real soon!) K-E-Y (Why? Because we love you!)

Written by Benjamin Hering Friday, 13 August 2010 07:26

Saquer! (For those of you who aren't fluent in Cakchiquel, a Mayan dialect in Northern Guatemala, that means "hello.")

We thought we'd check in after our latest excursion up to San Raymundo. We left last Sunday and got there just in time for the National Day of Prayer event that the YFC was hosting. We were amazed by how many people had gathered on a rainy afternoon to pray for the youth of Guatemala. There were two bands and five speakers from all over the country gathered to lead their nation in interceding for the youth. It was awesome.

The next day we had a chance to visit some families in a village near by to see how they make some of the goods we had seen in the markets. We watched the women you see in the picture here cut, strip and bend bamboo into beautiful baskets. It was fascinating to watch them work, and they were generous in explaining the processes and sharing a bit of their lives with us. In the four days were were there we played six concerts, most of them in schools. At every single one of the concerts we had an opportunity to pray with the students who had committed their lives to Christ, and that experience itself has been a blessing to us beyond what any of us had expected. We are now back in Guatemala City and gearing up for our last few days. **sniff, sniff**

We ended up without any concerts today due to some trouble with the vehicles, but we were not idle by any stretch of the imagination. We spent the day washing out recently repaired van and truck so that their exteriors fit their shiny new parts, and we also had some time to practice (a rarity while overseas)! It was a wonderful day spent together at "home." Tomorrow we have three concerts scheduled and only three more after that until we see you all again. Please pray for us as we strive to maintain our focus and learn about what we will do with the lessons we've learned and the love we've experienced while we have been here. We can't wait to see you all again and hear about what God has been doing in your lives in the last 5 weeks. Until then, we urge you, as we urge ourselves, to continue to live a life worthy of the calling you've received.

See you soon!

T-Guat

P.S. To the new FullTimers: WELCOME to the family!!!!! We are anxious to meet all of you and we are praying for you.

P.P.S. Honduras and Mozambique, it's been great to read your updates. We're praying for you too.

P.P.P.S. (Is that even possible?) The pictures you see here are from our trip to Antigua (the scenic outlook and cross), the women weaving baskets in San Raymundo, and one of the concerts we played there as well.

Update from Team Guatemala

Written by Benjamin Hering Thursday, 12 August 2010 08:48

Our Guatemala team has recently been travelling around the country, visiting the towns of San Juan Sacotupiquas and San Remundo. They were able to send this brief update of what they’ve been up to:

We had a really great trip! we played at a National Day of Prayer rally in a mountain town, then spent three nights in another mountain town and played at schools in the surrounding area. The family that we stayed with was awesome and so were all the people that we met. I'm sure you will hear all about it later but for now let me sum it up by saying one word "Mayan!!"

Tomorrow we had 2 concerts planned but now they have been canceled because of vehicle problems. So we will pick it back up on Friday with 3 more concerts. Having tomorrow off is actually quite a blessing because we have been experiencing a few equipment issues that we have had no time to look into.

Hope all is well. We are praying for you and the incoming fulltimers.

Shout Outs from Team Guatemala

Written by Laura Schuh Sunday, 08 August 2010 11:43

Queridos amigos y familia,
YFC is keeping us well fed, not working us too hard with about 2 concerts a day, and making sure we don't get sick by the constant rain. Thank God for them and I'm honored to be serving them. I've been thinking of you and listening to and singing songs that remind me of you to keep you in my heart. Dios les bendiga!
Love, Daniela

Hello friends and family,
All is well, all is dandy. See y'all soon! Love you all.
-Andre

Hola friends and family!
Things are going well here, we've been able to serve at many schools, churches, a few police academies, as well as here at the YFC. The YFC have been feeding us really well here, which especially makes me happy :) Even though its only been a couple weeks since we've been here, the team and I have grown oh so much in so little time. We're learning so much about each other, as well as God has been teaching us patience, grace, and especially servanthood everyday. We've currently played about 20 concerts and in those concerts we've witnessed to more than 5,400 people (mostly schools with 100-800 students). That number doesn't even include the number of people that we reached with the T.V. station concert (oh yea I forgot to mention that we played on T.V.!!! This T.V. showed in Guatemala, Honduras, South Mexico, and El Salvador!!!) Thanks for your continuing prayers and support, I hope to be able to tell y'all all about my many adventures here in Guatemala! [Charlene, Cheryl, and all the SWCBC youth/college musicians, this is an amazing experience...you need to audition!]
-En Cristo, Gloria
P.S. I have recently joined the M.B.C., the Mosquito bite on the Butt Club. :/

Hola mi familia y amigos!
God has been doing unbelievably amazing things! He has been teaching me patience, self control, and selflessness to an overwhelming degree. In the midst of playing for students, churches and police academies, our team has been growing closer in the Word and with each other as well as bring constantly reminded that it is not about the music but the message of the Gospel being shared. Continue to pray for health and safety as a team! Love you all!
M.B.C. members unite!!!

A Dios sea la gloria,
Christina Tamai

To all my Canadian friends/family!
God has broken down language barriers and used me through the prayers I make! God has touched my heart by making me reach others and by building my confidence in approaching others and worshipping HIM openly. I love my team [especially team M.B.C. ;) ] and I look forward to everything HE places in front of me! and to my beloved young sister: Happy Early Birthday SanSan!
Much love to you all! Keep me in your prayers y'all (this is for Gloria)!
-Ankie

Mommy, I love you and I miss your cooking. MUAH
- Natalie

Hey friends and family!
God has been so faithful and has richly blessed me again and again in the past week and a half. As our team has discussed we feel as if we have experienced the growth of years in weeks. God has been working in my life in some of the most unexpected ways. A few of the things I've been learning are:
-If I am lukewarm in my faith I will be spit out.
-Doing the Lord's work is so much more important than reaching musical excellence - even musical excellence will fall short if the joy of the Lord is absent.
-As I surender my plans, my intentions and desires and trade them to pursue God's will, am being overwhelmed with blessings of His peace, joy, and love.
Much love to all - from Guatemala to Iowa to KOREA -
-Liz

Dear friends and family!
This experience has been life-changing to say the least, and I can't say in just four sentences how much of God I've seen and learned about, through circumstances, His word, and these people He has placed me with. The biggest lesson I've learned is how much we all really depend on Him and it's really an incredibly humbling experience to have my voice completely depend on Him every time I sing (slash belt a high A over and over again), and to know that even when my voice doesn't pull through, God is still using it for His purposes and His glory. My team members have taught me so much about being joyful in service, being patient amidst annoying hindrances, and sacrifice on a daily basis. I really look forward to the rest of our stay here and seeing more and more of God each day; thanks for all your prayers, I look forward to seeing you all again and telling y'all all the details of God's work!
En el nombre de Jesucristo,
Jeremias

Dear Crespos and friends,

Words cannot describe my experience thus far with CTI, but I will try my best =/ God is doing some amazing things within me, my team, and in Guatemala city. I've learned so much about music-ministry and I continue to grow in the gift God has given me in conjunction with his word. Also, musically, we are really becoming really tight as a band. Although, I feel that one of the most important lessons we've learned is that the music we play is simply a vessel for the gospel in the many schools, churches, and other venues we play at. This has been an extremely humbling reality because I have found that it's not about me or us sounding good, but about God playing the music through us to spread his word. Keep us in your prayers, that God would give us strength as we are beginning to have some really long (3 concert) days. I miss you all so much and I'll be home soon.

Sincerely,
Daniel

Hello friends and family!!
I can't believe it's been two weeks since we've been in Guatemala. We've done about 20 concerts so far in many different places: schools, police academies, churches, TV stations even outside, on rooftops, and under tarps while raining. We've been playing a lot and I've been singing a lot. God has been amazing in taking care of me and our team. Thank you for all of your prayers and support; we can really feel the blessing of your prayers. :) God has been challenging me to share all of my life (not just the parts I desire to share) with others for His glory. He's also been teaching me to be patient to listen to Him. The bugs are not bothering me (thankfully, I am not part of the MBC yet: see Gloria's post). Please keep us in your prayers and continue to pray for God to lead and speak to me, our team, and the people we share God's word and message with. Mom and Dad, I love you and am doing ok. Joseph, I miss you and I am praying for you (side note: Fresca is called Lift here. I KNOW! Thank you so much for all of your support! I look forward to what more God will do!

Dios les bendiga (God bless you all),
Nicole

And to anyone who wants a shout-out but didn't get one, this one is for you! We've been pretty busy- playing 2-3 concerts a day this week- and loving our time here. Tomorrow we have a day off and are going to spend some time in Antigua just for fun before we head off to a more rural area for a few days. We'll be going up to San Juan Sacatepequez on Sunday for the National Day of Prayer and coming home on Wednesday, so stay tuned for more fun stories and pictures from that adventure. Thanks to all our dear friends and family who wrote us encouraging letters. They were such a blessing! Time is going fast, so we'll see you soon!
-Ken and Laura

P.S. To the Honduras and Mozambique teams, we love you and are praying for you!