Seek the kingdom

Recently we have been going through Matthew chapter 6 at our weekly worship gathering.  It’s a really practical passage and has challenged me to live differently.  One passage that I really would like to live out this year is Matthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”  We have seen God fulfill this promise as we seek his kingdom and his righteousness in Guatemala.  Of course we mess up, get distracted, homesick, and seek our own kingdom at times but we continue to “seek” his kingdom here and we see it before us daily.  Here are some ways the kingdom has been showing up.

We recently got to take a little family trip to Antigua and spend some time before the busy season of teams comes in February.  Yes, you can see the kingdom of God even when you take a little trip and some rest time.  This is in Parque Central at night.  Antigua has some really cool old cathedrals. The kids were so excited to get to swim, however we visited on a very cold week for here and the water was so frigid they really didn’t get to swim.  As you can see they were still up for trying it.  Daddy was not:).

Our hotel was close to a cemetery in town.  It was very beautiful to walk around.  

This one had all white tombs but usually Guatemalan cemeteries are way more colorful than this.  The all white made it very pretty though.The kids ( ok and the parents) were excited to eat at a Mcdonald’s.  I know what you are thinking but it’s nice to have something familiar every now and then. So we sought out the kingdom (of the golden arches).  And this is no ordinary Mcdonald’s or Old Mcdonald’s as the kids still call it.  It has a courtyard with fountains and they have waiters and waitresses who come to your table and wait on you.  

One of the reasons for our trip was to celebrate Ezra’s 3rd birthday!  What a fun and funny little boy he is becoming.  We love him so much.

After getting back from our trip in Antigua things have started picking up speed here in Panajachel finishing up some projects and getting ready for the teams to start arriving in February.

We finished the second floor on Isabella’s house in Jucanya.   Ezra came with me to the house dedication.  He was a little camera shy.

Taking photos from the roof made it a little difficult to get everyone in.  You can’t tell it here but Nick is leaning over an alley way to take this photo.

Neil made a friend with one of the little ones.  Of course they made a meal for us and Ezra chowed down.  We also went out and visited some families that needed to be checked on.

This is the family of one of our scholarship recipients for the year.  We went to check up on their living situation and give them some vitamins and other items to help with their health.

For some reason they had tons of Pigeons roosting in nests at their house.  They said they were for decoration.  They definitely were decorating things with their poop.

Nurse Betty does a great job making sure families have what they need to stay healthy.  She is a go getter and I am inspired by her compassion for others.

Right now is corn harvesting season.  Lots of folks harvesting and shelling corn right now.  But its done the old school way.

Another cool way in which I saw the kingdom of God show up was in a bed.  Olive Branch Church of God in Roann, IN donated money for a bed for David and Alberto Lopez.  

We delivered the wood and supplies to the bottom of the mountain.  David and Alberto along with others front the family met us at the bottom of the mountain to help us carry it all up.  

It’s a loooooong walk even without heavy stuff to carry but these boys made it look easy even with the extra weight.

Catarina and Juana lend a hand as well. Always a blast to see how excited they are to put together and get up on their new bed.  Thanks again Olive Branch Church for providing the funds to do this.

Abra and Ezra have been busy with school this year.  Here Abra is learning how to write an make numbers.  Ezra was doing a little of that and working on a sticker book at the same time.  Amber works super hard at teaching the kids.  This is where they have school everyday.  And last but not least we broke ground on a new house for 2014.  Catarino and Santa’s family will be our first house build for the year.  A family of 9 in Concepsion, Catarino has trouble getting work because of a problem with is feet.  Catarino recently gave birth to twin girls.

They sure are some cute kiddos!
Joe is always good with entertaining them on the job sites. 

This is currently their water source.  Can’t imagine taking a bath, washing clothes, and cooking with something like this.

Paulino is our Local foreman for this job site.  He lives in Concepsion so it makes it easy for him to get to the job site. 

Nick talks over the house plans with Catarino. 

Please pray for this beautiful family and the teams which will work on their house.  It is my prayer that we all will seek and find his kingdom in the process.  Hopefully even this blog can open your eyes to the little ways God kingdom is coming on earth as it is in heaven.