By Team Member Lauren Altizer

The team hit the ground running yesterday with our first day of ministry at the Manos de Compasión campus. It was a day filled with love and acts of service. Some team members spent the morning helping with the pool repairs while others played with the children and served around the house. A few team members helped prepare an amazing lunch that we enjoyed while fellowshipping more with the children and the Reichard family. It was a wonderful morning of connecting and showing God’s love wherever we were needed.

After lunch, the real fun began with our first day of the water themed VBS. Approximately 50 children from the campus were able to participate. Day 1 was the story of the woman at the well and what it means to have living water. The kids enjoyed the acting out of the story but the crafts and games were the highlight. They had so much fun painting with Kool-Aid, tie-dying hats, and playing water games together. By the end, the kids were colorful, soaked, and full of joy. It was truly a blessing to love on the kids and serve them through the activities and time spent together.

The team ended the first day of service tired but blessed and was able to experience something new - Riding in the back of an open-air truck to the hotel! It was a different way to travel but a wonderful way to take in the surroundings. We spent the evening together at the hotel eating dinner and talking about the many blessings of the day. It was amazing to see the team come together and use their unique gifts and talents to fill in wherever was needed. We are so grateful for your support of our team and ask that you continue to pray for the team members, the children at the home, and the adults that serve them in country regularly. We don’t know how exactly God will move in and through our team this week, but we trust that he brought each member of this team to Guatemala for a specific purpose.