Lollipop & Pearls: More Guatemala and "Moore" Guatemala!

Following a fabulous end to Antigua with Monica and her parents, Mayra and Jose (we hosted Monica 2-years ago as a foreign exchange student) at a delicious meal at santa Domingo hotel and restaurant (a former convent) and a tour of the San Franciscan convent, we headed back to Sandy and Raul's house. This is my Guatemalan family, whom I love dearly: Sandy, Raul and their 3 incredible children: Stefi, Isabella and Hector!

Truly Sandy is my dear, dear friend~ a beautiful lady with a love of and passion for students from Guatemala studying in the States...AND...a heart and love for teenage and young women who need guidance. She loves the Lord and spends her life serving Him and serving others!

Volcano view from Sandy and Raul's house

This morning we went straight to my sweet friend, Lissette's, house to unload our luggage. We will remain in her home until we return to our own homes on Friday. Lissette's son, Daniel, was the first Guatemalan student we sponsored through the FACES Program, 3-years ago. I stayed a night with his mother and him when I came to Guatemala for the first time in 2007. Lissette is a woman after God's own heart, who, though separated from her husband for over 15-years, is standing firm in her belief for the restoration of her marriage. She loves to teach the Word, work with children, and has an intercessor ministry in her home weekly, to pray for her country and it's government, to pray for specific needs of friends and family, and to pray for the unsaved in the Church.

We met at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center in Guatemala City this morning. First thing we did was tour the facility, followed by a lengthy planning session with artists from Guatemala and the States. After breaking for lunch, we began the process of drawing and painting murals on the walls, beginning in the courtyard and moving into the cafeteria area. (During our meeting, Allison (Executive Director of the Shalom Foundation in Franklin, TN., that built this center) asked me to pray following her prayer. Then she said she was going to call on someone to lead devotional on this, our first day, and they did not know they were going to be asked! Guess who! MOI! "Thanks, Allison", I said. "You're welcome", she replied, seemingly unaffected by my embarassment from crying. So....she prayed, then I prayed, and became a mess before I even completed the prayer. With mascara running down my face along with...well, I wasn't going to say it, but you just said it to complete my sentence for me, so I will say it...snot!...There!...I began by reading Jeremiah 29:11, and cried like a baby. After apologizing profusely, I started talking about the tapestry the Lord has been weaving in all our lives in that room since many years ago, and all of us were completely unaware of it happening....lips quivering, I COULD NOT TALK! Now, I know that surprises most of you reading this, but give me a break every now and again, ok? So, I looked at my friend, JJ (Jennifer) and said, "Would you please take over and talk about what we were discussing last night about the tapestry God has been weaving...", looked up and she was a cryin', too! WOW! I guess the Guatemalans thought we were a bunch of babies! No, they did not! The sweet acolades they spoke to us, and the sincere words of thanksgiving for us coming to help, just seals the deal for me.

Mayan and poor Guatemalan children who need, but whose families cannot afford, to have surgery, will be able to come to the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center and have free surgery, be given free medications, and free follow up visits. This will be provided by both Guatemalan and American doctors. THAT, my friends, is the Gospel in a nutshell! THAT is the Kingdom of Heaven...on earth as it is in Heaven...THAT is Jesus with skin on, and words alone cannot express how honored I am and how priveleged I feel to be a small part of this process.

So, below are photos of the first floor only of the center (with photos to follow of the upper 2 floors and our progression of painting). We will all work together on the 2 big murals tomorrow and hopefully get them complete. If not, we will finish them up on Tuesday. Then we will disperse to different areas to paint our own things on recovery room walls, consultation room walls, chapel, waiting area, etc. So, please stay tuned for more to come...and thanks for stopping by. Please share this with your friends, as I am looking for as many people as I can find to stand in the gap with prayer for these precious people!