Focused

A few people have straggled behind after the group meeting, some strumming on a guitar while others are chatting and laughing. Whatever we're doing, almost everyone is tired! It's been a long day of travel, with us meeting at the airport at 4:30 this morning and arriving at the Casa del Rey at 6 pm. To all you in Pittsburgh and the States, the time's about 11:00 but in Guatemala, the time is 9. So, even though we're two hours behind, it feels later.

The flights went fairly smoothly, meeting a few other missions teams and some friendly Spanish-speakers along the way. After loosing only one bag and a few delays while driving from Guatemala City to Chichicastenango, we had a filling dinner and then headed to a group meeting. After going over the schedule and more information, we had a chance to focus on what the trip's going to be about: God. Josh Sevick, our guide for the week, challenged us with this thought-
"We may be here to help those who are impoverished and to lift them up from some of their troubles, but the main focus of the week, the one concern that should be the focus of a short term missions trip is to give God the room to work in us. It is to allow God to teach us about Himself through the Guatemalans, to deepen our relationship with Him, to stop and listen to what God's saying.

So, that's the focus. Stop. Listen.

During worship, we sang a song that grabs this idea by the hand and lets it fly. We sang "Heart of Worship," saying that it's all about God and not just the song, the work, the teaching that we are offering to God.

I gotta go get some sleep. Tomorrow's a busy day and today was pretty full too. Thanks everyone for reading and praying!