Final Day: Guatemala Guys Trip

The day started at church with the transitional boys. The pastor led off with teaching about church history and used several verses in Acts and 1 Corinthians. He made the point that church has to be big enough to draw people in, but small enough to go deep. He spoke of community and its importance in our lives. Pretty cool that a preacher in Guatemala is preaching the very same thing that has been heavy on the hearts of several of the guys recently. After his teaching came worship music…there is something incredibly beautiful about praising God with people that speak another language than your native tongue. God’s children – giving honor and glory to our common heavenly father despite our different places of birth, culture and backgrounds. We got a small glimpse the united body of Christ. Incredible!

After lunch with the boys, we loaded the bus to go ride go karts and play paintball. It was hard to say who had a better time, the boys or Juan Grande. Between the bumping and crashing of go karts and the thudding sound of paint balls exploding on the wooden fort, it was a great time to bond with the boys and just play.

One of the most memorable and touching moments of the trip was getting to spend time talking with and encouraging the boys. We reminded them of God’s love for them and how much we care and pray for them even when we are not in Guatemala. For me, a first timer on the guys trip, it was amazing to see how God has formed such a unique relationship between these men and boys over the past several years. A separation of a language barrier and several thousand miles nearly goes unnoticed. There is no doubt that God is at work. These boys are getting formal educations, growing in the Word and being loved on by some amazing house parents. Their futures are so incredibly bright and we were all so proud of the young men they are becoming.

Glory to God, Glory to God,
Glory to God forever.

Day 3: Guys trip to Guatemala

This morning the rain broke as God answered our prayers in His timing. It raised our spirits as we started toward the Hogar Solidarios. A nuevo dia. Once there we unloaded the van to prepare for sports activities, but were told we would be limited to the smaller confines of the San Gabriel area as they were concerned about the boys getting wet if the rain/heavy mist started up as clouds were rolling in. We acquiesced and moved inside the walls of San Gabriel and began to break into our groups and before you knew it there were footballs, basketballs, frisbees and soccer balls flying everywhere. It was a joy to see the smiles and hear the laughter as most boys participated even though the playing area was limited and not conducive to the games we were playing. After about an hour, the staff allowed us to go out to the courts/fields as it became apparent it was not going to rain and probably because they thought someone was going to get hurt running post patterns around trees on the wet concrete.

We took breaks from the sports activities periodically to engage the boys in spiritual discussions. In our group, we referenced the prior day’s lessons of David and Goliath and discussed how God is preparing each of us for future purposes. We expressed the need for the boys to consider all that they are doing and learning and how it is preparation for their future. As the morning drew to a close and our time with these boys was coming to an end…each of us were using these last few minutes for discussions and goodbyes. It is always amazing to me how each time there will be one or two boys that God draws to you and breaks your heart over them and how you hope that they listened to what God put on your heart to tell them.

We then made the trek across the City to the San Cristobal area to meet with the Transitional Boys for lunch, devotion and then for a soccer. It was great to see these boys in a real home environment, to meet the house parents and tour the home. It was also great to get to hear the father, Alberto, give the devotion to the boys in Spanish as we tried to keep up with him on our English lessons.

After the devotion, we went to the soccer field to play a serious soccer match of United States versus Guatemala. The Transitional Boys were ready to play as they took the field and warmed up. We seemed a little apprehensive at first, but had an actual referee to keep us all in line. The game began and while we held our own for a few minutes, the boys began to make short work of us and we found ourselves behind by 4 or 5 goals at one point. We rallied for a time and scored some very good goals…our South Carolina connection, Scott and John, both scored very good goals…with Scott’s being the Goal of the Day as he scored from his own half. It would have been destined for You Tube if we only would have taped it. The boys enjoyed beating the Americanos once again.

We are all tired, but excited for another full day of ministry with the boys tomorrow.

Day 2: Guys trip to Guatemala

We awoke to steady downpour. As we sampled the local breakfast fare at the Vista Real, our group leaders prayed for clear skies. However, the rain intensified as our Devo ended. We soon realized we were once again headed for Plan B. Luckily we had been adequately trained to stay flexible (roommate has been stretching all morning in lobby). Upon arriving at the Hogar Solidarios, we unloaded the bus to what would later be described as a tropical depression because that was our moods as we stepped off that bus without rain gear. By the way, may need to consider cancelling shoe drive and just bring umbrellas.


Luckily the staff offered us a tour of the newly constructed facilities to help shelter us from the downpour. Our tour started off visiting San Gabriel where we were graciously greeted by the children. We got to observe the new bakery where the children were actively baking bread (btw these boys churn out 3000 manna per day). Then we trekked up the hill to visit the chicken farm, the prevailing wind did not give us fair warning that their small enclosure housed over 160 chickens providing approx 180 eggs/day. Then it was off to the infant/children's housing where we were all deeply touched by the personal connections each of us made with these truly special children of God. The overall size, cleanliness, and friendliness of the staff made a profound impression on us all. Despite our strong desire to get on with our previously planned outdoor athletic events, the rain is now horizontal! So once again we improvised by taking kids indoors for story time. The first story was that of David and Goliath narrated by Tim Clay and acted out by Juan Grande (Goliath) and Gato Cato (David). Juan went down like a ton of bricks to the laughter of over 40 boys. The second story was of the prodigal son as told by Juan Grande. The kids related to this story as relayed to us during our individual group time. Luckily the heavy stuff had yet to come down as we boarded the bus for lunch. We used our break wisely to grab a quick lunch. Fortunately we were at a mall, but unfortunately, we were a little light on the "Q's" to purchase any substantial rain gear.

Undeterred, we were now on our way to the CTC in San Jose Pinula. Just after arrival we got the break we had been waiting for...rain lightened to a drizzle! Immediately, 6 of us were drawn into a game of street soccer on the empty lot adjacent to CTC guarded intensely by 2 large rooftop dwelling German German Shepherds. After a quick defeat, the gringos rallied off several wins before succumbing to rain and "altitude" induced exhaustion, not to be confused with out of shape post prime soccer wannabes. Meanwhile, the rest of us where setting up day 2 of the cosmetology clinics for the CTC girls. We quickly learned that blue nails where all the rage. We retold them the story of the prodigal son (made sure they understood girls are forgiven too). They colored pictures of their favorite aspects of the story...not sure the translation came through adequately as they all drew pictures of pigs. Moral to story: if God sends rain and you pray for rain to be held off and then it rains even more, this could be a subtle hint that our plans are not always His plans. Group consensus was to go with Plan B before locusts, frogs, and all the previously aforementioned rain turned to blood.

As we finished the day with dinner back at hotel, we learned a valuable lesson: it is not necessary to use the phrase "grande" when ordering the dinner soup portion. As we debriefed over dessert, we were reminded that God places hope in some of the most unexpected places. Work here has been extremely rewarding to us and we know that tomorrow will bring new opportunities to share God's love to these often forgotten children.

In case you haven't figured this out yet, the team rookies were ordered to do this blog. til tomorrow...

Men, Boys & Sports

I am blessed to be a part of the 6th annual guys trip to Guatemala this year. God has assembled a great crew of men from Texas, Missouri, and South Carolina, all fired up to spread the love of Jesus to orphan boys. The day started at the big government orphanage Hogares Solidarios where the team held a sports camp for about 60 boys (out of 600 children that live there). As soon as the team arrived and stepped off the bus, we were greeted with hugs, highfives, daps, and smiles. Excitement was written all over the faces of these kiddos. Moments later the yard was filled with infectious laughter, the thudding of soccer balls being hurled toward goalies, and the whisp of kickballs zinging over the heads of chasing infielders. After a few hours of controlled chaos we all settled down and listened to Juan Grande tell the story of the lost sheep, and relate it to how much Jesus loves and cares for every single one of the boys. As a rain shower moved in, we finished up, said our good byes for the day and made our way to the San Jose Pinula CTC (Community Transformation Center). There we were greeted by a gracious staff and about 50 girls and boys. Although the rain kept us from playing sports outside, we turned to plan B, which involved a glorified game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, painting fingernails, and teaching English to the children. What a blessing to be able to be a part of God’s ministry today!
-Chris Cato

Interns in Kenya

Last week was our last week with the kids at the Seed of Hope and it was so hard to leave them because they were the most precious kids literally I have ever been around! On the last day we were there, we gave them a goodie bag with toothbrushes and toothpaste and a bar of soap. Robert, the social worker at the Seed of Hope, gathered all the kids together for an assembly so we could talk with them and give out their gifts. I said "I am sorry this gift is really small.." because if I were a kid, I would have been super disappointed thinking I was getting some super cool present then opening it and finding toothbrushes and soap. But, these kids seriously could not have been more excited!! Robert said, "What is small to you is big to us." Which kind of made me feel like a jerk for undermining what is important and of value to them, however, I am so glad that the toothbrushes and toothpaste were the highlight of their day. Some of the kids were even fighting because some kids got a "bigger" bar of soap than they got. Victor was really sad because he got a travel sized soap and some other kids got a regular bar of soap. Allie walked him to his room to put his new goodies in his cubby and he pulled out a special case for his soaps and put the little soap in. So, I luckily found some extra big bars of soap and brought it to him and his face lit up! Also, I was walking by one of the houses and several of the teenage boys had already opened their toothbrush and toothpaste and were already brushing their teeth with it.

It was so cool to see the excitement they had over something that is so small to us and the gratitude they had. When I was a kid or a teenager, I would have NEVER been very excited if someone gave me tolietries for my birthday or Christmas. This experience made me put that into perspective that a. I have too much "stuff" in my life and b. I need to be WAY more thankful for the small things in life that I take for granted, but it a treasure to others. Therefore, next time you go to the store, be excited for the toothbrush and toothpaste you buy and thank God for giving you the ability to buy the small things in life that we normally take for granted.

Robyn Bailes

First Baptist Church Amarillo in Russia

You know, it’s interesting. Sometimes you go to a place to do one thing, and you end up doing another and completely forget the first thing that you went there to do. Like going to Home Depot. Home Depot is distraction central for men - the mecca of (AMADHD) adult male attention deficit disorder. You go in for the gas additive for your blower and you come out with a new weed eater, some weed & feed, light bulbs, a non-specific tool and at least one thing that requires batteries. What you don’t walk out with is the thing that you went in there to get in the first place. The good news is that you get to go back in there to get the priority item and the bad news is that you just might do it again. Rinse and repeat.

What I have learned, once again, is that sometimes you can do almost the opposite. You go somewhere to do something and you leave something behind. Then, you know that you must go back to retrieve said item, get so overwhelmed, you leave something else. The odd thing is that what you leave is never replaced, and what it served cannot be made whole again. It’s like gambling (so I am told); you put money down, lose it, bet more to get it back, and lose even more. Stay there long enough and you’ll lose the whole shebang. And this is what has taken place at camp 40.

Day three is usually one that you can depend on to be stable. It’s day three. You have not been there long enough to have an issue, and you have been there long enough to have a general idea of what is taking place. But, apparently, day three has a sneaky side; something that lies in wait along the trail, a booby-trap, a sabot (look up sabotage) something that penetrates and robs, something that hurts. A lot.

We had reversed our schedule to allow kids at camp 40 (the young camp) to have their bath day. But before the bath, they play on the beach. So we met them on the beach, literally. We arrived a little after 9 and they were heading across the road, moving like an undulating line of whities-tighties with little white bodies and the international symbol of plumbers wiggling and squiggling across the road. So cute, so innocent, and so possessive of our souls and hearts. We spent the next 90 minutes playing on the beach (not the surf) with our kids. Those that we had adopted into our hearts and those that had adopted us. Running, rolling, hearing Russian and answering in English and depending on smiles and inflection to speak louder than words.

The camp director approached and pulled me and Ishy aside. She looked ... distracted. With discomfort on her face and pain in her voice, she lanced my soul with her words. “Today must be the last day.” I couldn’t even think of a response. “What?” is a word uttered when you are looking to clarify the grocery list, not something you utter when a world is collapsing. Not “the world”, but a world. A world of love and grace. Where children love with a purity unmatched in our world. The state inspectors were coming and we couldn’t be there.

When we are with these kids, strange things happen. Time stops, reality dims, your focus sharpens. I could only imagine this is what a race car driver feels ... right before he rolls the car and gets ejected into a pile of burning glass. Honestly. My first reaction was to not fall down. My second was having to figure out how I was going to tell the team. I called for them to listen and then stared at the sand. I hoped the big robot spider from Transformers was going to jump up and kill me. He didn’t. Coward. So, I did what I am supposed to do - I told the team that this was it. They had 10 minutes. It was a hateful thing to have to say and I hated saying it and ...

They each scooped “theirs” up and began to weep. We said goodbye, watched the undie train snake back across the street and ... they were gone. So we all went our separate ways to process and then headed towards the bus to take our shattered hearts back to the hotel.

I ache. My heart, my head, my body. This team is ... wow. They are all wow, but this one has something different. We’ve had our Currahee, and now we have faced our “Day of Days.” Friday will be our Bastonge.

To finish the thought, we came to camp 40 to pick up what we had left last year. The year before that to do the same. But somehow, the price of admission is greater than that which is collected. I keep coming back to the table to pick up the pieces of my heart and I keep losing that bet. So if you happen to be walking along the Gulf of Finland, near where it is cool and green and the voices and laughter of children echo amongst birch and evergreen, look to the sand. Run your foot through its course grains and search hardily ... for you may find that which I long for. My heart.

David Watterson

First Baptist Church Amarillo in Kenya

One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of our time in Kenya is the intimate encounter with extreme poverty. We've reconnected this week with Alice, a single mother of three. A tiny woman, Alice must carry her severely disabled child, Morgan, everywhere. Morgan has what is most likely an extreme case if cerebral palsy. Alice is raising two other children under the age of ten. Alice has no education and no job, and basic survival is a major struggle. Cynthia got to know Alice last year and learned that the family had no food and that Alice was suffering from despair. Cynthia prayed with her and gave her scripture to read, and our group gathered what snacks we had for a few day's worth of food. This year Cynthia talked with her after she saw Dr. Bechtol, and she was doing better. She shared that her community was helping them with food and even providing school fees for her daughter. It is hard for us to imagine her future, as Morgan gets too big for her to carry. Join us in praying for her and the children. In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul describes our present sufferings as leading to a "weight of glory." Though it's hard to imagine her lowliness and suffering in this life, we live with the hope that one day Alice and her children will be magnificent, indeed.

Jeff Raines

Interns in Peru

How do you know when you can trust someone you just met?

Nino Jesus de Praga is a new home that was only built a couple of months ago. It is a small group of 21 amazing, beautiful girls ages 6-11. This was the first time that Buckner has been in this home and we were very excited and interested to see what was in store for us.

Since we were new, the girls had to test their boundaries with us. The first couple of days it was a little difficult to get them to cooperate with the activities and they were not as touchy with us like the other children were at other homes and we came home exhausted, but certainly not defeated. With the help of our awesome Buckner leader we put our trust in God, filled our hearts with love and came up with a list of very fun activities. We went in the third day and the atmosphere had changed. They were so happy we came and gave us kisses and hugs right when they saw us. They even knew the drill: song, story, bible verse memorizing and craft. Our schedule is for us to leave at 4:30, but the past couple days we have had so much fun that we find ourselves saying just 10 more min....15 more minutes and next thing you know were leaving around 5:30.


So the question I propose is how do you know you can trust someone you just met. The children we are meeting in these homes see new people all of the time. People are in and out of their life like the weather changes. The other interns and I first did not know if these girls were just uncooperative girls who did not like us or what? That was not the deal at all. As we started to talk to our leader and understand what was going on, we realized that they had to see if we were ok people. When we demonstrate God's love not with just words, but with actions it will shine through and that is what happened in this situation. These are the sweetest and most adorable girls and we have been very fortunate to be able to spend our last week with them here in Peru.

It has been so cool to be able to go to so many different homes this month. People keep asking me the question, "Jamie, What is your favorite home?" and honestly there is no one I could answer. As one intern had put it so perfectly, each home has its own flavor. Each child is different and special in their own unique way.

Peru, you have changed my life forever.
- Jamie

Interns in Kenya

We have been having an AMAZING time in Kitale, Kenya. We have been spending most all of our days of ministry at the Seed of Hope orphanage and school. We have fallen in love with the children there and each of them are a blessing to our lives. Last week, we got some horrible news that one of our favorite boys at the orphanage is suffering from AIDS. It has hit us really hard because this boy is the most precious, caring, energetic, sweet boys we know. He is 9 years old and was born with this horrible disease.

Since he is so young and innocent, it has been making us question what God's purpose is for a young boy to have such a disease. We have been constantly praying for God to give us answers and to heal him. Isaiah 55:8-9 gives us hope by saying "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Here God is telling us that our lowly selves cannot even fathom what his thoughts are. Habakkuk 1:5 also gives us hope by saying, "Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told." Therefore, these verses give us hope by knowing that his plan for us is FAR GREATER than anything we can imagine and we have to trust in his plan and provision for this little boys life.

Please be praying for this little boy and that God will do his will with his life. Pray for a miracle that he can be cured of this awful disease.

Robyn Bailes

Interns in Peru

This week we're at Sagrada Familia, a children's community for about 730 kids. Over the past few days with the kids, we've talked about how God has taken care of Noah, Moses and David and that God takes care of them also. God's provision is so evident in all he has done at Sagrada Familia.

This home began with a single child when the director Miguel offered his own home to a little boy he saw on the street. The boy soon brought more of his friends to live with Miguel, and from there, Sagrada Familia began. It's grown quite a bit since then, and Miguel still refuses to turn any children away. It has been awesome to see how God has provided for each and every child no matter how many come to live there.

We've had a great time getting to love on these kids, but it has been even more amazing to see the love they show us. As soon as we walk in the door, we are greeted by countless hugs and shouts of "Hola amiga!" They are always so excited to play, sing and listen to stories, and their excitement and joy is contagious. Each day, we can't wait to show God's love to these little ones and see his love in a new big way through these kids we are spending time with.