Hola from the interns here in Guate! Pour yourselves a drink and pull up a seat because the everlasting memories of the past week from our group of wonderful interns are about to begin. First, we would like to praise God for putting this desire into each of hearts, this is the first Buckner summer internship for six out of the seven in the group, so the sheer thought of not knowing what to expect flooded the conversations at the table during orientation on Thursday in Dallas. But with that also comes the reassurance that we are His children and He would be with us throughout this trip. Two of the interns, Anna and Jenny were already in Guatemala, due to the two month internship through an organization that partners with Buckner known as GoNow. So the rest of us got to meet and hang outThursday night/Friday morning. Our flight time to leave for Guatemala was at 5:45, but due to a rain delay we had to sit on the plane for about an hour before the weather was clear enough for us fly out. Fortunately, the rain delay has really been the only "complication" we have had thus far.
The first week we traveled to Xela (the X in Xela is pronounced like you are using a sh...so maybe something like shay-luh?) Xela is about 4 or 5 hours away from Guatemala City, which is where the Buckner Office is located. We part
nered this week with First Baptist from Lubbock, Texas. We are definitely going to miss the whole team. They accepted us as part of their group right from the start, and we were able to serve and worship God just as he intended. Upon arriving in Xela on sunday we did not waste any time getting to the orphanage. We unloaded our bags at the hotel, grabbed our supplies and headed out, and by supplies I mean water balloons, water guns and swimming pools. What better way to start the week off than with a water fight? So Sunday we just played and hung out with the kids for a couple hours and then headed back to the hotel to prepare for the week. First Baptist Lubbock brought the itinerary and supplies, and we just hopped in where needed. Monday through Thursday we were able to love on the kids via VBS curriculum. A few of the highlights outside the curriculum were Monday night we got to serve dinner to the kids, Tuesday night we got to tuck the kids in bed (aka amazing), and Thursday night we were able to throw a going away party for the kids. First Baptist
Lubbock bought every kid a happy meal from McDonalds. On top of all of this the greatest part of the week was that Jerry Ramirez, the missions director/ youth pastor from First Baptist Lubbock baptized 31 kids on Thursday. That's right...31!!!! What a week!
We thank you God for choosing us to be your hands and feet. So many more stories to tell, if you are reading this then I am sure you will get a chance to hear much more. No telling what next week will bring, we are going to be serving by ourselves so keep us in your prayers. In the mornings we will be working in one of the public schools, cleaning/ hanging with the kids, then in the afternoons working in an orphanage known as the City of Children. More stories to come in due time. We miss you all so much!!! Keep praying for us!
Adios
-Brandon Booker
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