The Least of These

One of the biggest lessons God taught me during the mission trip and since coming back is that, although the world considers orphans and widows (and others) the "least of these," I, myself am the least of these. I am full of all kinds of sin and need a Savior just as much as my brothers and sisters in Brighton, Michigan, the US, Guatemala, and beyond. We are all on an even playing field when it comes to our need for forgiveness and unconditional love. Our friends at Casa Bernabé may have deeper unmet physical and emotional needs; however, we all have a great spiritual need. I would even argue that we (my family) have greater spiritual needs because our pride and wealth cause us to feel that we can do this life on our own and not depend on God. We don't neeeed him for our next bite of food. We don't neeeed him for our shelter...I can pay my own mortgage, thank you very much. We don't neeeeed him for our jobs, school, etc..... There is something remarkable and awe-inspiring about the depth of the faith of those who own next to nothing. Our friends at Casa Bernabé are spiritually wealthy and we have much to learn from them about relying on God and surrendering to Him in every area of our lives.

Part of my journey this year has been through the reading of the following book:

I highly recommend it. It is applicable for EVERYONE living EVERYWHERE. I am grateful to the authors for sharing what they have learned over years and years of "helping people." They offer a humbling, new, biblical perspective.

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Day 1 - ¡Llegamos!

We are safe and sound and tucked into our beds at Casa Bernabe. It was a long day of travel but it was all worth it for the warm welcome of the children. There is so much love here. So many kids remembered my name and gave me hugs and it was the best gift I could ever ask for. Unfortunately, American Airlines did not process our group in a timely manner and 4 team members didn’t make it on our flight. It was a very frustrating experience, when we did everything by the book. We arrived at 2:30 for a 5:07am flight. Turns out they don’t open the checked bags counter til 3:30am. They had our group wait in a line (over 30 of us) and processed us one at a time…and they were in no hurry. By the time the last 4 got through security the door to the airplane was shut and there was no way they would open it. Please pray for our team members to be able to get some rest. They were able to get on different flights but won’t be arriving til 2am and then a 45 min drive here. I can’t imagine how exhau...

Day 3 - Projects

On day three the team started several projects. A lot of the men have been mixing concrete and preparing an area for laundry for a new pastor that will be living on campus. This is the first time Casa Bernabe has had this resource on campus and they are all so thankful! Caleb was helping run the electrical and plumbing for the washer and dryer. Another portion of the team got to paint the exterior of the school building. This is where Timmy chose to serve and I heard he rocked it! One of the house parents is on break and they were short a helper. I was so humbled and honored to be asked to help for the morning. I helped with dishes, held the cutest 12 month old, and entertained foul energetic girls outside so that there could be some peace in the house for a bit. We also bathed the baby and I was shocked when the “encargada” heated up the water on the stove, brought it to the bathroom, and mixed it with cold water to get it just right. So much work!!! I have an incredible a...

Day 2 - Church, Shopping, and Donations

We started the day by attending church here at Casa Bernabe. It’s always beautiful to hear the children praising God! We also heard a message about Barnabas (how Casa Bernabe got its name…Bernabe = Barnabas). After lunch, some of the team went shopping for our big New Years Eve bash (including me). Others organized the team donations and divided them into the 8 households. It is amazing to see the abundance God provided for the children and houseparents- everything from jeans and towels to bandaids and coloring books. After donations were sorted, it was time to hang out with the kids. Tim played a LOT of soccer (he’s sore today! lol). Hannah played with the girls and helped Caleb teach a group of younger boys how to play Dumpster Dice. He said the boys couldn’t get enough of it and they were all giving him hugs. He always worries about the language barrier and connecting with the kids so this was a real blessing for him. It also kept the kids busy to give the house parents time to get...

Guatemala 2025/26

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