Guatemala 2025/26

 ¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO! Time for PARTY PREP!  This year our menu was pulled pork, mac 'n' cheese, coleslaw, and an Oreo pudding dessert. Everything was delicious, but to be honest the dessert was almost a huge disaster.  We were supposed to be able to get it ready in about 3 hours or so.  Um, not so much.  Ingredients are a bit different in Guatemala!  First, we discovered that the pudding mix was actually flan mix, which is quite a different texture (more gelatin-like).  Next, when we read the directions it said it had to be boiled on low to medium heat until thickened.  Well, there's this other difference at Casa Bernabé called altitude.  Everything takes longer (or doesn't work) at a higher altitude.  After 2 hours of stirring we had burnt pots and pudding the consistency of chocolate milk.  To say I was freaking out would be an understatement.  In a last ditch effort to save the dessert, we stuck the pots in the freezers and hop...

​We weren't sure if we'd have the opportunity to serve in a local village called Jocotillo this year, but one of our leaders made it happen!  It was a privilege to serve the hungry.  Thanks to the generous financial support of so many people, the team was able to provide $4000 in corn, beans, rice, sugar, and salt.  Thank you, God, for providing food for the hungry. We estimate that we passed out about 300-400 bags of food.  Each bag included 5 pounds of corn, 5 pounds of beans, 3 pounds of rice, a small bag of sugar, and a small bag of salt (if my memory serves me correctly). This should feed a family of four for about 3-5 days. Keep in mind that this may be the ONLY food this community has access to for a while.  Also, most do not have an easy way to boil water (or access to water) so cooking the food is a huge task in and of itself. The majority of the community in Jocotillo works picking pineapple.  We were told that working sun up to sun down would ear...

​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...

​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...