Guatemala – Day 3

Today we started off with the cooking school. There were a lot of items brought over to help the program, as well as a lot of work to be done in the room. The ladies and kiddos of the group worked on organizing and cleaning up the shelves, while the men built a pot rack to hang over the working space. They were able to get the pot rack built and hung and it looks great! Total cost of the project was about $25! There are still a few things to be done in the room before the class meets next, so we will be going over in the morning to finish up the work. And there is a nice gift for the school that will be presented at the next class. 

Later in the afternoon, we made a house visit to man named Caesar and his family. Caesar has a wife, two daughters and a son between the ages of 14 and 10. After this visit, it was evident this is a strong family that lives by faith. Caesar has been sick for 11 years and 9 months, 8 years that he has not been able to walk. The disease I believe he said he has is Ankylosing Spondylitis. It is a terminal bone disease that has caused his spine to fuse together causing tremendous pain and other health issues. This disease has spread through his body and is said that 95% of his bones have fused together. He takes strong doses of medicines but nothing really helps the pain. He said that through the years of trials his family has grown in their faith. He trusts that this is all part of God’s perfect plan and wants to continue giving God all glory and praise. He shared his story with us for almost 3 hours and in the mix quoted tons scripture. He has experienced a few near death experiences and still through it all he says he is blessed and looks to God for strength and comfort. I noticed he wears a bracelet that says, “Live everyday as your last day.” This man’s story is truly incredible. It was a long couple hours of visiting but so incredibly awesome to hear what he had to say and after letting is all sink in really sitting back in awe of this man’s inspiration. Not once did he complain or ask why, He smiled and countless times said he knew God had a purpose for it all. He would only allow God to receive glory and would continue to seek God and His Word for the wisdom, strength and comfort he needed … truly incredible!  

After our visit, we went into Antigua for a delicious dinner. Then back to Carlos and Thelma’s for bed!