Traveling Buddies

This is the end of the journey with the boys that have ran around with us all day. It is sad to say good bye, especially to Jorge. Before we do, I must introduce you to my traveling buddies for the day Giles Blankenship, who is a wonderful worship leader and songwriter who travelled with his adorable wife Kelly to Guatemala, fellow North Carolinians and Jorge. Jorge is the product of Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, or should I say he is a yong man changed because he was rescued and transformed by Jesus. He was rescued years ago, off the streets of Guatemala and placed in Eliza Martinez. He is now in a Buckner Home that will equip him with all he needs to make it in this world. What he most wants to do is give back. I am so thankful God has a plan and a purpose for Jorge!!!

(picture is coming)

Homeward Bound aka Vista Real Bound

I left San Gabriel a little distraught. I was shaken to the core. I could not help but to think of my own son. How blessed he was. These boys, I don't know how to explain it but that they need HOPE, they need JESUS!!!!! Thank you for being willing to give shoes to the Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls Shoe Drive. It is because of you, that I went to be Jesus hands and feet to these young men. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

San Gabriel 11-18 year old boys

It had been a rough rocky road but we had made it. What is the first thing we see but a cow, malnourished none the less but a cow. It is a locked facility. They have to open the door for us to pull in to the compound. There are boys everywhere. They look at us, some out in the courtyard, some behind barred windows. Once in we found out that San Gabriel used to be a prison. It still had that feel to it. These boys, some jovial, some despondent and some simply not caring. It was a very sad place to me. I can't imagine the day to day existence of these boys. No matter what it looked like to me it was far better than the alternative. Living on the street with no one to call a family. At least here, for all intended purposes they were family.
For this moment in time we would be their family.
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No matter how old they were, they enjoyed the lesson, the crafts and the shoes. I didn't get any pictures of the shoes because I was on the lesson team this stop. We were there to share Jesus love and that is just what I did. The feeling in the pit of my stomach was of much distress. I just felt something in this orphanage unlike the other. There was despair here, the only thing that I have come close to comparing it to was one Saturday several weeks back, going in to the jail here to minister. That same hopelessness. That same despair. Jesus came to set the captive free. I pray that these young men will find Jesus and become free!!!!!!!!!

Off to San Gabriel

We were well fed and ready for our next visit. We were off to San Gabriel. One of the things that we were learning very quickly is that we all were out of our comfort zones. Here we were totally submitted to the process. New country, not knowing anyone and then there is the driver. I stopped very quickly checking out the speedometer. I just did not want to know how fast we were going!!

Coffee Time

Lunch was very good. We had not been able to get our currency changed over and everyone was in need of taking care of that small little detail. There were several banks around. They handle things at the bank a little differently than ours. There is a armed guard that lets you in and then back out, locking the door after each entrance and exit. You go in and take a sit until they are already for you. Looking at the little waiting area it could be some time before they got to us. We decided to go get coffee instead. Coffee, it was the best.

We were very blessed to have Lolly from San Marcos, TX with us. She was our interpretor to order coffee and that proved to be very helpful.

Lunch Anyone?

Our visit to Eliza Martinez was incredible!!! I think it was so much more than I could have imagined but it was just the beginning of our Shoes for Orphan Souls Missions Trip.
We left Eliza Martinez for lunch. Everyone speculated on what it would be. We were going to Pradera Concepcion. I looked that up when I received our itinerary and found that it was a mall. A mall that resembles ours in many ways. They have a Sears, many stores and of course a Food Court. What would a mall be without a Food Court. I am not the Queen of fast food so I determined to make the most of it. The great thing is that they have fast food that is there's alone(although I hear that they are now in Texas) Pollo Camprero. I was glad that our choice for lunch was Pollo Camprero, Subway or Domino's. You see, for me a part of going other places is experiencing the food that you can only get there. Why would I want to eat at a Subway or Domino's when I could have Pollo Camprero. It is a fast food chicken restaurant with a little different preparation and flavoring. Everyone that ate there thought it was good.

The guys in the picture were the young men that had once been in the Eliza Martinez Orphanage. All the others were those who had travelled from all over the US to go on the Shoes for Orphan Souls Mission Trip

Giving of Shoes at Eliza Martinez

The time had finally arrived. Our first opportunity to put shoes on the boys feet at Eliza Martinez. It is one of those things that unless you experience it for yourself you may not be able to fully comprehend the magnitude of it. Let's just say it was one of many of the highlights of our trip. After taking part in Shoes for Orphan Souls Shoe Drives for two years and now being able to see it full circle, now that is exciting. We took turns in going out in our groups to put shoes and socks on the feet of the orphans.

When they began to get the shoes out, I saw these camouflage tennis shoes that I just fell in love with. I so wanted to put those shoes on one of the guys feet. I went on about my duties and when it came my turn, the Lord so worked it out that the camouflage shoes were the very pair that I was able to place on the feet of one of the orphans.

God is so good!!!!!!

Day 1 Sept. 29, 2008 Our First Visit to the Orphanages

At approximately 9AM we loaded into a bus and a van for our journey in to one of the Guatemala Orphanages. Our first visit that morning was in just outside of the city of Guatemala. We took in many sights along the way. The city was bustling just as ours does. It was the same and yet quite different. When is the last time you followed a pineapple truck down the street? Traffic everywhere, bumper to bumper. We are on our way.

We arrived at the Eliza Martinez Orphanage for boys. Before I take you in, what you must know is that part of our orientation was not just meeting one another but also meeting some very special young men that had once lived in the Eliza Martinez Orphanage. They were thriving young men who are being equipped to give back, to make a difference in this life. What a wonderful way to begin. We were able to see that, yes, it actually makes a difference. God is making a difference through Buckner to change the lives of these forgotten orphans. Orphans, young boys, young men who will have a chance because of a pair of shoes and the love of Jesus was given not just once but daily. We just had the privilege of the one day making a difference because of His great love for us, we could love those boys. I will now give you a glimpse of Eliza Martinez and the boys that have been given HOPE!

Eliza Martinez

Everyone was glad to see everyone!!!!

John led our group in Guatemala. He was no

stranger to these orphans.

We met young men named Miquel, Oscar, so many other and then there was Norman. He is the little guy standing between Berta(Shoes for Orphan Souls) and one of the caregivers. We all thought he was so young to be in this particular home. Most of the guys were older. You know you go in knowing that this moment is all you have. Make the most of it. Give, love all that you can. You never think that you will be seeing any of these guys again but you never know what the day holds and the plans of our Lord.

Here you see Charles, my new friend, doing what he does best. He brought his camera and printer so that in every orphanage that we visited, we were able to leave them with a picture. You could say that Charles was the most popular guy there. Young or old, male or female, it didn't matter, they wanted their picture made and that was just what Charles did.

One of the things that we did at each Orphanage was to lead VBS. Each group had their own responsibities but the end result was to let these boys know just how special each one is to God, how special they are because He made them and that He loved them. We all enjoyed sharing the love of God with these boys at Eliza Martinez.

We all were looking forward to our next assignment. We were going to put shoes on these precious boys feet!!!!

Day 1, Sept. 29, 2009 Yum! Yum! Breakfast

After our morning stroll Charles and I went back to the hotel to a scrumptious breakfast. I know what you may be thinking, I am not so sure about that, knowing what a food snob I am, but it was absolutely scrumptious.Fresly made omelot, black beans (a staple at every meal), roasted potatoes, roasted mixed veggies, fresh fruit and I could never forget the coffee. The meal was not only delicious but the company that I had made it all the more enjoyable. Charles introduced me to a couple of his friends that came with the Texas group.
Pictured here is Charles, Pat and Lolly

After breakfast we prepared for the day by doing an in-country orientation and pack our bags for VBS. Everyone got acquainted with one another and our missions trip was officially under way.