One Heart: Advancing the Love of Christ to Guatemala

From Jen and Aaron

paulbickford — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:55:26 +0000

In Jeremy and Gary’s Gospel-sharing station, they had a man (Juan) whose hands were “locked”. It was hard and took strength and pain for him to open them. They prayed and prayed for his hands and as the prayer went on more team members came and prayed. It took eleven prayers to find out God had a different plan for Juan. Tears streamed down his face as he saw we were not giving up. I think today’s experience changed his life. God didn’t heal him today but I know that day will come when he won’t have to worry about his hands being in pain anymore. Today gave him hope and faith that God is so real. Not only real; but powerful, great and sovereign. This was disappointing to a few of us seeing that God had something else in mind, but He is still just as great, powerful, and indescribable as He was before. It was nerve-racking to see the enemy attempt to put something else in our mind such as, “He didn’t listen to you…” “You’re not worthy enough for God to answer your prayers”, and LIES like that. Then God reminded us that we did see a great number of miracles today and throughout this week! He decided this would not be one of them. Juan is in His hands and is still being lifted up in prayers for healing. It would be greatly appreciated if you joined us.

There were so many more things that happened today with God’s power working through us. I/we learned this week that God wouldn’t work through us if we weren’t available. It was obvious that we all opened our hearts to Him and let Him work through us to lift up and heal His children. We all can’t wait to tell more astounding stories that happened through the week. Goodnight! God bless! ~ Jen Tulka

Wow! What an amazing trip we have had! I can’t believe it’s already time to go… God has done some amazing things this week from starting relationships with Him, to healing the sick and weak. Praise God!

Before I came on this trip I had a sharp pain in my wrist. I was starting to think that I was going to be unable to do half the things that I would’ve been able to do with my wrist. Being the great man he is, Dr. Hermann Alb, asked if he could pray over my wrist. Sure enough, the next day it was completely healed. Before that I was always thinking to myself that healing the broken and the hurt could not happen. I apparently was wrong and God showed me that miracles could happen no matter what. I have a whole new perspective on Him and I could not be more blessed.

Can’t wait to see everyone!!

- Aaron Schroeder

Thursday Night (late)…

paulbickford — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:04:55 +0000

Hi everybody. Its 1:41am your time, 11:41pm Guat time. We have had such a wonderful two days. We’ve seen some pretty amazing things. Healings, kids ministering powerfully to villagers and each other, prayer warriors being forged, evangelists being called. I’ve seen kids pray boldly whom I would have had a hard time imagining doing that before this trip. Paul

We started off our day with a devotional lead by Paul because Herman had to attend a meeting. We were all like oh ok… we’ll see what he says. Amazingly it became the sermon who changed lives (including mine). It was about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego’s faith. Paul gave us a whole different perspective of who our MIGHTY, AWESOME God is. This was a great way to start off our last day as we headed to the village. Today has been filled with joy, healing and GOD’S POWER! Today, was I think one of the most powerful days God blessed us with this week. So many miracles happened through us it was almost unbelievable. It is late so we will share our stories of miracles and new faith tomorrow! Know that all are safe.

Goodnight! God bless! ~ Jen

Just a reminder that you will need to pick up your kid(s) at the airport.

Delta Flight # 456 arrives in Atlanta at 6:10pm. Plan on at least two hours to get through customs and the airport. I believe Cathy sent out more details.

Hi Friends,

paulbickford — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:00:03 +0000

We just pulled into the MMM house after a long drive. We are exhausted, dirty and hungry, but in great spirits! God showed off over the past couple of days. We’ll post a longer blog in the morning (after a good night’s sleep). We just wanted to tell you that we made it back safely and have been used by God in some pretty cool ways. We’ll write again tomorrow. God Bless!

Paul for the team.

Sunday & Monday Start

paulbickford — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:44:50 +0000

Sunday was awesome with praise and worship at a church in Antigua. We attended a service for the adults and participated in the young adult ministry. You could feel God’s presence as we worshiped, listened and participated in both English and Spanish throughout the service. Our team lead the music. Guatemalan kids listened as we sang the first two songs in English. It was very cool how the kids jumped to their feet once we put the lyrics up in Spanish and Jordan and Caleb lead them in their own language!

We were unable to go to the orphanage due to problems with weather, traffic and schedules but it is not our plan but God’s.

A few kids had small stomach issues yesterday but praise God that all are healthy this morning and ready for to our trip to the villages near Lake Atitlan about 3.5 hours west of Guatemala. We will be spending the night in two different villages so we will be out of touch for the next few days. Please continue to pray for God’s blessings. Awesome things are happening here.

Dave for the team

Sunday Morning

paulbickford — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:31:29 +0000

9 am Eastern, 7am Mountain…The mission house is alive with the sound of breakfast being prepared, the chipper (and industrious ) sound of students’ voices in the kitchen. People moving in and out of the bathrooms getting ready for church. I think most everybody slept well last night after a day in the market that felt a lot like the one hunting trip I’ve been on. Tracking down purses, soccer jerseys, bible covers and other wily game in the shadow of the volcano. When we got home we moved into the new mission house and had some great Guatemalan fare. Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and sweet tea.

We had one student lose their lunch during dinner…she felt one hundred percent better shortly after.

Later in the evening we split up into a guys’ group and a girls’ group. It was a powerful time of ministering to one another in truth and vulnerability. God really moved.

We’ll all be heading out for church 45 minutes from now, then lunch at Chili’s, home to change and time at the orphanage. I’m excited about the prospect of seeing this team minister to the children at Casa Para Ninos and seeing Casa Para Ninos chip away at some of the entitlement we’ve carried with us from North Fulton, East Cobb and South Cherokee. (All pointing fingers are aimed at me.) We will be sure to take some pictures at the orphanage and post them on the blog tonight.

Thank you for your comments and prayers we read them and LOVE them so much. Andy and Libby we miss you and love you. (Andy, I bought you a sword…don’t tell mom.

Blessings from the shadow of the volcano.

Paul for the team

PS I miss the rest of my FBC One Heart family. See you soon.

The End of Day 1

paulbickford — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:16:22 +0000

Well goodnight everyone. We’ve reached the end of day one here in Guatemala (that makes it sound as though it is peaceful and quiet as all the kids are heading to their beds…HA!!!!). We have had such a great day together as a team! Normally our first day here at the Mission Center is just kind of a hang-out and do nothing time with all of the “God Stuff” coming later on in the week. That is definitely not what we had today! We just wrapped up a night of fellowshipping with the group that has been here this past week. They’ll be heading back to Atlanta tomorrow and have had such a tremendous time here in Guatemala. As is the custom here, they’ve been praying for the team that would be following them (us!). Normally the paths of the two teams don’t cross, but because of a little “scheduling” issue, we got to have the privilege of being prayed over in real time. It was awesome! We shared dinner and then our kids led in praise in worship. You would all be sooo proud of the way our students lead us into the presence of God. The Spirit of the Living God was palpable in the room and in the hearts of His people. We ended by sharing communion together. What a perfect night!

We’ll be heading into Antigua tomorrow sometime around lunch for our market day. It promises to be a good day of team building and relaxing a little before our “Ministry Days” begin. But make no mistake, after our evening with Jesus tonight, we won’t let any opportunity to walk alongside him pass…”Ministry Day” or not!

Wish you were here.

Paul for the team.

A Few Pics… :)

paulbickford — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 02:58:41 +0000

Safe and Sound at MMM

paulbickford — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:18:36 +0000

We are here! The trip went amazingly smooth. No lost passports, adults or kids. Checkin, our flight, customs in Guatemala and the ride to ministry center could not have gone better. God is at work and we are ALL so excited to be here. Thanks for your prayers for safe travel and the great things to come. No doubt this trip will leave an impact beyond our knowledge or imagination.

We will keep you posted on how God moves Guatemala and our team.

God Bless, DC

Guatemala 2011

paulbickford — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:36:07 +0000

Thank you for checking out the One Heart Guatemala 2011 blog site! We are a team of 29 students and adults who will be serving in Guatemala over the week of July 15-22. We will be working with MMM (Medical Missions Ministries). We will be traveling with a team of doctors and translators to several villages in order to care for the needs of the people in those places. Please be sure to check these pages often, as we will be updating the information on them regularly. Thank you for your prayers, comments and support! They all serve to encourage our team greatly!