Utz utz!

(From Don)In the highlands where we go to serve, many of the people do not speak Spanish. We often need translators to communicate with the people. In the Mayan language Quiche, the word for 'good' is 'utz'. To say very good, you say it twice, "Utz utz!".

Last Sunday evening, we attended a church service at the home of one of the translators/preachers that we met on our first trip to Guatemala back in 2003, Armondo. He has recently felt led to start a church. The crude benches were arranged in his backyard. There was more Mayan than Spanish spoken (no English whatsoever). The worship was heartfelt, the prayers earnest, the sermon practical and life-giving. Sitting there, looking up at the stars during the service, I had only one thought, "Utz utz". Thankful for the time we could go and serve. Thankful for getting to see our Guatemalan friends. Thankful for the North American friends that were crazy enough to come down with us. Thankful to the Lord for my family and all he has blessed us with.

(From Lori) I also really loved the church service. We were with Duane and Leslie and Rachael Needham. The five of us sat way in the back on the peripheral of the whole gathering. The music had very traditional Guatemalan rhythms and almost everyone was dressed in traditional clothing or "traje". Armondo was teaching in their Mayan language of Quiche (with some Spanish thrown in). The whole scene just warmed my heart. I was also so thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to be a part of the service, for our time in Guatemala, for His hand upon us and for His presence that surrounded us. He is truly a good and faithful God.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us on our trip. Thank you to all of you who gave us support. Thank you for checking out what happened on our blog. It was a great trip.