Goodnight, Day 1!

We’ve been awake for twenty hours now and this blogger’s brain is a pleasant mush.  This wasn’t just a travel day, but a productive one as well.  We went directly from the airport to “lunch” (no idea what meal or what time it was) and then to the church to set up the clinic.  Our host church - Christo Rey Lutheran Church and Pastor Rudy, have been preparing for us, making room and accommodations.  Pastor Rudy must be one of Guatemala’s top influencers, because his Facebook post about the eyeglass clinic was viewed by 15,000 people! 😳  

Setting up the clinic requires staffing and sourcing five stations - Witness & Education, Nursing, Testing, Provisioning, and Fitting.  Most Ministries has the process down and we quickly unpacked our fourteen suitcases of supplies, arranged our stations, re-trained, and assigned ourselves to stations.  We expect tomorrow to be our busiest day, as more people will be off work and available to come.

Did you know that Guatemala’s culture places a high value on hospitality?  Hospitality is considered an important form of service and a common calling.  Katie explained that we need to be cautious of what we ask for, because those who are hosting and helping us will go out of their way to help, no matter how much of an inconvenience or burden it might be.

Do you know who else placed a high value on hospitality?  The Jews in Jesus’s time.  In the Bible, hospitality was a moral institution and a strong expectation for Jews in the Old Testament. It was rooted in the Torah, particularly in Genesis 18, where Abraham welcomes three strangers into his home with food, drink, and a place to sleep. Abraham is considered the paragon of hospitality in the Bible, and his actions are seen as proactive and generous

We kick things right off tomorrow with our first clinic at 9:00am.  That’s 11:00am at home, so we’d appreciate your prayers as we get started!

Goodnight from Guatemala!

P.S. John learned to tell a dad joke in Spanish.  B- for delivery, A+ for effort 😂😂