The media man team has emerged from the Jungle

Hello all!!! Yes it is true Mike and I have finally made out of the Guatemalan jungle and are now in Belize with the team here. We saw some amazing stories in Guatemala while we were there. The team worked really hard and built 24 water filters for the local villagers of Ixcan (said ish-can). The locals were really impressed with the hard work that the team was doing, especially since the team is made up of 7 girls and 1 guy. (Were praying for you Jeremy)

More than anything it was just really awesome to see the relationships that were built with the local people of Ixcan. The president of the village even invited Mike and myself to come back to visit. We don't even have to bring our media equipment, he said.

The love of God has been evident all throughout our trip. The first night we arrived in Guatemala our contact shared with us the story of when Jesus healed the blind man by taking mud, mixing it with His own saliva, and putting it into the mans eyes. We are the mud in that story, he shared. Mud alone can do nothing, but when mixed with the saliva, the very essence of God, the mud was used to heal the blind man. This project is just normal people reaching out to other normal people. Nothing special about those involved, but when taken into the hands of Jesus, Miracles take place, blind eyes are opened, and light is shone where previously it was dark.

We have started filming here in Belize and have already seen some amazing stories taking place. We look forward to the days to come and we pray that it will quit raining on us so that we can film the work that is being done here.

Until next time, this is the media MAN team!!!

God bless

Update from Dominion Farms

Hello, all! We're finally here and getting settled in to the guest housing at Dominion Farms - which is incredibly nice.  One of the ladies cooks our meals for us and I can definitely say that all of our expectations have been met and exceeded in that regard.  The farm itself is beautiful.  After taking a tour via van/truck on Friday morning,  we proceeded to attempt to ride the bicycles that had been purchased for us.  Unfortunately, 4 of the girls were entirely unable to reach the pedals, and so their bikes had to be exchanged.  Now we all have bikes that work - provided we can get more comfortable riding them :) For some of the team it's been a while since bike riding was a common activity, but the skill seems to be coming back nicely.

This morning we attended the village church.  Mandy and I shared briefly before the sermon, and the entire team enjoyed some amazing worship before introducing themselves to the congregation.  I continue to be amazed, not only by the differences, but by the similarities in Kenyan Christianity and the churches I am familiar with in the states.  I think we are all realizing how much influence the American church has on the way the world views Christ and Christianity - in everything from theology to attire and style of preaching.  Even during our time here, our team has been exhorted to be extremely mindful of the example we are setting.  Not only do our words and attitudes matter, but our actions will be imitated and discussed long after we leave.  Side note - saw an MOG t-shirt today - just a little bit of ORU in Kenya :) 

Slow internet means small pictures, but I promise the rest are worth the wait!

Here we go...

While the guys are safely (and happily) settling down in Guatemala, Mandy and I are spending the night in Minneapolis and then heading out to Nairobi (via Amsterdam) tomorrow.  Our flight out of Tulsa was significantly delayed and so Delta issued food/hotel vouchers for our team, both Kenya teams, team Uganda, and the few others who waited out the entire 7-9 hours in the Tulsa airport.

Keep us in your prayers - teams are getting along really well, and we're going to make the most of this opportunity to get some good REST before the long journey to Kisumu.