by Gladden Lawrence

Day 4 – In ChiChi –Today was one of those days that’s hard to describe. After a day and a half of building stoves, a group of us trekked on foot around the mountain village, going from house to house, blessing the newly constructed stoves with the pastor from the United Methodist Church of Paquixit (Packs-a-sheet).

Hard to describe because these moments when God puts people and circumstances in your life become difficult to describe in words, or when there aren’t enough words or the right words to adequately communicate the feeling of serving with a team you just met, working with families of poor Myan Indians living on the side of a mountain in the western highlands of Guatemala, and wondering how did I get here (besides an airplane)

Feeling anxious and slightly intimidated about working with 16 other folks who were seasoned stove builders for several years, my trusted Bible came to the rescue for help. Philippians 4.6 says, do not be anxious about anything, but in payer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

My prayers were answered Tuesday morning . My team was giving a stove to build for a family of 6 and a half-dozen turkeys strutting their stuff around their mountain dwelling. This close knit family have nothing by our standards, but were truly joyful and appreciative  by our group from North America giving them something that would change their lives forever. No longer would they have to cook on the floor or inhale toxic smoke from wood used to cook their meals.

I later had the honor of laying hands on their stove along with several others as we went from house to house praying and taking pictures of their new stove.