Guatemala Day 1

So we went to a Mega Church yesterday. The building holds about 8,000 people – It’s huge!!!   

The Front of the Church.

The Church from our van. The parking garage (6 levels) for church parking is on the left. The stairs in the center of this picture are one of 12 entry ways (on all sides of the church). 

Since we are in Guatemala, no surprise but every one speaks Spanish – of which I know little to none.  So we all got the Translation Headsets for the service.  A lot of our headsets didn’t work all that well, but some of them got replaced.  Mine was 70-80% static and 20-30% understandable voice. It was really difficult to try to listen to a soft voice with lots of really loud static going on. And it wasn’t the same all the time, it was like the Headphone’s cord was the antenna.  Every time I bumped it, shifted position or breathed on it, the static got worse and was really hard to get it back to how it was before.  

During the first part of worship (without the headset) God really spoke to me.  He showed me a faint glimpse in the back of my head of His glorious face looking down upon the church smiling.   He was happy with the church congregation.  He opened my mind and showed me angels guarding the singers and musicians on stage.  Then, oh it was glorious, He showed me the entire stage full, packed full, with angels: singing, praising, and worshiping the God of Heaven.  God showed me His love for the people. That their singing, though I could not understand any of it, was true worship.  He showed me how he loves the people of Guatemala, that He is doing mighty works.  He showed me that the world I’m use to is not the Home of the Church; that in places like the House of God we were at today, is where the Church is, where the Great Commission is carried out, where God is! 

After church, we went to a TGIFriday’s for lunch.  Then we went to a market place about an hour away – though still in Guatemala City - and spend a few hours shopping around.  It was really cool.  I spent more than I was planning to on the first day, but so be it.  I also got to participate (involuntarily) in a street performer’s act (I’ll try to post a vide of it later – or it’s on my Facebook page).  We ate at the market place and then came back to Hector and Ruth’s house. 

(Yes that is a volcano a the edge of the market)

Guatemala City (at leas the valley part of it) is in the background.

More Pictures from throughout the day:

The view from where we were staying looking over Guatemala City.

Ruth and Liz

Eating at TJIFriday's

Ruth and Hector 

Jasmine, Rosalie, Brooke, and Ariel

Oto...

Our class as we just arrived at the place where we were going to be shopping.

The market streets. 

Team Picture.