Please pray about and consider donating to the Christmas Fund this year, particularly in a year when many families are really struggling.  This fund supports basic life necessities.  Please give this year to the Christmas Fund.

Checks can be made out to:

Escalon Ministerial Association
P.O. Box 1
Escalon, CA  95320

Or, you can simply write a check to Escalon Presbyterian and write in the MEMO line: EMA Christmas Fund

Thank you,
Pastor Troy Onsager

The season of Christmas is fast approaching and I’d like to invite you to participate in our worship and special events this year.  I’d like to pass along a list of these services and events so that you can schedule them on your calendar.

November 30 - First Sunday in Advent
Morning Worship, 10:30 am:  Lighting of the First Advent Candle 

December 7 - Second Sunday in Advent
Morning Worship, 10:30 am:  Lighting of the Second Advent Candle / Lord’s Supper. 

December 14 - Third Sunday in Advent (Two Events)
Morning Worship, 10:30 am:  Lighting of the Third Advent Candle.  This Sunday we will be having our annual Children’s Program entitled:  Away In A Manger.

• Special Christmas Dinner, 4:30-7:00 pm:  This year we will have a special Christmas Dinner at the newly remodeled Escalon Community Center.  The city has graciously offered us the use of the Community Center in appreciation for EPC hosting the community Senior programs while the center was being remodeled.  This will be a special evening with a program for all ages - see signups in the Faith Center in the coming weeks.  Please bring family, friends, neighbors to this unique event - all are welcome! 

December 21 - Fourth Sunday in Advent (Two Events)
Morning Worship, 10:30 am:  Lighting of the Fourth Advent Candle.  This Sunday the Chancel Choir will be leading us in worship, which includes the Christmas Cantata entitled:  And Glory Shone Around.

• Christmas Caroling, 3:00-5:00 pm:  Join us as we travel to houses in the community of Escalon, singing Christmas carols - followed by hot drinks and snacks in the Faith Center. 

December 24 - Christmas Eve
Evening Worship, 5:30 pm:  Christmas Eve Candlelight service of Lessons and Carols

We hope to see you there and to enjoy this special season together, as we remember Jesus’ coming to earth and learn what it means to live as Christians because of it.

In Christ,

Pastor Troy

The annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner is sponsorred by the Escalon Ministerial Association.  This year the location will be at the newly remodeled Escalon Community Center located on the corner of Escalon Bellota  and Arthur Rd.

Dinner will be served from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm. 

For those who are physically unable to come please call Deeanna Jackson, 838-6808 to have a wonderful turkey dinner with all the trimmings, including dessert, delivered to you.

Volunteers and donations are needed and appreciated. 

To volunteer or for more information, please contact Bev Arnold, 838-3336. 

To make a cash contribution please send your check to:
(Be sure to write on your check “Thanksgiving”)

Escalon Ministerial Association
P O Box 1
Escalon, CA  95320

 He was visited by a character named Evangelist who instructs him to leave the life he knows and seek the life that can never be lost.  In the book, Evangelist even gives him directions.  As Christian runs off, two neighbors track him down, imploring him not to leave.   Their names: Obstinate and Pliable.  The names are always indicative of their character.  Obstinate (being obstinate of course), can’t believe Christian’s intentions.  Invited to join Christian on the journey,  Obstinate replies:  “What!  And leave our friends and our comforts behind us!”  Pliable (being by definition easily influenced or persuaded) is quickly convinced by Christian’s argument to pursue true joy and trudges along with him.  However, almost immediately, they both fall into “the Slough of Despond” (a mud pit of despair).  Pliable, again quickly influenced by circumstances, cries out, “Is this the happiness you have told me all this while of?”  And he crawls out of the pit and goes back home.

 Christian refuses to go back, or give up, despite the weight of the burden that is still on his back, and flails away in the pit until he eventually is rescued by a man named “Help” who puts him on his way again.

 What I love about this interchange is that all this happens in the first 7 pages of a 278 page book.  In 7 pages Obstinate and Pliable give up, desiring comfort and safety.  And they are not privy to the next 271 pages of the journey Christian embarks on - a joyful, yet incredibly difficult journey.  They desire no journey.  They like life “just the way things are.”  The interchange also reminds me of the great quote by Teddy Roosevelt, another dead person, which I have drawn strength from countless times in my own journey:

 ”It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 What haunts me are the words “those cold timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”   That’s Obstinate, that’s Pliable.  That’s the fool in the book of Proverbs.  At times that’s been me.  Yet, I’ve been more disgusted with myself in those moments than any painful defeat I’ve experienced.   I’m no longer attracted to that anymore.   I desire to do what Paul instructs - to look back no longer and press on ahead to a life of God-soaked journeys through mountains and valleys.  I don’t want the comfort that Obstinate idolizes.  I also no longer want safety that Pliable demands.  I know, that whatever sloughs come my way - the sloughs of despond, or adversity, or pressure, etc., will be met with “Help” from God.  Failure no longer scares me - timidity, on the other hand, terrifies me.  Standing still, to me, is slow death.

 Obstinate and Pliable go back home and become the “critics” once again - the ones who point out where others stumble, ones who mock those who take risks of faith.  Christian goes on to the “arena” where his face is quite literally “marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly.”  Yet, in the end, he knows more joy than he thought possible.  The next 271 pages are worth the read - and worth the pondering.

How about you?  Are you who you want to be?  Are you content with 7 pages?  Live Philippians 3:12-14.

Come Join The Fun And Fellowship!

This is our third annual Chili Cook-off / Harvest Party.  There is fun for all ages and the food is superb!  We will have hay rides, pony rides, a cake walk and activities for the kids.  Lots of fun and good fellowship.

Be sure to sign up in Faith Center for food to bring and to register your Chili for the cook-off.

Proverbs: The School of God’s Wisdom 

• October 5 - The Way of Wisdom / Proverbs 3:5-8; 4:11-27
• October 12 - The Healing of Anger / Proverbs 14:29-30; 15:1,18; 16:32; 19:11,19; 24:28-29; 25:21-22
• October 19 - The Fall of Pride / Proverbs 11:2,12; 13:10; 15:25,33; 16:18-19; 21:4; 28:26
• October 26 - The Double-Edged Sword of Words / Proverbs 10:18-19, 31-32; 12:13-14, 17-18; 15:1, 4; 16:23, 28; 18:13, 21; 24:26; 25:11, 15
• November 2 - Leadership and Authority (Proverbs 8:15-16; 14:28, 35; 16:10, 12-15; 17:7; 19:12; 20:2, 8, 26, 28; 21:1; 22:11; 23:1-3; 24:21-22; 25:2-7; 27:18; 28:2, 15, 16; 29:4, 12, 14, 26; 30:21-23; 31:1-9)
• November 9 - Healthy Relationships / Proverbs 17:9; 17:17; 18:24;  26:18,19; 27:5,6,9,14,17; 28:23; 29:5
• November 16 - The Wounded Spirit / Proverbs 12:25; 13:12; 14:10,13,30; 15:4,13-14; 16:2; 18:14; 28:1
• November 23 - Your Plans: God’s Plans / Proverbs 11:3; 12:5,15; 15:22; 16:1-4,9,25,33; 21:5; 27:1

I’d like to also attached to this post a helpful index that has been prepared by Tremper Longman III of Westmont College.  His new commentary on the Book of Proverbs is a helpful and detailed resource of information on the book, yet his appendix on major themes in the book of Proverbs is tremendously helpful.  I am using this book as well as Dr. Timothy Keller’s outline on the book of Proverbs (though he preached 22 sermons!)  Challenge yourself to read through the book at least once if not twice within the next two months.  Here’s a helpful outline of major topics in the book:

• Alcohol (20:1; 21:17; 23:10-21, 29-35; 31:1-9)
• Anger  (15:18; 16:14; 19:11, 12, 19: 21:10; 25:23; 27:3-4; 29:8, 22)
• Appropriate Expression of Emotions (12:16; 14:29, 30; 16:32; 17:27; 19:11; 25:28; 29:11)
• Appropriate Use of Words (10:14; 11:12, 13; 12:18; 13:3, 16; 15:28; 17:27, 28; 19:1; 20:18, 25; 26:4)
• Bribes/Gifts (15:27; 17:8, 23; 18:16; 19:6; 21:14; 25:14, 28:21)
• Business Ethics (6:1-5; 10:2; 11:1, 15, 18, 24-26; 13:11; 14:23; 15:27; 16:8, 11, 13, 26; 17:18; 20:10, 14, 16, 23; 21:5; 22:7, 26-27; 26:10; 27:13, 18; 28:8, 16)
• Family Relationships (6:16-19; 10:1; 15:20; 17:2, 6, 17, 21; 19:13, 18, 26; 20:7, 20; 22:6; 23:13-14, 22-25; 27:8; 28:7, 24; 29:3, 15, 17; 30:11, 17, 21-23)
• Fights and Conflicts (6:19; 10:12; 15:18; 16:28; 17:14, 29; 18:6, 19; 19:11; 20:3; 22:10; 23:29-30; 26:17, 20, 21; 28:25; 29:22)
• Friendship/Neighbors (3:27-31; 6:1-5; 11:9, 12; 14:20; 16:29; 17:9, 17, 18; 18:17, 24; 19:4, 6, 7; 20:6; 21:10; 22:11; 23:10-11; 24:28-29; 25:8, 9-10, 17, 18; 26:18-19; 27:9-10, 14, 17)
• Guidance/Planning/Looking to the Future (1:5; 6:18; 11:14; 12:5, 20; 14:22; 15:22, 26; 16:1, 2, 3, 9, 33; 19:21; 20:18, 24; 21:5; 24:6, 27; 27:1; 29:18; 31:25, 27)
• Illness and Health  (3:7-8; 12:4; 13:12; 14:30; 15:30; 16:24; 17:22; 18:14)
• Kings/Authority (8:15-16; 14:28, 35; 16:10, 12-15; 17:7; 19:12; 20:2, 8, 26, 28; 21:1; 22:11; 23:1-3; 24:21-22; 25:23, 4-5 6-7; 27:18; 28:2, 15, 16; 29:4, 12, 14, 26; 30:21-23; 31:1-9)
• Laziness and Hard Work  (6:6-11; 10:4, 5, 26; 12:11, 24, 27; 13:4; 14:23; 15:19; 28:9; 19:15, 24; 20:4, 13; 21:25; 22:13, 29; 24:30-34; 36:13-16; 27:23-37; 28:39; 31:27)
• Lies (6:16-19; 10:18; 12:17, 29, 22; 14:5, 25; 17:4; 19:5, 9, 28; 21:6, 28; 24:28-29; 25:8, 18; 30:7-9)
• Messengers (10:26; 13:17; 25:13, 25; 26:6)
• Openness to Listening to Advice (3:11-12; 9:7-9; 12:1, 15; 13:1, 10, 13-14, 18; 15:5, 10, 12, 31, 32, 33; 17:10; 18:2, 15; 19:25, 27; 21:11; 23:9; 24:5-6; 25:12; 26:11; 27:5-6, 22; 28:13, 23; 29:1, 9)
• Physical Discipline (3:11-12; 10:13; 13:24; 17:10; 19:18, 25; 20:30; 22:15; 23:13-14; 26:3; 29:15, 17, 19)
• Positive Influence of the Righteous/Negative of the Wicked (11:11; 14:34; 16:29; 20:7; 25:4-5; 28:10, 12, 28; 29:2, 8, 16)
• Prayer/Sacrifice/Vows  (3:9; 7:14-15; 15:8, 29; 20:25; 21:3, 27; 28:9)
• Pride/Humility (3:5, 7; 6:17; 11:2; 15:25, 33; 16:5, 18, 29; 18:25; 21:4, 24; 22:4; 25:6-7, 27; 26:12; 29:23; 30:1-4, 13)
• Protection of the Socially Vulnerable (15:25; 13:10-12)
• Psychological Insight  (12:25; 13:23; 14:10, 13, 30; 15:4, 13, 30; 17:22; 25:20; 27:29; 28:17)
• Rumors/Gossip/Slander/Insult  (6:19; 9:7; 10:18; 11:13; 16:28; 18:3, 8; 20:19; 25:8-10, 23; 26:20, 22; 30:10)
• Shame (3:35; 6:32-33; 9:7; 11:2; 12:8; 13:18; 14:35; 18:3; 22:10; 25:8; 28:7; 29:15)
• Speaking and Listening (6:16-19; 8:6-9, 12-14; 10:6, 18-21, 32, 32; 11:11-13; 12:6, 13, 14, 25; 13:2, 5, 16; 14:3, 5, 25; 15:1, 2, 4, 7, 23, 28; 16:10, 13, 24; 17:4, 7, 20, 27, 28; 18:4, 6, 7, 8, 13, 20, 21; 19:5, 9; 20:19; 21:23; 22:11; 23:15-16; 24:7-9, 26: 25:10-11, 14, 24; 26:28; 27:14; 29:5, 20; 30:5-6, 10, 14; 31:26)
• Table Manners  (23:1-3, 6-8)
• Wealth and Poverty (3:9-10; 6:1-5; 8:18-29; 10:2, 3, 4, 15, 16; 11:4, 7, 15, 24, 28; 12:9; 13:7, 8, 11, 22, 23, 25; 14:20, 21, 24, 31; 15:15, 16, 17; 16:8, 19; 17:1, 5, 18; 18:11, 23; 19:4, 7, 10, 14, 17, 22; 20:17, 21; 21:6, 17, 20; 22:2, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 22-23; 23:4-5; 24:3-4; 27:13, 23-27; 28:3, 6, 8, 11, 16, 20, 25, 27; 29:3, 7, 13, 14; 30:7-9)
• Women/Wife  (5:1-12; 6:2-=35; 7:1-17; 11:22; 12:4; 14:1; 18:22; 19:13, 14; 21:9, 29; 22:14; 25:24; 27:15-16; 30:18-19, 20; 31:1-9, 10-31)

We will be starting our Kick-Off Sunday with our annual Potluck gathering.  Bring your favorite dish to share with everyone.  The potluck dinner is from 5 - 6 pm.

Following the dinner there will be lots of fun activities and things to do.  Here is a list of what we have planned so far:

• Live Music
• Bingo
• Horse Shoes
• Hoops
• Bouncy Houses (2)
• Snow Cone Booth
• Pop Corn Booth
• Various Games For The Children To Play

Also there will be booths set up to register for Sunday School.

We hope you join us for this fun time of fellowhip and help us get the fall programs started off with a great day or rejoicing!

Congregations that approach financial stewardship from a biblical perspective do not view the money Christians give to their church merely as a way to pay its bills. Rather, such congregations see financial contributions as a way to help people grow spiritually in their relationship with God by supporting their church’s mission and ministry with a percentage of their incomes.

Our congregation’s finance committee has selected the New Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program as a way to teach the biblical and spiritual principles of generous giving in our stewardship education emphasis this year.

New Consecration Sunday is based on the biblical philosophy of the need of the giver to give for his or her own spiritual development, rather than on the need of the church to receive. Instead of treating people like members of a social club who should pay dues, we will treat people like followers of Jesus Christ who want to give unselfishly as an act of discipleship. New Consecration Sunday encourages people toward proportionate and systematic giving in response to the question, “What percentage of my income is God calling me to give?”

During morning worship on Consecration Sunday, we are asking our attendees and members to make their financial commitments to our church’s missionary, benevolent, and educational ministries in this community and around the world.

Every attendee and member who completes an Estimate of Giving Card does so voluntarily by attending morning worship on Consecration Sunday. We urge people to attend who feel strongly opposed to completing a card. The procedure is done in such a way that no one feels personal embarrassment if he or she chooses not to fill out a card.

We will do no home solicitation to ask people to complete cards. During morning worship our guest leader will conduct a brief period of instruction and inspiration, climaxed by members making their commitments as a confidential act of worship.

We will encourage participation in Consecration Sunday events through the Consecration Sunday team and governing board members. Since we will make no follow-up visits to ask people to complete their cards, we will make every effort to inform, inspire, and commit everyone to attend Consecration Sunday worship. 

Thanks in advance for your enthusiastic participation in Consecration Sunday events.

Jeff Jarchow
Consecration Sunday Chairperson

This is the third annual Conference for Hearing the Church in the Majority World.  Escalon Presbyterian Church is a sponsoring church for this event, having sent team the past two years and sending a third this year.  We would love to have you join us at this conference as we hear about this important global issue as it relates to the role of the church and our following of Jesus Christ.  Please read the following materials and check the previous year’s resources.  For more information about this conference or interest in attending contact:  Dick Nelson, Dan Adams or Troy Onsager.

• Global Church Conference 2008 Flyer:  GCC 2008
• Global Church Conference 2008 Website:  Global Slavery & The Plague of Poverty
• Global Church Conference 2007 Audio:  HIV & The Heart of God
• Global Church Conference 2006 Audio:  Jesus & Evangelical Power

GLOBAL SLAVERY AND THE PLAGUE OF POVERTY

October 17 - 19, 2008

28 million people in the world today are slaves: held against their will, forced to work under someone else’s rule, trapped in an endless cycle of control, abuse and injustice. Some are born, live and die as slaves. From sex-trafficking to forced labor, across Asia, Africa, and Europe to the United States, slavery thrives. Poverty is the consistent soil in which this horror flourishes. Three billion people today live on $2 or less per day; less than the price of single-shot latte. People inside and outside the Church live this vulnerable, daily nightmare.  Our Global Church Conference in 2008 will focus on slavery in the context of poverty. We will be hearing from Christian leaders from the Majority World who will help us to understand, to engage and to respond to these realities as an expression of following Jesus Christ. This conference is sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, in partnership with Trade as One, International Justice Mission, Not For Sale, and New College Berkeley.

A Conversation on Worship and Justice

October 16 - 17, 2008

For a day and a half prior to our Global Church Conference, First Pres Senior Pastor Mark Labberton will host a conversation for pastors, mission leaders, and worship leaders about how we can strengthen our congregation’s life in relation to worship and justice. The conversation will involve biblical and theological reflection, as well as discussion of issues in leadership and practice. The schedule will be from 9 am - 4 pm on Thursday, October 16, and 9 am - 12 pm on Friday, October 17. $20 will cover Thursday’s lunch and refreshments. Please register with Patti Nicolson at pattin@fpcberkeley.org. 

A View From Guatemala

As I was standing on top of the brick building that was designed to be a church, pounding nails through the incredibly dense wood that we had erected as trusses, and sweating profusely in the hot and humid air - I looked toward the village and saw quite a sight. Atop the church roof I looked past the soccer field where the children were playing, without shoes, and looked towards the large tree that seemed to mark this village, the village of La Gomera.  Underneath the tree was the make-shift building that housed our medical and dental clinic.  And I saw a long line of people, along with our vehicles, making their way from that clinic, making their way towards the church.  The clinic was now closed.  The medicines which were stored in a temporary pharmacy were now packed.  Our short-term mission trip was coming to a close.  The long line of people walking towards us choked me up, I hadn’t seen this many people gathered together since we’d been there.  I guess we wouldn’t be leaving this village quietly.

 Working alongside Pastor Juan, I pounded one last nail into the truss-support and he looked at me, waved his arms, and said, “no mas.”  No more.  Our work on the roof of the church was done - they expected to finish it the following day with the tin-roof.  Now it was time for the closing service.  We gathered in the middle of the guts of this exposed whale - a larger church structure than I had anticipated, completely dwarfing their old hut to the side.  Pastor Juan gathered the people into a circle underneath the roof trusses, which were still being supported from the ground by beams.  Others looked through the open-air windows as we stood on the dirt floor - the village of La Gomera and seven Americans easy spotted in their midst.

 Based upon conversations I had during the week - it was safe to say that there were many in attendance for this “closing service” that were not Christians.  Some even had assisted in the building of the church.  Many had arrived at the clinic.  But relationships were being made with the leaders and the LifeWind trainers.  And, to be sure, they were intrigued that a small group of Presbyterian Americans would show up.

 Pastor Juan spoke for the community and thanked us for taking the time to travel to La Gomera to work on this roof for the worship of the people.  His prayer was that many more in the village would become Christians and learn what it means to believe in and follow Christ.  The size of the new church was built in hope of such outreach.  He thanked our team for their long hours of work in the clinics and their playing with the children.  The first day of the clinic had over 88 sign-ins, I stopped keeping count the next two days.  Lastly, he asked that we extend their gratitude to our own church, for praying for them, for supporting them in these projects, and supporting the team in going.  He said that they now had a debt they could never repay.  I responded saying that the only debt that matters has already been paid.  We couldn’t have asked for a more gracious hosts.  We parted ways in prayer and hugs.

 I can’t tell you how proud I was of our team.  They worked tremendously hard all day long.  They served these wonderful people will their hearts and their energy.  They struggled, at times, with illness and the heat.  But they came to Guatemala to serve with joy - and they did.  I found myself beaming and choking up at numerous times as I watched our team work.  I also found myself thanking the Lord for using us, a small team from a small town, on a short-term trip. 

 Thank you Escalon Presbytery Church for your prayers, for your support, for donations, for sending us in faith.  Yet, this trip is only a small piece of the puzzle for the Christ-centered mission of a church.  If we pray that the Lord will open our eyes to more ways in which we can serve in his name - what might we see?  What might we do?  Where might we go?  I dare you to pray it.

 Guatemala

The gospel often goes to people with naked feet. There were many people in the small village where we went, who did not wear shoes.  Children ran around, playing soccer in their bare feet.  Adults walked down the main red dirt road into the village, past houses made of corrugated tin, to a makeshift medical and dental clinic which came several times a year.

Life Wind had worked in this village for three or four years.  A new medical clinic was being built, a large water tower powered by solar pumps, provided clean water for the village. There was no electricity, nor refrigerators. There was one small shop which sold soda and potato chips. At one time in the history of this village, the people almost decided to disperse rather than stay.

To an outsider, the prospects for this village were grim. The men, who worked, worked as laborers in sugar cane or corn fields. Numerous young men in their 20’s were unemployed.  Many had the idea that their only means of economic survival was to come to the United States.

I had small prayers each day as I worked with a group of men who built a roof on a new cinder block church. I prayed for clouds and rain as a relief to the high humidity and piercing sun. On most afternoons we had sufficient clouds, a slight breeze, and a bit of rain and no mosquitoes.

Overall, it would be easy for people to be discouraged. As I worked with people, listened, observed, there was a vibrant faith which resonated through both work and worship, a profound sense of gratitude, which was expressed audibly. I John 4:20,” “Whomever loves God must also love his brother.” The Mam villager’s faith overflowed in their relations with each other, their speech to one another, and their work with one another.

Overall, against a rather bleak backdrop, a new church with a tin roof has risen, raised by people with naked feet and a profound sense of gratitude for deliverance from their sins.  Their prayers are loud and ardent.  Their services often run for hours.

Guatemala

Seven of us had the opportunity to represent EPC this past month on a mission trip to Guatemala.  We felt the unity of the church behind us in prayer, and financial support, as it took the entire church to make the trek possible.

It was such a blessing to experience Christ as we traveled as a team to assist a small village in roof construction, and medical and dental assistance.  Thanks to the generosity of many of you we were able to take supplies that were needed and utilized.  Our group learned to be interdependent on each other as we were immersed in another culture.

Community Health Evangelism that is the basis of Life Wind’s ministry was perfectly represented by Dr. Hugo Gomez, and his team.  As we traveled with them we got to know the people, seeing their love for Jesus, as well as, their need and appreciation for support.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  1 Corinthians 15:58

Guatemala

I was extremely honored and blessed to be able to go to Guatemala on this mission trip.  I had never experienced or done anything like it before and at first I was a little nervous.  Once we got to Guatemala I knew right away that this was what God wanted me to do.  For me it was mostly a learning experience, but I do believe that I did my best for the people in La Gomera. 

 When I was in the village I helped in the clinic giving out patients’ prescriptions and when I wasn’t doing that I was playing with all the kids (usually soccer).  Playing with the little kids gave me time to learn their personalities and a little bit of their culture. 

 One thing that I’ll always remember about the people in La Gomera is that they all were so loving and cared for everyone in the village whether they were family or just their neighbors.  Another thing that I will remember is that you can use your hands when you play soccer with them (its called using what you have for your advantage).

 There was a little boy there named Julio, who I became friends with and one day we were all sitting in the back of a truck after they all got out of school.  He gave me his schoolbook to look at.  I then started pointing to pictures and telling him what they were in English.  He became very interested and pretty soon he learned apple, banana, tree, six, one, and the one he will never forget, monkey.  When I got to teach him some of my culture it felt really good and made me feel like we made a better connection by doing that.  I know that they made a lasting impression on me and I hope that I did the same for them.

 While I was there I learned that no matter wherever you are in the world, you are all connected to each other by your love for God and that will stick with me forever.  I thank everyone for all your support financially and spiritually and I hope I have another opportunity to do this again.

Guatemala

I again want to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity to go to Guatemala.  This has been a once in a lifetime experience that I hope definitely doesn’t just happen once.  Going to Guatemala has thought me so much, and has opened my eyes to so many of the bigger pictures, beyond Escalon, beyond America and beyond Earth.  This trip has opened my eyes to a little bit more of what the missionary field is like and that it is something that I definitely want to be involved in someway.

 I learned so much from this trip, but possibly the most important thing I learned was flexibility, flexibility, flexibility and I realized how important it really is, not just for mission trips, but for life.  Sometimes you think you’re doing things right and then things get thrown in your way and its hard to see what it is that you are really supposed to be doing for God.

 I was excited about putting a roof on this church because I felt like I had the experience to be able to help and I would really be useful to serve God and these people in that way.  On Monday I was working pretty hard because I was excited about doing it and I knew we were going to have to work hard to be able to finish it in the three more days we had.  I ended up finding out Tuesday morning that working in the sun of Guatemala that hard all day isn’t something that you can do.  I couldn’t do anything on Tuesday and it felt so terrible, everyone else was working on the roof, and I could barely stand up.  I felt useless and I didn’t understand why I was sick when I was just trying to do God’s will.  I knew I couldn’t work on the roof so I went over to the clinic.  I ended up learning so much that afternoon from the people at the clinic and from the kids running around after school.  I was able to hang out with the kids all afternoon, and that was the most amazing part of the trip for me.  The opportunity to make so many relationships with the kids of La Gomera.  I ended up hanging out with the kids in the afternoons for the rest of the week, and I definitely feel like that’s where I really left my mark.  I will never forget those kids and I imagine they will remember me.  This just taught me that we don’t always know what we are supposed to be doing but we just need to do it because if you really want to do God’s will you have to be flexible with whatever is thrown at you.  I hope that this trip has taught me that I don’t always know what God wants me to do, and I need to handle everything that’s thrown at me with the attitude to do what God would want me to do.

 I am so glad that I was able to go on this trip and I hope and encourage the church to keep doing mission trips, because it is such an amazing experience for those who go on it.  I will never forget this experience and I hope to be back to La Gomera someday.

Guatemala

After months of planning, study, prayer and preparation, our seven person mission team, was finally flying into the Guatemala Airport.  The city below was lit up like a huge Christmas tree.  Around 7 million people live in and around Guatemala city, and the view from above was breath taking.  After going through customs and meeting up with Abel, we loaded the van and made our way to the Pan American Hotel for the night.

The next morning our group walked through the ancient town square, had breakfast and began the journey to Champerico.  The roads and rules of driving in Guatemala are not like anything I have ever experienced.  There are families on motorcycles, brahma bulls grazing, machete wielding maintenance crews, bicyclists, traditionally dressed women and men with huge baskets on their heads or loads of firewood on their backs, joggers, and huge brightly painted buses that stop anywhere they want, to pick up passengers traveling to work, to school, wherever. 

All of these sights were on the highways and freeways along our way.  The next morning it was off to the village of  La Gomera, where we were graciously greeted, then assigned  to the tasks at hand. 

That day the construction of the roof  began, the clinic was set up, and the rain began to fall.  Soon after the downpour slowed, we were invited into the church for Sunday service.  Sitting on wooden benches and plastic lawn chairs, we worshipped in a bilingual service with scripture readings, singing, Pastor Troy’s sermon, and prayer that was initiated by a single lay person, but immediately joined by the entire congregation.  Their prayers were spoken out loud, heart felt and though hard to comprehend in Spanish, you could understand the words “God” and “Thank You” repeated over and over.  I am still in awe at how thankful this group of villagers were.  They lived in shacks with living trees as the posts that held up their tin roofs.  The floors were dirt and they cooked on open fires.  Their clothes were spotless but had holes  worn in them from scrubbing them clean against the rocks.  Some people had shoes and some did not. 

Our week passed quickly and after the final patient was seen, we disassembled the clinic, and had a short service under the newly constructed roof of the church.  Again, I was overwhelmed with the prayers and thankfulness of this small, yet spirit-filled village. They prayed for the week’s accomplishments, the continuous work of God, our safe travel, our church in Escalon, and our friends and families who supported this mission trip.  They closed with saying that they would never forget us and our generosity we shared through Jesus Christ.  I can truly say that I will never forget them, their thankful hearts, and especially their God-filled Spirits.

 Humbly In Christ,

Laura Alcantor

Guatemala

Within the eight days that I shared with my six fellow Presbyterians, I came to realize a few things.  Firstly, no matter how hard you looked outside your room, it always seemed much easier to find a critter inside. I can reflect on a few events in which I had to act quickly to rescue Laura and Jen from the attack of the one inch tree frog. I am not sure why, but it seems that all of the beautiful amphibian inhabitants also liked to shower. Apparently the rain wasn’t warm enough though, so they took the liberty of joining us in the shower.

Second, no matter how much mud seemed to be on the ground there was always a larger amount accumulating on the bottom of your shoes and the base of your pants. This got better throughout the week so I can’t really rant much about it, but I did find that interesting.

Third, it was sometimes easier to try and communicate in a language that you were unfamiliar with, than it was to speak with your own team members. I know that this sounds nearly ridiculous, but through the week, with lots of prayer and an amazing work of God, it was visible that this small team of seven could really function as the body of Christ. Even in a small church, and as close-knit as we are, we still don’t know how to approach every situation gracefully. This week our team grew together in their walk with the Lord. Thank you for all of  whom were able to pray at home because we felt your love. 

 Thank You Again.

Samantha Alcantor

 To View Guatemala Pictures Click Here:  Guatemala Pics or Guatemala Pics 2