Happy Feet--Resistance Overcome

I so much want to convey everything that happened during the Happy Feet campaign, but realize I don't have the time to do it justice.  There were times we knew that our work was being opposed:

• Protests on Monday that kept us getting to the mountains on schedule
• No working stove in the kitchen of the hotel.  Kimberly had cooked and frozen chili for 40 people before we left the Rivas house.  When we got to the hotel we saw that it had a large 6-8 burner gas stove and we were thrilled.  Imagine our disappointment when, after a very long day, we found out that it was not working and would not be repaired while we were staying there.  
• Tuesday we were supposed to have a 30 minute or less trip to the village, but due to the on-going heavy rain there was a landslide that blocked our route.  Instead, we took an almost 2-hour detour around the mountain which included waiting for a front-end loader to clear another landslide.
• Tuesday night during our time of testimonies Nelson received a call that the location on the schedule for Wednesday would be unreachable due to a half mile long landslide.

But, the good news is that God's plans could not be stopped . . . . 

• As explained in my last post, we found a shortcut to the village and arrived in time to distribute 150 pairs of shoes and share the gospel with the precious children and their moms
• Saul, the hotel maintenance man, lives there and had a two-burner gas stovetop which he graciously let us use.  Claudia Jiron brought her single electric burner with her, so between the three heat sources, we eventually heated and served the chili.  
• The detour took us over the top of the mountain and revealed breathtaking views of God's creation.  The front-end loader arrived just a few minutes after we got to the landslide spot.  We made it to the village and had a great day, even holding a afternoon praise/preaching service for the adults.

• Pastor Francisco called his sister who is a school teacher and she arranged to open her classroom in a completely different location.  When we arrived, there was a line with more than 150 kids waiting on us.  Many kids were saved--it was an amazing day.

We serve an awesome God!  

10,000 Ft. above sea level. Cold front above and sunlight down the valley. Tecpán Guatemala

Perfect picture spot while we were waiting for the road to be cleared

Working to get the road open

This is the view from the road beside their house

Girls wearing their new shoes and watching what we were doing inside

Praise team from Pastor Francisco's church singing a beautiful rendition
of Great Is Your Faithfulness

Rich and Pastor Nelson presenting the gospel to the parents

Clean, dry feet deserve a new pair of socks

My new friend and sister in Christ, Luisa

Stephen explaining the gospel bracelet

Half way through the week

We've had a great week so far, averaging almost 100 professions of faith per day.  As usual, when we start seeing great fruit, we start having problems to solve.  On Monday evening, Pastor Felix's truck was broken into (in front of the restaurant where the Salvadorans were eating) and a couple of the girls had their documents taken.  One went to the Salvadoran consulate today to get a document which will allow her to go back to El Salvador without her official government ID.  Yesterday, after the morning door-to-door campaign, one of the buses broke down--some type of problem with the air brake system.  This morning several people start feeling bad and at least 5 of them stayed at the hotel.  Tonight we are starting the campaign early because the Catholic church in neighborhood where we are going is having a Holy Week procession and we don't want to be in conflict with them.  On a positive note, there haven't been any additional tremors since Monday.

Please pray for the earth to remain stable (no tremors), for the health of the team members and for the evangelistic work to continue.