Holy Week 2012

by elfaro | Apr 10, 2012 | Bitácora, Blog

The week of Easter, or Holy Week as it is called here in Guatemala, is one of our busiest weeks of the year at El Faro. We are completely booked a good six months before and so we are always completely full. This area of Guatemala is a good location to come on vacation because of the white-sand beaches, tropical surroundings, hot weather, and the big beautiful ocean. Families come from all over the country to come and spend time together and we always have a great time meeting new people and playing games. In addition, a Nazarene church from Guatemala City comes with 125 people to have a family retreat.

Our week began on Palm Sunday when Meagan and Luis Pedro decorated the chapel with palm leaves and created a intimate atmosphere where we worshipped, read from the Bible, and took of Holy Communion together. It was a beautiful time and it set the atmosphere for the week as we reflected on what Christ did for us on the cross.

Katie Barnes, a Youth for Christ leader from Indiana, visited El Faro with the Family Bible Church and left us a booklet of group games. During Holy Week we played a couple of the new games with all the families that were here and had a great time getting to know one another and laughing until our stomach hurts.

As is tradition, we painted Easter eggs with the children at El Faro that we hid on Easter Sunday. Because we live in such a humid area, most of the Easter eggs began to sweat which left many of our hands stained and quite colorful.

By the time that Sunday afternoon came, there was no one left at El Faro except for the staff. We joined together for a Easter Dinner complete with ham, potatoes, salad, and Karlita’s famous jello. It was a beautiful time together to reflect not only the week that we had with new friends and serving lots of people from the Nazarene Church, but also to reflect on the true meaning of Easter and what it means to our ministry.

All of us at El Faro are very different. We come from different families, places, and even countries, but the one thing that we all have in common is Jesus in our hearts. We hope all of our friends had a wonderful Easter.

Family Bible Church 2012

by elfaro | Mar 28, 2012 | Bitácora, Blog

We are so delighted to welcome back our dear friends from Family Bible Church in Indiana. This is their fourth consecutive year at El Faro and we are so happy to see people that have are returning as well as those who are here for the first time. Last year they brought a team with the youngest member that we have ever had…this year they beat their own record and we are delighted to have a five year old here, Blake, serving with his family.

This is our first team to bring over to Punta Manabique and were are blessed to have made a good first impression. We went the first day with two dentists, an eye doctor, and a women’s doctor. In addition, we set up our famous photo studio, played soccer with the kids, colored, painted nails, and make wordless book bracelets.