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have fun grahamy
i will be praying for you!!
Wishing you the best experience ever! I am so jealous of all of you and wish I could be going again. Make the most of your experience and you will be amazed at how much God will work through you to touch those that you come in contact with. Tim and I are praying that you have a safe and sick -free time
Can’t wait to read the posts to see how it is going.
God Bless you!
Sara and Tim
Graham…Some things to remember before you go:
1) Don’t stand on the plastic chairs, Heather broke one infront of everyone and wiped out on her face
2) When doing the “come here” signal to the little amigos make sure you do it backward with your palm facing inward…otherwise it’s the same thing as giving them the middle finger…Don’t give the middle finger to little Guatemalans
3) Write down key words to help you remember this trip 10 years from now…or you will forget
4) Don’t fall in love
5) Hang out with Kyle Door and Woody as much as possible
Open yourself up and don’t take a moment for granted,
Spener (Your favorite brother)
Up already this morning and praying for you guys. May God go before you, keep you safe, and bless all that you do so He can be glorified. Have a great time together!
Hi Graham, woke up this morning at 3:20 praying for you and the group and thinking what its like to get up that early for a big trip. Then prayed between 11:30 and 12 for quick customs and no delays. Love you lots and anxious to hear all what happens this week
Grammy, Talked to Dixon and he told me no one slept last night…..is that true? Hope you keep him in line…just give him a punch if he gets out of order. We are so glad you guys are going to share this experience. Have a great week…..enjoy enjoy and be used every day in every way. Take care and God Bless ! Carole and Bob
Graham, I hope all the travels went well and I hope you have an amazing experience this week. Please update us whenever you get the chance! I’ll be praying for you.
Graham, I am so glad that you are there! It is going to be such an amazing trip! Praising God that you made it safely through customs, can’t wait to hear the stories. Have an awesome time. I know you are going to fall in love with those kids! get a good night sleep and be ready to work hard tomorrow! Praying for you!
hugs,
Kristy
Hi Graham!
So glad to hear you made it through customs okay. Leighann and I were talking about it at noon today and she said your Dad taught you well how to go through customs – just hope Kevin listened as well. Make sure he stays in line!
Praying you have an awesome week!
Dude its simple, I miss you.
Nice to see all of you commenting…it makes up for me not having twitter for a week!!….It is 8.47 here and the majority of our crew is sleeping but a few of the elite are still up
…Everything went very smoothly today and the airplane rides went swell…The van ride to our base was eye opening and that was through the most populated city in Guatemala, I can’t imagine what some of the villages we are going to visit will be like but i am very excited to check. Me and dixon are currently talking in Espanola to some of the local missionaries at our base from Benedicion and Estuardo’s familia. And Christy is right I have talked to 2 kids and and having great time with that 
It is a great experience and I cant wait to have the kids all around at our worksite and village visits…I am going to catch some Z’s in a couple of minutos so i will ttyl love you all
p.s…the rice is nice
Hi Graham , tell Dixon we said hi, so glad to hear news from you all…..have a great day tomorrow. B and C
THE RICE IS NICE! YES!….Just wait until you visit the villages!…the city IS eye opening but the villages are the best. Praying God protects and uses you
-Broski
Hey Graham:) Sounds like you are having a great time! Praying for yooou. Hope you have an awesome rest of your trip!
-Taylor
Graham – hope all is well and you had a great day building! Remain strong, safe and healthy – we are continually praying for you and your team while you are there!
Graham,
you like the rice! Me, too! It was so cool to read how quickly the team went through customs. I’m glad that everything went well on the way to the base, and it sounds like today was a good day, too, from the other posts I’ve read. Hope that the next two days are awesome for you! Praying for you and the team,
Brenda
Hello all….today was one of the best days of my life…thinking back on it, i cant imagine something i would rather do than spend a day with guatemalan kids. On the way to our village that we are building at we pass many poor houses and a daycare center. At 7.15 in the morning, seeing all of the little kids walking on the dirt road in barefeet or holy(holey)(i dont know how to spell that) really wakes me up and gets me thinking. We strolled into the village which was about 300 yards off the dirt road and saw many of the people of the village just waiting for us (turns out many families took there kids out of school so they could be apart of this special day, possibly the best of their life). We quickly prayed over our lot and got to work. But constuction and repetitiveness isn’t my forte so i “accidently” strayed from our site and talked to the little ninos and ninas. I havent seen cuter kids in my life
…Lupe es mi favorito amigo and his older brother, Herman, helped our group all day and handed me screws for about 4 hours. Lupe is 8 and his brother is 10. And they have a little sister that looks just like gloria (maybe cuter spencer 
) Well after that I worked and chilled more with the kids and made some very good friends who are excited for more “dulce” tomorrow which i promised them. I told lupe I would bring him some toys and mucho dulce just for him. But I am being pressured very strongly to get off becuase apparently i am delaying the process of putting the pictures up…w.e…i am very excited to see all my amigas and amigos tomorrow and am anticipating another day in glorious guatemala…I LOVE IT HERE…the place and the people…ttyl love you all
that last comment was me….but for some reason my name didnt pop up…jus thought id let ya know
Hey bro,
Hope all is going well done there for you! Have you seen that big sink hole yet? That’d be an amazing site I feel like! I pray the Lord uses you down there and that you have a great experience!
-Favorite Brethren,
Markie
Graham! It is great to read your post and see that you are just like Spence! He didn’t work either!!! And Spence is right! Careful on the plastic chairs, I cracked right through one as well.! Open your heart and God will do great things! Praying for you!
Jason
Hey Gram,
. I am sure are working hard again today and have seen more little kids in the past 2 days than you have seen in years. Work Hard, Play Harder! Show them the love of Jesus through your hugs and high fives!
Sounds like you have already adjusted to the diet food (just dont think about Carol’s eggrolls and you will be fine)
Randy Goodyke
G funk,
It sounds like you are slacking off in your work….that’s what the females did when I was down there….Also, Gloria is the cutest Guatemalan ever….ever…. Enjoy your time down there because it goes fast. And Holey is spelled H-O-L-E-Y if you are talking about the shoes having holes. This rice is nice here, how is it there?
Also, Say hi to Dan for me….I know he is intimidating, but just say….”My brother Spencer says Hi, and he is praying for you”
Your Favorite brother,
Spencer
Hola amigos,
Today was another amazing day in guatemala…to my most recent followers….marcus: its going good and no i havent seen the sinkhole but ive seen pictures, that doesnt even compare to the villages..unbelievable…Mr. G: yes the food has been good at the base but 10x better in the village, the food is great…spener: i shall show u pictures when we get back and well compare…sese, herman and lupe=cutest fam in guatemala..i couldnt work today do to their constant attention and i couldnt resist dropping the stucco and hanging out with them.
The day started different than yesterday when all the kids came up to us and called our names…it made me laugh how lupe came up and grabbed my hand and immediatly asked for dulce
..then all the friends came up and began jibbering in spanish bc they think that since i know a little spanish i can listen to them talk a million miles an hour…with the most common words being..(mochilla=backpack, dulce=candy: located in the backpack and cargar=to carry:they like to hop on backs)…we started to stucco and every single kid in the village helped..im sure you shall see pictures…but i cant believe tommorow is the last day in the village, i dont even wanna talk about it….tonight is pizza night and i need some nourishment for my grande musculos(big muscles)(the kids enjoy calling me musculos as well as RAM bc they cant say the g) That is all for now…if you want more info just picture yourself in the village playing with the cute little kids and i probably did that for 6 hours today if not more…great day 
love you all….RRRRam
Graham, What a cool note from you . Mom had tears in her eyes when she read what you said. Hope you continue to have such a great time, we love to hear that you are using the Spanish and playing with the kids. We miss you so much, and can’t wait for you to be home and hear all the stories in person. Love, Dad and Mom
Hey Ram man!
Are they calling you Muscles because you have candy? I love your stories . I look forward to hearing it all soon.
Just went through all of the pictures. You are like a walking “Jungle Jim.” You always have a kid climbing on you. I am not sure they are going to let you leave.
Lakers won the title
Graham, I am thinking I would like to hire you to babysit Jordyn’s little brothers when you get back! I love seeing the pics of the kids all over you. What a blessing you are and how happy it must make the moms to see their kids so happy and so loved! I am enjoying your posts since you’re definetly sharing a lot more details than Jordyn – could you please talk to her about that?
Enjoy the rest of your time and keep up the great work you and your team are doing!
Jordyn’s Mom
Grammy-
and dont eat all the candy….please save some for the kids!! Also, if you could make sure kev changes his undies daily. Miss you boys so much! We can’t wait to see all the gifts you buy us.
we miss your buns. dont forget to shower daily, brush your teeth, and clean the fungus out of your toes.
hezakia 4:8
christina and kelly
supsup??
today was a sweet day
…we went back to the village to finish up our houses with roofs and paints and dedicated the houses to God as well. Lupe es mi favorito amigo in the village and it was hard saying goodbye today. I also got to know all the little ninas better today because after 3 days they warm up to you and get very happy when you talk to them or even look at them. I found out Lupes favorite food was pizza the first day and after eating my share last night i snagged him a piece of pizza…when i told him i had pizza for him this morning i think he about pee’d his pants. He was so happy when i gave it to him he smiled his big, front teeth toothless smile. I couldnt get him off of me for the rest of the day 
…all the kids kept asking for more and more toys, balls, and candy all day and i think we satisfied them at the end of the day with a pinata. All the little ninas were telling me not to leave while crying and i almost teared up…(jk kids were grande muscolos dont cry)…but we shall be stopping back at the village on mon because its on the way back to our base…im so fricken excited to see them all again…the village is like mi familia 
….welp tommorow begins a new segment of trip with village medical clinics and more time for hanging out with the kids. I am excited to meet new kids and form new relationships which wont be hard because they are all so cute and so joyful all the time. Cannot wait for the rest of the week…
peace and love….rraammm
Uncle Cracker! We (Me, Andy, and Lyza) miss you here in Michigan but know what an awesome time you’re having down there! It’s definitely a life changing experience to say the least. Glad you’re enjoying the food…maybe you’ll have to adopt a rice and bean diet at home so you don’t have to go to the bathroom all the time.
Enjoy your time in the villages, the kids will love your blonde hair! Missing you and remembering our own trips to Guatemala…see you soon bro!
Leighann
Graham,
I can picture you and Door trying to build a house through tears of laughter. But you did and they look great. You were supposed to teach Alyssa how to properly use power tools and not get cut. Boys will be boys. May the Lord continue to “cover” you as you serve the people of Guatemala. Psalm 46:10
Randy D.
Ram, Good to get so much info from you. Sounds so great and glad to see you were able to snatch that pizza and enhance somebody’s life like that. Have a wonderful couple of days at the med clinics, we are so excited to hear every night what has been happening. Love to the team, Bob and Carole….oops, I almost signed that the Pettijohns, but remembered you don’t know us by that name.
Good morning Graham,
Today is a continuation of what you have been doing…PLAYING with the kids. I pray that you seek out a child who is on the outside not really participating. Your attention could make all the difference! To have the gringo grande play ball or games with someone can mean so much. 
Wait until you see Hermano Jesus start preaching tonight…wow!! You are in for a treat! Today I am praying for safe travel. Keep Psalm 121:8 in the forefront of your heart today, “the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
It is so much fun reading your posts!! I can just picture you with all the kids having a blast. I’m glad that the girls took up the slack and worked harder so you could play! That was so nice of them!
Hi Graham,
Take care of Ash for me!!
This is Ashtyn’s mom-I’ve been praying all week for her team, but didn’t know who exactly was on her team…now that I know who is, I will be praying for each one of you by name. I can tell by your posts and the pictures that this trip has been a huge blessing for you…you are blessing all the kids and the family that you built the house for, but God is blessing you as much or more through these people and what you do for/with them! So cool! I have a feeling this won’t be the last time you go on this trip! God bless you as you go forward in the week – soak up every minute and make as many memories as possible! I would say thanks for helping the girls on the team with the building process, but according to your posts, you probably weren’t helping much anyway….haha!
God’s continued blessings,
Shelley Postema
G-funk! I loved medical clinics! Playing with the kids all day, (both trips combined I only helped for about 5 minutes in the medical clinics) the rest of the time i spent playing with kids! Take a deep breath and live in the moment, it goes fast!
Your favorite brother,
Spener
Rammy, Just got home couple of hours ago and was so anxious to catch up on all you have done. Have been able to read the updates every day on dads phone but couldn’t always see all the pictures. I am so excited for the everything you are experiencing in guatemala. It looks so awesome and looks like the children love you. Been thinking and praying for you a ton!!! Looked at the most beautiful sunset last night and thought how great our God is and you are watching the same sun from so far away. I will continue praying for you and the team the next couple days as you travel to other villages. Haven’t heard of any food issues or bathroom issues from you. Very happy about that. Thats a HUGE answer to pray! Love you lots and cannot wait for more updates. Love, your mutter
G Man ,
I am sure Amber is keeping you hoppin so keep up! I love the pics with those kids on yoru back, very fitting for fathers day tomorrow as us Dads know what that is like. Someday that will be you with your own kid. Love those little ones as they are your own, because they are Gods.
I am glad there have been no issues with your intestinal system, quite amazing
Keep up the good work G-Man- you will be blessed for it.
Randy Goodyke
Thanks for the fun updates Graham! I enjoy reading your page and am glad you are having so much fun with the kids. I’m sure they LOVE all the attention from you!
Praying for good days at the medical clinics. Thanks for keeping us posted.
RRRamm,
You weren’t kidding about not working much! I looked through all the pictures and only saw you holding a drill a few times. Do you know how to use it? You at least looked like you were being useful and being a step ladder for that little guy who was stuccoing. What’s this about Grande Musculos? Did you grow some while you were working down there?
Looks and sounds like you are having a great time and it looks like the kids are having a lot of fun with you. I’ll miss you for Father’s Day here but it is special knowing you are affecting the lives of the families and kids there in a very positive way.
Tried to send you a message this morning from Beulah but my phone bombed out while it was sending.
Love you lots and can’t wait to hear the stories when you get back.
Love Dad!
Grahm, just read the new posting. I hope that everyone will feel OK today to go to the next village………By looking at the pictures I think you need a younger brother or sister. Maybe you can talk your folks into getting one!!!!! Take care….Bob and Carole
hey everyone…i need to write fast because we leave for the next village in t minus 5 minutes…so last night was a great night in the village with all the kids…all the little girls were wearing hand made clothes and were all sooo cute and the little boys loved playing futbol and frisbee. We had a good time jus hanging out and making new little friends and then we showed the Jesus video…i had a kid in my lap during it and he fell asleep..i couldnt help but smile and laugh….it was a powerful night and i cant WAIT for tongiht as well….although its 3 hours there and then 3 more back tongiht…o well its for God’s kingdom!! Incredible feeling knowing that i will see them all again someday
love you….graham
Graham:
Hope that you are one of the strong ones whose stomach can handle the “smooth” roads to and from the villages. Actually, am praying that God will surround your vans with angels to carry you all home safely tonight following your busy day and awesome presentation of the Jesus film! Though this village is remote, it has never been remote from God’s watchful eyes and loving heart. How cool is it that He has chosen YOU to bring His message of hope and salvation to those whom have never heard it?!!!!…the reward to those who are faithful and courageous in serving Him! I hope you remember the faces of those who came forward tonight, because you will see them in heaven someday!!! The fields were ripe with harvest, and you got to see the reaping take place up close and personal! SO COOL!
The Dooleys
John 4:35
“…I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”
Hi Gram,
Glad to hear you’re having an amazing experience (wish Austin was with you) but better yet, you have his sister. Is she keeping you in line? If I know her she is. Sounds like you have a fun group. Its so cool that you are being blessed so much as you are blessings others. I’m sure the kids just love you. Take in all you can the next few days. You will never forget how much you have been touched. Continuing to pray for your health and safety.
Mrs. G.
Graham, Its 9:45 sunday evening and I will be in prayer often throughout the night for your safe return to base. Praying it doesn’t rain till you get back. Love you so much and am so proud of what you are doing. Send a note when you can. Love Mom
hey everyone….
last night was crazy. after a 5 hour drive through what seemed like all of guatemala we arrived at the vilage and began to hang out kids. But in the back of all our minds we knew what was in store for the night. A harvest of souls and a heck of a trip back up the side of a mountain with 3 15 passenger vans and roughly 40 people. (to my father, the roads last night rivaled black bear in ouray…minus the steps, the roads were worse than black bear…) We hung out with the kids the rest of the day and showed the love of christ to the village. I am sure they were thinking “in whose name do all these gringos travel across guatemala and down those roads?!” But we continued to show them the love and we transferred into the jesus film. I had my friend toni sitting by me through the whole video and i prayed for him and also the skys for no rain, because i knew with any rain we would NOT get out…it was incredible how clear the skys stayed. After the jesus film Hermano talked and it was truly powerful. We then prayed and sang a bit under the only moon ive seen all week, along with a couple stars…your prayers truly kept the clouds away…we then got stuck. It was very frustrating and everyone was a bit cranky but after 1.30 to 2 hours of working on the road we gave the vans a run for there money and prayed. We got through ok and still had a 5 hour trip….but we made it home safely and we all know we were in the arms of God last night in his safety…Thanks for your support and prayers! LOVE YOU all
G-dizzle,
Sounds like you had a great night. The long van rides do stink…but 2 years later you don’t remember those, you remember the nights spent and the impact you made! It’s so crazy reliving my own trips as you write about yours…. Today is COFFEE DAY! Be sure to remember that…get 1 brand as dark as possible, and the other 2 medium!….mmm…I can taste it already…enjoy your last night down there, it is definitely the most powerful! I can’t wait to destroy you in Golf when you get home
Your favorite brother,
Spencer
Is the rice nice?
Graham, I love the picture of you and that cute little boy (Toni?) That is awesome! You have made such an impact on everyone you have met. Thank you for using your incredible gifts. I can’t wait to hear all the stories!! Looking forward to Pash on Wed!! That is going to be incredible!!
Kristy
Graham, Wow, thanks for the update, we could not believe what was happening to all of you….hard to imagine roads that terrible. Thanks for serving, we will be excited to hear all the stories. Bob and Carole
G Dawg…. Boy do I miss you. All the awesome stories and pictures…can’t wait to hear everything in
G Dawg… Boy do I miss you. All the great stories and pictures…Can’t wait to hear everything in GREAT detail when you get home. What an experience, something you will never forget. Praying for you as you spend your last night in gautemala and safe travel coming home. See you around 3a.m.!!!! Love, Mom
hello to all !!
today was a greAT day spent in the village….i struggled with pooping a little bit today….the last day and i have to get on meds…i thought i made it through the whole week without getting on meds…shucks…but i bought a bunch of goodies for me friends back home….we went to mcdonalds and i pigged out and we hit up the market for some goods….i also bought some stuff for my little friends back in our first village that we built in…i bought a coke and a wrist thing for lupe with his name on it…he loved it….i also bought a head band for a girl and she loved it….it was so crappy leaving lupe and her i had about 50 last hugs
…sad stuff but i will see him next trip if i go….i am excited for our last worship time tonight…and i might have time for a post tom. morn….love you all…..GRAHAM
Graham!
TMI!!!! LOL! Glad you made it almost through the whole week w/o meds. That was so nice of you to buy things for your friends in the village. I can only imagine how attached you got to them. I remember when Spencer would talk about Gloria and thought that was so neat. What an amazing experience you have had. Maybe one of these times your Mom and I and other moms can make it down there. Have a safe trip home and see you when you get back!
Love ya!
Mrs. Berens
RRam,
Thanks for the updates. Great to hear about the impact you are having on the remote villages. You didn’t know that when I took you down “Black Bear” that I was preparing you for the rough roads and dangers that you would run into in life. I didn’t either! Great to hear things went well most of the week on the “other end”. Not much different than normal right? Hope you are having a great experience there. Sure sounds like you are. Enjoy it because when you get home it’s back to work…
Love you a lot and will be praying for the safe return for you and the group.
Dad
Hey Graham, Thanks so much for sharing all your stories with us. It sounds like you had an absolutely amazing time. I’m so happy for you!