Will–
It was so great to see Jeannie again! I have missed her! I will have to connect with her this week while you are gone!
have an awesome trip and watch out for Nancy! She is a terror!! Yep–she is! Will pray for you all!
Hi Will – Have been thinking about you and your group all day – hope all is well and that you accomplish everything you want to this week. You will be in my prayers. Love, Mom
Honey do not leave a kitty locked up in your DS music room. smells? note to wife-wash dads swimsuit-LOL. We all miss you. The house and my heart is empty without you! Hugs and kisses and prayers are sent your way. Love Jeannie
HI again, guess if I sell the dining table you wou’t mind if we all use metal chairs-right! OK a lady is coming over tomarrow to look at it. It’s not gone yet. I hope you all get some rest and a good nights sleep. I’ll try not to redo the house til you get back. Love you, Jeannie
I can’t even begin to put into words a description of the wonderful Guatemalan people. They live in conditions and locations that we in America would never dream of, but yet they are a beautiful and happy people. Because of the remote mountain locations in which they live, they have to maintain themselves by being self-sufficient. Crops are planted in any possible open space. Our Lord has blessed these people with a demeanor that at times seems to transcend the conditions inwhich they live.
A note to my lovely wife: I miss you more than I can say and look forward to seeing you and the children next Tuesday. Know that although I am far away, I am with you in spirit. Much love until we see each other again.
Someday I will learn to use these things properly. For my comments, see the Feb 17 entry for Jeannie Love. I will try to leave something every evening when I can.
Hey Willy – I’m glad you got there alright. Sounds like you are really accomplishing some thig good fot the people there. I’m very proud of you. Love You,
Dad
Will – sounds like all is well and this trip will be a wonderful experience. Today is Ash Wednesday and in church I said a special prayer that God will bless your groups project and keep you all safe until you return home. Love, Mom
Hi honey, it is very sunny today. Jill lost one of our phones last night talking to 1 of her many many friends, she has had 2 friend play dates in the last 2 days. Chris is telling the usual corny jokes, and of course Nick knows everything. We all miss you and are sending prayers to all in team Allendale. Love always, Jeannie
Hi Will – glad to hear that you made it there safely. Hope you are enjoying yourself. It sounds like you are having a great experience in Guatemala. It’s such a wonderful thing that all of you are doing. Keep up the good work. And see you soon.
Construction on the four houses is almost complete. Tomorrow we paint and put the roof on, and then there is a big celebration in the village and we bless the new houses in the hope that these villagers will live with the spirit of Jesus each day.
After tomorrow, the next two days will be spent in two different villages holding medical clinics and spreading the Gospel of Jesus to the people there. It is so amazing to bring the beautiful message of Christ’s sacrifice for all believers to a people that seem to be in great need of something positive to believe in.
I could write pages on the incredible things that I have see just in the first two days, but I do not have that much space here. Thank you all who have left me messages and well wishes and said prayers for our team here. Also please pray for the people of Guatemala, as they need your prayers as well as they need our ministry.
Will – what rewarding work you are doing. When you return, I want to hear about your mission trip. My prayer is to someday do a trip like what you are doing.
Hola Will, love the photos. I think of you often through-out the day and night. The smallest seed has the potential to grow into the largest harvest for the Lord. I can’t wait to hear about all that you have experienced. I love you so much. Jeannie
Today was one of the most powerful days I have ever experienced in all my spiritual life. We dedicated the four houses that we had completed this moring and all of the people whom we built the houses for made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When we dedicated the first house, I was on the outside of the house with the members of the team that built the other three houses. The team that built the house was inside with the family for whom the house was meant. I was near the window, so I could hear what was being said inside, although I could not understand what was said as it was in Spanish. We on the outside of the house still remained engaged in the process praying and singing hymns. Despite the fact that I could not understand what was said, I still knew the moment when the family inside had accepted Jesus, because I felt as if my heart would burst with joy. All of us, both inside and out, were reduced to tears of great joy at the truimph of our Lord and Savior. This scene was repeated at each of the four houses. The light and love of Jesus is an amazingly powerful force.
I have sat in member classes at a couple of churches and other gatherings of Christians and heard people discuss their “God moment”, when they first knew that they were believers. Although I was baptized a Christian and have been a believer for most of my life, it wasn’t until my 48th year that I experienced my moment. From this moment on, I feel that my life has changed forever.
The next two days will be medical clinics and ministering in two different villages and I suspect that our Lord may have some additional surprises in store for us. On Monday we are going to Antigua for some free time before we fly back on Tuesday.
Once again, thanks to all who have left comments for me. All my love to my wonderful wife and children. We will be home late tomorrow, so I may not leave another message until Sunday morning. Until then,
It is so great to hear of your experiences with the house building and dedications! It is always so neat to hear how people are awed and amazed throughout the week! The village outreach is totally awesome! You will just be blown away!
I think that next year you and Jeanie and Dave and I should go together—something to think about!
Be blessed and safe and completely immerse yourself in being lead by the Spirit. The week is almost over–can you believe it?!
Will – You have always been my dear son, but I cannot begin to tell you how I feel after reading everything you and Jeannie have written and what you are experiencing. I love you both so much and am so happy that you share the love of Jesus and his teachings. Even though I have not done what you are doing, just sharing your experience has been so wonderful for me. Love you, Mom
Will – So glad that you are a part of this incredible team that God is using in mighty ways. We can’t wait to see you and to hear from you when you return. How blessed to hear the news of the completion of the homes and the respoonse of the famlies to the Lord. May you and the team finish the trip well. Have a great day in the mountains and a blessed day of worship on Sunday as well. – Jim
Will, today is our 3rd sunny day in a row. I sit near a window and feel it’s warmth on my face. It brightens my day just the same as if I am reading your words on this site. I am at peace as I listen to your childrens laughter and think of you. I trust that the Lord will have an incredible and bright day for you and the team as well as the beautiful Guatemalian people you serve. Love Always, your wife Jeannie
It is late, but I thought I would leave a few words before bed. The clinic/outreach was a very uplifting experience. I got a chance to work in the clinic and play very interesting (and a little chaotic) game with the village children involving a sort of parachute and a plastic ball (I will have to explain better when I get back). During our team testimonials, I told the story of my experience from the previous day. I am not sure I told it well, but I told and that is what matters.
At the end of the presentation, several of the villagers came forward to accept Jesus and their Lord and Savior. Many did not. We can only hope that the seeds planted today will grow over time. Dan says that they often do. After all, the hope of Christ is a very powerful thing.
Well, I am heading to bed now. Tomorrow we will be back much later than this evening, so I will likely not leave anything until Monday morning before we leave for Antigua.
Will- I can see what an incredible and spiritually upliftiing experience this is for you. I can’t wait until you can tell me in person. Your children and I miss you but understand the good you are doing. After all the rewarding hard work, I hope you have a great time in beautiful Antigua. We all send you our love and prayers. Jeannie
I am so pleased to hear of this wonderful opportunity you have been blessed with. Sounds like you are doing great work. The lords work is allways great work though. Keep it up and enjoy the rest of you time there. We are all very proud of you and love you very much.
The last of our ministry days is over with the sencond clinic outreach yesterday. Once againd,it was a very uplifting experience with more hearts opened to the Love of our Lord. On the long (and really bumpy) ride back to base I had time to reflect over these last five days.
I feel like I have lived much more than 5 days worth of life in this week. I have been shown what is possible with Jesus’ Love and Dan has been a great catalyst for this lesson by pointing my heart in the right direction through his ministry.
I have really appreciated all of theprayers, well wishes and encouragement that I have received from all of you this week. Please continue to pray for the people of Guatemala as their struggles will continue long after this team leaves this Country.
I now face the challenge of using the lessons that our Lord has taught me in my everyday life. In morning devotional yesterday, Dan said “The first person to embrace you when you get off the plane (back in the States) is Satan”, not meaning our loved ones of course. I understood this before he said it and my heart is a little troubled. Our Country is a wonderful place where all things are possible, both good and evil. The enemy is strong there. But with the Lord’s help and the love of my wife and children, I believe that I have the strength to fight that battle and hold my own.
We will be leaving very early tomorrow morning for the airport in Guatemala City, so I may leave a brief comment this evening before early to bed. Although this experience has been one of the most profound experiences of my life, I am ready to come home. Jeannie and I have so much to talk about and I have so much time to make up for that I would like to get started as soon as possible.
The Love of Christ to all who read this because in his Love all good things are possible.
Will – I just reread everything written these past days and I know that my love for the Lord has been passed on to you. There were times in my life when he was there for me, but I have not always been able to express how much I have needed him. His love has always made me strong enough to survive whatever has happened. I am so proud of you and happy for you to have had this experience. Ken and I love you so very much.
Hi honey, I am counting down the hours until you get home safe. I know you will have a bittersweet departure because this place is the start of your new growth in Christ. Come home and pass it on. Love Jeannie
Our visit to Antigua was a lot of fun, but I am more that ready for the trip home tomorrow. We will be up at 3:30am and on the road by 4:00 in order to miss the traffic in Guatemala City which will get us to the airport roughly 2 and 1/2 hours before our flight departs (around 8:40am).
Jeannie – I will call you from Houston and give you a ballpark on when we should arrive in Allendale. I think we are supposed to land in Detroit around 3:00pm, so that would probably get us home around 7:00 or 8:00 depending on luggage retreival and traffic. I cannot wait to see you and the children again.
Willy – I’m very very proud of the work you did in Christ’s name in Guatemala. It must have been very satisfying to you. I loved the pictures. Hope you have a safe trip home.
Love You,
Dad
We had our Guatemala team interview in service this morning and it was a lot of fun reliving some of the lighter and funnier moments of the trip with my teammates. I also shared my testimony with the congregation and Scott gave a very empassioned speech that really communicated the way in which the Lord spoke to him and through him during our ministry.
I have replayed my experiences in my head over and over since I returned and find myself discovering new insights almost on a daily basis. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what I experienced was real and the evidence of that continues each day as I have discovered a new peace in my life that never existed before. Now that I have told of my experience to my fellow church-goers, there is a list of people that I am close to that I still have to share my testimony with. I am a little afraid of this because I am not sure that they will want to hear my story, but I must tell it anyway. I know I shouldn’t fear because my Savior will be with me and guide my words so the my testimony will bring the most glory to him, but humans are fallible creatures and fear seems to have a profound effect on our behavior. I guess that’s why the enemy uses it so often.
In one of our evening devotionals, we read a passage from Exodus in which the Isrealites pleaded with Moses not to let God speak to them because they were afraid that they would die. Dan read us an analysis of this passage from the Oswald Chambers devotional “My Utmost to His Highest” which said “People don’t want God to speak to them because if He does then you only have two choices. You must either do as God asks or tell Him no, that you will not obey Him.” That, my friends, is your eternal salvation decision in a nutshell. I will forever be thankful that when the Lord called my name that I was wise enough to say “Yes, Lord”.
In closing, a great thank you to my team members (for inspiration and encouragement), Dan (for his biblical insight and christian fire), Life Stream Church and all who followed and/or left messages for me on this blog . I love all of you and wish nothing less than the peace and hope of Christ for all of you. Mostly, I want to thank our Heavenly Father and his beloved Son, our Savior, for allowing me to participate in this part of their ministry in this world. The new man that I have become is looking forward to new chapters of the story which really began with a confused and frustrated man getting on a plane to a faraway place because God called on me to do so.
Yours in Christ,
Will Love
Team Allendale (February 16-23, 2010)
Will–
It was so great to see Jeannie again! I have missed her! I will have to connect with her this week while you are gone!
have an awesome trip and watch out for Nancy! She is a terror!! Yep–she is! Will pray for you all!
Jan
Hi Will – Have been thinking about you and your group all day – hope all is well and that you accomplish everything you want to this week. You will be in my prayers. Love, Mom
Honey do not leave a kitty locked up in your DS music room. smells? note to wife-wash dads swimsuit-LOL. We all miss you. The house and my heart is empty without you! Hugs and kisses and prayers are sent your way. Love Jeannie
HI again, guess if I sell the dining table you wou’t mind if we all use metal chairs-right! OK a lady is coming over tomarrow to look at it. It’s not gone yet. I hope you all get some rest and a good nights sleep. I’ll try not to redo the house til you get back. Love you, Jeannie
Good Evening,
I can’t even begin to put into words a description of the wonderful Guatemalan people. They live in conditions and locations that we in America would never dream of, but yet they are a beautiful and happy people. Because of the remote mountain locations in which they live, they have to maintain themselves by being self-sufficient. Crops are planted in any possible open space. Our Lord has blessed these people with a demeanor that at times seems to transcend the conditions inwhich they live.
A note to my lovely wife: I miss you more than I can say and look forward to seeing you and the children next Tuesday. Know that although I am far away, I am with you in spirit. Much love until we see each other again.
Someday I will learn to use these things properly. For my comments, see the Feb 17 entry for Jeannie Love. I will try to leave something every evening when I can.
Hey Willy – I’m glad you got there alright. Sounds like you are really accomplishing some thig good fot the people there. I’m very proud of you. Love You,
Dad
Will – sounds like all is well and this trip will be a wonderful experience. Today is Ash Wednesday and in church I said a special prayer that God will bless your groups project and keep you all safe until you return home. Love, Mom
Hi honey, it is very sunny today. Jill lost one of our phones last night talking to 1 of her many many friends, she has had 2 friend play dates in the last 2 days. Chris is telling the usual corny jokes, and of course Nick knows everything. We all miss you and are sending prayers to all in team Allendale. Love always, Jeannie
Hi Will – glad to hear that you made it there safely. Hope you are enjoying yourself. It sounds like you are having a great experience in Guatemala. It’s such a wonderful thing that all of you are doing. Keep up the good work. And see you soon.
Take care…
Mary
Good Evening,
Construction on the four houses is almost complete. Tomorrow we paint and put the roof on, and then there is a big celebration in the village and we bless the new houses in the hope that these villagers will live with the spirit of Jesus each day.
After tomorrow, the next two days will be spent in two different villages holding medical clinics and spreading the Gospel of Jesus to the people there. It is so amazing to bring the beautiful message of Christ’s sacrifice for all believers to a people that seem to be in great need of something positive to believe in.
I could write pages on the incredible things that I have see just in the first two days, but I do not have that much space here. Thank you all who have left me messages and well wishes and said prayers for our team here. Also please pray for the people of Guatemala, as they need your prayers as well as they need our ministry.
Yours in Christ
Will
Will,
I’m glad to hear that your trip is such a success.
As you take away such life changing memories of your trip, the people of Guatemala, will hold special memories of you and your team too.
Wishing you the very best as you serve in such a needed way!
Judy Groendyk
Will – what rewarding work you are doing. When you return, I want to hear about your mission trip. My prayer is to someday do a trip like what you are doing.
Hola Will, love the photos. I think of you often through-out the day and night. The smallest seed has the potential to grow into the largest harvest for the Lord. I can’t wait to hear about all that you have experienced. I love you so much. Jeannie
Today was one of the most powerful days I have ever experienced in all my spiritual life. We dedicated the four houses that we had completed this moring and all of the people whom we built the houses for made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When we dedicated the first house, I was on the outside of the house with the members of the team that built the other three houses. The team that built the house was inside with the family for whom the house was meant. I was near the window, so I could hear what was being said inside, although I could not understand what was said as it was in Spanish. We on the outside of the house still remained engaged in the process praying and singing hymns. Despite the fact that I could not understand what was said, I still knew the moment when the family inside had accepted Jesus, because I felt as if my heart would burst with joy. All of us, both inside and out, were reduced to tears of great joy at the truimph of our Lord and Savior. This scene was repeated at each of the four houses. The light and love of Jesus is an amazingly powerful force.
I have sat in member classes at a couple of churches and other gatherings of Christians and heard people discuss their “God moment”, when they first knew that they were believers. Although I was baptized a Christian and have been a believer for most of my life, it wasn’t until my 48th year that I experienced my moment. From this moment on, I feel that my life has changed forever.
The next two days will be medical clinics and ministering in two different villages and I suspect that our Lord may have some additional surprises in store for us. On Monday we are going to Antigua for some free time before we fly back on Tuesday.
Once again, thanks to all who have left comments for me. All my love to my wonderful wife and children. We will be home late tomorrow, so I may not leave another message until Sunday morning. Until then,
Yours in Christ
Will
Will my heart is filled with so much joy. Ephesians 2:8-10
Will-
It is so great to hear of your experiences with the house building and dedications! It is always so neat to hear how people are awed and amazed throughout the week! The village outreach is totally awesome! You will just be blown away!
I think that next year you and Jeanie and Dave and I should go together—something to think about!
Be blessed and safe and completely immerse yourself in being lead by the Spirit. The week is almost over–can you believe it?!
Jan
Will – You have always been my dear son, but I cannot begin to tell you how I feel after reading everything you and Jeannie have written and what you are experiencing. I love you both so much and am so happy that you share the love of Jesus and his teachings. Even though I have not done what you are doing, just sharing your experience has been so wonderful for me. Love you, Mom
Will – So glad that you are a part of this incredible team that God is using in mighty ways. We can’t wait to see you and to hear from you when you return. How blessed to hear the news of the completion of the homes and the respoonse of the famlies to the Lord. May you and the team finish the trip well. Have a great day in the mountains and a blessed day of worship on Sunday as well. – Jim
Will, today is our 3rd sunny day in a row. I sit near a window and feel it’s warmth on my face. It brightens my day just the same as if I am reading your words on this site. I am at peace as I listen to your childrens laughter and think of you. I trust that the Lord will have an incredible and bright day for you and the team as well as the beautiful Guatemalian people you serve. Love Always, your wife Jeannie
It is late, but I thought I would leave a few words before bed. The clinic/outreach was a very uplifting experience. I got a chance to work in the clinic and play very interesting (and a little chaotic) game with the village children involving a sort of parachute and a plastic ball (I will have to explain better when I get back). During our team testimonials, I told the story of my experience from the previous day. I am not sure I told it well, but I told and that is what matters.
At the end of the presentation, several of the villagers came forward to accept Jesus and their Lord and Savior. Many did not. We can only hope that the seeds planted today will grow over time. Dan says that they often do. After all, the hope of Christ is a very powerful thing.
Well, I am heading to bed now. Tomorrow we will be back much later than this evening, so I will likely not leave anything until Monday morning before we leave for Antigua.
Yours in Christ
Will
Will- I can see what an incredible and spiritually upliftiing experience this is for you. I can’t wait until you can tell me in person. Your children and I miss you but understand the good you are doing. After all the rewarding hard work, I hope you have a great time in beautiful Antigua. We all send you our love and prayers. Jeannie
Will
I am so pleased to hear of this wonderful opportunity you have been blessed with. Sounds like you are doing great work. The lords work is allways great work though. Keep it up and enjoy the rest of you time there. We are all very proud of you and love you very much.
Love, Your brother
Good Morning,
The last of our ministry days is over with the sencond clinic outreach yesterday. Once againd,it was a very uplifting experience with more hearts opened to the Love of our Lord. On the long (and really bumpy) ride back to base I had time to reflect over these last five days.
I feel like I have lived much more than 5 days worth of life in this week. I have been shown what is possible with Jesus’ Love and Dan has been a great catalyst for this lesson by pointing my heart in the right direction through his ministry.
I have really appreciated all of theprayers, well wishes and encouragement that I have received from all of you this week. Please continue to pray for the people of Guatemala as their struggles will continue long after this team leaves this Country.
I now face the challenge of using the lessons that our Lord has taught me in my everyday life. In morning devotional yesterday, Dan said “The first person to embrace you when you get off the plane (back in the States) is Satan”, not meaning our loved ones of course. I understood this before he said it and my heart is a little troubled. Our Country is a wonderful place where all things are possible, both good and evil. The enemy is strong there. But with the Lord’s help and the love of my wife and children, I believe that I have the strength to fight that battle and hold my own.
We will be leaving very early tomorrow morning for the airport in Guatemala City, so I may leave a brief comment this evening before early to bed. Although this experience has been one of the most profound experiences of my life, I am ready to come home. Jeannie and I have so much to talk about and I have so much time to make up for that I would like to get started as soon as possible.
The Love of Christ to all who read this because in his Love all good things are possible.
Yours in Christ
Will
Will – I just reread everything written these past days and I know that my love for the Lord has been passed on to you. There were times in my life when he was there for me, but I have not always been able to express how much I have needed him. His love has always made me strong enough to survive whatever has happened. I am so proud of you and happy for you to have had this experience. Ken and I love you so very much.
Yours in Christ, Mom
Hi honey, I am counting down the hours until you get home safe. I know you will have a bittersweet departure because this place is the start of your new growth in Christ. Come home and pass it on. Love Jeannie
Our visit to Antigua was a lot of fun, but I am more that ready for the trip home tomorrow. We will be up at 3:30am and on the road by 4:00 in order to miss the traffic in Guatemala City which will get us to the airport roughly 2 and 1/2 hours before our flight departs (around 8:40am).
Jeannie – I will call you from Houston and give you a ballpark on when we should arrive in Allendale. I think we are supposed to land in Detroit around 3:00pm, so that would probably get us home around 7:00 or 8:00 depending on luggage retreival and traffic. I cannot wait to see you and the children again.
In Christ’s Love
Will
Willy – I’m very very proud of the work you did in Christ’s name in Guatemala. It must have been very satisfying to you. I loved the pictures. Hope you have a safe trip home.
Love You,
Dad
Good Evening,
We had our Guatemala team interview in service this morning and it was a lot of fun reliving some of the lighter and funnier moments of the trip with my teammates. I also shared my testimony with the congregation and Scott gave a very empassioned speech that really communicated the way in which the Lord spoke to him and through him during our ministry.
I have replayed my experiences in my head over and over since I returned and find myself discovering new insights almost on a daily basis. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what I experienced was real and the evidence of that continues each day as I have discovered a new peace in my life that never existed before. Now that I have told of my experience to my fellow church-goers, there is a list of people that I am close to that I still have to share my testimony with. I am a little afraid of this because I am not sure that they will want to hear my story, but I must tell it anyway. I know I shouldn’t fear because my Savior will be with me and guide my words so the my testimony will bring the most glory to him, but humans are fallible creatures and fear seems to have a profound effect on our behavior. I guess that’s why the enemy uses it so often.
In one of our evening devotionals, we read a passage from Exodus in which the Isrealites pleaded with Moses not to let God speak to them because they were afraid that they would die. Dan read us an analysis of this passage from the Oswald Chambers devotional “My Utmost to His Highest” which said “People don’t want God to speak to them because if He does then you only have two choices. You must either do as God asks or tell Him no, that you will not obey Him.” That, my friends, is your eternal salvation decision in a nutshell. I will forever be thankful that when the Lord called my name that I was wise enough to say “Yes, Lord”.
In closing, a great thank you to my team members (for inspiration and encouragement), Dan (for his biblical insight and christian fire), Life Stream Church and all who followed and/or left messages for me on this blog . I love all of you and wish nothing less than the peace and hope of Christ for all of you. Mostly, I want to thank our Heavenly Father and his beloved Son, our Savior, for allowing me to participate in this part of their ministry in this world. The new man that I have become is looking forward to new chapters of the story which really began with a confused and frustrated man getting on a plane to a faraway place because God called on me to do so.
Yours in Christ,
Will Love
Team Allendale (February 16-23, 2010)