Wooddale Bridge Builders

03/26/2024

Bridge Builder 2024 Team

This team was amazing and we all saw God work through each one of us individually and as a team. When each member of the team was asked to give one word to describe the trip, here is what we said:

Joyful, Teamwork, Bold, Fun, Exciting, Established, Renewing, Surprised, Uplifting, Refreshing, Reconnecting, Beautiful, Bonding, Persevering, Epic, Great, Ineffable, Delicious, Inspiring, Fulfilling, Blessed, Eye-Opening, Amazing and Todopoderoso

03/25/2024

03/25/2024

Last Day and half in Antigua ☀️❤️

03/25/2024

30 Years of Bridge Builders coming to Guatemala!!!

Yesterday morning we had a small gathering for a breakfast 30th anniversary celebration with just our team, Eppic and the pastors around the lake. It was a time of worship, sharing memories and celebration. Jaime who has been with the team all 30 years was presented a picture that says 30 years with Bridge Builders. Many of the pastors stood up and shared fun memories as well as gratitude for our partnership.

Tim has been running the trip for ten years and passed on the “spike” to Rafa as the new Bridge Builders leader. It is so amazing all of the work and relationships that God has built on these trips.

After the celebration our team headed to Antigua (more on this in the next post update)

03/23/2024

Yesterday was our last full day at beautiful Lake Atitlan. It went by so fast, it was hard to believe the week was almost done. The friendships made here are deep and strong, so saying good bye is hard. The day was structured a little different than our typical ministry day, here is what it looked like:

Water Team
They removed a damaged water filtration system at the Bautista Campamento. The Iodine part of the system that was still usable was passed on to the Eppic team to use in San Marcos. And plans were made for a future installation of an ultra violet system at the conference center. And Praise God, the team fixed the water system in San Lucas, they are getting clean water!!

Pastoral Teaching
It was day two for Dale teaching the pastors at Bautista Campamento. In the morning our team went to hear Dale’s teaching. It is no surprise that the teaching was excellent and it was fun to see what Dale does in the field with pastors all over the world.

Home Dedications
At 3:30 we split into two teams and headed to home dedications, two homes in San Pablo and two homes in San Pedro. We put together baskets for the families that had rice, beans, a kitchen towel, wash clothes, wooden spoons, journals, new testiment Bible, shampoo and a hand made sign made by one of the team members that said, “Bless this home and everyone who enters”. At the dedications, we spent time with the families, we prayed with them and took pictures with them. They were all so grateful for our help in building their home. Typically the homes are completely built when we dedicate them, but the pastors told us that a lot of the local construction workers had left the country to go to the USA so there are less workers and it is taking longer to get homes built.

30th Celebration
In the evening we headed to Primera Iglesia Bautista, Pastor Raul’s church. A lot of the churches around the lake joined us in celebrating 30 years of Bridge Builders coming to Lake Atitilan to do ministry. It was a wonderful celebration with music, testimonies (Matty and Molly), Praising, Preaching and fellowship.The Band that opened us up in praise music was rocking and even though most of us did not understand the words, we loved every minute of it. Our group in partnership with Eppic got on stage and lead the audience in the song The Blessing, which we sang in both Spanish and English. In addition Eppic did a mime production that was absolutely amazing and the Pastor Nery wrapped up the production with some preaching. The night was absolutely wonderful.

03/22/2024

Day 4 of Ministry

As the week has gone on we are seeing our team members grow closer and share more into their stories and blessings that are happening throughout the week. The group of people on this trip are amazing and we are blessed to be able to work together and grow together.

Children’s Ministry
As we walked into the school we were surprised to see how young the students were (we were expecting a grade school), and these children were ages 2-6 years old. So we did what we always do, go with whatever God puts in front of us. Marsha Hummel brought a wonderful children’s program that started with a dinosaur costume that the kids loved. This kicked off a lesson about faith as she told a story about a tightrope walker and then the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water. The interactive lesson had these young children listening and laughing. It was a wonderful morning with the children and start to our day. During a break one member of our team (Amy) had the chance to go back and see the house she helped build several years ago. She was able to introduce her family to the family who lives in the home and who had grown since the last time she was here.

Teen Ministry
Marsha also taught the teens and transformed the stories for the older audience which was perfect for these 30 teens between the ages of 14-17. Next Neri and Pedro sang a couple songs which made all of the teen girls giggle and smile. Let’s just say that after the program there were many requests for the girls to have their photo taken with the twins. We also had a faith story shared (Lisa) which seemed to resonate with the teens as well.

Men’s Ministry
Several men gathered and shared their stories, many of the men in attendance struggled with alcohol and appreciated the transparency as well as the caring that the men on our team showed when sharing their stories. At the end of the meeting, one of the Guatemalan men gave his life to Christ!

Water Ministry
The two teams went to Panajachel, Santiago and San Lucas. They were able to service and change filters on many of the water systems, but there is still one that needs parts. Please continue to pray for the water team as they head out on Friday to try and get all of the water systems serviced and working. It is important to note that the water team also makes many relationships and connections along the way. During one of the stops they had to wait for a key in order to get into the area with the water system. While they waited they talked to the custodian and he shared his story with them, they listened, shared and prayed with this man. Right as they finished the key showed up. Such a good reminder that sometimes when things are not on time or going as planned, God is in control and has the best plan (and timing).

Women’s Ministry
The Women’s ministry team visited 4 women and families today. They prayed for each of them and the people they visited were so grateful just for the presence of our team coming to visit them. At one of the homes there was a brand new baby (1 month old), when a woman from our team held the baby it was the perfect blessing at the perfect moment just for her.

Pastors Training
Pastor Dale came down to conduct a training for many Pastors here in Guatemala. The topic is “How to Increase your Leadership”. The room was full with over 80 pastors and others from all over Guatemala who were there to learn from Dale. One of the things that many of our team members talk about is the incredible synergy and flow of Dale teaching and Jaime interpreting, it is a match made in heaven! The pastors in attendance were very happy with what they learned today and are excited to come back tomorrow to learn more.

To say that this trip has been amazing, would be an understatement. We give all the glory to our Lord for the journey we have had so far and for the adventures that He has planned in the days to come.

03/21/2024

Day 3 of Ministry

At the end of the evening the whole team gets together to worship and share about our experiences as well as the stories of what happened along the way. It blesses everyone on the team listening to how God worked through all of us to touch the lives of others as well as growing us in our faith. God is so good!

Water Ministry
We need a lot of prayer around this ministry as two of the people who are the experts had to go home early, one due to illness and one due to work. We have a team going out tomorrow to try and fix systems and service others. Please pray for guidance, for all of the right parts to be available and for the systems to work correctly.

Construction
Really fun day for the construction team. There was not any real construction work to do so they started playing games that Steve Smith taught them, soon all of the neighborhood kids joined in. It was a construction site turned daycare. One of the older kids told the resurrection story in the Mayan language (Tzutujil) which was very cool for the team to hear. There were many smiles and so much joy.

Women’s Ministry
Two groups saw many women and families in the morning, listening to their prayer requests and then praying over them. In the afternoon, the interpreter did not show up but the team decided to go anyways. They used a translation app, but the homes they visited spoke Tzutujil which is not in the app, so they listened and prayed over the women knowing that God knew what the prayer requests were. One of the women from our team (Eva) has been coming with Bridge Builders for 20 years, she was not scheduled to be on the women’s team today but with a last minute change she went with them. As they went to one of the houses it was the daughter of a woman who she has seen every year here in Guatemala! She was able to see her and her mother, it was a divine reunion that only God could have coordinated!

Children’s
We went to a school in San Pablo and Luis and the team did the entire program for the grade school children. They loved it so much and their smiles were contagious. Molly shared her faith story, which you could see the children listening carefully to the wise words she was sharing. After the program we spent time talking to the children and doing Spanish/English flash cards which was fun for all of us.

Teen’s
Today it was a very small group of teens, five girls and five boys. This made the program more intimate and engaging in a different way than the larger groups. After we played several games of soccer in which we won many of them, but we should add that we had 4 Guatemalans on our team who helped to bring home the wins! Another fun time with the Guatemala teens!

We are seeing God work in so many amazing ways. We are all adding to our own stories while doing God’s work here in Guatemala. We are learning about ourselves, about the Guatemalan people and most importantly, about God!

03/20/2024

Day 2
Another exciting day for the ministry teams, with most teams in San Pedro and a couple who headed to San Pablo and San Lucas.

Children’s Ministry
Luis ran the program and his 28 year of experience never disappoints. All of the children and the Bridge Builders team were filled with joy and laughter. Luis does a great job involving everyone in the “show”, and challenging team members to try new things. Amanda shared her faith story while Pedro interpreted to Spanish for the kids to understand.

Construction
The construction team described their day as moving a a lot of dirt with a pick ax and a shovel. They were all very dusty when they met up with us at the end of the day and will probably sleep very well tonight.

Teen Ministry
Luis, Nery and Pedro all worked together to put together a great program for this group of teens at Pastor Isaac’s church. Pedro and Nery sang their song Bonita which was very popular with everyone! After the “program” there were basketball and soccer games, again Americans vs. Guatemalans. In soccer, the Americans were again outplayed by the Guatemalans, and in basketball the Americans dominated (and had the advantage of being a lot taller). Another fun day!

Water
The water team headed to San Lucas and made two stops to service the systems. One of the stops was successful in servicing the system and the other one did not work out as planned and we did not have the right parts to fix it.

Women’s Ministry
The team met with 5 women and families in San Pedro. Their stories were hard to hear but the team came along side each one of these people praying for them and giving them encouragement.

Men’s Ministry
The mens ministry plan went different than expected, with a mix up in schedules it turned out that the team met with a gentleman who really needed encouragement. There was an opportunity to listen, provide encouragement and pray together. One of the Bridge Builder team members had a similar story that was shared and turned into such a blessing to this gentleman. While the plan was different than expected, it sounds like it went just how God had planned.

Again, another successful day in Guatemala, sharing Gods’ love, building relationships and walking with the Lord each step of the way.

03/19/2024

It was a busy day in Guatemala for us, with many ministry teams headed to different areas.

Construction
There were several construction teams who worked hard carrying cement blocks and bags of cement up and down hills. They came back dusty and sweaty as well as filled with joy after doing their part in helping to build a house for a family. One our members (Kasey) brought nail polish to the construction site and offered to paint a little girls nails (she is part of the family who will live in the newly built house). She was so excited and so were all of the females in the family. With this, part of the construction site became a salon that served up smiles, connections and beautiful toenails and finger nails. We may have to add nail polish to the packing list for construction 🙂

Children’s Ministry
With Luis leading the songs and fun, there is never a dull moment with the kids. We sang, did hand motions and laughed. The children’s giggles bring such joy and paint a smile on everyone’s face. The children love this connection time as much as we do, and it is rewarding for all.

Women’s Ministry
We visited and prayed with 7 women and families. Hearing their stories and sharing our stories showed everyone that our world is broken in a lot of the same ways no matter where you are, but most importantly that God is the same and bigger than any circumstance or trial.

Water Ministry
With so much polluted water in Guatemala it is critical to have water filtration systems to make it drinkable. Today our water ministry team went to both San Marcos and San Pedro to service some water filtration systems while also making connections with the people they encountered along the way.

Teen Ministry
Another group went to spend time at a school with 13, 14 and 15 year olds. This time was filled with songs, sharing the gospel, two of our young adults sharing their testimonies and a great game of soccer. Let’s just say, these Guatemala teens are pretty good at soccer and may have shown our team just how good they are especially when competing Americans vs. Guatemalans.

All in all, God is so good and we all are seeing Him working through us and around us.

03/18/2024

After a long day of travel in cars, planes, a chicken bus, a boat and a hike to the hotel, we are here! This year we are staying at a hotel in San Juan and we are all excited to get some much needed sleep tonight before our ministries begin tomorrow. As we worshipped together tonight for the first time as a group you could feel God already working in the hearts of each team member. We are very excited to see what God has planned for us this week. Please pray for us as we go to different parts of San Juan tomorrow to build houses, put in water purification systems, men’s ministry, women’s ministry, teen and children’s ministry.

10/12/2023

We are getting ready for our 30th Anniversary! Would you join us?

Informational meeting:
Sunday, November 12, 2023. 12:00-12:45
Wooddale Church – Eden Prairie, Room: 158