Amy's Beat: May 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

I am writing to invite you to be part of a journey that God is continuing to take me on. This time though, I have the extra blessing of bringing my husband Mike along with me. Last year I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala in January with a mission group from Michigan. While I was there we visited several different areas and did a variety of mission work. Everything we did was wonderful but there was one part that really stood out for me. We visited the Guatemala City Ghetto. This is an area in Guatemala City where the poorest of the poor live. When I was there with the group, we handed out Bibles, spoke to some of the residents about Christ, gave out candy, toys, and other various items. I really felt drawn to the ghetto and was wishing that I could spend some more time there. This was the beginning of my passion for the people in the Guatemala City Ghetto. From the minute I returned home, I felt a very strong urge to make plans to return as soon as possible.

While I was there in January, I met Ashley. She is an American, 21 years old, who has lived in Guatemala for 3 years. She has a passion for the people who live in the ghetto, and has even moved to a home in the ghetto so that she can be with them as much as possible. She has had a great influence on the people there, being Christ to them, and showing them love as Christ would do. I kept in contact with Ashley, and 8 months after I returned home, I was heading back to Guatemala by myself. This time I was going to stay with Ashley. I was so excited because this time I was going to really get to see what life in the ghetto is like, and develop relationships with the people who live there. To me, I can’t think of a better witness for Christ than to be willing to go live with these people, get to know them, and show them love by helping them in any way I can. This is exactly what I did. Ashley and I made meals for several of the families, we counseled with a few people who were struggling with issues, we gave out clothing that I had brought with me, as well as toys and other items. We also went out to the city dump, where families live, and gave them fresh baked bread that I had gotten at a bakery in the city. This was an awesome experience for me and it was a blessing for the people there as well. There is nothing more exciting than being able to tell them why I am doing what I am doing. It is all about Christ, the love He has for me, and how I want to spread that love to them.

Now, I am being blessed with the opportunity to go back to Guatemala. This time, I am getting to bring Mike with me. We plan to go December 12th – 20th of this year. I am excited that he will be able to join me in blessing the people of Guatemala. We plan to stay with Ashley once again. She is still living in the same place in the ghetto. We plan to do as many things as we are able to while we are down there. Some of the plans so far are to have a street dance one evening, have an American style cookout for the neighborhood another day, and to spend some time with the young guys who are looking for acceptance and unfortunately finding that acceptance through their participation in street gangs. I want to try to show them that there is so much more to life and other ways to fill the desire to belong than to take drugs and engage in gang activity. Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest issues in the ghetto, and many young boys and men die due to gang violence. Many innocent people lose their lives to this gang violence as well.

We are asking that you will pray for our trip to be a success and be exactly what God wants it to be. Also, as you know, any kind of mission trip takes a certain amount of money for travel and supplies. We are blessed to be able to stay with Ashley so we won’t have any expense for lodging but we do need money for our flight. We also need money for buying food and other supplies for the activities while we are there. Please pray about this and if you feel that God lays it on your heart to contribute to us financially we would greatly appreciate it. If you don’t feel that you can contribute financially, we are also looking for people who would commit to praying for us that we receive the funds that we need for the trip and that we will have a safe trip, and that we will truly be able to show the love of Christ to the people of Guatemala. If you want, you can do both, financial and commit to prayers. We are greatly appreciative of either or both!

May God Bless You!!

Mike and Amy

To see pictures and read about my last trip, please click below to view my blog.

http://amysbeat.blogspot.com/2008/09/guatemala-my-second-home.html

I know this will shock many, but I am putting my favorite car up for sale. I have decided that I want to buy a newer one, and I don't have a big enough driveway to keep both. It makes me sad to sell it. It has been a great car that I have loved to drive. I am going to post pictures on here so that anyone who asks for pictures from the ad can be directed to my blog and easily get the pictures. Here are the details for anyone else who might happen on my blog and be interested.

1991 Toyota MR2, 5-speed manual, 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder turbo engine, new 16" wheels, power door locks, power windows, power steering, AM/FM radio, CD player, cold a/c

The mileage is 198,000 and the engine was rebuilt around the 130,000 mile mark.

The car looks and runs great, especially considering it's age. It does have a small oil leak and the t-top seals leak a during heavy rain. Other than that, I am not aware of any problems with the car. These cars are very rare and hard to find ones that look as good as this one. I am asking $4000 for the car. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at amym1130@aol.com. I receive my email very quickly so you will get a fast response mostly likely.