We love having people in our home!!

We have the wonderful opportunity to have teams come and visit us through out the year, but it always increases during the summer months. We have had small work teams, large work teams, teams for the day and teams for the week!! We love meeting new people and sharing about our ministry. The Lord has blessed us with a house here on lake Atítlan that is big enough to host groups, and we really enjoy having them.

Teams, teams and more teams!!

~Christ Chapel~

This is a great team that we enjoyed having with us here in Santiago.

One of the days we were able to work with both the teams. It is hard work but so neat to see the progress everyone got done.

Poor Naomi had a little mishap but Dr. Reese was there to get her cleaned up.

Titus and Isaac were able to help lay bricks for the wall going up around the camp.

~Dallas Theological Seminary~

It was a privilege to have the Dallas Theological Team stay with us in our home this year. We really enjoyed getting to know everyone on the team.

Dr. Lopez is always a lot of fun, the girls were having a blast playing this game with him, I think he was too!

Christ Chapel Bible Church, High School team

Our last team of the season was Christ Chapel Bible Church from Texas. They brought down a team of 64 it was a high school team and they had plenty of energy and were able to get a lot done. They were able to help at the Alfa & Omega church Camp, just outside of town. It was incredible to see how they swooped in and did so much work in so little time. We worked with them when they were pulling up coffee and trimming the branches. We had a delicious lunch with the team at the hotel. It was hamburgers & hot dogs yummy!! After lunch they asked us to share our ministry with them and what the Lord has in store for us here in Santiago and Guatemala for that matter. So as we all gathered around under a tree (not all of us fit under the tree) Danny shared about how the Lord led us here to Guatemala and what we will be doing here. Then I shared about our everyday life in Santiago, school, shopping, language, our kids, the culture ect..

One day we invited the team to come over for some lemonade after working at the camp. We all squeezed in, I have never had that many people around my table... It was awesome. Since we had spoken a few days earlier the kids had some more questions. We had a very detailed question and answer time. It was neat for Danny and I to see the questions they had, Maybe one day the Lord will lead some of these very students to the missions field...We enjoyed the time we spent with this team, the youth and the leaders were a true joy to be around. We look forward to the next time they can come.

Ayore Team

This month we had a team from the Ayore Church in Kansas. They were here for a total of 10 days. We really enjoyed getting to know this group. It was Pastor Casey & his wife Karen and 3 of their youth Zack, Elsie & Libbie. It was a joy to have them stay with us in our home.

This team came to work at Camp David Phillips. Alfa & Omegas camp just a few kilometers out side of Santiago. We all went in the morning and when the kids got out of school at 12:30 we would take them out to help too. The Church is in the process of building a wall around the camp.

We carried blocks, sand, rocks and sifted sand. It was very hard work, I have not worked like this in a long time and I was very sore...

All work and no play is not fun so after we worked hard for several days we took a day off and went to THE BEACH.... If you have never seen the Beaches here in Guatemala it is worth it. The sand is BLACK and the ocean is fierce!!!

We also had the opportunity to go on visitation with the church youth. We prayed for this man who has had a lot going on with his family and needed some prayer.


After working all week by ourselves we had reinforcements come in and help us on Saturday. It was a team of 64 from Texas (my next blog!!) I said that to say it was nice to be able to work with such a big group. When you have a lot of people the work goes by a lot faster. Once the other team got here we were clearing the land. We were clearing coffee. Digging it up from the roots, pulling the whole plant out, then stripping the leaves and branches with machetes. Naomi, Chloe Ann, Libbie & Casey were having fun... not sure what was going on but it was cute!!!

We had a great time with these guys and and were so happy to get to know them. We praise the Lord for good health, good weather and awesome attitudes.

Casey got to go with Danny & Diego to the Pastoral Leadership training that has just gotten underway in the last few months. Pastors and leaders from the Solola area are invited to come and take classes on various topics. (No pictures!!)

Cornerstone Community 2009

One of our supporting churches Cornerstone Community Church came down last week. It was so good to see familiar smiling faces. This year we were able to visit 3 different schools in the mornings. We went in and had a gift for each student and teacher. We told them this was a gift from the team but we wanted to tell them about the best gift ever. We explained to them that God sent his Son Jesus to earth to live a perfect life and took the penalty of sin and died for each one of them. There were 3 elders from our church 'Alpha & Omega' who went with us every day. They told us before we entered the schools that most of these children had probably never heard the gospel before. We were able to share the love Christ has for them. You could have heard a pin drop in most of the classes. In the end we were able to share with about 1000 students and their teachers. Praise the Lord!!

In the Afternoons we had the privilege of joining a few visiting teams from Alpha & Omega. The men went together and the women split up into two different groups. We were able to go and pray for families in the church who had needs or were very sick. It was awesome to see what prayer warriors these brothers and sisters are. I think we all learned a lot from visiting with the Tz'utujil people. My team went to visit a lady who was diabetic and really suffering. We prayed for her and her family that God would comfort & heal her. Two of the people that our teams visited passed away the next day. It was such a reminder of how our days are numbered. We were all praising the Lord that they were no longer in pain and with their Savior!!

One afternoon we had the team over for lunch and introduced them to Patin (home made tomato sauce with meat wrapped in banana leaves) the most typical dish here in Santiago. We had Patin, with(hand made) tortillas, guacamole, cheese dip, rice and beans. We also go to hear the testimony of one of the deacons from Alpha & Omega. It was incredible what the Lord has done in his life.

I don't want to tell you all too much.. I want you to come for yourselves :)

Foote Notes November 2008

Greetings to all,

We want to thank you for your continued prayer. We have been here in Santiago for three months and have felt the Lord leading in so many ways. Thank you for praying for our transition and adjustment, Praise the Lord it is going well.

Danny and the kids are working more and more on their Spanish as we continue to learn about the culture and the people. Sometime the beginning of next year we plan to start formerly learning Tz’utujil. We would like to find a tutor who is a good teacher, someone who can read and write. Up until now we have been learning words and phrases. It is exciting to be able to use and understand words in the market or in church but we have a long way to go. The locals love it when we use the few words that we already know; it really motivates us to learn more.

We are so excited to be able to go ‘home’ for Christmas. We are going to split the time between both families. We will be in New Orleans with my family and in Pell City with Danny’s family. Regretfully we cannot see all of you during this short visit but we do hope to see a lot of you. We ask that you keep us in your prayers as we travel this holiday season.

We are thankful to those of you who came down this year. You were a great encouragement and help to us. We look forward to seeing who the Lord is going to send our way this coming year. Our calendar for 2009 is already getting filled up, Praise the Lord!

As our Pastor Gary says in Luling, We have a perfect Savior but we do not have a perfect church. Our church Alpha & Omega is going through some turmoil. We ask that you keep Pastor Abraham and the Elders in your prayers. Pray that they would let the Lord lead them to make wise Godly decisions. We do not know all the ins and outs of each situation but we too are fervently praying.

Team from Iowa Louisiana

I was a bit nervous about this team coming down. This was the first team we had to feed, house and translate for VBS. There were 10 in the team but I knew most of them very well (Jerry & Sarah Lastrapes and her parents Pat & Kathy). Anytime I would get a bit nervous I would remind myself it was Jerry & Sarah's team.

Here is the whole team from left to right, (back)Danny, Josh, Jerry, Maddy, Cathy, Sarah (holding) Cole, Tara, Caleb, Kathy, (front) Titus, Daphne (holding) Naomi, Chloe Ann, Isaac & Pat.

I tried to include several typical meals on the menu. One morning for breakfast we had scrambled eggs, tortillas, refried beans and a fruit salad. A very typical Guatemalan breakfast. I asked my friend Ana Samuc to help me find someone to make Patin (Typical only to Santiago). Her mother made it for us and the Samuc family came and ate with us. It is Chicken in spicy red sauce wrapped in banana leaves and cooked for several hours.

Everyone liked it, of course it was a team from Louisiana and they eat a variety of foods.

We got to eat at the Pescador, a local little restaurant in Santiago. The specialty is fried fish!! They also have a typical steak plate with guacamole that is delicious.

Mr. Pat & Ms.Kathy brought down Louisiana sausage and

made Gumbo for us one night. It was a great taste of home.

Titus had four full bowls & believe it or not Isaac did too.

They wanted the leftovers for breakfast!

We all stayed in our house in Santiago. We have not moved in yet so the furniture and beds are what came with the house. I think it is all from the 1960s. I wish I could have had my furniture in it the house but Danny keeps reminding me it's all in due time.

Staying at the lake house is like camping. The house is not weather proof or bug proof and the water comes right from the lake!! Titus thought it was funny one morning he went to the bathroom and there was a tiny little fish swimming in the toilet.

It was a fun time and everyone enjoyed their stay.

Mr. Pat brought down fishing rods for the kids and Danny too. It was a wonderful surprise. They had so much fun fishing all week. Thank you Mr. Pat, This will be a gift they use very often.

We went to a school in San Pedro every morning. It was just a short boat ride away. Our boat drive would pick us up from our dock and drop us off every day.

We spent the week ministering at a school. We held a Vacation Bible School for the kids. Since the kids are still in school here. The Director of the School allowed us to teach during class time. We would have the Bible story all together then split the kids according to their grades for Games and craft time. This is Josh and his group showing off their wordless bracelets!!Chloe Ann made friends with these two girls. They loved helping her with the craft that day. It worked very well that way. I translated the Bible story for Ms. Kathy and then once we split up Danny & Titus would translate for Ms. C in Game time, and I would translate for Sarah & Tara during crafts. I must say I am extremely proud of Danny (& Titus) for translating. Translating is not easy and they did a great job.

The Director was excited that we shared the gospel with every lesson. She said there were many students who had not heard the gospel.
The last night they were here we drove to Antigua and stayed the night in a nice little hotel. El Meson de Maria. It was a great treat after a week of "camping". We got to do some shopping and relax at the hotel. Thanks team for inviting us to stay with you at the hotel it was an extra special treat. One awesome feature was the roof of the hotel had table and lounge chairs that you could see all of Antigua, including the Volcanoes.
Maddy & Chloe Ann enjoyed the roof top view.

We went across the street to La Fonda de la calle real (our favorite restaurant) for dinner. It was a nice candle lit dinner for all of us to enjoy.

No visit to Antigua is complete with out a trip to Mc Donalds!!! It was a GREAT burger after all week out at the lake.


Jerry, Sarah, Maddy & Cole came down several days before the team to meet other CAM missionaries. They also met with the field Director Steve Sywilka to get a better idea of their future ministry with us. The Lastrapes are in the process of raising their support to come and work along side us here in Santiago. Their goal is to arrive here in Guatemala fall of 2009 please be in prayer for them as they raise their support. It was a long process when we raised our support but we saw the Lords strength and timing through it all. It was a hard goodbye for all of us. Selfishly we wanted them to stay. We are anxiously awaiting you guys!!!