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18 Canadian Mennonite September 16, 2013God at work in the WorldB.C. church takesVBS to GuatemalaMany children ‘stood up to pray to know Jesus more’By Amy DueckmanB.C. CorrespondentAn ongoing discipleship and partnershipprogram with a Guatemalancongregation led a team of 12 from CedarValley Mennonite Church in Mission, B.C.,to travel to the Central American countryfor two weeks in July, putting their faithinto practice while learning about missionsand making new friends.Chad Neustaeter, Cedar Valley’s associatepastor of student ministries, led the tripwith his wife Sandy and their four children.The other participants included youngadults, youths and two other parents.Cedar Valley members have madePhoto by Chad NeustaeterThe Cedar Valley Mennonite Church mission team members (dressed in orangeT-shirts) from Mission, B.C., play in the streets of Santa María de Jesús,Guatemala, to attract neighbourhood children to the VBS program at nearbyBethel Church, a local congregation.short-term mission trips to Guatemala 10times since 2001. The relationship withBethel Church in Santa María de Jesús,where the group volunteered again thisyear, began in 2006. While past trips haveincluded various activities such as homebuildingprojects and supporting a dentalteam, this year’s trip focused on a VacationBible School program.With the help of a local Spanish translator,VBS proved to be an overwhelmingsuccess. Originally planned for 125children between ages 4 and 10, it drewin more than 150, including communitychildren.“We presented a VBS called ‘Creationstation: You are God’s masterpiece’ thatour church developed last spring using Mr.Potato Head body parts,” says Neustaeter.“At the end of our four-day program, weasked if any students would like to makeJesus their special friend and most of thekids stood up to pray to know Jesus more.”At Cedar Valley’s own VBS held earlierthis summer, participants had madeand decorated bags to send with theGuatemala group, instead of doing takehomecraft projects for themselves. Thelocal Guatemalan VBS participants werethrilled with their new bags.Additionally, the Cedar Valley group visitedKairos House, a ministry by a familythat has opened its home to care for familiesof children with cancer. Here, theysang songs and presented gifts of blankets,New Testaments and the decorated bags.Visiting the city dump in GuatemalaCity was an eye-opening experience for theCanadians, as they observed people siftingthrough the garbage, trying to salvage discardeditems to make a living. Next dooris Potters House, which ministers to thesepoorest of the poor by helping adults withmicroloans, and marketing their handmadejewelry to help them support themselvesand give their children a chance atan education.Sydney Hinchcliffe, who graduated fromhigh school last spring, found her visit toPotters House to be such a highlight thatshe hopes to continue supporting it fromafar. “I’m going to be an ambassador forPotters House [here],” she says, “speakingto schools and churches.” The tripalso cemented Hinchcliffe’s desire to bea teacher, and she enrolled in ColumbiaBible College’s Quest program as soon asshe returned.Undoubtedly, the ongoing partnershipbetween the Mission and Santa Maríade Jesús churches will continue in futuresummers.“Our goal is to provide an opportunityfor youth to have a significant encounterwith God, practise being a witness, learnabout missions and another culture in orderto expand their worldview,” Neustaetersays. “God doesn’t disappoint.” l