Intermissions Conference 2016

Last weekend we attended an annual missions conference in Panajachel, Guatemala.  The conference is for all English speaking missionaries serving in Guatemala.  We enjoy going because we get to meet and visit with other families that serve here that we might not otherwise ever see.  We always enjoy seeing some familiar faces and meeting new ones also.  There are servant teams that come down from the States to be with us.  They take care of all the children and youth doing VBS type activities while the adults attend worship services and breakout sessions.  It is always like a retreat for us because we get some time to focus on the Lord without our children around.  We love it and look forward to going each year.  I never take many photos while there and didn't this time either but here are a few I have to share-

The conference is always the last weekend in February which most always falls around my birthday.  Because of that I try to plan my birthday celebration around it.  We drove into Guatemala City a day early to celebrate there and then drove on to Panajachel the next day.  The conference begins on Friday night and goes through lunch on Sunday.

Leaving Guatemala City driving to Panajachel on Friday afternoon

We made a bathroom/ leg stretch break at one of the many local restaurants along the way.  This particular stop was at a place we had not visited before.  They had a really fun place for the kids to play and while they played we sat inside and enjoyed coffee and pecan pie.  Yes, you read that right- pecan pie! That was something rare that you do not find here and it was actually pretty good.

playtime on the way to Panajachel

One of the things we love about the conference is the beautiful views from the hotel rooms.  All rooms have a balcony and most have amazing views of the volcanoes that surround Lake Atitlan.  It is always a lot cooler there too so we enjoy the break from the constant heat that we have here in Chiquimula.

Cruz took this photo of us as we walked around and mingled.

One of our first stops is always the book fair.  Everyone is asked ahead of time to bring any books, study materials, magazines, homeschool resources, etc. to give away.  Everything is piled onto tables and you are free to look through it and take what you want.  I found a lot of cooking magazines that I love and also a few school things.  I almost squealed when my eyes caught sight of a stack of Boxcar Children books.  My boys love them and I picked up six new books.

 I cannot wait to read these with the boys!

The boys before supper on Friday night. 

These three spent a lot of time together over the weekend.  His parents used to serve in our area but have since moved to another part of the country.  It was fun seeing him (and his mom and dad) again.

my boys admiring the sunset from our balcony on Friday night

sunset on Friday night

beautiful Saturday morning view!

My favorite part of the conference this year was the worship services.  We had great praise and worship music but I really enjoyed the speaker.  We had Dr. George Murray from Columbia International University in South Carolina as our guest speaker.  His messages were encouraging, convicting, and challenging all at the same time.  He taught from the book of Esther which is one of my favorites.  Over the course of the weekend he shared with us seven principles for reaching the world in such a time as this.  He shared statistics about the amount of lostness in the world and challenged us to do more to spread the Gospel. He challenged us to spend more time each day in prayer.  Not just a "thank you God for this day" or "thank you God for this meal" quick prayer but truly spending time with the Lord each day.  He also challenged us to share the Gospel using words not deeds.   It was good and I left with a much stronger passion to tell the world of the hope that I have in Christ Jesus.   

our family at the Intermissions Conference 2016

We cannot wait to go back next year!  If you serve in Guatemala and have not been attending- come join us!  The 2017 conference is scheduled for Feb. 24-26.  Write it down and start making plans now to attend.