Joy...

We had the privilege of attending the Intermissions Conference in Panajachel this year.  In fact, I am sitting beside the pool typing this blog - I know..nice! 
This was our first time and man, have we been blessed.
The theme was Maintaining Joy in the Trenches.  It was wonderful to be encouraged and reminded that our joy in the Lord is our strength and it should spill out of us and affect the lives of those we "bump" into.  In fact, the keynote speaker used the illustration of someone walking with a glass full of water.  When they trip and fall (so they aren't perfect), the water in the cup spills out all over them and those close to them.  That was a great picture for me - I want my joy to "spill out."  He also talked about joy being about the journey, not the destination. 
Not only did we have the chance to participate in multiple worship services in English and 4 general sessions, we also were able to attend 3 workshops on topics relevant to us.  One in particular really spoke to my spirit and I know it will directly impact the way I share Christ with the kids we are helping. 
There were Servant teams here from numerous churches in the US, offering activities for kids, youth, singles, spa services, optomotrist appointments, book store, and a huge amount of free items to give away.  Rocky was able to have his eyes checked and I got a massage.  We also got a bag full of medications and vitamins that we are not able to find in Guatemala. 
I love to read and Rocky and I have been looking at buying an electronic reader, but we have always cheaped out.  As a result, I am often without reading material.  Well, at the bookstore here, they had Kindles for sale for $40 - subsidized by a church in the USA - and I was one of the lucky ones to get one.  I quickly downloaded 15 books, a Spanish/English Bible and a couple of Bible studies...all for free!  What a blessing.
We are just enjoying a little down time before we leave for the capital.  We are picking up a pastor from the US tonight and tomorrow morning, the group that was here, at Intermissions, is joining Mission2Guatemala and we are hosting a pastor's conference at the mission site in Chisec.  There will be 39 pastors attending and I know it will be a huge blessing to them and to us. 
Thank you for continuing to pray for us.  We are so honoured to have family and friends like you serving along side of us as we invest our lives in Guatemala!
Karren