Things have been fantastic for us all here in Guatemala.  We are so blessed to be able to start every morning with an impacting time of devotions.  Today we considered the topic of validation and had the opportunity to take time to validate one another with words of encouragement and prayers of blessing.  It was our first time to leave urban Guatemala and head out to the country side.  We went to an agricultural community called "Paradise".  A college in Guatemala chose to impact this community by opening a centre that feeds the children of the community and helps them with their education.  This centre has been a light to the community and has been aptly named "The Light of Paradise".  Before this centre opened, girls received no education. Now they have the opportunity to go to school along with the boys.   Although the community is full of people harvesting delicious pineapples, cabbage, & tomatoes; the members of the community do not own the land or the food produced on it.  All of the food is removed from the community and sold elsewhere so these hard working land labourers have trouble providing more than tortillas and beans to feed their families.  Through "The Light of Paradise" the children receive ample nourishment and are growing physically and intellectually.  At the centre, we painted the inside of an outdoor pool.  Swimming pools are usually only for the elite in Guatemala.  The municipality has offered to fill the pool with water at no charge. We also built four large wooden bookshelves. Two bookshelves for school supplies and two for food.  The meager tools and items we had to build the shelves with reminded us of how much we have in our own country.  We visited four homes in the community to pray for them and distribute a food hamper.  We were surprised to see that one bag of groceries would be equivalent to a month's worth of food for a family with 6 children. That same family in Canada would likely go through a bag of groceries in one day not one month.  When we returned back to Dorie's Promise we were met with delicious homemade Chicken Noodle soup and shared lunch together before the majority of the team went to feed the babies of Dorie's and watch a movie with the older children.  Once again, Thina led a devotion for the Special Mothers and other employees of Dorie's Promise.  At the end of each day, we debrief about our highs, lows, and challenges of the day.  God repeatedly shows us how He is in control and meeting the needs of everyone we have met. Not only does He meet their needs but He blesses exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever imagine because He is so good!