Brock Photography

Guatemala Mission Trip - Pathways

2008-10-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Pathways Protected By Razor Wire - Arkansas House, Guatemala City

Entrances Protected by Gates - Arkansas House, Guatemala City

Pathways Lined With Tropical Vegetation - Bambu Resort, Mazatenango, Guatemala

Pathways in Light

Pathways in Darkness

Hidden Pathways

Starting Points - Patulul Prayer Walk Initial Pathway

Steep Pathways

Pathways in the Jungle

Pathways in the City

Narrow Pathways

Pathways through the Water

Pathways Lined With Art

So many seeking on the Pathways

Guatemala Mission Trip - Textures

2008-10-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

In preparation for our mission trip to Guatemala, we were given a book on prayer walking. The website http://www.gotquestions.org/prayer-walking.html has a good definition of prayer walking.

Prayer walking is the practice of praying on location, a type of intercessory prayer that involves walking to or near a particular place while praying. Some people believe that being close to a location allows them to “pray nearer to pray clearer.” Prayer walks are taken by individuals, groups, and even whole churches. They can be as short as a block or as long as many miles. The idea is to use the five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch—to increase the intercessor’s understanding of prayer needs.

As we walked through the area in Guatemala where we were to visit, we stopped periodically to pray as our senses were "engaged by the Spirit of God."

As a photographer (and a male), I am drawn to visual images (the sense of sight). So that I can continue to pray for the area where we visited, I took several photographs of "textures" that I saw in the area.

They dress Him in purple...

The Light of God's Love Penetrates ...

The Master Craftsman Weaves a Covering of Protection....

He will be like a tree planted by streams of living water...

Guatemala Mission Trip - Antigua

2008-10-17T16:54:00.001-07:00

Cathedral Antigua

Agua Volcano Peers Over a Small Spanish Style House

Ancient Ruins

Jade Factory - Men's Room Sink Water Faucet

Jade Factory - Display Case Mask

Jade Factory - Courtyard & Fountain

Guatemala Mission Trip - Why Missions?

2008-10-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Karl Marx is accredited with the following quote: “The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly a struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion. Religious suffering is at the same time an expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of men, is a demand for their real happiness. The call to abandon their illusions about their conditions is a call to abandon a condition which requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, the embryonic criticism of this vale of tears of which religion is the halo.”

Of course, this is the source of the phrase "religion is the opiate of the people." It may seem strange that I would attempt to explain why I support mission trips by using this quote, but I think its essential to understand what I truly believe missions is NOT. Missions is NOT about religion because in an extreme sense, Marx may have been at least partially correct in his assessment that religion can be illusory. By "religion" I am a Southern Baptist but I do not seek to press the tenants of Southern Baptist propriety on people. Still I am greatful for my Southern Baptist upbringing because it pointed me to a greater "somebody." Perhaps, this is where Mr. Marx may have missed the mark (marx... mark, yeah that's bad). Whereas Marx saw religion as the "end game," others, like myself, see religion as a pathway leading to "somebody." Somebody that we need; somebody that wants us; somebody greater than ourselves; somebody that Loves us; somebody seeking after us; somebody that compels us to share; somebody that gives us a mission to share about greatness, need, Love, and seeking. Missions then becomes talking about somebody with people who need somebody, not religion, but somebody.

There's Somebody Out There

There's somebody out there hurt

And confused

An innocent child being abused

There's somebody out there whose heart is

Breaking in two

There's somebody out there feeling alone

A husband, a wife being done wrong

There's somebody out there shattered from

A broken home

Chorus:

But there's Somebody out there with arms

Open wideWho longs to embrace you, dry the tears

From your eyes

He's hope for the hopeless

He'll carry the burdens you bear

When you don't have a prayer

There's Somebody out there

There's somebody out there who thought

It was coolTo keep taking chances thinking they'd

Never lose

Now they're hooked on a feeling that'sLeft them empty and fooled
There's somebody out there who can't

Quite decide

Whether to live or whether to die

They're searching for strength to get

Through their crisis in life

Ron David Moore

Guatemala Mission Trip - Children

2008-10-16T20:23:00.001-07:00

Santa Barbara Church Members

Patulul - These guys are holding one of the balls that they use to play soccer.

Patulul - When we were taking photographs, more often than not the older children would gather the smaller children around them and hold them or put their arm around them for the picture.

Patulul - NOTE: The hexagonal kites are extremely popular with the Guatemalan children. The kite in picture above utilized the light blue color of the Guatemalan flag.

Patulul

Santa Barbara - City Scenes

Guatemala Mission Trip - Santa Barbara - Escuela Oficial

2008-10-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, October 8, 2008, our team visited the Escuela Oficial Urbana de Varones in Santa Barbara, Guatemala, a school attended by young boys from kindergarten to sixth grade.

By dividing our team into thirds, we had four Americans and a Guatemalan interpreter speaking to a total of twelve classes.

This was one of the highlights of the trip for me. These little guys were so energetic and listened intently to everything that we spoke about. As part of our program, we gave each student a cross which had different color beads representing the plan of salvation.

Black - Sin; Red - Blood of Jesus; White - Purity in Faith; Blue - Association of Baptism; Green - Growth; Yellow - Eternity in Heaven

The young men received our message and our message and our gifts with genuine gratitude and enthusiasm. We were able to pray for and with each of the classes that we visited.

After our visit in the classrooms, we watched as the young men played soccer and then posed for pictures.

Guatemala Mission Trip - Flora

2008-10-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

With fall fast approaching in Alabama and most flowers well past blooming season and the trees beginning to shed their leaves, it was a pleasure to see the tropical plants and flowers in Guatemala with their reach colors and volumes of blooms.

Guatemala Mission Trip - The Team

2008-10-15T14:47:00.001-07:00

(kneeling) Bryan, Julio, Glenna Bartley, Keith Bartley, Mark Brock; (1st Row Standing) Raol, Cindy, Jesse, Martha, Dana, Luis, Mike, Driver (2nd Row Standing) Jeremy, Julian, Linda, Glinda, Freddy (3rd Row Standing) Dennis, Paul, Jack

Mission Team Group in the Sanctuary of the Church at Santa Barbara

Mike Gipson

Julian Cothran

Glenda and Linda

Dana and Jeremy Smalley

Raoul and Paul Murphy

Jesse Murphy and Martha Hamilton

Julian Cothran and Bryan

Luis, Mike Gipson, Julian Cothran

Jeremy Smalley, Freddy, Mike Gipson, Julian Cothran, Paul Murphy

NOTE: This trip was affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention's Internation Mission Board. Keith and Glenna Bartley are IMB missionaries currently assigned to Guatemala. Their blogspot is located at: http://missionswiththebartleys.blogspot.com/.

Guatemala Mission Trip - Logistics

2008-10-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 4, 2008 - Arab, Alabama to Birmingham, Alabama (via land); Birmingham, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia (via air); Atlanta, Georgia to Guatemala City, Guatemala (via air)

(Wikipedia) Guatemala City is the capital and largest city of the nation of Guatemala. It is also the capital city of the local Guatemala Department and the largest city in Central America. The current population estimates for Guatemala City are about 4,500,000 in the greater metropolitan region. Guatemalans have a diversity of origins, with Spanish and Mestizo descent eing the most common. There are also important indigenous communities and smaller German, Jewish, and Korean.

Airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala

Sunday, October 5, 2008 - Guatemala City, Guatemala to Santa Barbara, Guatemala (via land); Santa Barbara, Guatemala to Mazatenango, Guatamala

Santa Barbara Church Sanctuary

Bambu Resort Hotel in Mazatenango

(Wikipedia) Mazatenango is a municipality in the Suchitepequez department of Guatemala. It is the capital of suchitepequez department and is located 165 km from Guatemala City. Mazatenango lies significantly lower in elevation than Guatemala City. It sits on the coaostal plan leading to the Pacific Ocean. It lies only 100 miles from Guatemala City; however, the mountainous terrain makes the trip much longer. In fact, the trip can take anywhere from three to five hours depending on traffic and travel conditions. Mazatenango is a major producer of gold, silver, tile, fabric, and even furniture.

Santa Barbara is a municipality in the Suchitepequez department of Guatemala. It is situated at 140 meters above sea level. It contains 18, 365 people. It covers a terrain of 132 km2.

Monday, October 6, 2008 - Mazatenango, Guatemala to Patulul, Guatemala (via land) (return)

(Wikipedia) Patulul is a municipality in the Suchitepequez department of Guatemala. It is located north of the coastal region of Tiquisate. It is both a coastal region as well as a mountainous region. Its neighboring town, San Juan Bautista (St John the Baptist) is known for its fine dairy products.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - Mazatenango, Guatemala to Patulul, Guatemala (via land ) (return)

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 - Mazatenango, Guatemala to Patulul, Guatemala (via land) (return)

Thursday, October 9, 2008 - Mazatenango, Guatemala to Guatemala City, Guatemala (via land)

Friday, October 10, 2008 - Guatemala City, Guatemala to Antigua, Guatemala (via land) (return)

Saturday, October 11, 2008 - Guatemala City, Guatemala to Atlanta, Georgia (via air); Atlanta, Georgia to Arab, Alabama (via land)

Guatemala Mission Trip

2008-10-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

On October 4, 2008, I was honored to be a member of a team of individuals from Alabama and Arkansas who arrived in Guatemala City, Guatemala to participate in Christian mission activities in southwestern Guatemala. In our seven days in Guatemala, our team was graciously received by churchs and schools, as well as individual homes where we shared the love of God with those we came into contact with. Capturing and communicating all of the events associated with this trip is difficult, if not impossible; however, through a series of "stream of consciousness" blog entries I will attempt to document my experiences.

Kick Off

2008-09-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well.... I really don't know how to start this off, but lets go with some of my favorite quotes from others and then maybe in the future I'll get a little bit comfortable with sharing my own thoughts.

"I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
Apostle Paul“

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”
Eric Liddell

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."
Andy Dufran

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."
Arthur Ashe

"Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don't quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don't quit until you reach it. Never quit."
Bear Bryant

"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride."
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon