Sometimes God opens doors, other times He provides them...

This past spring, as we were preparing to take our team of high schoolers to Guatemala, we were faced with rapidly rising prices for flights, to the extent that we feared busting our budget. We sat our team down at the next meeting and prayed together that God would provide flights that we could afford. Two days later, we found an amazing deal that not only kept us within budget, but saved us hundreds of dollars. Praise God!

Fast forward to the trip... when we arrived in Guatemala, one of the first things we did was to sit down with Pastor Antonio and ask him about the needs of the church and community. He shared with us that the new church had been able to construct a building to meet and worship in, and had even acquired sound equipment and musical instruments.

Unfortunately, however, they had not raised enough to put the final touch on the building - a secure door. Without the door, there was a huge open space that gaped across the front. Antonio confided in us that one of the young men in the church, Mateo, would sleep in the church building every night to ward off would-be thieves. We were amazed that this remarkable young man would leave the comfort of his home and family to protect the church's property.

We asked Antonio how much it would cost to construct and install a door for the church building. To our astonishment, the figure was the precise amount that we had saved on our cheap flights! We knew that God had provided, not for our indulgence, but for His glory. And we promised to Antonio that we would put a door on his church.

During our time in Guatemala, Antonio was able to order the door, but alas, it was not ready in time for us to see it installed. Antonio promised to send us a picture as soon as possible. And... here it is!

Before:




After:


Isn't it beautiful? I especially love the little faces peering out from the windows!