Family Visit to Guatemala




Dear Friends,


What a blessed Thanksgiving we had here in Guatemala. Bob's relatives (brother and family and sister and family) all came for a visit for the week......oh, and my neice's fiancé, Jordan, as well! (Carolyn and Jordan absent from above photo)

We packed a lot into this family trip as for many of them it was their first time here in Guatemala and we wanted them to see and experience as much as possible. We visited two of our rural childcare centers so both families could meet their sponsored children, spent two days working with 3rd graders at our largest school here in Guatemala City, saw the sights in and around Guatemala City...and of course enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day together.

The family prepared and implemented 3 different activities to share with the children during their two days at our school - crafts, games and Bible stories! They brought many donations from their churches, friend and relatives and did a GREAT job teaching and having fun with 65 3rd graders! Thank you to ALL who donated so many things! Here's a few pictures of part of their ministry - craft time.

On the first day all the kids made their own t-shirts by using stamps and fabric markers and stencils. On the second day the kids all made stamped cards for family and friends.





Wwe took a trip into the "ravine" one afternoon. Most of the children that AMG ministers to are very poor and here in Guatemala City many of them live in the ravine that winds its way through the city. On Wednesday afternoon, we walked to the home of little David, a sponsored boy here at our school in Verbena. My brother took pictures of David as he showed us the way to his home.....down into the steep ravine we went, all the way to the bottom, then up the other side and finally to David's small house of wood and tin. They had no electricity, no running water, no bathroom, no kitchen. Just a one room structure for shelter. It was a sobering reminder to us of the poverty that exists in most parts of the world. I wish everyone could experience the sights, sounds and smells of such a visit.
We want to thank our family for coming to share time with us this Thanksgiving. And we want to thank the staff members of AMG Guatemala who helped to make the time so special.

Love from all the Hastings.




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Childrens Day.....6th Grade Graduation

Hello again,
I know we've posted a lot lately but there's a LOT going on right now so we don't want you to miss out on anything!
Just wanted to share some pictures from two more recent events:
- Children's Day
- 6th Grade Graduation Ceremony
And yes, that is Bob pretending to be an airplane in one of the pictures...even the Director has to be a "kid" sometimes!






















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The Dennett Family

Hello again,

Blogging is kind of like dieting and exercise....you're really good at it for a time, then long periods of time go by and you realize "hey, I need to pay attention to that!". So, this past week is one of those times that we have realized we needed to be updating our blog more often. So, three entries in a row....should be good for a while!

Many of you know about the Dennett family already but I wanted to post about them for those of you who may not. Brian, Mary and their 5 children have been close friends of ours for many years. Brian and I met while both working for Sears many years ago and worked together on and off in two different companies. Well, the Lord has blessed us once again by calling both our families to work here in Guatemala with AMG. The Dennett family has spent the last year and a half going through the application process with AMG, working on their deputation process, selling their home....all the same things that other missionary candidates go through. Now, the reality of the process is upon them. The Dennetts leave on January 1st for language school in Costa Rica for a year of full time study on January 1st. Once their year is complete, they will move to Guatemala and Brian will begin working full time with AMG, sharing in the work as the Assistant Director.

You can read about their call, their journey and their family on their blog and website:


Please keep the Dennetts in your prayers! (their current prayer requests are listed on their blog)
Thank you!


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Graduation 07

Dear Friends,

It is an exciting time at AMG International, Guatemala. This has been a very busy month for us but full of God's blessings. We have had three sets of visitors this month - a delegation from Word & Deed, Holland, our partner organization and also two short term teams that did children's ministries, medical and dental work and evangelism in several of our childcare centers. Thanks to all those from Alabama and Arkansas who participated in the work!

It is also graduation time here in Guatemala. The school year goes from January to mid-October so our schools are now in the process of finishing up last minute things here and graduation ceremonies are taking place. Yesterday, we had a graduation luncheon for all of our High School graduates in Guatemala City. Each of them came with a few parents or family members and the director from their AMG center, we have 8 of them here in the city.

I had the privilege of sharing with the students from Paul's encouraging letter to young Timothy. We talked about:
- being "strong", not in our own strength but in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (II Timothy 2:1)
- not being "ashamed", studying the word and standing up for what it says (II Timothy 2:15)
- "remembering" what we have learned, especially during difficult times (II Timothy 12&14)....these kids know difficult times more than any of us ever will.

At the end, we asked if any of the parents wanted to share anything. One Dad and two Mom's got up and shared about how blessed they are to have their children graduating from high school. (just a reminder to you that only 15% of young people graduate from high school in Guatemala). Two of them said that their children had been part of AMG's child sponsorship program since ages 4 and 5! They emotionally testified that they couldn't imagine how their children would have been educated, taught and supported all these years if it was not for the Lord's faithfulness through the ministry of AMG and also their sponsors who gave month after month, year after year, so their children could be blessed in this way.

Once again, thank you to all who sponsor children here and to those who support the worldwide ministries of AMG International.

Below are some photos of the graduation luncheon. Graduates, proud parents, students receiving their last Bible from AMG.....to God be the glory!

I'll close with the same verses that I closed with at the luncheon - Paul's closing words to Timothy.

The Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

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