First night in Guatemala

Last night was our first night at our new house in Guatemala! Let me back up to the hours leading up to getting here. Sunday morning we woke up at 2:00 am to load our suitcases and head to the airport. After a lot of really hard good byes and a few last minute things we only ended up sleeping for a couple hours before we had to leave. Being very tired and already emotional, this did not make a good mix for already emotional females (poor Sean).

Sunday was a really hard day for us but it was also a good reminder. We had been planning this and talking about it for a long time, but something happened when it was time to go. It would have been easier for me to back out at that point.
I couldn't understand why it was so hard. I thought I had prepared myself and was ready. Sean said it well, sometimes we think of change as loss. Loss is hard.

God was our strength Sunday. When we were overcome with fear about what we were about to do and the fear overwhelmed us, we were reminded that we can do anything through Christ who gives us strength! God gave us strength to leave Colorado, our family, our friends, our home. This is how we will serve here, in His hands, with Him leading the way and providing our strength.

We made it through the travel and all the luggage made it too. We were greeted at the airport by our new friend Eduardo. He is our ministry assistant here. We spent our first evening here getting to know Eduardo and his beautiful family. We shared dinner with them at our house.

We have an amazing view from our house, the weather is perfect and Sean is very happy that we have not seen one mosquito! :) As soon as the fog moves out we will post a picture of the view!

Thank you all for the prayers, we feel them all!

Leaving in 26 days....

In 26 days we leave our comfortable home, our comfortable life style, all our friends and family, to go to a place where we don't know the language, there is hurt and poverty every where you look, a completely different culture and different way of life. Are we crazy???? Yes, crazy in love with our heavenly Father!! It's an indescribable love that makes us want to completely lay our life down in His hand and say, "here we are Lord, use us for Your will"!

Please join us in prayer over the next 26 days as we prepare to go. Pray that as we leave our comfortable life, we will not loose sight of what we are doing and why we are going. Pray that our children will feel peace as they begin to say goodbye to everyone.

What does Photas Ministries mean????

"Photas" is the Greek word for 'of Light' Why would we choose to name our Ministry 'of Light'?
In the bible, Jesus uses light to describe Himself, "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5
As Christians who are united to Christ with shared values, we are Christ's living representatives in the world. Therefore, we are also lights....
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Matthew 5:15

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” Matthew 4:16

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Our Pastor said it well this past weekend, "the light of God put in us isn't so people will see us, it is so they will see God."

There is still so much darkness and confusion all around us. We feel like as a body of believers, we should allow His light to shine through us. We should bring Light to the hopeless to give them the peace and hope that we have in our Savior!

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."  Proverbs 16:9

We are in the midst of planning.  Sharing with groups of people who might bring a team, or group of friends, to experience a week of orphan ministry in Guatemala.  It's been exciting, following on the heels of our Friday night dinner with friends a couple weeks ago, to get the opportunity to participate in Missions Weekend at Timberline Church.

We were able to share with the kids about Guatemala and how God still performs miracles today... if we have the blessing of needing to rely upon God for everyday needs!  We got to meet and talk with many of you after the services... some who share a similar heart for touching the lives of the Fatherless, others who were a huge encouragement in words, commitments to consistently pray and even gifts to get us started on our journey.  Thanks to each one of you and we hope to see some of you in Guatemala!

We've also had the opportunity to share two weeks in a row at the youth groups of Foundations Church in Loveland, led by the amazing Shannon Arthur. They have hopes of bringing a team or two of youth and adults to Guatemala.  We've even heard from some groups of adults who are considering gathering 6 or 8 of their friends to come South for an adventurous week with us!

All said, we don't know exactly who will be joining us and what exactly our days will look like in Guatemala, but we do know who will determine our path... and we have absolute trust in Him!
In fact, people often ask if we are nervous.  Perhaps a little, but we have had incredible peace about the plans we have made and even more about the One who will direct us.

Sean Cherry

Mikayla's heart on Orphan Ministry

" My first trip to an orphanage was in Haiti last March. Leading up to the trip, I was nervous and wasn't sure what to expect. Some days I would be really excited about going and others I would be really scared. I had heard many heart touching stories about all the orphans that lived at the orphanage. It broke my heart to hear some of the things I heard. Like all the infections the kids had, how little the kids were and how poorly they were being treated. this made me kinda scared of going there. I wasn't afraid of the children; I wasn't sure how I would react to kids being treated like this.

While I was there, I experienced some life changing events. I grew relationships with these kids and I saw a 3rd world country for the first time. Even though I couldn't communicate verbally with them, I was still able to hold and love on them. the part of the trip I have remembered most was this little girl Christaline. She was about 3 years old. She clung to me and I would just hold her. I was not away from her the majority of the time we were at the orphanage. We taught the kids at the orphanage a worship song in English and all of the kids would sing it. It brought tears to my eyes when my favorite little girl Christaline came up to me and started singing it. It amazes me that a 3 year old would remember a song in a different language.

After the trip, it was really hard for me. I realized how lucky we are to actually sleep in beds, to actually eat three meals a day and to have a loving family here for me. I struggled for a while thinking about how we left them nothing and we came home to everything. this trip to Haiti has helped me not take things for granted and realize how fortunate I really am. I will never forget my first trip to an orphanage in Haiti, it was an unforgettable trip of a lifetime!"

Alyssa's Heart on Orphan Ministry

"Going to an orphanage in a foreign country, you never know what to expect. I had an amazing experience at the orphanages in Guatemala and in Haiti. When you are there with those kids it is like you are with God because they have nothing but their love for God . It was really hard for me to go to a place where they have nothing and come back to all of my riches at home. I could have just kept going on in life like nothing had happened but I refused to forget about the children who I developed a relationship with so quickly. For days after I had gotten back from Haiti I would cry because of how much I have and how little those kids had. These experiences also made me relize that if I had nothing but God, I would have the best relationship with Him."

Big step in a Big journey

Friday night was amazing!! We had a fundraising dinner for our adventure to Guatemala.  I can not believe all of the love and support we are receiving from friends and family! It was so great to see so many people there and hear their words of encouragement.

 As we are getting rid of everything we own, closing chapters of our life that we have been living for years, it is really easy to second guess our decision. God provides confirmation along the way and it is always right when we need it. Friday night was one of those times.

To see so many people we care so much about, give up their Friday night to come and show their support for us was awesome! To have good friends like Mark and Kari validate us and what we are doing was awesome!


To hear my husband share what all of this means to him, awesome!

To see our beautiful girls (and our beautiful friend Izzy) dance for the Lord and share what this is all about for them, awesome!

This night was a BIG step in a BIG journey and God is using all of our friends and family to help us along the way!