The Galilea Gang!

Yesterday we invited the 24 sponsor kids that are attending Galilea – the Christian School in Chisec – out to the mission for an afternoon of activities.  All but 5 were able to come. 

We spent some time writing letters to their sponsors, taking photos, playing games and doing crafts. We also shared from the Word and emphasized that they are important in the Kingdom of God.  Cindy spoke to the older kids, while I took the wee ones. 

I shared with them the story of Joseph and how God has a plan for each one of us.  I found two children’s bibles in Spanish that were the same and had amazing illustrations.  My little charges were totally absorbed in the story, looking at the pictures and counting the sheep, brothers, sheathes of wheat, stars, cows, etc.  It was so clear that simply reading from a book is a rare occurrence in this culture.  Unlike North American homes, there are no books in homes here.  When families have barely enough resources to feed, clothe and house their families, luxuries like books are non-existent.  And so, children are not read to before they go to sleep.  Add to the economic obstacles the fact that often their parents are not able to read and there are no libraries to borrow books from even if they were literate.  What a challenge!  I remember when my children were young.  Some of our most precious times were when we were snuggled up together with a book, reading and sharing. 

Among all the other pressing needs we see around us, the Lord has burdened me with these two challenges:  moms who cannot read and no access to a library.   I do not yet know what I can or will do to address these two issues, but I know the Lord is stirring something within me.  Please pray for me, regarding this – that I would be sensitive to the Lord’s leading and be willing to obey when He prompts.    

Anyway, after the kids went home with their treasures from the afternoon, Cindy and I reflected on what an amazing group of kids we have the privilege of knowing and helping.  To each of you, who have generously sponsored a child, thank you.  Please know that it is making a difference in life of the child you are helping.  They are receiving an education from the best school in the area; they are hearing the Word of God, daily, being taught by teachers who know and love the Lord and walk out their faith daily.  They have an understanding of the Lord’s provision in their lives simply because you, a stranger, have reached out to help.  

We may not know what the future holds for this group of pretty amazing young people, but God knows, and His plans are always good and always bigger than we can imagine.    

                                                                                                                                    

The Backwoods of Northern Guatemala

As some of you may know, last year we purchased a battery powered projection system capable of showing a full length movie. An organization in the U.S. called Renew took on the challenge of producing the Jesus movie in the Quekchi language (as well as many other languages around the world).  For us, overcoming the language barrier is an ongoing challenge. Having a means to share the gospel in the native tongue through media is becoming a great blessing to us and the people here.

 Just the other night, I loaded up my gear (it all comes in a shoulder size pack!) and headed out with a church planting pastor from a Nazarene church. His name is Santiago Coc. I had 4x4ed into a small community with him late last year and we showed the Jesus movie in a house where he had started a church. He had asked me then if we could show the movie in the next village beyond where he had started another house church and I had agreed. So on this particular night we were off to Las Papayas.

I picked him up in Chisec and we drove on pavement for about 35 minutes. As we turned off the road there were some people waiting there.  5 adults and 3 children piled into back of the Pathfinder (It would have been quite rude not to offer them a ride- the next vehicle going that way would have been the next day). We headed up the trail and 45 minutes later we came to the end of the rough muddy road. I was looking for the village, but I only saw a couple of houses. Satiago said to me “ No es lejos hermano, no es lejos” (it’s not far brother, it’s not far).  I guess that meant we were going to walk the rest of the way, I thought to myself. I wasn’t really prepared for that. I grabbed my gear wishing I had brought my rubber boots and headed down the trail following Santiago and the family of 8. We met another brother at the end of the road. He offered to carry my gear and I said to him in Spanish “ It’s not far, I will be ok.”  After 10 minutes of walking I was beginning to wonder how far was “not far”. The trail began to narrow and we headed up a steep incline. As the trail became a little more difficult the Christian brother we had met at the end of the road offered again to carry my bag and this time I gladly handed it over to him. I asked him how far. He said “media hora, no mas” (no more than half an hour). Oh, I thought, that’s not too bad. I will just enjoyed the hike, but I was already thinking about trying to hike out on this goat trail in the dark.

I listened to the howler monkeys as they began their evening calls and marvelled at the beauty of God’s creation. I began to exchange a few words with one of the young men in the family I was walking with. I often try to pick up a few Q’uek’chi words and while hiking though the jungle I repeated them over and over with the hope that they might stick. The word for mud is “sollul.”  There was a lot of sollul! 

40 minutes of hard hiking and we came to a little outcropping overlooking a lush green valley. On the side of this hill was the village of Las Papayas, about 60 families. Hanging in the tree where we had stopped was a short piece of 4” steel pipe. The one brother picked up a rock and banged on the pipe. He was summoning the people of the village to come to the meeting room for the movie. I pulled out my king-sized white sheet and hung it on the wall of this dirt floor meeting room which had a few crude benches and set up my projection system.  All wood construction in these areas is done with a chainsaw or machete, so it is pretty rough. The people starting trickling in and after a prayer, I shared the wonderful story of Jesus in their native language through the medium of film.

After the 2 hour movie was finished, Santiago talked with a few people while I packed up the gear. He told me later that one man had given his life to the Lord. We began the long hike back to where the vehicle was parked and I was thankful for the headlamp my son had given me for Christmas. It started to rain about half way back and by the time we made it to vehicle I was soaked. I pulled off my shirt, wrung it out and threw it in the back seat. We still had an hour of 4x4ing to get out to the main road and then another 35 minute drive to Chisec. I arrived back at the mission sight about 11:15pm. Tomorrow night I am off to Yalicoc to show the movie there.  I wonder what adventures await me?

Rocky

Can You Help Us?

This is the question that we face every day at Mission to Guatemala. I know we are here to minister and share the love of God with our Guatemalan brothers and sisters and reach out to the least, the last and the lost, but some days the challenge of listening to yet another request is somewhat overwhelming. The last week or so has been a time when we would like to say yes to so many but the reality is we will have to send them away empty handed. We are able to help some through the generosity of North Americans, but we turn many away because we do not have the resources to help. 

Let me share with you some of these petitions and requests.  “Would you build a house for me next to the church?  I am a pastor with a family and I have only boards for walls and a dirt floor.”  “Can you buy  50 plastic chairs for us? We only have a few wooden benches in our church and they are falling apart.”  “Do you have any bibles in the Qekchi language?“  “Will you help me send my son to school? He only needs some school supplies and shoes.” “Would you help us buy some construction materials to build our church?” “Can you buy us some land so we can grow corn and beans to feed our families in the village?” “When can you come and show the Jesus film in our community?” A pastor asks, ”Would you buy some shoes for my 4 children?” A social worker asks, “Can we use your facility to talk to young girls about birth control and the responsibilities of having a child at 14 or 15 years of age?”   “Can you give us a soccer ball?”  “We would like a concrete floor in our church. Will you give us money to buy concrete?” “Will you build us a classroom so our children can have a school to go to?” 

Are you starting to feel a little overwhelmed?  This is just a partial list of the requests we have received in the last 3 weeks.  The needs here are enormous and in times like this it is a challenge to figure out how best to help.

Our vision at Mission2Guatemala is to share the love of God by helping meet some of the practical needs of the people.  Without your help we would be at a total loss.  To those of you who have given to this end, thank you so much.  And for those of you who have been thinking about what you can do, my question to you is, “Can You Help Us Help Them?”  Rocky