Guatemala Summary

Over the past several years we have had the blessing of having a door open up for us to join the Lord in doing ministry in many different areas of the country of Guatemala.   We have been continuously touched by the hearts of the people in that country whether it is in the city, out with the cowboys or in the mountainous jungle.  

It began when we joined with Steve Reed at Daybreak Community Church who had already broken ground there with the help of Brother Cesar Gonzalez, "El Presidente" of Guatemala, aptly named for his seemingly endless amount of connections with people and cities we could have never dreamed of reaching without him. They had already begun what is now called Projecto Nuevo Amanecer, "Project Daybreak".

There have been numerous different highlights for us along the way.   Two years ago several brothers from Carry the Cross Ministries drove a half school bus down through Mexico.   The journey through Mexico took seven days and caused us to rely more and more on Him as each day passed.   We would end up getting "stuck" in certain areas where we were blessed with seeing people saved along the way.   As we entered the country of Guatemala we were blessed with being able to see a volcano erupting, which was a first for most of us.   We had thoughts of the fire and power of the Holy Spirit and our prayers were that the Lord would consume the country of Guatemala with the all consuming fire of His Spirit.  

This trip would mark our first trip to the city of El Gallito where we worked with a local church, Iglesia Bethel, and a group from Panama, carrying the cross, praying for each city block and sharing the gospel from house to house.   We worked with many in the church who would become friends and family for life.   The city is a rough city where the streets are controlled by those who sell drugs.   The people that live there have to rely on the Lord for their strength to daily live.   The youth and children of the church were a huge inspiration to us each day as they would encourage us with their laughter and smiles and their passion to share Christ's love in any circumstance.   We had the opportunity to see many saved and also the chance to share the gospel with many of the men who were the cause of much of the crime in the streets.   Of all the places that we have visited, we hold El Gallito and the church there closest to our hearts.  

The trip two years ago also marked our first trip into the jungle area of Guatemala.   We joined with a few believers in a small village called Por Venir in hopes of spreading the gospel to theirs and other neighboring villages.   An awesome group of folks from a church in Morales also joined us on this excursion.   We went from home to home praying for those who were sick and sharing the gospel.   We also showed the Jesus film in Quixche, the native language, twice.   This was an amazing deal for them for most had never seen anything like this, especially in their own language.   There were a couple hundred people who came from villages all around to see the film.   The response that night was minimal in our fleshly eyes but after returning home we began to hear stories of those who were saved, many being baptized, and several people stepping up desiring to be leaders of new churches.   The growth that has occurred there and in surrounding villages is something only the Lord could do.   There are now two to three new churches, one in a small village called Si Pauk, holds three-four hour services four times a week.   A small village about an hour and a half hike from Si Pauk is also wanting to start a church in their village and they are traveling to Si Pauk to learn from them!   While we were there in January of 2006 we were blessed with being able to see the fruit of past labors, take part in the services and again hike from hut to hut praying for the sick and sharing the gospel.   It was amazing to see how far these folks have come in such a short amount of time!   Two years ago there were only a couple of believers in the whole area.

One awesome example of the hand of the Lord working here was two years ago a man's son who had been very sick for a long time was prayed for.   From that point on up until now the boy has been well.   This man now desires to study the bible so that he can pastor a church of his own.    Words cannot explain the beauty of what is going on in the jungle. The best part of all of it is that the locals are taking the responsibility of learning, teaching, discipleship and evangelism on their own, without the help of us gringo's.  

Trips are made to Guatemala several times a year.   Please join us in prayer as we continue to see God's hand moving in a mighty way there.

If you have an urge to join on one of these excursions, drop us a line and we can give you some details!