January 21, 2017

I, Joseph, am en route back home to the US. These two weeks spent in Guatemala have been very beneficial. I spent the first week with a team of 19 North Americans and at least 15 translators from Central America doing campaigns with Good News In Action.  I was blessed to be able to share this experience with my brother, Scott, and another member of his church (New Covenant in Myrtle Beach) John Gallman, as they were able to join our team. We went into several different zones proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ where 260 people confessed Him as Lord for the first time. Please pray for wisdom and strength as the local church, Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, now has the task of following up with these new believers. This particular week was full of surprises and exciting encounters. 

The super trooper team from Faith Baptist Church.  It took them 2 1/2 days of travel to get there and their luggage took another 3 days, but they worked hard and kept a great attitude through it all.

I will share briefly about two encounters...

One was Alex: He's 31 and a nurse. He was in the park hanging out with his buddies and blew me off the first time I approached to invite him to the festival. He came just a few minutes later as the gospel was being presented. He and his friends listened for a moment and then they left. I asked the Lord to move and then approached them. I asked them for just a moment of time and shared my story of how Jesus changed my life and gave me hope. The Spirit of God moved in their hearts and all four of those young men asked Jesus to be their king. Alex is wearing the white sweater in the picture below.

The second guy's name was also Alex. Alex is 32 years old. He was playing soccer with younger guys in the neighborhood. When I asked him for a moment of his time, he was more than happy to chat for a while. We talked for about 30 minutes or so. He said he already had a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ but he didn't always feel like he was right with God. We encouraged him, prayed with him and challenged him to spend time in the word and get plugged into the church. He asked for Javier from Vida Nueva to reach out to him for sound teaching and further encouragement.  Alex is the guy in the middle in the picture below.

On Sunday, I was able to worship with Vida Nueva, which will be our future home church.  There was a good crowd and I enjoyed having lunch with a few of the leaders after service. Nelson, Rosemarie and Camila were gracious hosts and a pleasure to spend time with. Thank you also to our dear friends, the Tello family, for the ride to Antigua and the coffee talk. 

Wendy and Vinicio Tello, and their daughters, Laura and Camila.

I spent my second week in Antigua attending language school everyday.  I had four hours of classes every morning and two hours of homework to do each afternoon.  While in Antigua, I also met a few different missionaries from different sending agencies. Some were new faces from the Christian Spanish Academy and others I had planned to meet with ahead of time. These folks gave of their time freely and were able to help answer questions and provide valuable insight. Chad Bader, David Donatto and his son Josiah, Dan and Dodi Ward, Adrian and Maurisa Hernandez - Thank you for your information, encouragement, transportation, meals and prayers. 

 

Me and Adrian Hernandez

Last, but not least, language school was amazing. I think Christian Spanish Academy will definitely be a good place for us to learn Spanish. As we study the language, I also believe that there will be many opportunities to share the Gospel along the way.  This week, I had opportunities to talk with English-speaking people from other countries - Japan, Germany, and other countries - just sitting in the coffee shop doing my homework. Some were hearing the gospel for the first time.  There are so many ministry opportunities in Antigua, Guatemala City, and in the towns and villages all around. Please pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers and please pray that He will strengthen and encourage the workers already in the fields. 

My kindergarten Spanish graduation LOL

This time spent in Guatemala was definitely valuable. I am truly thankful for your prayers and financial support.

January 8, 2017

As I (Joseph) write this I am on a plane heading to Guatemala and listening to the Mercy Me album "Undone".  The song "Keep Singing" speaks to how I feel during this season of our life. As our hearts are torn between two places, we do not know what else to do but to keep looking up. To keep aiming and praising His name. As a family we are drawing closer to our Heavenly Father for comfort and peace. Our home is not on this earth. Our home is truly where the Lord is. In a sense I feel that moving to Guatemala will be climbing into His lap, completely trusting that He alone is our safe place, our shield. (Gen 15:1)

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 

'Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.'"

Genesis 15:1 NIV84

This trip has started out with many obstacles. Due to extreme winter weather conditions our team of 10 from Faith Baptist Church is stuck in a hotel near the Raleigh airport. We have a saying throughout Good News In Action Ministries, "¡Bienvenido a misiones!" It means, "welcome to missions!" where nothing goes as you intend it but God is in control. I was able to fly out because I was booked separately as I plan to stay an additional week to try out a language school and network with area missionaries.

I am reading through the book of Romans and I stumbled on this passage:

“The Scripture says, “Anyone who asks the Lord for help will be saved.”

But before people can trust in the Lord for help, they must believe in Him.

And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about Him.

And for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them.

And before someone can go and tell them, he must be sent.

It is written, “How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.”

So faith comes from hearing the Good News.

And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.”

Romans 10:13-15, 17 ICB

What a great reminder of why we tell people about Jesus. If we are not obedient to make disciples by proclaiming it, then how will people hear? If we are not obedient goers then, how will they ever be persuaded to follow Jesus? For me and my house, our current mission is Spencer's Gate (our neighborhood), my work place and Guatemala. What is your "assignment"? Where has God called you to proclaim the gospel? The question is not, "has He called you?" The real question is, "where?"