Getting settled in Guatemala

So, here we are in Central America! The last few months have been a huge blur. We are in our third week living in Guatemala and the Lord has shown Himself faithful in all the many tiny little details. We have been cared for by our brothers and sisters of Vida Nueva Guatemala (VNG) in so many ways. The minute we landed we had a beautiful welcoming party and they even brought coffee! They took us home, carried all our trunks and luggage in the house and we prayed together. They even made a special late-night trip to get us toilet paper. TP is kind of a necessity for a home with 4 ladies. (Thank you Lefties!)

The VNG family that greeted us

The new gospel whip

The following days were no different. We had our Guatemalan family show up to help us as we needed to stock the pantry, fridge and freezer.  We also needed a vehicle and a few guys took me out car shopping. This was quite an experience which you can ask me about sometime. When we finally settled on a 12-passenger van, we had a mechanic from VNG volunteer to drive the van and look it over thoroughly. The Lord provided the funds to purchase the vehicle, the people to vet the vehicle and the right vehicle for personal and ministry use. Interesting note, here they refer to our 12-passenger van as a microbus. We are so thankful to have a vehicle that will not only work well for our family, but will also be a help to the ministry here.

So what’s next?  I will start language school and the girls will start homeschool this coming Monday, September 4^th. I am meeting with a few men in VNG each Thursday afternoon to cast vision for NingunLugarSinAlcanzar (NoPlaceLeft) in Guatemala. I am seeking persons of peace anywhere and everywhere who are willing to listen to the gospel or to be trained to take the gospel to their households and beyond. At this time, we have identified and are praying for 4 prospective locations for NPL training to take place: San Lucas, Mixco, Zona 9 in the city at VNG and Chimaltenango.

Gospeling Update: During the purchase of the vehicle, I met Indira. She is the manager of the company where we purchased the van. She speaks great English and this gave an opportunity to share the gospel using the 3 circles conversational tool in this culture. Edwin from VNG was with me so I was blessed with the opportunity to share the gospel with Indira and to model this tool for Edwin. Indira is like many people in Guatemala. She has a lot of head knowledge about God but she admits she is far from God. She wants to be close to God but she wants to hear more before committing to follow Jesus. Please pray that she remains sincere and does accept the opportunity to meet again.

While I was in town and in between meetings I found a pupuseria that also has coffee. I strolled in looking like a total gringo and with my poor Spanish asked for pupusas. The English-speaking owner, Xavier, asked if he could help with my order. We got into a conversation where he also pegged me for a missionary and told me he had a few thoughts he’d like to share with me regarding the approach that missionaries typically take here in Guatemala. Xavier is Guatemalan, around 60 years old, and an established business man. Here is a great opportunity. He invited me back for FREE coffee and he wants to discuss my plans. From this conversation, I learned that he is not a believer. As he tears up in our conversation, I see that he cares a great deal for people in this country. Please pray that Xavier hears the gospel and responds to it with obedience to take the gospel to his household and the nations. I will go see him again… and not just for the free coffee.

This is Christy… I wanted to add a quick note myself. This has been no small adjustment to say the least.  We find ourselves completely out of our element and in unfamiliar territory.  But we are most definitely where we are supposed to be.  We are figuring out how to do life here little by little.  Everything is different, but our God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  I am so thankful for His presence, His peace, His guidance and His joy – all of which we have experienced in deeper, more tangible ways than ever before.  Hannah, Jordyn, and Layla are doing amazingly well.  They are happy and content, and we are blown away at the ability God has given them to adapt to such a huge life change.  Thank you for all of you that continue to pray for and encourage us.  We love you all!

Some specific prayer requests:

1) Wise use of time in the harvest and in training new workers to be in the harvest 

2) Language

3) More workers in the harvest and for us to remain faithful to spread Gospel seeds

4) Nationals to see the Father's heart for church planting

5) For Christy and the girls as they start homeschool next week

I attempted to ask for turkey sausage at the grocery store (for cabbage and sausage) but these are most definitely hot dogs!  My family was gracious and seemed to enjoy it anyway lol but I do not recommend it!   -Christy

New friends with the Tello family

Sharing my heart with VNG

Our first Sunday at VNG

Casting NPL vision to VNG leadership

Enjoying time with the Izquierdo family

Empty Hands and Full Hearts

We love and sincerely appreciate all of you whom the Lord has used to encourage, pray, and physically lend a hand, as well as those of you who have been able to partner with us through giving. The past year is a blur of decisions and transitions but God is faithful and many of you played a part. We thank you all for your love, friendship and support!  

The sale of our home is final. Our earthly goods have been whittled down to fit into 20 plastic luggage trunks and a few sentimental totes for U.S. storage.  We have experienced the Lord providing in so many ways.  We had so much to do the month of July as we worked to sell everything we could.  Then, on Saturday the 22^nd, we held a moving sale at our house. We'd already sold most of our big items: TV's, dining table and chairs, etc. but we still had a ton of items that needed a good home. Our neighborhood was out in the country about twenty minutes from town. In the past, when we've tried to have a yard sale on our own (without it being a community yard sale) we had only maybe one or two customers the entire morning. So this time, with a garage and driveway full of stuff, we prayed and asked the Lord to bring people.  Well, the entire morning, we had constant traffic!  There were more people than we’ve had during community events in the past. We sold tons of stuff and probably gave away just as much. Several of our friends came to help with customers and we know that we could not have done it without them. At the end of the moving sale, the remaining items fit in the back of one pickup truck! A team of volunteers from Faith came and helped by taking them off to goodwill. This whole event was undeniably God’s provision. 

We are also amazed at the way the Lord has been working through this process. We had many people in our home as they came to buy our stuff, and we were able to pray with them and share with them the good news of Jesus Christ.  It was such a joy to be able to pause in the middle of all this craziness and do what we were created to do!  Each encounter refreshed our soul as we were reminded of the greatness of our God and the mercy and grace we have through Jesus.  We pray that the seeds that were planted will have a ripple effect into eternity.

In a way, we feel like the Israelites in Joshua 3 as they stood on the banks of the Jordan River, about to cross over, following the presence of God into the great unknown.  With His strength and perfect provision along the way we have made the preparations necessary to cross over, and He has prepared and is preparing our hearts for what is to come. We go with our expectations, but we hold our plans loosely because we know He has His best in store for us. We go because we want to obey the Master. Please pray that we follow the presence of the Lord faithfully and diligently do the work he has called us to.  We have our plane tickets to fly out as a family on August 13^th, just a little over a week away.  Full-time language school is our first order of business, so we ask that you join us in praying that God will give us the ability to learn the language quickly.

We have emptied our hands but we have full hearts. We have exchanged building our kingdom for proclaiming His Kingdom. We are learning to value relationships more. We are bowing our heads lower, bending our knees more than ever, learning to obey each step of the way.  And even though the impending circumstances seem scary as they are full of unknowns, our joy is full. Our God is faithful and we are secure because He is with us.

“Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. Those far from you will certainly perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.”

Psalms 73:25-28 CSB