Bible Verse

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36 (CSB)

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Two Year Anniversary in Guatemala


It’s hard to believe that this Tuesday is the 2-year anniversary of our move to Guatemala.  It has been a most unexpected adventure with many ups and downs, but we can confidently say that the Lord continues to be faithful to every one of His promises.  Christy and the girls are 3 weeks into a new homeschool year and finally able to speak Spanish well enough to build friendships with people at church and in the neighborhood. 
The girls play soccer in the park most days after school.  The neighborhood kids were so excited when someone gave us a set of portable goals!  Our girls have had many opportunities to both speak the gospel to these kids and to stand firm in their convictions despite opposition and temptation.  

I (Joseph) am truly thankful that the Lord has given me the language as well.  I am able to build discipleship relationships and lead trainings in Spanish.  Thank you to everyone that prayed for this miracle!  But even greater than that, it has been thrilling to witness the Lord bringing about movement right before our very eyes.  We are praising Him for raising up workers in the harvest and moving in the hearts of men, women and children all around us.  




Here are a couple of brief stories…

Dany is a young man that lives in a village in Patzún, Chimaltenango, with his wife and 2 small children.  He works in his family’s hardware store business and helps with the youth at his uncle’s church.  Dany recently accompanied me to Huehuetenango to train a church there in evangelism and discipleship.  (This was the church of a brother named Jesús that we met through working with God in the Streets.)  Since that trip, we have seen him return to his home and become very active in the training and discipleship of his pastor and church. They have formed a team of 8 who are faithful to go share the gospel and begin discipleship.  Dany is so committed to following Jesus and fishing for men that he and his family are sacrificing an already meager income so that he can spend time sharing the gospel and discipling others. 

Training in Huehuetenango

From left to right: me, Salvador (see story below), Jesúand Dany.  We are in Huehuetenango, right at the border of Mexico.

Here is Dany back at home training his church.


Also, last year I met and trained Salvador Archila. We have stayed in touch since. He recently told me of a new church plant in a small town in El Progreso La Union, Zacapa.  Salvador trained a few people there using the NoPlaceLeft/NingunLugarSinAlacanzar tools and methods.  After receiving the training, they went out and shared the gospel and saw 16 salvations in one day. They immediately began to gather and said, “We are church.”  Please pray for them as they develop. This town had no evangelical church before now. I will go and see for myself next week and will ask the Lord for discernment there. Also, if this is truly a new church plant, then I need to learn something from them.  I am asking the Lord to help me see how He (the Lord) did that!  Salvador is so committed to following Jesus and fishing for men that he and his family are also sacrificing an already meager income so that he can spend time sharing the gospel and doing discipleship. 
Our family with Salvador

 
This week, Dany and I will be joined by a brother who came all the way from Colombia, as well as Jesús from Huehuetenango, to train in both the above locations (Patzún and El Progreso).  We hope to be an encouragement and to help them with their discipleship and leadership development.  We will be focused on training trainers as they will train others in various parts of Guatemala. We have invited many local pastors and laymen to come to the training in Patzún and anticipate at least 25 people in the training.

For anyone interested in getting involved:

  1. You can join us through financial support. We need more faithful givers to meet our family needs. See the info in the right-hand margin of our blog homepage for how to give.
  2. You can come and see what the Lord is doing. If you are physically capable and want to come please contact us and arrange a trip to see how the Lord is moving.
  3. You can pray. We need constant prayer for endurance and discernment to follow the work of the Holy Spirit.  Some specific prayer requests for this week:
·        For the work to be done this week and the weeks following.  
·        For protection of our minds, protection of our families, and for unity in the team.  
·        For more workers in the harvest and more fruit from the harvest.
·        For safe travel for all involved. 
·        For us to see an unmistakable movement of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.

We sincerely thank you all for your love and support!

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